Page 104 of Touch

Wonder’s enthusiasm dwindles as she reminds Love of something they discussed early on, back at Love’s tree. “Your memories will fade over time. You can see, touch, and recognize us now only because you were once a goddess. We’re still linked for a little while yet, until you lose those memories and forget we exist. It’s the final stage.”

What’s left of Love’s confidence dissolves. She will forget her past. Her home in The Dark Fates. Lush cliffs and caves, purple flowers and silver light. Her Guides, who had inspired Love and made her feel as though she belonged, even when her peers hadn’t. The Fate Court, whom she has followed and served for two millennia.

She will forget matchmaking and all she has learned in exchange for this realm, with its illnesses and the annual bone-chilling arrival of winter. Unpredictable daily life. Countless pairs of mortal eyes fixed on her.

Love is petrified. Yet it cannot be close to what Anger must feel, losing everything and everyone because of her. She will miss the chance to beseech The Court on his behalf. She will forget having caused this. She’ll forget him. And Envy, and Sorrow, and Wonder.

“Your love ties you to each other, so Andrew’s memory will fade as well,” Wonder provides. “The otherworldly parts ofyour time together will vanish, but you’ll remember the love, and our kin will live on.”

They’ll keep ruling over mortal hearts. Love won’t get the opportunity to fix that, to crusade for a change, the realization distressing her. She wants Andrew. For him, she would have willingly sacrificed her immortality and memories anyway. Nevertheless, she loathes her inability to incite a revolution, to find an alternative whereby she bonds with Andrew while also making a difference in The Dark Fates. Ultimately, Love would have appreciated the choice, to have made that decision for herself.

Now she understands what it’s like to have that taken from her.

Fate versus free will. There should be a balance. Love must accomplish what she can before her past becomes a blank slate. Even one small act or word can evolve into something greater. Perhaps it already has, now that everyone has learned of her bond with a mortal. Love won’t disregard that possibility either.

She looks at Wonder. “What we talked about that night in front of Andrew’s house. About us doing the right thing. Remember it. We must relearn what fate and free will truly are.”

Then Love sweeps her gaze across the crew. “We must find a deeper bond with each other in The Dark Fates. We must embrace our vulnerabilities, stop calling affection undignified, and cease denying our fears and flaws. And perhaps we should deal more with ourselves, less with humans.”

An uncertain silence follows. Love had spoken as though she’s still part of thewe.

Envy, Sorrow, and Anger do not acknowledge her speech. But they also don’t dispute it.

Only Wonder smiles. “I shall remember. You may count on that. I’m a research diva.”

“They’ll have a hell of time replacing you,” Envy laments to Love. “I will too. I had debauched plans for us.” He nudges his chin toward the cottage. “Good thing you’re not attached to this place. It will disappear once you and Andrew vacate, though it’s going to be a while until the snow melts. We doubt the rest of your village is faring any better, so if there’s no search party looking for Andrew soon, rest assured it’s because they’re either trapped indoors or they can’t make it through the forest. We’d love to use our mighty muscles and plow the area, but you know how it is.”

Understood. Disrupting the elements is forbidden. Aside from The Stars, nature allies with no one.

The elevation is low, the snow is powdery rather than hard and wet, and the cottage is set in an open part of the forest. The ice will thaw in two days, provided the sun decides to shine.

“In what condition you both leave the cottage is another story,” Sorrow cautions. “You got lucky in the storm, but the mortal has a fever. Minor things like stitches, we can do. Illness is out of our hands.”

Love thinks of the way Andrew’s skin had felt when she woke up. Fear clenches her chest. Humans are sacred, but sickness is a destiny her kind does not control.

Wonder pats Love’s cheeks. “I wish we could do more.”

Deities can cross distances instantaneously, but none of the archers have the power to transport Love or Andrew with them. For the ability to travel is an individual gift. And even though any of them can simply carry a wounded figure and walk out of here, The Fate Court has forbidden the crew from offering such assistance. Following the carnage in these woods, further insubordination will result in Wonder, Sorrow, and Envy’s banishment alongside Anger. To that end, if they care to make a difference in this conflict, it’s best to keep the enemy close.

Love clears her throat. “Thank you for the last two thousand years. And for helping me.”

Envy blows Love a kiss. She humors him and catches it.

After he’s gone, Sorrow shakes her head as though Love is the most absurd person she’s ever met. “Rip those damn stitches, and there’ll be hell to pay,” she warns, then disappears.

Wonder steps closer to Love. “What a dazzling journey, being able to start over. Yours is a tale for a blank scroll. I’ll volunteer to write it.”

“Make me clever,” Love requests.

Wonder tucks her chin into her shoulder, a saucy gesture for this goddess. “That and more. You defied The Fate Court for a mortal. Our people can deny it all they want, but your story has struck them, and it won’t be forgotten.”

“You have beautiful hands.”

Like morning dew clinging to grass, her verdant eyes shimmer. A mixture of comfort, wistfulness, and private memories consume her expression before she glances between Love and Anger, then whispers, “Be gentle.”

Then she dissolves into mist, her wildflower corsage the last image to evaporate. When she’s gone, a thick coat of silence envelops the woods.

Anger studies the frozen pond, its hard surface reflecting the clouds. “I watched you kiss him out there.”

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