Page 44 of Bound Paths
“Her entire purpose is to protect the spirits, shepherding them into the next phase of their existence.”
Rose didn’t feel like that was an answer to her question. “Are you saying the nature of her duties grants her some magical knowledge over those entering her realm?” Rose considered this. It at least explained how quickly she’d shown up. It did not explain her demeanor upon arrival. “Neither she nor her veil cats seemed very welcoming.”
“Her cats would have known you were alive. They would have considered you intruders,” Aurora said.
“I’ve always thought she had a way to communicate with her cats,” Arie said, resting his chin on his hands. “I’m sure they alerted her that this was no normal crossing.”
Aurora nodded. “And once she knew you were alive…well…” Aurora gestured with her hand as if to explain Cassandra’s extreme reaction. “The living have no business in her domain.”
Aurora and Arie shared a look that spoke of an eternity of communication.
“Don’t hold back now,” Rose said, finally sliding into the chair across the table from them. The food Arie and Annabeth had prepared smelled wonderful. She could still see the steam rolling off it. She began piling the plate set for her with food while she pushed on the question she again needed to ask. “Where did we land on the gods helping the Compass Points with this anyway?” She focused on her food, pretending the answer didn’t matter.
She had understood the nature of Arie’s inability to help with Aterra. In hindsight, she agreed with his decision to search for Zrak separately from them. The Compass Points needed to learn to work together, and no one could have helped them. Arie’s presence likely would have only exacerbated the strain between herself and Carter—but this felt different.
Aurora and Arie knew the Lady of the Veil and her realm—at least more than the Compass Points did. Rose was confident their knowledge wouldn’t be available in any texts. She wanted their help with this.
“That was part of what we needed to discuss before we arrived,” Arie started.
“Sure. I bet that was it,” Rose said wryly.
Arie coughed primly, ignoring her suggestive comment. “Anyway, we agreed.” He shared another look with Aurora. She reached for his hand and squeezed it. Something in Rose’s heartmelted at the small gesture. Arie deserved this—no matter his answer. Rose was glad to see him reunited with his lost love.
Arie continued, pulling Rose from her warm moment. “We agreed the balance on the continent is already in shambles. The mist plague may have been tamed. But since it only paused after Juliette’s brute force communication with Zrak, it’s clear enough the plague is his.”
“What are you saying?” Rose asked.
“We’re sure that to stop Aterra’s plans for good and return balance, the Compass Points need to work together,” Arie tried again, but then seemed unsure how to continue.
Aurora picked up the thread. “We’re also certain the gods have meddled even more than we originally thought.”
“It’s one thing if the mist plague were the continent’s natural response to the imbalance, it’s another to have Zrak send it, masquerading it as such,” Arie said. He scratched the back of his neck. It clearly still bothered him that Zrak was doing this. Rose hoped they would have answers to ease his anxiety on the matter soon. She still wanted to believe in Arie’s view of Zrak—wanted to believe there was some master plan behind all that he had done.
Mostly, she was worried about what it would do to Arie if there weren’t.
“We’re comfortable telling you what we know,” Aurora said.
“We’ll give you every advantage we can in this fight,” Arie said, nodding to himself.
Rose smirked, wanting desperately to pull the melancholy from Arie’s face. “So, you believe we’re so screwed your interference won’t make anything worse?”
Arie’s smile returned immediately. He perked up and rolled his shoulders back as if Rose’s playful words had lifted the weight of the world from them.
“What an elegant way to sum it up, Rose, as always.”
“Well then.” Rose smiled. “Let’s dive right in.” She took a bite of the eggs on her plate, chewing as she considered her first question. “Tell me everything about the Lady of the Veil.”
“Well,” Aurora started, “we’re embarrassed to admit we didn’t know she existed until”—she glanced at Arie—“about five hundred and fifty years ago?”
“How could that be—isn’t she a goddess?” Rose asked dryly, scooping another forkful of eggs.
“Isn’t that the question?” Arie replied. “We don’t pretend to know everything about every realm that isn’t ours, but as you can imagine, the continent has a connection to the realm beyond the veil. Before Cassandra showed up, we thought the veil cats were the only shepherds of the spirits.”
“So, you think she…” Rose couldn’t figure out what they thought. She just appeared? She was hiding?
“My guess is that something brought her into existence,” Aurora said. She shared another look with Arie. It was understandable that the gods weren’t sure about Cassandra; the leader Rose had encountered didn’t seem one to explain herself. Rose was sure the limited interactions between Cassandra and the gods of the continent had been prickly at best.
“Like what?” Rose asked.
