-Laelia-
This was it… it couldn’t be it. We needed the nymphs. Without them… what were we going to do? I looked at the woman before me, who watched me with those water-blue eyes.
“You’re disappointed,” she observed.
It wasn’t a question. She could see it. “I had hoped… for an army,” I admitted.
That made her smile, almost cruelly, before she began to step back, walking on the surface of the water. How did she do that?
“Sorry to disappoint.”
No, she wasn’t. She might even be pleased there wasn’t an army of them. It meant they had even less reason to help me.
“What do I do now?” I inquired, feeling defeated.
The nymph continued to study me for a while. I just stared at the water beneath her feet. It looked as though she were standing on the moon, reflected on the surface. It was a magical sight, yet I still felt utterly defeated
“We may not be an army,” she finally said, drawing my attention back to her, “but we can help.”
“You’ll help me? Why? You made it quite clear you didn’t want to,” I responded.
“You are… different. You possess a hidden strength, and I’m not just talking about the dragon you carry,” she remarked.
I looked down at myself, placing a hand on my flat stomach. How had she known? But I wasn’t about to ask—what mattered was how she could help me.
“I can show you your future,” she offered, turning her gaze to the water beneath her.
I glanced at her before looking down at the water. “It will tell me… if we’ll win?”
“Maybe, or maybe your uncle will win,” she replied.
I gulped. Did I really want to know? I took a step closer to the water, just as I thought I heard voices again—this time clearer—and caught a glimpse of something in the water. Startled, I quickly stepped back.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I whispered.
“Don’t you want to know if you’ll defeat your uncle?” she inquired.
“And as you said, I might learn that I won’t. How will that help me?”
She smiled faintly before moving further into the pool, positioning herself in the middle.
“The future is not set in stone,” she explained. “It can be changed.”
“It can?”
She nodded and waved me closer. I stepped cautiously to the edge, and she pointed at the water. I looked down as she held out her hand. At first, the water seemed to stir slightly, and then images began to form.
The first thing I heard were faint voices, followed by the sound of a sword being drawn. I saw it in the water—its dark blade came into view, and then a big chain was broken. There was a loud roar, and then… Pymyrth appeared.
“So, I do succeed in freeing Pymyrth,” I whispered.
More images appeared. Erika came into view—it seemed like we were going to meet soon, but I wasn’t sure where. Then Ashes appeared and Mefan. There was something unsettling about Mefan in this vision—his smile was evil and cruel.
Then suddenly… my uncle, but he wasn’t alone. Was that King Kegon? And… Ashes’s mother? Oh no! She stood there behind my uncle, smiling at us, or maybe at Ashes. Where were we? Then suddenly, I saw a blade being drawn, followed by a gasp. I saw myself.
I was the one gasping, looking up into the air, terrified. Then I saw it—the blade inside me, and suddenly everything went dark. No more images appeared. I looked around, confused, before turning to the nymph.
“W-What was that? Where are the rest? I don’t understand any of this!” I exclaimed.
The nymph’s expression grew colder as she slowly lowered her hand.
“There aren’t any more,” she responded.
“What does that mean?” I inquired, fear creeping into my voice. “What happened? I didn’t see the war. I saw… Why aren’t there more?”
She sighed, closing her eyes briefly before retreating further. Her shadowy clothing slowly vanished as she transformed back into the light creature.
“Wait! What does that mean? What happens to me?” I shouted.
“You die,” she replied as she changed.
I was about to ask her more when suddenly the whole world started spinning, and I couldn’t focus on saying or doing anything. I just collapsed to the ground as everything spun and spun before abruptly stopping and…
I quickly sat up, gasping and feeling terrified, as I looked around the dark forest. Where was I? Where were the nymphs? What had she said to me?
You die… No, that couldn’t be true. It wasn’t true! Yet I felt myself shiver, even though there was no wind. I tried my hardest not to crumble under the weight of what she had just told me, and I reminded myself that she had said the future wasn’t set in stone.
So this was just one possible scenario, right? I clung to that thought as I got to my feet. But where was I supposed to go now? I scanned the dark forest until my eyes caught sight of something in the distance—a small orange light. I had no choice but to start walking toward it.
As I got closer, I heard the familiar voices of my brother and Tylon. I quickened my pace until I finally saw them. They had noticed me too and were poised to fight, probably thinking I was a stranger.
“Laelia?” Tylon called out.
I was so relieved to see them, but my heart was still heavy from the nymph’s words. Instead of expressing my happiness at finding them, I simply said, “We have a problem.”
***
“Are you certain that’s what she told you?” Liam inquired.
I nodded as I sipped from the warm soup Samuel had quickly prepared and handed to me. Tylon had also wrapped me in a warm blanket. He sat beside me and watched me carefully.
“You shouldn’t listen to her,” Samuel advised. “We’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”
I gave my brother a sad smile before turning to Tylon. “What do you think?” I asked.
He pondered my question for a while, but I could see the fear and worry in his eyes. It didn’t do much to calm me.
“I think… it’s a good reason for us to be extra careful,” he finally replied.
I sighed, turning my gaze to the fire.
“And a good reason for you not to fight in this war,” Samuel added.
“I didn’t die in the war.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I didn’t see a war around me… I was in some kind of room, I think.”
“Did you see who hurt you?” Liam asked.
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t, but it seems like James and I will share the same fate.”
“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Liam promised. “You won’t die!”
I tried to smile at him, but his words didn’t bring me any relief. Something about what the nymph had said… and the images I had seen… made me feel like this future might be set in stone.
“Why did you seek them out?” I asked Tylon.
“I… was young and foolish, and I was told not to,” he admitted.
“So, did you ask to see your future?”
He shook his head. “No, that wasn’t why I went to them.”
“Then why?” I pressed.
“I was a bit of a… conqueror at the time.”
“A conqueror?”
He nodded, and I glanced at my brothers, who smiled knowingly, making me realize what they meant.
“Really?” I inquired. “You tried to sleep with one of them?”
Tylon nodded, and it made my brothers laugh.
“Well, how did you not end up dead?”
He shrugged. “I almost did. Nymphs enjoy the taste of flesh, and there’s always a price to see your future, but the nymph who nearly killed me believed I had a higher purpose,” he explained.
“I didn’t pay anything,” I noted.
“You might in the future,” he warned. “Or maybe you have a higher purpose as well.”
I sighed, staring into the fire again. “There were so few of them. Maybe p*****t wasn’t needed,” I whispered.
“No one lives forever,” Tylon reminded me.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means that the time of the nymphs is coming to an end.”