Thuraya came back to her senses with a jolt. Her vision swam as it tried to concentrate on what appeared to be her ceiling. There was a phantom sensation of a blade at her throat. For some reason, the vision of Zaki and his demise felt more real to her than Neve. Perhaps it was because she had met Veloda. The demigod wasn’t some misty eventuality. He was alive, and she knew what was going to happen to him. She knew what he was going to do. What he wanted to do.

Forcing her body from its prone position, she looked around her living room. At her left was Irkala. The god was sleeping with his head pillowed on the table. He looked peaceful, a far cry from yesterday. Or from what she assumed was yesterday.

She inspected the room, but she couldn’t see the strings. Relief and disappointment warred within her. She didn’t know what seeing the strings meant, but she certainly knew how powerful that made her. Not even Nilalan in their infinite wisdom and sight could see the strings of fate. The things she could see. The lives she could change. However, the expected surge of confidence didn’t come. Instead, she felt even more insecure because she knew that the other gods and demigods would not see her newfound power in a positive light. She imagined that Nilalan would place this among her other failures. If only for the fact she was bestowed with this divinity and not them.

She would have to keep this hidden. She didn’t want to give Irkala another reason to think creating her was a mistake, nor did she want to give him reason to have to deal with her permanently. While he said that he would never hurt her, she knew that was lie. Not all harm was physical, and he didn’t understand that. None of the divine progenitors did. With her hands clutched at her chest, she hesitantly stepped toward Irkala. She whispered, “It’s time to wake up.”

Irkala slept on unbothered. She shook his should to no avail. Raising her voice, she repeated, “It’s time to wake up.”

Again, he didn’t wake. He must have been more tired than he had looked. While she contemplated how to wake him up, her front door was slammed open. She jumped, and Irkala jerked awake. He looked around the room like she had when she had woken up. Before she could say anything, the person who barged into the room hissed, “What have you done?”

Tilting her head toward the door, she saw that it was Nilalan in one of their many bodies. Ujumas trailed behind them, her face a blank slate. In this form, Nilalan towered over her. Their face was twisted into a furious expression, and their eyes bored into hers. Ujumas placed a calming hand on their back. Thuraya replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Irkala added, “We’ve been asleep for the past while. We couldn’t have done anything!”

Nilalan shook their head, starting to pace the room. “I felt something. The future has changed, and I can’t help but think our fledgling seer had something to do with it.”

“Isn’t the future always changing?” she questioned. She fought to remain impassive despite the massive hole that pitted her stomach. Nilalan couldn’t see right through her, right? They couldn’t see that she saw the strings. She comforted herself with the thought. If they knew, she wouldn’t still be standing her. However, she didn’t like that they were already suspicious of her.

“Not to this extent. I would’ve seen the signs before now. So, I’ll ask again. What have you done?”

“Nothing!” She didn’t appreciate their clipped tone, even though they were right about their assumption.

“I know you’ve done something!” Nilalan charged at her, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. Their hands would surely leave bruises. She pushed them off and stomped down the urge to rub at her aching skin.

“That is enough!” Irkala’s boomed. His voice left no room for argument, “If you don’t have any proof, then I suggest you leave. We’ll talk about this later.”

Nilalan opened their mouth to complain, but Ujumas raised a hand. She shook her head and said, “We will talk about this tonight.”

She then led Nilalan out of the house, leaving Thuraya alone with Irkala. Thuraya waited for the god to say something, anything, but he just watched her quietly. Finally, he asked, “What did you do?”

Her resultant laugh was tinged with anxiety. “I already said that I did nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me, Thuraya. Nilalan may not have been there when you collapsed, but I was. Something happened.”

“It was because of the headaches. Nothing else. I really don’t know what they meant about the future changing.” It wasn’t like she was lying. She didn’t know what Nilalan was talking about. It just wasn’t the whole truth.

Irkala sighed, “I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” An odd sense of dread filled her. The resigned expression of Irkala’s face didn’t reassure her.

“No matter what happens. Know that I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He walked over and kissed the top of her head. She didn’t want to know why it felt like a goodbye.