Fate Dark Side of Betrayer

 My voice boomed out, strong and unrelenting, as I put the tip of my blade against their chest. You will tell me everything, or I promise I will find out on my own.

Though their eyes betrayed no fear, the betrayer—my betrayer—held their palms out in imitation surrender. Rather, they observed me with an odd mix of sympathy and contempt, as though my wrath were expected, perhaps warranted, but finally useless.

Their voice serene, they said, "I already told you." "It was not a decision..."

"Everything's a choice," I snarled, my grasp tightening on the hilt of the blade. You decided to turn on me. You decided to give them the key hand-off. You will now decide whether to explain why or I shall make you regret it.

"Arden," Caius whispered gently from behind me, his voice cautionary. "This is not the way."

I ignored him; my whole attention was on the figure in front of me. "Talk," I insisted.

Their shoulders slumped as though the weight of their deeds were at last catching up with them. "Fine," they responded. "But you won't like what you hear."

 As we sat in a tense circle, the fire blazed on the hearth and the quiet between us weighed as much as the storm clouds building outside. Not ready to let my guard down even a moment, I kept my sword within reach.

 Their voice low, "It started years ago," they said. Before you even came to know me. Watching you, the Circle had been waiting for the mark to show when you would have come of age. They considered you as a threat and understood you were linked to Fate.

I scowled, the words triggering something deep and silent within of me. "Why me? My voice softer now, I asked. "For what reason am I so significant? The "

You are, they remarked, a confluence point. "A junction of decisions and results. The Circle thinks they can manage the strands of Fate itself by means of you.

And you thought those were accurate? Caius cut in, his voice tinged with contempt. "You felt selling her would change things?"

"I believed she would be saved from this! They back off, their cool front cracking for the first time. You don't get it. They were going to pick her anyhow. I pondered... I reasoned that they would leave her alone if I handed them what they wanted.

Their utterances hung in the air, loaded with connotation. My chest tight with a mix of wrath and something I didn't want to name—something dangerously near to pity—I stared at them.

Finally, my voice colder than I wanted, "you thought wrong." They left me not by myself. They labelled me. And today they are arriving for every one of us.

Their expression hurtful, they turned away. "I am aware. And I shall always be regretting it.

Caius let out a sharp laugh. Regret does not tidy this mess. And certainly as heck does not bring back the people they have already claimed.

"Caius, stop," I said, shockingly even of myself. "I don't need your help tearing them down."

He arched an eyebrow, but he backs off and let me lead instead of objecting. Though it was brittle, our confidence held at that instant.

I turned sharply back to the betrayer. "What then? "I asked." You come here to ask for pardon and to confess? Alternatively, do you really have anything valuable to contribute?"

They fixed me with a determined look. "I want to assist."

"Help? "I repeated, bitterness in my laugh. "After all you've done, you believe you could help me? The "

"I know where the Circle is going to move next," they remarked. I also know how to stop them.

The room fell silent as their words sank in. I looked back at the betrayer then at Caius, whose face was insensible.

Quietly, "If you're lying," I replied, "I'll kill you myself."

"I'm not," they answered. Still, you have to trust me.

"Trust you? "I nodded her head. You are not entitled to ask for that. no more.

Though on the surface straightforward, their proposal carried great risk. The Circle was supposed to gather at an old spot connected to the strands of Fate, where they could seize its power and firmly establish their rule. Should we reach there first, we could be able to stop them.

Still, it was not the strategy that caused me second thoughts. It was the one delivering it—the one who had already betrayed me once and might very likely do so once again.

Later, when the betrayer had left the room, Caius stated, "You can't seriously be considering this." "They are acting out for you.

I said, "I trust nothing of them." But should they be speaking the truth, this could be our only chance.

And in case they are lying? Pressing hard.

"Then we'll deal with it," I responded, my voice steely. But right now I need responses. I also have to stop this.

We started at daybreak, three of us a nervous team bonded by need. The road to the historic site was dangerous; it wound across overhanging cliffs and deep woodlands. Now, a continual reminder of the stakes and the risk we were under, the symbol on my wrist burned.

Caius stayed near me; his presence infuriated as well as reassured. I detested how much I had come to depend on him, how much I needed him to keep me from spiralling into rage or anxiety. Still, he was the only person I felt I could really count on.

Conversely, the betrayer stayed away and their quiet served as a continual reminder of the gulf separating us. Every glance they sent my way felt like a question, but I turned away.

The sun was setting, creating long shadows across the old stones by the time we arrived at the spot. Tension thickened the air, the kind that made my skin crawl. Though my instincts screamed to turn back, I could feel the strands of Fate dragging at me, pushing ahead.

The betrayer said, "This is it," their voice hardly audible. "The Circle will be here soon."

And exactly what are we meant to do? Chen asked. Fight them with just our bare hands? {{{

"There is a ritual," they declared. "A means of severing their control. But it calls for—"

A low, rumbling rumble that appeared to come from the very ground under us cut off their speech. The ground started to shake, and I staggered back as the symbol on my wrist blazed to life. Its radiance blinded me.

"They're here," Caius replied, his voice austere.

Figures started to show out of the shadows, their cloaks blowing like smoke. Their center was a man I knew right away—a man I would never see again.

Whispering, my heart thumping, "It cannot be."

But it was exactly what it was. And their appearance destroyed the meager confidence I still possessed.