Enemy Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [3]

F O R T Y - T H R E E

Waking up from the hallucination elicits a strange sensation. Everything suddenly became clear that this is reality, and the other world was simply a trick. This, right now, feels real—stoking the fire and dropping logs in the flames feels real. Driving in a car with her parents and a young version of her cousin felt like a dream. Stella supposes it truly was a dream. A terrible dream that forces Hope to chose.

"Today was weird, right?" Lizzie says, obviously trying to cut through the tension.

Hope crosses her arms. "If you find ominous weird, yeah."

"Hope, we were literally on drugs," Josie says. "Some stupid story you two wrote when we were kids doesn't mean anything in it is actually going to happen. Or that your fate is sealed."

"To be fair, it seemed to mirror my life to a tee," Stella says as she picks her head up from Josie's shoulder. "I sort of killed your dad in the story."

Everyone goes silent. It doesn't help that the smoke from the fire burns her nose or that her eyes feel heavy with exhaustion.

"Marshall wanted him dead, and it was him or me. Sound familiar?"

"What happened to Dad was not your fault," Josie says, her voice quiet but resolved. "Trust me, I don't blame you. At all."

"Yeah, but he traded his life for mine. Exactly like the story," Stella replies. She's too scared to look over at Lizzie so she simply stares at the familiar, inviting flames. "Plus, I was on the dark side, just like Nyx. I just...You three never faltered, and I just keep slipping into this other person, whether it's Nyx or this narrative the gods have planned. It just all feels a little...planned."

Hope nods. "Let's face it, my fate has been sealed since the day I was born because there is always a loophole with magic, and I'm the loophole. So if the whole reason I exist is to defeat Malivore, at what point do I stop fighting it and just accept it? And you two..." Hope glances at the couple. "Seems like your fates were sealed during Ragnarok."

"We've been fighting for so long," Stella breathes out, leaning forward on her elbows. "All of this fate stuff...How much longer until we just stop?"

"You don't," Josie says. "You don't stop, not if you don't want everything that it means."

"I don't," Hope replies. "That stupid story made me remember all the reasons why. My whole life has been one trauma after another trauma, and if I have to become a tribrid, it's like I'm stuck in that trauma forever. Just like I'm stuck with the memory of all the family that we've lost."

"And I don't want to become whatever those gods want," Stella adds. "Only because of spite. It seems like I live off spite nowadays. The moment I think I understand all of it, something knocks the ground out from under me, and I'm back to being clueless. It just seems hopeless."

"I'm sorry," Lizzie says suddenly as she picks her head up. "I'm sorry we couldn't see why you were hurting back then, and I'm sorry we couldn't see you struggling for too long. But, right now is different. We're different. I'm still a work in progress, but I'm definitely a better version of Lizzie Saltzman, and Josie has become stronger and more independent. I mean, you two got over yourselves and professed your love in an epic rom-com moment. Couldn't get much better than that. There's no reason why you can't be whatever you want, too. A new Hope."

"Thanks," Hope mumbles. "But I think the universe is telling me the opposite. Honestly, this has been weighing on me since Cleo pointed it out after she tried to murder me. And you know what? She was right. Because I do feel responsible for every time a monster comes along because I know that I'm the only one that can stop it. You know, what if I don't do this and someone I love gets hurt in a way that I can't fix? I mean, it's already happened." Her gaze drifts to Stella. "The gremlin took you, Stel, and you almost died. I'm not willing to let that happen again or let it come remotely close to that."