34. Nicolette

So, the headcount in our expedition more than doubled. Farrow was adamantly against the idea of letting Roloff join us, but the soothsayer defended his case quite handily, if you wanted my opinion.

“They had an axe to my head,” he sobbed. “What was I supposed to do? Besides, destiny was whispering in my ear, telling me you needed to be caught there, sneaking into the castle.”

I glanced toward a glowering Farrow. “You really can’t argue with destiny, you know.”

“If destiny meant Sable had to die and your life was put into jeopardy, then the hell I can’t.”

“It had to happen that way,” Roloff insisted, tears spilling down his cheeks. “I loved Sable, too. She kept me sane while we lived in those dungeon cells together. We watched a tongue-less man starve to death. Rats swarmed in. I would’ve lost my mind without her. But destiny said…” He paused to dab at his wet eyes. “Destiny said it was to happen this way. The results will cause peace among many and—”

“You call this peace?” Farrow