Delta [Epsilon #2]

Chapter Seventeen

The air around us thickened, and I could hear the regret in his words. We bathed in that silence for a few moments, and as I stared at Gauss, the rough lines on his face, I found myself wondering just what he'd been through. What had happened to make his eyes so inconspicuously glassy, to make his face crumple with despair at a memory perhaps decades old?

The air shifted again, and as he turned back to me, all traces of regret were gone from his face. It made me wonder how much he'd practiced that, shadowing his regrets with a pleasant smile, smoothing them out like creases in a shirt.  "Then again, entering my Elder stage has been quite the humbling experience. I suppose you could class that as a factor, too."

Elder. Yes, this up-close, I could see it. The little wrinkles of his eyes, the spouts of white hair between the browns, the haziness of his gaze.

"How old?" I asked. 

His gaze flicked to the sky, as though he had to think to remember. "Three-hundred and five, I think. I don't bother keeping count anymore. My days are numbered."

A dagger stabbed my heart. I hate the thought of this man dying; this quiet, humble being who thrived even in a world of assholes. Who shone like a light in the dark. 

"Doesn't that scare you? Death," I whispered. 

He pondered. "No, but to say it doesn't cross my mind often would be a lie. In many ways, it is a privilege to enter your Elder years. It means you have lived the long and perilous life as a werewolf. Not many have that privilege."

I cast my eyes to the ground, surprised when he continued. 

"But then again, as you outlast others, you must shoulder the burden of seeing them die around you. I've had my fair share of friends lost, my fair share of grieving. And when it's my time to join them, I know they'll be waiting."

I glanced at him and his eyes were... sparkling. With his gaze locked on the sky, and I could almost picture him imagining the faces of all those he'd lost amidst the clouds.

Snapping from his revere, Gauss looked ahead and grinned. "Ah, we're here."

I looked forward and barely contained my gasp. I don't know how I could have missed it. 

In the clearing sat a little pool, but not just any pool. The water's surface sparkled iridescent, glowing an array of colours as the sunlight danced along its surface. A certain buzz occupied the air around us, one that lifted my hairs ever-so-slightly, but not to the point where it felt uncomfortable.

As we approached, I noticed other details. How the water wasn't clear at all, but rather a deep silver, its surface glimmering with that strange iridescence. How so many wild flowers surrounded the edges, as though life grew in abundance by this enchanted pool. 

As we neared the edge, I hesitated. "What do I do now?"

His eyes sparkled. "Stare into the surface. That's all."

I frowned at him. Surely, it couldn't be that easy. Nothing was easy in this world of magic. Gauss, however, was convinced, and I didn't disobey as he motioned for me to kneel. As I righted myself into a comfortable position over the water, a sudden anxiety pushed to my throat. If this pool could really let me see my future, was I ready to see it? What if I saw something I didn't like? What if it showed me something that I would overthink for weeks on end, just to be redundant?

I blew out a breath. I didn't have ample options. I was stuck in a foreign court full of people who hated me, and I'd just lost the one person who could possibly teach me how to break Azriel's will-binding bond. This hint, this prophecy, was all I would have. So, without another thought, I thrust myself forward and peered into the surface.