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I stared at his workIt has always been this way"

"But perhaps it has always been this way because we have allowed it to be so,"Annen suggested

"What in the world are you talking about?"I stared at hi I don’t write Fate’s plan, I just carry it out It is what it is"

"Oh, CharmianYou have more power than you know… more power than they will ever let you discoverAnd that, ain

"And why is that?"

"Because before you continue with even one s you need to know about the Fates"

At his words, I thought about the three ancient white-haired MoiraeThey were frighteningly powerfulAccording to ancient legend whispered froeneration for thousands of years, the eldest sister Clothos spun the thread of life, while Lachesiseach person would liveThe youngest, Atropos, was the cutterShe determined how each person would die I’ve only been face to face with theh

That was the legendObviously, they don’t literally weave a tapestry of life with a looly close to reality However you wanted to explain it, they controlled destiny They literally held life and death in their hands I turned lanced over ht appear at anyabout the

"They aren’t what you think,"Annen stated calood and spiritual beings intent on keeping order in lifeBut they’re notThey are si that they have grown boredThey play games with the lives that they were trusted to protect"

"What do you ht you here so you could see firsthand for yourself, so that you don’t have to take ic deaths here, along with Iras, Marc Antony and HasaniYou ht it was all part of a master plan, correct?"

"Of courseThat was the path meant for all of us in this lifeIt was my job toto say"

"I’ as true Fate You all died horribly for no reason at allCharmian, you have been manipulated as a tool for centuries at the whims of three old wo at him uncertainly

"I don’t believe you"

"Of course you don’tIt goes against everything you’ve been taughtYou’ve been grooher purpose- that you have been acting for the good of all mankindBut you haven’t It’s ti about it"

The roo to meCould it be?But that wouldn’t make any senseThe Fates, the Moirae, had always beenIf they weren’t meant to handle destiny, then as?

"Charmian, as I said, I don’t expect you to simply take my word for itYou knohat is supposed to happen hereIn one week’s tiyptYou, Cleopatra, Iras, Marc Antony and Hasani will all dieBut I’e it"

My eyes flew to his and I gasped"Change it?"

"Yes Change itChange it so that you live, so that Cleopatra accomplishes what she most wanted to do… which is to keep a ypt’s throne

"You have the benefit of knowing no things will unfoldYou can anticipate Octavian’s e everythingThen you will see that your actions don’t truly matter…because there is no set destiny, Charmian, as the Fates would have you believe"

I was in a stuporThis went against everything that I had ever believed and suddenly the biblical story of the Garden of Eden sprang tofrom the tree of lifeThis must have been how she felt, becausea part of er by the h it felt really wrongThe Fates always placed me in horrific circu else matteredI would accept the consequences

Before I could think another rational thought, however, an enor fros appeared on the wall of my bedchamber before they quickly folded andin front of me