Page 57 of Drop Dead Gorgeous
“There is no law that says I cannot ask.”
Lachesis leans forward, scarlet robes spilling around her like fresh blood.
“You watched Rome burn. You witnessed plague and famine. Kings begged you. Saints begged you. Children begged you. Never once did you plead for any of them.” Her gaze sharpens. “Why her?”
The answer is impossibly simple.
“Because she is different.”
“She is temporary,” Atropos replies, lifting the slender silver thread that belongs to Lavinia. “They all are.”
“She is not.”
My own voice surprises me.
“She is everything I am not. She makes the world gentler simply by existing.”
Silence settles over the chamber.
Then Atropos asks quietly, “What are you willing to give?”
“Anything.”
“You say that now.”
“I have never asked anything of you,” I reply. “Not once.” The memory of Lavinia’s smile presses against my ribs, steady and relentless. “This is the only thing I have ever wanted.”
“And if we refuse?”
My answer comes without hesitation.
“Then I walk away.”
The chamber grows perfectly still.
“No more collections. No more ferryman. No more endings. Let the earth fill beyond its limits. Let every hospital overflow. Let every battlefield remain crowded forever. Let humanity discover what it means to ache without release.”
Clotho’s smile fades.
Lachesis straightens.
Even Atropos’ fingers tighten around her shears.
“You would abandon your purpose?”
“I would.”
“You threaten chaos.”
I meet her gaze without wavering.
“No.”
My eyes fall to Lavinia’s thread.
“I offer it.”
The silence that follows seems to stretch for an age.
