Free Mortal Obligation by Nichole Chase Page A

for a few minutes in silence. Glad to be filling her stomach, which had become almost unbearably empty as she had toured the house, she finally started to feel a hesitant sense of calm. Sophie got up and went to the fridge and grabbed a couple of bottles of water. She slid one over to Ree, who smiled in thanks.
    “So. I'm guessing you have a lot of questions.” Sophie scooped more chunky chocolate ice cream onto her spoon.
    “Yeah. That may be the understatement of the year.” Ree spoke around a mouthful of turkey and cheese. “More like a million questions. So many questions you may not ever be able to answer all of them.”
    Sophie sighed. “Shoot.”
    Something in her expression triggered a different set of questions in Ree. Unsure of where to even begin, she went with the one at the front of her mind. “How many times have you done this?” She gestured between them. “Sat across from someone and explained the most unlikely, unrealistic story to ever be told?”
    The older woman raised an eyebrow in amusement. “That’s where you want to start? If that is what you want, then . . . four times. Four times, including you.”
    Ree pursed her lips. “And how many battles have been fought? How many have we won?”
    Sophie’s expression became a little more serious. “From what I am led to believe, there have been exactly one hundred battles. One hundred Alastrianas before you.”  She set her spoon down and looked  Ree directly in the eyes. “And out of those one hundred battles, we have won exactly half.”
    The turkey sandwich seemed to stick in her throat, so Ree took a gulp of water. “And what was the set number of battles agreed upon?”
    “One hundred and one.” Her voice was completely deadpan, and Sophie sat very still, waiting for Ree’s reaction.
    The room spun for a moment as Ree considered exactly what that meant for her friends and herself. She shoved the plate away from her as her stomach lurched. Sweat broke out on her forehead as she tried to keep it together. Don’t freak out, don’t freak out , she told herself. It didn’t work. She ran to the sink and lost everything she had just eaten. Once the dry heaves stopped, she ran the water to clean up and splashed her face. She stood there bracing herself over the sink and took several deep, unsteady breaths.
    Sophie said nothing as Ree reined in her emotions, she simply watched her patiently and ate her ice cream. Once Ree was certain she wouldn't be sick anymore, she went back to her stool and took a sip of water.
    “So.” Her voice was hoarse and wavered a little. Ree took another sip of water before continuing. “We're the tie-breaker. It's been this close all along. We're balanced on the edge of becoming the slaves of monsters, and we're the team the gods send to tip the scales. Okay, no pressure.” Ree rubbed her palms against the cool granite and decided to plow through. “Moving on. What makes this group so special? Other than the extra Guardians?”
    “That is something that will become apparent as you progress. You will all learn from each other. Grow together.”
    “That’s pretty evasive,” Ree pointed out. But Sophie merely shrugged and motioned for her to keep going. “Okay. We’ll come back to that later. How about me? Why me?” She tried a different angle.
    Sophie swallowed her ice cream before answering. “You, because of your gifts. Because of your family. Because you have it in you to win.”
    “Shouldn't all Alastrianas have it in them to win? And couldn't it just as easily have been someone else in my family? I have a cousin my age. Or my aunt? She’s always been gifted with something extra.”
    “Each Alastriana was picked to counter what the gods thought the Dark Ones were planning. It had to be you, not your aunt or cousin. And for this, it was obvious to the gods it was to be you. In a way, the Dark Ones picked you themselves.”
    Ree grimaced   and said, “Picked me? How is that?”
    Sophie stood