That makes me stop. I narrow my eyes at Giulia. “Come again?”
“He’s a sin eater. A Gate Protector, and a sin eater. They feed off sins.”
I gape at Oreo. He does look like he fattened up ever since he started walking with us. “He’s been eating our sins?”
“Yes.”
Apollo’s face gets so much worse it’s laughable. He curls his upper lip and takes a step back. “Put it down, mate,” he growls.
“Does that mean,” Ren starts, stepping up to my other side, “we’re sin-free now or something like that?”
Giulia scratches her chin, looking up with her milky white eyes. “That’s a good question. I’m not quite sure. Some say sins stain your soul, so that would be a no. But if they eat sins, then they should disappear. What an interesting question.”
I stroke Oreo’s fur, then put him down. He looks like old Oreo, plus an eye. It makes sense he’s been eating our sins — we’re all dirty here, and he has a lot to feed on. Nobody’s feeling different, so that isn’t a problem. Besides, he’s protected me, and he’s cute.
“I don’t like that look on your face,” Apollo says, propping his hands to his hips. “Don’t tell me you want to keep him.”
“Of course I’m keeping him. That’s a no-brainer.” I might be a killer, but I don’t abandon dogs. There’s a line, and I’m not crossing it. “Besides, he’s already family.”
Apollo does that face again like he doesn’t like the idea of being put in the same sack as the dog. I ignore him. This family is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I’m not kicking anyone out.
Giulia taps the bench next to her. “I’ve been meaning to discuss something, Cassandra. Why don’t you sit with me while the boys go back to their tasks?”
Ren shoots me a soft smile, then grips Tristan’s shoulder and guides him out. Oreo follows without needing to be called. Apollo gapes between Giulia and me for a moment, then leaves, sneaking glances over his shoulder. Still not trusting, not when it comes to leaving me by myself. And that’s alright. I like him possessive.
I sit next to Giulia and turn to face her. “Question: why do they have to leave and Trevor gets to stay?” I don’t mean to sound petty, just curious.
Trevor doesn’t even look up from his book. “Because I don’t care for the subject.”
Giulia’s mouth tilts. “He’s right. I asked them to leave because they always get mad when they hear this.” She shakes her head. “This is between us, Cassandra. I’ll give you the information, and you choose what to do with it.”
My spine steels. This is one of those things she sees in other timelines. Even with the story of Fate always moving, she’s still giving me a glimpse into our possible futures. My skin crawls with goosebumps.
She takes my hand and squeezes. I swallow hard. “Ready?” she asks.
I nod, then remember she can’t see me. I’m still not used to how smoothly she moves even without her sight. “Yes,” I breathe out, my voice coming out strangled.
Giulia squeezes my fingers again. “The hellhound is a rare thing. You don’t rescue him in several of the timelines, almost all of them. Not all Cassandras are the same. Many lived through different things and see the world in different manners. There are, of course, minor changes in every one of them. Prince changes. Tristan changes.” She stops and stares into nothing for a moment. Trevor reaches out, without looking up from his book, and touches her thigh. Giulia blinks several times and looks back at me again. “The hellhound. It’s a rare thing for you to rescue him, and in the timelines you do, two things might happen.”
I scoot closer. “Two things. Right. What’s the first?”
“You live.”
My stomach plummets. “Let me guess. The other option is me dying.”
She nods. “It’s simple, Cassandra. If you give up and stay here, you live. We’ll have time to study, teach you magic. You’ll grow into your powers. Within my wards, you can live with your mates forever.”
“I can?”
“Yes. My wards are strong. No matter how hard the Collector and Kayn try to break them, they won’t make it. As long as you’re inside the wards, you’ll be safe.”
A weird, bitter taste takes my mouth. “But I can’t rescue the others. If I stay inside the wards, I can’t go after Mei and the others who are locked in the Collector’s place.”
“No. If you go, if you decide to fight, you will die. You might set them free — in some timelines, you do. But you always die.”
My heart hammers in my chest. I look up and Trevor’s looking at me, pity in his gaze. I can’t hold his gaze and gape at Giulia’s fingers, tight in mine. The weight of the decision makes me want to curl around myself.
It’s a simple choice. To live, forever safe in these wards, or to die, trying to rescue the others. Trying to get my revenge. I see why Giulia sent my mates off. They wouldn’t let me think about it. They wouldn’t let me choose.