KamiKowa: That Time I Got Transmigrated With A Broken Goddess-Chapter 117: [] Friends Today (Enemies Tomorrow)

"And if you’re even one minute late, I’m telling everyone at the academy about how you cried at ’The Perks of being a Shrinking Violet.’"

"I didn’t cry."

"Your eyes were watery."

"It was dusty in the theater."

Naomi smirked. "Sure it was." She turned to leave, then paused. "Xavier?"

"Yes?"

"Be careful."

Xavier nodded, suddenly serious. "I’ll be careful."

They parted ways at the next intersection, Naomi heading toward the market district while Xavier turned back toward The Frozen Hind. The pressure behind his eyes returned almost immediately, a dull throb that intensified with every block he put between them.

"Damn it," he muttered, pressing his fingers against his temple.

Okay Xavier, time to lock in.

Since this is a Narrative Gate, everything here served a purpose. Rachel hadn’t randomly found him in the snow. She hadn’t saved his life by accident.

The woman knew things—about him, about the prophecy, about the Heart of Winter. And she was letting him leave without her?

That didn’t add up.

By the time Xavier reached The Frozen Hind, his headache had doubled in intensity. He paused outside the inn, gathering himself.

The common room was half-empty this early in the day. A few travelers huddled near the hearth, nursing steaming mugs while Harrick wiped down the bar. The innkeeper nodded at Xavier’s entrance.

"Your sister’s upstairs," Harrick said.

Xavier forced a smile. "Been busy making arrangements."

"For the caravan?" Harrick raised an eyebrow. "Heard they’re delayed another day. Bad weather in the passes."

That was news. "Where’d you hear that?"

"Your sister told me. Said the winds whispered it to her." Harrick shrugged.

Xavier nodded and headed for the stairs.

He found Rachel sitting cross-legged on her bed, eyes closed in what appeared to be meditation. She didn’t open them when he entered, but her head tilted slightly toward the door.

"You’ve been busy," she said.

Xavier closed the door behind him. "Making arrangements."

"With the purple-haired woman from the Fox."

Xavier moved to the window, glancing down at the street below. "Her name is Naomi."

"That’s not her name here."

"It’s her real name." Xavier turned to face her. "Just like mine isn’t Xavien."

Rachel’s eyes opened then. "Names have power. You should be more careful with yours."

"You knew who I was the moment you found me in the snow."

"I did."

"How?"

Rachel unfolded her legs and stood. She was small, barely reaching his shoulder, but she carried herself with the confidence of someone much larger. "Because the winds told me to find you."

"The winds told you a lot of things, it seems. Including that the caravan is delayed."

Her expression didn’t change, but something flickered in those pale eyes. "You’ve been talking to Harrick."

"Why lie about the caravan?"

"I never said there was a caravan. Lukas did."

Xavier’s headache pulsed. "You encouraged me to take it."

"I encouraged you to be careful. The passes are dangerous this time of year."

"And yet you’re not coming with me." Xavier moved closer, watching her reaction. "Strange, isn’t it? You save my life, tell me I’m part of some grand prophecy, then just... let me wander off into the mountains."

Rachel held his gaze. "Your path leads to Hearthome. Mine doesn’t."

"Where does your path lead?"

"North."

"To what?"

"To who," she corrected. "To another star that fell."

Xavier hadn’t expected that. "Another one of us? Who?"

"The scholar’s might."

"That doesn’t tell me anything."

Rachel moved to her pack on the floor and began checking its contents. "It’s not meant to."

Xavier’s patience thinned. His head pounded, and Rachel’s cryptic answers weren’t helping. Time to change tactics. He’d spent years reading people, finding their pressure points. What did Rachel want? What motivated her?

"You know," he said, keeping his voice casual, "in my world, people who know the future tend to want to shape it. They don’t just observe."

Rachel’s hands stilled over her pack. "You think I’m just observing?"

"I think you’re letting me go to Hearthome alone because it serves your purpose somehow."

She straightened, her face unreadable. "And what purpose would that be?"

"That’s what I’m trying to figure out." Xavier leaned against the wall, studying her. "Are you testing me? Seeing if I’m worthy of whatever role you think I’m meant to play?"

"You misunderstand my position in all this." Rachel’s voice carried an edge now. "I’m not the author of this story, Xavier Valentine. I’m merely someone who can read a few pages ahead."

"Then tell me what you’ve read."

"I’ve told you what you need to know."

"No," Xavier pushed off from the wall, stepping closer. "You’ve told me what you want me to know. There’s a difference."

Rachel didn’t back away from his approach. "The seven stars must make their own choices. That’s the point of the prophecy. If I tell you too much, I risk changing the outcome."

"So you do have a preferred outcome."

Her lips thinned. "Everyone does."

"What I don’t understand is why you’re letting me go if I’m so important to your prophecy."

Rachel sighed. "Because keeping you with me would be worse. The Heart of Winter grows stronger every day. The longer the seven stars remain scattered, the harder your task becomes."

"Which is what, exactly?"

"To make a choice." Rachel picked up a small leather pouch from her bed and handed it to him. "When you reach the crossroads, burn this. It will help with the pain."

Xavier took the pouch, weighing it in his palm. "You’re not answering my questions."

"No, I’m not." Rachel met his gaze directly. "Some answers you must find for yourself, or they mean nothing."

Xavier pocketed the pouch. "I’m leaving for Hearthome with Naomi. We’ve arranged horses and supplies."

"I know."

He studied her face, searching for any hint of deception. "Will I see you again?"

"Yes."

"In Hearthome?"

Rachel shook her head. "No. But before the end, our paths will cross again."

"The end of what?"

"That depends on the choice you make." She picked up her pack and slung it over her shoulder. "I’m leaving now. North, to find the scholar. You should head east, to Hearthome."

Xavier watched her head to the door. "Just like that? After all your warnings and cryptic statements, you’re just walking away?"

"I’ve done what the winds asked of me. I found you. I kept you alive until you were strong enough to continue on your own." Rachel turned to look up at him, her pale eyes suddenly intense.

"But make no mistake, Xavier Valentine. When next we meet, it might not be as friends."

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