Chapter 161: It can’t be changed

Chapter 161: Chapter 161: It can’t be changed

Amelia nodded, and Dean carefully helped her climb onto the wolf’s broad back. He kept one hand around her waist and the other beneath her arm, making sure she was settled comfortably before letting go.

"Are you sure you’re comfortable?" he asked, looking down at her.

Amelia shifted slightly, trying to find a position that didn’t make her aching muscles complain. "As comfortable as I can be after the bliss i have been through."

Dean’s mouth twitched. "I’ll take that as a yes."

Reid and Enzo lifted their heads and whistled, their calls carrying through the trees. Moments later, their divine beasts emerged, their bodies growing larger with every stride until they stood ready beside them.

Enzo mounted his tiger with ease. Reid followed suit, settling onto his panther and glancing over at Amelia with a familiar, teasing smile.

"Don’t do funny business dean"

"Unfortunately for you," Dean muttered, adjusting Amelia’s position one last time, "I don’t follow your rules"

Before Reid could come up with a response, the great wolf surged forward.

The sudden movement made Amelia lean back against Dean’s chest. His arm tightened instinctively around her, keeping her steady as the trees blurred past them. The tiger and panther followed close behind, their powerful strides carrying them swiftly through the forest.

A flash of white and silver appeared between the trees to their right. Dean’s snow leopard emerged from the undergrowth, running parallel to them before slipping into formation with the others.

They reached the meadow within minutes, but the moment they emerged from the trees, Amelia noticed something was missing.

The portal was gone.

Amy and her enormous brown bear stood near the far edge of the meadow, while Caleb faced them, apparently deep in conversation with her. He noticed the approaching group first. Amy followed his line of sight and turned.

"There you are!" she called.

The great wolf slowed to a stop. Dean climbed down first, then reached up to help Amelia. The moment her feet touched the grass, he kept an arm around her, waiting until her knees stopped wobbling before allowing her to take her weight.

Amelia gave him a grateful look before turning to Amy.

"Congratulations," she said, offering her a tired smile. "Looks like the trial was a success."

Amy let out a long breath, her shoulders dropping as though she had finally allowed herself to relax. "Yeah. It took longer than I expected. There was a lot of heavy stuff to unpack in there."

Her eyes drifted toward the great bear. The creature stood calmly behind her, watching them with its dark, intelligent eyes. Amy’s expression softened, and a small, genuine smile touched her lips.

"But it was worth it."

Amelia followed her gaze. "I’m glad. You look like you’ve been through quite a lot."

"You have no idea." Amy gave a weary laugh. "I could probably sleep for an entire week."

"Then we should get moving before you fall asleep standing up," Amelia said. "It’s time to go."

Dean’s expression changed immediately. He glanced at Amelia’s unsteady legs, then at the way she was still leaning slightly into him.

"Not yet. You’re exhausted. You can barely stand without someone holding you up, and you want to leave already?"

"I can stand perfectly well."

Dean looked pointedly at the arm he still had wrapped around her waist.

Reid chuckled as he dismounted. "Dean is right Amelia. Besides, the twenty-four hours outside haven’t run out yet. We can afford to take a break."

Enzo nodded. "We should eat first. None of us has had a proper meal in hours."

As if summoned by his words, Amy’s stomach growled loudly.

"I’m starving to."

Amelia looked toward the trees, calculating how much time they had left.

"Swifty can only give us less than two hours," she reminded them. "We need to make the most of it."

Amy turned toward Caleb, who had remained unusually quiet throughout their reunion.

"Take me to that place you mentioned. The one where you saw something that tasted like sweets."

"It’s about a thirty-minute ride from here."

Amy looked toward her bear and whistled.

The enormous creature immediately lumbered forward. Its heavy paws pressed into the grass as it approached, then it lowered its body to make climbing onto its back easier.

Amy patted its shoulder affectionately. "Of course my bear will take us."

Caleb stared at the creature for a moment, his expression settling into the familiar displeasure he seemed to reserve for anything involving riding a divine beast.

"I’ve had enough of riding beasts for one lifetime."

"Then you can walk," Amy said cheerfully, already climbing onto the bear.

With a quiet grumble, Caleb climbed onto the bear behind her. The creature rose, turned toward the forest, and took off at a surprisingly swift pace. Within moments, the two of them had disappeared, leaving the meadow quiet again.

Amelia watched them go before turning back to the three brothers.

"Now that they’ve left," she said, her expression growing serious, "it’s time I told you what happened while we were gone."

They settled together. Amelia lowered herself carefully, suppressing a wince when her tired muscles protested. Enzo noticed anyway. He shifted closer, his hand briefly touching her back to help her settle without putting too much strain on herself.

She gave him a small, appreciative look before drawing a slow breath.

"I took caleb to the ice fortress. You don’t know what it is, but one of the things it can do there is get a reading of your future."

The change in the brothers was immediate.

"A reading of the future?" Reid repeated. "As in, seeing things that haven’t happened yet?"

Amelia nodded.

His jaw tightened slightly. "What did Caleb see?"

They studied her face, taking in the exhaustion beneath her eyes and the tension she hadn’t managed to hide.

"I’m guessing it wasn’t good."

Amelia lowered her gaze to her hands. She rubbed her thumb over her fingers, searching for a way to explain what they had witnessed without making it sound as terrible as it had felt.

There wasn’t one.

"Amelia, look at me." Reid said.

She raised her eyes.

"Whatever it was, you can tell us." His expression was unusually serious. "You don’t have to carry it alone just because you think we won’t be able to handle it."

Enzo reached for her hand, his fingers closing around hers. "He’s right. If there’s something we need to know, tell us. We can face it together."

"And if it’s something we can prevent," Dean added quietly, "then we’ll find a way."

Amelia stared at the three of them. Their concern was so open that it made her chest ache.

She swallowed.

"This isn’t something we can change," she said quietly. "No matter what we do."

Enzo’s fingers tightened around hers. "You don’t know that."

"I do."

"How?" Reid asked. There was no accusation in his voice, only a growing fear he was struggling to keep under control. "Amelia, you’re talking as though you’ve already accepted it. How can you be so certain?"

She opened her mouth, then closed it again.

"Someone died."

The words settled over them. Enzo went still. Reid’s face lost what little color remained in it, and Dean’s jaw tightened as his eyes flicked between her and the other two men.

None of them asked who.

The same name had already crossed all three of their minds, and the fear in their expressions told Amelia that they had understood exactly what she was trying not to say.

"I feel it this time. My reincarnation ability..." her voice faltered. "it’s going to end."