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everyone stood together. It was humbling and breathtaking at once. Good and evil would battle together to face an adversary that was the most evil of all.
"We should hear from the Chosen One!" someone screamed and I startled. I had never been one for the limelight. I always traveled safely behind the scenes, guiding those around me. I had never grown accustomed to walking in the spotlight.
I swallowed hard.
"They wish to hear from you, love," Lucan prompted. "Do you feel up to it?" He searched my face quickly, his chocolate eyes concerned. "You do not have to."
"Of course I do," I replied. "They are willing to die today. The least I can do is speak to them."
He grinned, a beautiful smile of reassurances and encouragement and I drew comfort from it. In it, I found a reminder that this was a man that loved me so much that he would protect me with his life. I brushed a soft kiss on his cheek as I passed him, walking to the front. As I stepped forward, the crowd cheered.
"I am Harmonia," I called. At my voice, everyone stilled. It became so quiet that I could hear the breaths from the horses. "I am the goddess of peace and contentment.
And I have been told that I am the Chosen One, that I am meant to bring peace to us all." There were nods and shouts and I paused to scan the crowd.
"I must tell you that I do not feel like a Chosen One," I continued.
Murmurings. Restlessness. Soft gasps.
I raised my arm and held my birthmark in the air for all to see.
"I have been marked for so long that I do not remember a time when I was not. I was misled to believe that I was something that I was not and have inadvertently done heinous things. All because of the whims of three ancient women. Their desire for power and recognition has tumbled a great city, Olympus, to rubble. The powerful gods and goddesses within have been taken. The machinations of these women have turned the mortal world into something ugly and evil…something that it is not. We are the only ones left to set everything right and restore everything to that which it should be.
"I might not feel like the Chosen One, but apparently that is exactly what I am. I died earlier today. Then I returned to this life, gasping for air like a fish on the edge of a pond, my wounds miraculously healed. For whatever reason, I am meant to be here right now and you were meant to be here right now. I am grateful to you for riding with me this day. Together, we will change the world and we will emerge victorious."
Utter silence.
Then everyone erupted into shouts and yells. Horses reared and stomped, people called my name. Never, for the rest of my immortal life, would I forget the feelings from this day. Hope, fear, pride and trepidation swirled together in my chest and the emotions threatened to overwhelm me as my eyes welled up with tears.
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Lucan grabbed me from behind and clasped me to him, circled by his strong arms.
"You are the most beautiful, amazing creature ever to walk the earth," he told me softly. "I have never been so proud to be your husband and there is no place I would rather be than with you. I have been a warrior for centuries. But today, I feel at home with you by my side. We will fight together, my love, and we will win together. And then we will return together for our daughter."
I nodded as he kissed my lips, his mouth soft and gentle. I felt a tear streak down my cheek and he wiped it away.
"Do not cry," he whispered, leaning his forehead against mine. "We will be victorious and all will be well." I nodded, sniffling as he took a finger and wiped my tears.
"I love you, wife."
"And I love you," I replied.
Turning, we once again faced our army as we prepared to ride into battle.
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Chapter Twenty One
The palace grounds were quiet and dark as we approached, our horses’ hooves clacking against the packed dirt road beneath us. Above us, Ortrera and her Amazon warriors circled, their muscled legs guiding their Pegasus’ while they kept their eyes trained on the ground below them. I glanced up and Ortrera shook her head.
Apparently, she saw nothing.
Not a sound, not a movement came from within the compound. The silence was deafening. Even though it was only late afternoon, the dark clouds that swirled around us gave the appearance of the dead of night. The darkened palace loomed in front of us, ominous and stark behind the stone walls.
Ares rode in front, with my mother, Lucan, Hecate and me at his flanks. The legions of undead warriors fell in behind us, while gods and goddesses from the Spiritlands brought up the tail. The beasts from hell were situated throughout. They carried with them their acidic, sulfurous smell.
"Where is everyone?" I murmured to Lucan. "This place seems deserted."
"Trust me, it is not," he replied, looking around cautiously. "They only want to appear that way. It’s a brilliant tactic."
If by brilliant, he meant unsettling, then I agreed. The hair rose on the hackles of my neck as I glanced around us. Shadows drifted around every corner as we moved stealthily toward the compound, the eerie silence roaring in my ears.
And then all hell broke loose.
Alarms sounded, the bugles screeching into the countryside and Arthur’s men were suddenly everywhere. Our horses’ hindquarters ground into the dirt to find traction as we pivoted and spun, trying to keep our backs safe from attack.
"Stay with me!"Lucan shouted to me, brandishing a gleaming sword as he whirled in his saddle. The broadside of his weapon came into contact with Sir Gareth’s young chest. Gareth’s face, which was normally so boyish and handsome, was twisted into an ugly sneer as he tumbled from his horse and then leaped back to his feet.
"Worry about yourself!" I called, as I spun Celine in a circle.
Hefting a lance from the rings attached to my saddle, I used goddess strength to hurl it toward Sir Gareth. Flying with such velocity, it easily sliced through the armor protecting his arm and embedded into the earth. The tip buried at least three feet into the ground, effectively pinning the angry knight. He was uninjured, but there was no way he would be getting up any time soon.
"Well done," Lucan grinned.
"Let us try not to injure them," I suggested. "They are not themselves."