“Harmonia, you’re awake!” she exclaimed, rising to meet us. “I’m glad you were able to rest. We’re making preparations for the trip. Your father is with your sister and Hecate is in her cave. We are meeting back here at dusk. Are you ready?”
I nodded. “I will be, mother. But first there are just two things I need to do.”
“There are?” She was puzzled.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “I need to see my mortal mother—to know that she is alright before we depart and I need to read the prophecy for myself. I wish to see what it says… in its entirety.”
Her face instantly turned into an unreadable mask and I tensed.
“Mother,” I began uncertainly. “I feel as though you are hiding something from me. And I wish to know what it is.”
Sunlight bathed my mother in backlit loveliness as I waited for a response. I didn’t receive one.
“Mother,” I repeated. “I need to know. Where can I find it?”
“Harmonia,” she sighed. “There is no reason for you to read it. We’ve told you what you need to know and time is of the essence now. I don’t think it’s—“
I cut her off.
“Mother, where is it?”
Her silver gaze met mine for an extended moment and hers finally wavered.
“Very well,” she replied. “It is in the libraries. But I really wish you wouldn’t.”
“Your concern has been noted,” I answered glibly. “But I need to do this.”
Her shoulders slumped and she looked to Cadmus.
“Cadmus…”
“She feels strongly about this, Aphrodite,” he replied firmly. “It is not for us to keep it from her.”
“Fine,” she muttered. “But I see no reason to upset yourself at this juncture.” She turned her back on us and stared once again out the windows. The fact that she felt this strongly made me uneasy and I looked up at Cadmus.
“Are you ready?”I murmured.
He nodded and grasped my elbow, leading me from the great room and down the hall to Zeus’ massive libraries. We waited outside of the agate doors, hesitating just a moment while I gathered my thoughts.
I nodded and Cadmus pushed the doors open.
Late afternoon sunlight streamed in through the glass ceiling. It was as quiet as a tomb, the air still and silent. The room was a large as a gymnasium and it was filled with shelves from floor to ceiling. Leather bound books and pyramid-shaped stacks of rolled parchments filled the shelves. Any little noise that we made echoed loudly throughout the open corridors.
An enormous falcon, a personal pet of Zeus himself, sat on a perch directly inside the door. He had gold bands wrapped around his thick scaly legs. He swiveled his head to stare at me with onyx eyes. As his gaze met mine, he dropped his head in deference.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he croaked hoarsely. “Show me your mark.”
I silently approached him and turned my wrist over. The phoenix imprint was still tender, a bright, angry crimson rimmed in charred black.
“Ah, so it begins,” the bird mused. “You may enter.”
I glanced at Cadmus uncertainly, but stepped forward into the massive library. There were too many books. I had no idea where to start.
“Where should we begin?” I asked Cadmus.
“Follow your heart,” the bird interjected knowingly. “You are tied to everything, Harmonia. You must simply listen.”
Cadmus raised his eyebrow at the bird questioningly, but I closed my eyes.
My heart thudded in my chest rhythmically, like a drum. I focused on it and allowed myself to feel every reverberation throughout my body. I could feel the pulse in my feet, the blood rushing through my veins, my bloodstone lying coolly on my chest. My heart beat against it.
And then I felt a pull. Willingly, I opened up my mind and allowed the pull to move me. I walked forward and Cadmus stayed at my side. I wound my way through the rows of books and stood in front of a shelf in the back corner where the light almost didn’t reach.
I knew I was in the right spot. I knew it with unexplainable certainty.
Suddenly, a rolled parchment fell from the top shelf and landed at my feet. Before I could even move, Cadmus bent and picked it up, untying the velvet string and unrolling the parchment.
I watched his jaw tighten as he read the words inscribed on the page. His beautiful dark eyes hardened and I felt the stirrings of dread.
“What is it?” I whispered hesitantly. He shook his head.
“It’s nothing. This is just a silly premonition by someone we don’t even know…”
The falcon fluttered from the top of a nearby bookcase and landed in front of us.
“The Oracle of the Dead brought us this prophecy,” he told us. “She has never been wrong, not even once.”
“The Oracle prophesied this?” I asked tremulously.
The bird nodded once, his black eyes shining in the light. I gulped and held my hand out to Cadmus. He didn’t move.
“Cadmus,” I prompted. He sighed and handed it to me.
The Prophecy of The Chosen One
She who will save Olympus and all that we know.
Treacherous snakes will tremble beneath her fingers and the crown shall be restored.
Despite great sadness and loss, she will prevail,
As she alone holds the noblest and purest of hearts.
The Chosen One will save everyone but perhaps herself.
At what cost will order be restored?
Will she perish in the flames of the Phoenix,
Never to rise to the land of the living once more?
Time will tell.
My breath caught in my throat as I read and Cadmus wrapped his arms around me, pressing his forehead to mine.
“It means nothing,” he insisted. “We choose our destiny, remember, Harmonia? The Fates are imprisoned in the Underworld. We choose our own fates now. I will never allow anything to happen to you. Do you understand?”
I nodded to placate him, but my heart was racing.
“Time will tell,” I murmured.
“No,” Cadmus said harshly. “I can tell you right now. This is not right. We will be victorious, but you will be fine. You have faced death already in Camelot. Remember? Perhaps that is what this is referring to. You came back from that. You are fine.”
I had a feeling that Camelot was not what this prophecy referred to, but I didn’t say it. Instead, I folded into Cadmus’ side and allowed him to hold me for just a moment.
I closed my eyes and inhaled his strength, his scent, even his heart beat. I picked up his hand and held it to my heart.