28. Chapter 28 #2
Bella takes another sip of the bottle, this one more calculated.
“It doesn’t matter what Shadow is,” she finally says.
“At least, not if history is any indication. All that matters is that she still has the ability to change the prophecy, ensuring that it never comes to fruition, thereby demolishing the raven’s significance.
Oh, don’t look at me like that. You know how I like to read historical archives,” she adds, pursing her lips at Maxine.
“Look at you like what?” Maxine feigns offense.
“Like I’m a juicy worm, one that you’re hankering to feed to your chickens.”
“You know… now that you mention it…”
“Wait, can you repeat all that?” I blurt out, unable to contain my nervous jittering.
“Repeat what? The part where Bella claimed she looked like a bug?” Maxine asks. “I definitely can see the resemblance.”
Bella shoots her a nasty look.
“No… before that,” I say.
“The part where I said that prophecies tend to bend and change with the wind?” Bella reiterates. “Entirely swayed by the free-will of men? Or in your case, woman,” she adds encouragingly. “You shouldn’t give that prophecy more weight than a grain of sand.”
“I don’t understand.” I shake my head.
“Right. Sorry, I’m not always the best at explaining things,” Bella sighs. “What I’m trying to say is that you could theoretically prevent Doomsday’s wrath by doing something entirely unexpected.”
Maxine chimes in helpfully, “Like drinking troll snot from a cauldron, for example.”
“That is not what I meant.” Bella gags.
Maxine snickers.
My eyes widen. “Doomsday’s wrath? What do you mean, Doomsday’s wrath?”
Bella eyes me wearily. “You haven’t heard the second part of the prophecy?”
I shake my head, vaguely recalling Trisda mentioning something about Doomsday back in her hut.
Maxine leans forward in her seat, as if this is also news to her.
Bella bites her inner cheek. “Well, the first part of the prophecy goes like this: ‘A raven shall arrive on wolves, bearing the silver blood of the wraiths. In dreams, the Mother of Chaos she will unveil, commencing a war between gods, demons, and dragons.’” She chews her fingernail and then adds, “And the second part goes like this: ‘A mother’s heart warmed in a fire, a father’s soul damned to the pyre.
A gifted key, two thrones, and a lover’s ire.
To bring about the end of the gods, or the end of the world. ’”
I stop breathing.
What did she just say?
“Oh dear,” Maxine hiccups. “That sounds serious.”
Bella continues chewing on her nail.
“But I have control over the prophecy’s outcome, right?” I say in realization as I pull myself to my feet, only to tumble back down as a jolt of pain rips through my leg and gnaws.
“You need to rest!” Bella chastises me. She studies my leg carefully, then waits for me to get comfortable again before adding, “And, erm… yes. Essentially, when a Truthseer reveals a prophecy, they’re making a prediction.
But free will shall always supersede it.
Theoretically, you could choose not to unveil the Mother of Chaos, and then the rest of the prophecy, like the bit about the end of the world… will crumble apart.”
“The ending of the prophecy,” I say, trying to recall exactly how it went, “it gave two options, right? I either bring about the end of the world, or the end of the gods?”
Bella’s eyes flicker with intensity as she too considers this. “It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to test either option,” she finally says. “Given the risk involved.”
“So about this troll snot,” Maxine chimes in, a grin splitting slow and wide across her face.
“I vote that Shay goes to collect it, given how she has wings now.” She flicks her gaze toward me and waggles her eyebrows.
“Does this mean you can fly across the country? You know, once you heal your leg?” She gives me a look that indicates I should fluff my feathers or something.
“Of course she can’t fly,” Bella says, shaking her head and looking at me intently. “Plus, everyone knows that trolls have been extinct for centuries.”
With both of their stares weighing heavily on my heart, I pull back my sleeve and reveal my spellmark—an inky black raven with yellow eyes.
“It’s beautiful,” Bella whispers.
“Forget the troll snot,” Maxine coos in disbelief. “I can’t believe that all this time you’ve been keeping your true identity a secret.”
Wait. My true identity. That’s it. You must look deeper within yourself, past all the layers of pain and heartache. Remember who you are. I am the raven. That must be my deepest, darkest secret. How had I not seen it before?
We spend three hours searching for an exit, most of which involves Maxine and Bella scouring the safehouse from top to bottom while I watch.
According to them, I’m on strict bedrest orders, and I am not to move.
Not for lack of trying. Every time I pull myself to a stand, they usher me to sit back down.
Even though I’ve reassured them countless times that the pain is starting to fade, especially now that it’s been secured with a bandage.
It’s only on the fourth attempt of standing, when Maxine rushes to my side, tutting for me to sit and offering me a cookie to comply, that something booms from the hallway.
“What was that?” I ask.
Bella and Maxine exchange a look.
Before they have time to seek out the source of the sound, however, she appears in the doorway.
The Goddess of Love is a vision in white, garbed in a gown of glass feathers that compliment a set of crystallized, inhuman-like eyes.
And she’s leering at us like she wants to slit our throats wide open.
On her head, she wears a crown of black roses sprouting barbed thorns, sharp enough to pick all the flesh from our bones.
In her hand, she’s dangling the dismembered head of a guard, whose sacrifice must’ve enabled her to open the door.
In the opposite hand, she’s gripping a matted-up knot of Lily’s pink-blonde hair.
She hurdles the poor girl forward. Lily collides with a bookshelf, sending it tumbling to the floor and crashing into scattered books all around her.
“Lily!” Maxine and Bella scream, rushing to help her.
I try to move from my seat, but the queen’s glare pins me in place.
Her eyes are as cool as the rock sitting square in my chest as she drops the bloodied-up head onto the coffee table before me with a thud, right beside a tray of antique brass and crystallized oranges, and the bottle of liquor we’d been sipping on.
“I hear that my pet has found the raven,” she says, her penetrating stare sending shivers sailing all the way down my spine.
I pull myself to a braced stand as silence billows around us, the pain radiating through my leg feeling heavier than ever.
Fuck, I guess it’s not improving. And on top of that, my shoulder is still sore from Lily popping it out of place.
“You’re looking right at her.” I hold up my exposed forearm, my arm shaking.
The queen’s steady gaze latches onto my spellmark.
Her voice pierces the air like a nebula of atom-filled stars, cleaving my entire universe apart.
“I knew the raven would be one of you,” she says with a salivating serpentine-like lick of the teeth.
“My pompous brothers have always been drawn to power, which is why I instructed them to each choose one mortal of their liking. It wasn’t until recently however, that I realized one of them snatched the raven.
I could feel an immense power buzzing around my dining room.
I just couldn’t place who it was coming from.
” She reaches out with an elongated fingernail and runs it across my cheek.
“It seems that Augustine has exquisite taste in women.”
“What do you want?” I snap, meeting her heated glare with one of my own as I summon up every ounce of courage from the dregs of my heart.
Which isn’t much, but it’ll do for now.
“I would like to know why you refuse to put on my ring.” She holds out her hand, revealing the black widow ring. But from the way the room shifts, she may as well have opened up a portal to Hell.
I clench my fists and swallow down the ever-growing lump in my throat, refusing to even glance at that demonic chunk of jewelry. “Why?”
She steps forward like she’s gliding on air. “I think you already know why.” Her gaze swivels on Lily, who is being heaved to a stand by Bella and Maxine, then she settles it back on me. “I need access to your power.”
My cheeks burn with heated contempt at the realization that Lily must’ve told her everything while she was away. “My friend isn’t acting rationally due to the Dreamshade poison flowing through her veins. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” I ask.
The queen’s nostrils flare.
“Fix her right now,” I say. “You’re a goddess, I know that you can.”
She grabs my cheeks with her cold hand. “You dare tell me what to do?”
I keep my gaze focused on hers, my toes curling for dear life inside my boots.
“You can’t put that ring on my finger yourself, can you?
” I ask, ripping my face from her grasp and jerking my chin at the black widow ring in her grasp.
“The enchantment requires a mortal to willingly do it. Otherwise, you already would have. That’s why you poisoned my friend.
To control her in order to force her to put the ring on me herself. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
The queen’s eyes narrow as she studies me, looking almost… impressed. But the moment dissipates quickly as she spins on my friends next and says, “The three of you shall ensure the raven puts on this ring.”
They pause to look at her.