Chapter 22 #2
He let out a breath of silence before he cleared his throat. “Get up,” he demanded, shaking his head with a tantalizing gleam in his eyes.
I hesitated, raising my head and scanning my eyes slowly up his body. I could tell by the glimmer in his expression that he liked the sight of me kneeling before him. “Whatever the Crown Prince wishes.” I flashed him a sarcastic wink before returning to my own chair.
Sebastian shuffled in his seat, adjusting his pants a bit before burying his face back into his book.
The pages of mine bounced off my fingertips as I searched to find my place once again.
We read in silence for a while, keeping a lookout for any peering eyes in case we had to quickly act like we were wielding.
I soon was bored with reading an in-depth history about the goddess, so I performed an act that would have caused any avid book lover—specifically Sebastian—to roll in their grave.
I skipped to the end.
My head tilted as I read something that piqued my interest and sent anxiety to my bones all at once.
The prophecy as foreseen by the Goddess of the Mind.
I peeked over at Sebastian, who was so engrossed in his book that he’d probably forgotten I was even here. Then, looking back to the manuscript in front of me, I brought the pages closer to my face.
The word of Blythe has been passed down through centuries. It is claimed that the one who fulfills her prophecy, will be the most blessed mortal to roam the lands. The goddess will grant a single mortal her precious gemstones if the chosen fulfills every aspect of the prophecy.
A wave of unease roamed through my veins, but I kept reading, squinting my eyes to make out the writing better in the dimly lit room.
In a kingdom of salt and stone, the chosen will be birthed midway through the year, at precisely the same moment that the first rainbow meteor falls from the cosmos and disintegrates into the seas.
Blythe’s chosen will be presented with the gift of constellastones, embellished into their skin in a manner that was previously unheard of.
At a time unknown, this soul will be presented with an unparalleled dominance in return for a sacrifice.
The chosen mortal will be treasured by the gods and goddesses, and will have the ability to reclaim tranquility and restore the balance of the world.
I lifted my eyes from the book and frowned. What the actual hell did that mean? I fulfilled at least two parts of the prophecy—my birthday and my gemstones—the rest of it however, I was unsure about.
My anxiety definitely did not subside by reading the rest of the prophecy, but instead went through the roof. I stood up abruptly and marched to Sebastian, waving the book in his face. “Read this.”
He glanced up from his novel in confusion. I swiped his book from his hands and threw mine into his lap, then crossed my arms over my chest and watched as he absorbed the text. His eyebrows rose as he read, and I brought a hand to my mouth to chew on my nail.
Sebastian’s forehead wrinkled when he looked up from the manuscript. I waited for him to say something, but he didn't speak.
I began parading around the archives with my hands on my hips. “The chosen will have the ability to reclaim tranquility and restore the balance of the world? That seems like an awfully big task for one person, don't you think?”
Sebastian's eyes flared at me in bewilderment. “Well yes, but—”
“Embellished into their skin in a manner unheard of.” My head bobbed as I quoted the text. “That one’s obvious.”
“Maeve.”
“I need to find out what time I was born.” My body shuddered in response to the angst rolling through me.
Sebastian stopped my roaming by placing his hands on my shoulders. “Maeve,” he repeated my name.
“Actually, no I don’t. She wouldn’t have given me the constellastones unless I fulfilled all of the parts of the prophecy,” I mumbled to my feet.
“Maeve.” Sebastian squeezed my shoulders harder, shaking me a little and bringing me back to life with the little lakes that swirled in his eyes.
“What?” I yelled back.
“You're freaking out. Take a seat and calm down,” he demanded, his voice firm—and kind of sexy.
I did as he said, swiveling my body and returning to my chair.
I propped my head up on my bent arms, in a complete daze trying to decipher the cryptic ending of the prophecy.
“A sacrifice? I’m not sacrificing shit. I've already given up enough. What does that even mean?” I looked up at Sebastian, questioning him as though he had an answer.
He shrugged. “I dunno. But it might not even be true. I’ve never heard anything about Blythe having a prophecy before. Have you?”
“No. But that doesn't mean it's not true. I mean, I fulfill all the criteria. We live in a kingdom of salt and stone. Salt as in the sea, and stone as in the gemstones I’m assuming.”
“Yeah, or the cliffside maybe?”
“Either way. Doesn't matter. And I was born during the Jewel-Light Meteor Shower. Sure, I don't know the exact time, but my jewels didn't appear until the shower began. It all lines up.”
“This is also just one text,” Sebastian pointed out. “It could be false.”
“It’s not false. Every word of it makes sense.”
He knelt in front of my chair as anxiety took control of every part of my body and mind. “Oh gods,” I whispered when a horrific thought struck me.
“What?”
“Oh fuck!” I bellowed and shot back out of my chair.
Sebastian threw his hand out over my mouth. He held a finger to his lips, quieting me and guiding me back down into my chair with his free palm.
“Maeve, I know you're freaking out, but please try and calm down. If someone finds us here when we are supposed to be wielding, we could blow our cover.” There was not an ounce of leeway in his tone. “Okay?”
He pulled his hand back when I nodded in agreement that I wouldn't draw any more attention to us.
“I’m going to die,” I whispered my epiphany.
“What?” He sounded rattled at my sudden pessimism.
“The prophecy pledges sacrifice. Which means I’m going to die.” The reasoning was not exactly logical, but the only explanation that made sense to me right now.
I gestured for the book, and he passed it to me.
I tore out the page that had the prophecy on it, then reached over the side of my chair to shove it into my rucksack.
Sebastian would likely have something to say about me degrading such a precious piece of history, but right now I couldn’t care less.
The panic inside of me reached an all-time high, and I visibly shook as the air in my lungs thickened, making it hard to breathe.
“Look at me.”
Tears hot as embers rained from my ducts. “I’m going to die,” I said so hushed that I wasn't even sure I said the words aloud.
Sebastian tilted my chin up with his thumb and forefinger, rubbing his other hand over my knuckles. “You are not going to die. That prophecy could mean so many things,” he assured me.
“You don’t know that,” I argued.
“No. I don’t. But my job is to protect you, and I will die before I let anything happen to you,” he promised me, sliding his thumb up to wipe the tears from my cheeks.
I closed my eyes and blew out a quivered breath, nodding in acknowledgment that I’d heard his words. He was right. The prophecy could mean so many things. I wasn't doing myself any favors by jumping to the worst possible conclusion.
I took a few deep breaths, and once calmed, opened my eyes. “Maybe the sacrifice is referring to the—”
Sebastian cut me off, sarcasm lacing his words. “If you bring up that damn crab again.”
“How did you know?”
“Lucky guess.”
The brief moment of humor faded, and I returned to the dread that had followed me ever since summer. Sebastian’s gaze met mine, and I allowed the beauty of his features to comfort me, feeling so undeniably safe with him.
“Why is it that you always see me at my worst moments?” I asked him, though my lips trembled.
“Oh, you mean like when you destroyed a perfectly good piece of literature a few moments ago?”
“I knew you wouldn’t let that slide.” A grin broke free from my lips. “You know what I mean though.”
Sebastian exhaled deeply through his nostrils. “You saw me at one of my worst moments the other day, so I think we’re even.”
Sniffling, I fiddled with my thumbs. “I can’t keep living like this,” I confided in him. “I’m exhausted spending every single day of my life worrying about what’s to come.”
Sebastian smiled sadly while he brushed a stray piece of my hair behind my ear. “I know.”
“When I got here—to the academy—I contemplated if death would really be worse than the fate I was given. For a moment, the thought of being buried gave me some peace…My life may be over, but it wouldn't be controlled by the hands of someone else.”
Sebastian stared at me, unmoving.
“The guilt I feel for thinking that—” I bowed my head. “I don't want to die.”
“You won't.”
“But what my life has turned into…” I tilted my head to the ceiling and shook it in denial. “Living like this is not living at all.” The feelings that consumed me when I first found out that I was gifted came rushing back.
Sebastian rolled back off of his knees to sit on the ground, giving me some space. “I know,” he repeated.
“Someday I’ll live again,” I promised myself, dropping my head to see him.
“Me too.”
“Someday we’ll live again.”