Chapter 47
Forty-seven
Jada
“Oh, right now?” I startle as the group waits expectantly.
Lando raises an eyebrow. “Did you have other plans?”
Zellie scoffs in the background, muttering something about “dipshit friends of Orion," or something; it wasn’t exactly clear.
It’s Elio who comes to stand beside me, reassuring me that all will be well. I look up to him and smile, although my stomach is full of frantic butterflies. “What’s the worst that can happen, right?”
“At our worst, it’s nothing. At our best, you… are everything.” His pale eyes are laced with sincerity, and now the flutters inside me have nothing to do with nerves.
The orb lights flicker in earnest as I approach the round table, urging me on.
I miss the stars. Being underground is dark, damp, and dirty.
Although I’m grateful to be somewhere undetected and, more importantly, safe, everything feels hard and cold down here.
It almost makes Lunara look lavish. Compassion has my heart lurching for Seb; for the life he was forced to give up on Astralis.
The weathered pages await me, frayed and yellowed at the edges. How many lives has this book lived?
Closed, the tome isn’t anything unusual. Worn, brown leather, crinkled with age, but soft to the touch. It feels powerful, like the pages hold secrets and meaningful truths. I suppose they do, if the prophecy is to be believed.
Tenderly, I grasp the edges of the cover, turning the parchment to lay open within my palms.
The words so many of us have already memorized remain untouched, appearing before me.
To restore the balance, one must dare;
To be clever, kind, and fiercely fair.
A single choice will shape the fates;
Fail, and the worlds shall bear a heavy weight.
From mortal blood and midnight eyes,
Banded with dawnfire, the Starborn will rise.
I read the words over and over—three times, yet nothing occurs. Pressing my lips together, I shake my head, unable to help the twinge of disappointment within me. “It’s the sa—”
My words cut off as scripture slowly appears, as if being inscribed by an invisible hand at this very moment.
The moment of truth, you have arrived;
the spirit of dawnfire to be revived.
But how, you may wonder, is this simply lore?
Prepare yourself for legends of never before.
Make the choice and seal your fate;
prove yourself worthy for all to be great.
Trials of character you must not fail,
find me beyond the tilted Scales.
Where twilight meets the morning skies,
only then will the fire rise.
For you are the chosen in the legacy,
Pass our tests and end the supremacy.
Does this mean… Am I? There’s no way—right?
I laugh, skepticism filling my head with doubts.
“What is it?” Zellie asks, pushing Elio aside.
I turn, shoving the book towards her. “Here, look.”
She scrunches her brow as she beholds the prophecy. “There’s nothing there, Jay. Only what we’ve already seen.”
“What do you mean?” I snatch the tome back, watching the words unfurl once more. “There? See it?”
The anticipation and excitement in the air is palpable as the group huddles around Zellie and I to peek at the foretold wisdom.
“Holy shit,” Orion breathes.
“Holy shit,” Zellie repeats. “No wonder Pluto had his sights set on you. I thought it was to spite me, but this… this changes everything.”
What are the chances that Pluto welcomed his very undoing into this city with open arms?
Had he not interfered, I’d still be on Lunara, and none of this would be transpiring.
Did he know? There’s no way he could for certain, but he may have had his assumptions.
Whatever the case may be, it seems the threads of the universe had been tugging each of them along to reach this very point.
“It’s you,” Elio confirms. “You’re the Libra in the Legacy.”
How is it possible to feel so many conflicting emotions at once? Am I truly worthy of this? Can I change the fate of the worlds?
The bright, proud smiles reflected on each face are confirmation of what I’ve already known: I’ve been capable all along.