Chapter 35
M y steps were light upon the stairs of the temple, my mind flashing images of the last two times I’d been here. It seemed so long ago since I’d met with the other Queens, since Mom’s Wylemei and the disastrous events that followed. Would Mom be proud that she’d given birth to the Hekiti, the bringer of peace to the realms?
Had she known?
The possibilities raced through my mind as our steps carried us further into the temple, where one of the Bohiti’s Priestesses greeted us—her stark white priestess garments flowing behind her. She bowed in reverence. “Welcome, Princess Asherah, Commander Eliron.”
“Greetings, Priestess,” Draevyn addressed. “We are here to see the Bohiti. It’s a matter of grave importance.”
Her gaze traveled between us. “I’ll get her straight away. Please, be seated,” she said, motioning to the settee along the neighboring wall. We slid onto it, my heel tapping repeatedly on the white marble floor while Draevyn’s spine went ramrod straight.
Would the Bohiti believe me? Or would she think I’m a power-hungry Queen desperate to be important, like Queen Sessi? With Draevyn the only person who’d witnessed my air element, how would I even prove I was the Hekiti? I wiped my palms across my scaled thighs and blew out a breath.
It seemed like an eternity before the Priestess reemerged from the depths of the temple to summon us. “This way.” Draevyn took my hand in his as we followed the Priestess down the long, dark corridor that led to the Bohiti’s quarters. My breath quickened with each step, a deep sense of unease causing my legs to shake.
Draevyn squeezed my hand. “Breathe. Just breathe.”
I dipped my head in a nod and straightened my shoulders, trying my best to keep it together. We reached a tall wooden door with intricate carvings—vines twining beautifully toward the very top of the door. The Priestess knocked gently, and the door creaked open a moment later. Several faelights flickering beyond the doorway greeted us as we followed the Priestess into the room. The door clicked shut behind us, bathing the room further into darkness.
She stood before a heap of puffy crimson color floor cushions—a low mahogany table positioned at its center. “Please, take a seat. She’ll be here momentarily.”
With that, she turned and left the room—the click of the door shutting sounded like a cannon in the quiet room. As we sat side by side waiting for the Bohiti, I surveyed the darkened quarter with its beautiful tall ceiling, interesting trinkets decorating the wall-to-ceiling bookshelves, herbs hung from lines of cream-colored twine—the smell infusing the room.
Silk-slippered padded steps reverberated off the hallway walls. The Bohiti entered a moment later with her hands clasped at her middle.
“Princess Asherah, Commander Draevyn,” she said, bowing. She sat gracefully upon the pillows on the other side of the table before asking, “To what do I owe this honor?”
I threw a side glance at Draevyn as he nodded in encouragement. The Bohiti, a look of concern on her face, tilting her head. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “We recently discovered something. About me.”
“Oh?”
I cleared my throat, not quite believing what I was about to confess. “I…uh…well, I kind of summoned air.”
The Bohiti’s eyes went so wide that I thought they might pop out of their sockets. “I’m sorry, my dear. Did you say you summoned air?”
I nodded.
“Dearest goddess divine,” she breathed. “Are you able to do it again?”
A thousand butterflies erupted in my stomach. “I don’t know.” I glanced at Draevyn.
“We were in the Above World when it happened,” Draevyn explained. “She fell out of a treehouse. The wind came up at her back, saving her.”
“Goddess,” the Bohiti said, bringing her palm to her collarbone. “That sounds traumatizing.” She shook her head. “What in the world were you doing in a treehouse in the Above World?”
“Eh…long story,” I murmured. Draevyn tried to hold back a smile at the blush heating my face. “When the wall I was…um…leaning against gave way, I fell backward, and then came the wind.”
The Bohiti gave us a knowing smirk before asking, “Very well. Do you think you can conjure it again, Princess?”
My shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I’m not sure.”
She gave me a gentle smile. “Well, there’s only one way to find out. Let’s give it a try.”
I breathed deeply, holding my palm up. My brows furrowed in concentration. For a few long seconds, nothing happened at all. But then, a mini-cyclone began forming in the cradle of my palm—the tiny dust moats that peppered the table whisking into the spout. I held it for a few seconds before it dissipated.
The Bohiti froze, her mouth agape. When she sprung from the floor, she nearly toppled over. Draevyn and I shared a look, both of us shrugging. She scampered to the back of the room and began pulling out several large books from the shelves that lined the back wall. All we could do was watch as she returned with her stack and dropped the books with a thud on the low table before us.
She selected a weathered book from the pile—her gaze lit with wonder as she sifted through the pages. “This is so exciting. So very exciting. To think, in my lifetime.” Her long, silky black hair shifted as she shook her head. “My parents are never going to believe this. The Hekiti. In Atlantis.”
“So, you do think I’m the Hekiti?” I ventured.
“Oh, to be certain. No one—and I mean no one—has ever had two elements. You are rare, Princess Asherah.” Her gaze traveled to my wrist. “I’m such a bubblehead for not thinking of it sooner.”
“The elemental mark?” Draevyn guessed.
The Bohiti nodded. She smiled up at me. “May I?”
I placed my wrist in the cradle of her palm. Her finger grazed the circle just below the symbol that marked me as the leader of my realm.
Or it should mark me as the leader of my realm.
Damn council politics.
“I remember seeing the dot during your elemental ceremony. I thought it odd. I should’ve investigated the symbol then.” She released my wrist. “Nonetheless, the answer is an easy one to find.”
I blew out a breath. “I’ve been looking everywhere for an answer,” I told her.
“Ah, but you have to know where to look. The books in the library wouldn’t hold information that sensitive. For its protection, information regarding any prophecy would be held here in the temple.”
I sighed. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
The Bohiti waved a delicate hand in the air. “Not to worry, my dear. You’re here now. That’s all that matters.” She began flipping through the pages, her fingers working feverishly. She paused on a page and began scanning the text—her brows dipping. “Ah!” she said, jerking back. “Here it is.” She swiveled the book around, and my breath caught. An exact replica of the elemental mark on my wrist was printed in deep black ink—the Queen’s mark with a small circle toward the bottom. Just below the symbol, clear as day, it read ‘Hekiti.’
My gaze snapped to the Bohiti, who was smiling like she had found the greatest treasure. “You’re it, Asherah. You are the goddess’ chosen, the one who is prophesied to bring peace to the realms.”
The weight of her declaration pressed down on my chest and gripped my lungs in a vice. “What now?”
“Now, the journey begins.” She flipped a few more pages, scanning the text again—her finger pausing on a paragraph as she read. “Ah. Here’s the prophecy: A flower born from the soil, a snake molded from liquid fire, a feather lost in time and space, a shell once revered but long forgotten. The Goddess’s sacred trove.
“When the ice age dawns, the Hekiti of might will rise. A daughter chosen by the Goddess and blessed with all elements will bring the great evil spirit to his knees. She will lift his harrowing weight from the human race and welcome them into the realms .”
The Bohiti glanced up, beaming, before she continued to read. “Scholars say the Hekiti must fulfill the goddess’ call. The bringer of peace must retrieve the Goddess’ trove, sacred objects left by Atabey in each of the four realms: the Cobo of Atlantis, the Jujo of Corenathia, the Guaraguao of Airelandia, and the Anacaona of Earthos. The only one with the power to retrieve the objects is the Hekiti, the Goddess’ chosen. When the Hekiti possesses all four objects, the power of the Goddess shall be hers. ”
Draevyn squeezed my hand. “The constellations we saw the other day,” he reminded me.
The Bohiti nodded in agreement. “The change in the constellations caused quite the buzz in the temples. We held our theories. This just confirms it.” She returned her attention to the passage. “Alongside the Guardian of the Realms, she will lead her army against the power of Maboya and save the humans in the Above World and the realms. The Hekiti will hold the key and the gift to change humanity.”
“Guardian of the Realms?” Draevyn’s brows dipped. “I don’t recall ever hearing about a Guardian of the Realms. What exactly is that?”
The Bohiti’s smile grew. “It’s the other part of the prophecy, my dear.” She returned her attention to the prophecy. “ A powerful warrior will be called to reign by the Hekiti’s side. Her bondmate and protector. The Guardian of the Realms. Only he can be strengthened by her power in the Goddess’s quest for peace.
“With the might of the Goddess’s trove and the warrior’s blessed trident, the Hekiti will turn the key of fate.”
The Bohiti regarded a paling Draevyn with great elation. “The Guardian of the Realms is the Guardian called to protect her for eternity. The Guardian of the Realms is the Hekiti’s bondmate.”