Before I can say anything, Voraxis intrudes on my thoughts.We can’t figure out how to get to you. Odeyssa is losing her mind.
Everything’s fine,I tell him, although it might be a lie. Who actually knows? Celene could kill me for all I know. But the last thing I need is both of them to barge in here and make an already weird situation worse.
“As long as your intentions are pure, your friends have nothing to worry about,” Celene comments, pulling me back to the reason why I’m here in the first place. But what are our intentions? Sure, we need the necklace, but in the end, what exactly are we doing with it?
“You’re Kalliope Whitlock.” It doesn’t come out like a question, more like a statement.
I hold back an eye roll. “To some, but I prefer Kallie.”
“So I’ve gathered.” Silence follows her words after they stop echoing around the enclosed cave.
“Even though this is really cool…and kinda odd”—the last part stays buried under my breath—“I really do need that necklace.”
“I’m aware. Truth be told, I thought you would’ve been here some time ago.”
“You knew I was coming?”
“Anticipated, yes. We all did.” Her admission catches me off guard. If they knew I was coming, she could’ve at least met me halfway. “It would appear you had a few snags in your journey.”
I hold back a laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”
“What do you plan to do with the amulet?” Her question is covering all the words left unspoken. She means,what do I plan to do with the power?
“Truthfully? No clue. I just know we need it. Besides”—I exhale sharply—“it’s mine.”
Celene shakes her head, giggling as if something I said was funny. However, the sound isn’t like when I laugh. No, it’smagical, drawing me, calling my attention even though she already has it. “It was never yours. It was a gift to your mother,” she clarifies. “She took it upon herself to give it to you. But it was never a choice amongstus.” Her lighthearted laughter turns into anger and frustration over the course of her speech. And for some reason, all the emotion she’s hurtling my way takes root in my own.
“I’m simply just doing what I was told.”
“Since when do you do that?” she fires back.
I scoff, unbelieving that she would have the nerve to say that. As if I had a choice in the matter. As if I wasn’t told that I somehow hold whatever key in a prophecy that was made up by the woman standing in front of me and her equals. “Oh, my apologies, yourhighness,” I hiss, my tone lethal. “There’s some weird shit going on down here with the people who are far from being all holier than thou.” A force comes over me, and despite the warning look she points at me, I can’t bite my tongue. “I’msureyou and all the other godly beings are more than aware of it, and yet none of you are doing a damn thing to stop it!”
“You will do well to remember who you are speaking to.” Celene glides forward so fast dust flies behind her, swirling into the light her essence brings to the space, and in a blink of an eye, she’s only inches away from my face.
An ember sparks deep within me, and I take a step forward. “It would doyousome good to remember what I’ve dealt with while you’ve been sitting up on whatever throne you have up in the clouds.” My voice remains steady, calm. Quite frankly, I’m undecided if that’s deadlier than the yelling.
She jerks back as if I’ve slapped her. In all actuality, I’m not wrong. There’s no doubt in my mind that everyone knows what’s going on down here. They clearly just don’t care.
“We can’t interfere,” she finally says. “The prophecy states—”
“Fuck the damn prophecy!” I cut her off. “You claim to care somuch about your people—which, from what I gather, seems to be a trend amongst the higher-ups in this realm.” Anger bubbles within, and I make the conscious decision to turn away, needing to calm down before I go all psycho killer on this goddess’s ass. “But at the end of the day, all anyone cares about here is themselves. You all sit up there, watching the carnage rain, blood spill. You’re no better than the rulers on the ground.” I keep my back to her, knowing if I were to face her right now, I’m not sure what kind of reaction it would elicit from me.
She takes a deep breath, and it’s like the room shifts to something calmer, but it seems to put me even more on edge. “Kallie, I know that all of this has been challenging for you.” My arms fold over my chest, and I turn to face her, scoffing at her ignorance. But she keeps going before I can get a word in edgewise. “Let me speak, then you can say your piece.” My piece? I’m not sure if I have anything left. All I do is nod once, and she takes it for what it is.
“When the prophecy was made, there was no telling who was going to fulfill it. It’s my understanding you’re still trying to figure out what it means to be a part of our world.” She takes a pause, and again, I nod in agreement, indicating she can keep going. “When you were born, your mother had a vision. It was like everything that we had questions about all came to fruition, and it made sense. Your mother was the most powerful oracle that I’ve seen in my lifetime.” I push back the tears brimming in my eyes. It hurts knowing I’ll never meet the person everyone was so fond of. I keep my lips firmly pressed together, praying she’ll keep going, because I’m afraid if I had to speak right now, the tears would begin to pour, and I wouldn’t be able to stop them.
“At that point, it was set,” she continues. “And as much as your mother wanted to change it, she couldn’t. Nobody could. And it tore her up inside.”
Something inside me snaps. “Aren’t you guys the ones that produce the prophecy? What happened to divine intervention?”
“Thefateschose you. Nobody—not I or the other gods and goddesses—would dare go against them.”
“I thought you were the end-all be-all. The fates are what exactly? Like, your boss?”
“In simple terms, yes.” The wall behind her pulses faintly once with a purple glow. “There wasn’t anything anyone could’ve done. Your fate, your destiny, was written as you took your first breath. Some would see it as a blessing.”
My arms quickly unfold and rest at my sides. The tension builds inside them, tumbling toward my palms as the anger grows, and I start curling and uncurling my fingers as a distraction. But it’s no use. The flames breach the surface and dance in my palm, but she doesn’t move, as if unfazed.
