“They knew the balance was in danger of being threatened then, and they knew coming together would be the only way to…” he trailed off, looking down for a moment. “The only way to delay it.”
My eyebrows creased, taking that in. “I thought that the whole point of forging the agreement was to fix to the balance?”
Tieran shook his head, his blue eyes reflecting a mixture of excitement and sympathy. “It was only ever a stopgap to delay the problem, until the time would come when a being would arise. One who couldactuallydo something to fix the balance.”
I didn’t like the way everyone was looking at me. I shook my head slowly, somewhat in shock, despite the pieces of this puzzle I’d already heard from others. Calix squeezed my hand.
“The prophecy given to them spoke of a Star Queen who would rise when the night was darkest. Who would cast down the usurper, and free the people from their bondage. She would bring true balance back to the lands,” Calix continued reading, and looked up with a blinding smile as he finished.
“Asteria.” His eyes were wide, joy brimming in his eyes.
“We can do it,” I whispered, tears coming to my eyes, as pure exhilaration and relief crashed through me. Hope lit my heart, and part of me wished to douse it in my fear for the future, but I couldn’t bring myself to smother it.
“Continue reading, Calix,” Tieran advised hesitantly, and Calix looked uncertainly back to the parchment. My heart beat out of control, and I could feel the starlight under my skin trying to escape.
“But her fate is Celesterra’s. Should she fail, Celesterra will fall with her. Chaos will overrun the world, and blood will reign,” he finished heavily.
My heart fell to my stomach, and starlight leaked out from my fingers. My currently hidden wings felt heavy on my back as fire gathered in my throat. Fear and rage twisted together. I couldn’t let this happen. I couldn’t let the entireworldfall.
How could Cyrus even achieve such a thing?
How could he affect the world so greatly that there was no going back?
How wasIthe one who was supposed to save us all?
I spiraled internally, but thankfully, others were there to pick up the information-gathering slack.
“Blood will reign?” Eryx questioned, a brow rising.
Tieran shrugged, “We assume that to mean blood will continue flowing, more deaths, more killing. But prophecies can be quite tricky. Even when they seem obvious, they often have meanings one doesn’t see until after the fact.”
“But one thing is truly clear:youare the Star Queen the prophecy speaks of,” Tieran declared as he knelt before me.
I couldn’t breathe.
His family knelt with him, though Vesper grudgingly so, as Tieran continued, “You alone can save Celesterra now, Queen Asteria. Our fates are all in your hands.”
“No pressure or anything,” Zakat smirked up at me, his eyes crinkling with laughter.
I swayed on my feet, but Calix was there, a resolute balance to the chaos in my heart and mind.Huh. Chaos in the mind, chaos in the land. Seems like they go hand in hand.
I’d have to bring my own chaotic thoughts and feelings under control. If the balance of Celesterra was on my shoulders, and mine alone…
We could all very well be fucked.
* * *
We madeour way back to Tieran’s study, all of us quiet and stuck in our own thoughts.
“Now,” Tieran began as we sat around the round wooden table in the middle of the room. A red, teal, orange, and yellow rug sat beneath the table, with a large diamond in the middle that had swirling patterns surrounding it and lines of color in each corner.
“Tell me what exactly you’ve been up to Calix, how you’ve managed so far, Asteria, and what the plan is from here,” Tieran demanded more than asked.
Just like with King Gravadain, we went through everything, top to bottom. But unlike King Gravadain, King Tieran listened patiently, asked intelligent questions, and while he was surprised, he didn’t think us insane.
So, that was a plus.
“And after this, you’ll be journeying to the Otherworld?” Zakat asked, his eyes wide and jaw slack in shock.
