“Wait,” I cried out as their hands crashed down on me. They gripped me tightly, jerking me toward them. I tried to wrench away, but they were far stronger than they looked, as if an impossible power had suddenly fuelled their bones.
They dragged me under, and a blinding light filled my head.
* * *
Awoman stood in front of me, her form backlit by a hazy white. She had long, ebony hair and eyes as bright as torchlight. She clasped her hands in front of her flowing sapphire gown and examined me as if I were nothing more than a passing curiosity. I looked around. The hazy white stretched on for miles.
“Hello.” She cocked her head. “What is your name?”
I thought about keeping that information to myself. She was a strange, glowing woman brought to me by three other strange women who were clearly half-mad. But there was something calming about her presence.
“Tessa Baran. And you are?”
She smiled. “I thought so. Nice to meet you, Tessa. I’m Bellicent Denare.”
I started.
Her keen eyes caught the reaction. “Ah, yes. You’ve met me at my worst. Fear not, I am not exactly the same woman you’ve been dealing with. I’m the version of myself from before all that.”
“I don’t understand,” I said.
She laughed. “Of course you wouldn’t. So much has been hidden from you.” Coming closer, she gestured at the expanse of brilliant light that surrounded us. “I left a piece of myself behind in the Crones so that I might converse with you one day. I had hoped it wouldn’t be needed, but here you are, just as I suspected.”
“Ah, so that’s why they were able to speak earlier. It’syou, not some leftover piece of themselves.” I had to admit I was a little disappointed. If the Crones still lived, even just barely, so did Andromeda’s vessel. And perhaps that could have helped us. No matter. Bellicent knew about the prophecy. I could get the information from her, hopefully quickly enough to make a plan before the gods reached the bridge.
Bellicent cocked her head. The move was so strangely familiar. I’d met her before, just in different forms. “No, they’re still here. Well, a small piece of them, that is. Very clever of you to have figured that out.”
“I suppose. What’s this about, Bellicent? Why have you brought me to this place?”
She took another step closer. The sickly scent of lavender drifted toward me, and I couldn’t help but take a step back. It reminded me too much of Oberon.
“Well, you see,” she said, her tone sharpening,” if you are here, then something has gone terribly wrong. Is that true?”
“A lot of things have gone wrong. You’ll have to be more specific.”
“You stood on a knife’s edge, and your choice affected the survival of everyone. Which choice did you make?”
What choice could she be speaking about? Andromeda had offered me the opportunity to join her and the other gods. And I had turned her down as emphatically as I knew how. And if I hadn’t? What then?
I searched her eyes, trying to make sense of her words. “Is this about the prophecy?”
A slow smile curled her full lips. “Oh, yes. I’m glad you know about the prophecy. So tell me, what did you choose?”
“I chose to tell Andromeda I’d never join her side. Is that what you wanted to hear? I’ll become the Daughter of Stars and do whatever it takes to destroy her.” I released a frustrated breath. This was taking too long. “Now that I’ve answered your question, can you answer mine? Do you know the words of the full prophecy? What am I to do? How do I destroy the Lamiae, the gods?”
Bellicent’s smile died. “Where did you hear that name?”
“What name? The Lamiae?”
“No. Where did you hear about the Daughter of Stars?”
I furrowed my brow. Was she joking? “I heard it from you, from the Crones.”
She hissed. A bell tolled in warning in the back of my mind. Bellicent had insisted she was from another time, from before she’d become a slave to Andromeda’s every whim. But something did not seem right.
“Is there anything you can tell me?” Taking another step back, I wondered how far I could go before I hit resistance. “If not, I really should return to the real world. War is coming, and Kalen needs my help.”
“Kalen,” she snapped, whipping her head toward me. Her pupils had expanded, swallowing her bright irises until they were a circle of pure black. “Do not speak his name to me, mortal.”
