A choice will be made by the twin of her soul
To save her and damn the realm
Or curse her, and save us all
A fate worse than death
Is the chosen one’s destiny.
Maddie had visited me the night of the Villain’s Ball and spoken the prophecy to me. She was anaderei, a Hawkei prophet, and I had to trust that what she said was true. She’d been very clear with me on what the prophecy meant. There’d come a day when I would have to make a choice— a choice between Ava and the rest of the world. For Ava, this would bea fate far worse than death, Maddie had said.
It was cruel to ask of me. Ava was part of my soul. I’d do anything for her—
Including hiding this from her.
Maddie had been adamant that Ava couldn’t know, and that telling her would compromise the outcome of the prophecy. If Ava knew my part, it would only push her toward her own demise. I shuddered to think about it.
Ava dropped her bag off in her room, then took my hand. “Come on. I think I know a place where we can talk.”
Ava led me through the halls of the Darke Institute, and Oberi followed at her side. The halls were lively with chatter, as this was our last day off before classes started up again, and no one liked being cooped up in their dorms. I paid careful attention to the twists and turns we took, and soon realized where we were headed.
“We’re going to the balcony,” I realized. It’s where Ava and I had spoken of the prophecy before. The balcony was secluded and was difficult to get to, as its entrance was hidden down a maze of hallways. I didn’t think I’d be able to find it again without Ava’s guidance.
“It’s the only place in the Institute where we can talk in private without being overheard or interrupted,” she said.
We turned down a few more halls, and Ava opened a door. The air was chill but not totally unpleasant, as the Institute was located on a Pacific island. I was used to bitterly cold winters this time of year, so I didn’t mind. With Ava here, my heart was warm.
Oberi pushed his way between us and barked happily as he ran out onto the balcony. Ava and I followed behind him, and I heard the door click shut.
We stopped at the end of the balcony, and I leaned my elbows on the banister. My heart hammered in anticipation of what she had to tell me.
“So, you made progress on the prophecy,” I stated flatly.
“Yes,” Ava said, sounding a hell of a lot more enthusiastic about it than I was. “Do you remember that door we found in the woods during the Darke Games?”
I nodded. It’d been strange, and obviously magical, though we hadn’t had a chance to really explore or understand it, as there was a monster chasing us at the time. “I remember.”
“Well, I don’t believe in coincidences,” Ava said. “Those runes we found on the door keep popping up— first on those ships we found in the alcove in Kinpago, then on that bow in the cave, and then on the door in the woods.”
I didn’t know as much about the supernatural world as Ava, but the way she spoke of these runes made it sound undeniable. They were too ancient and rare for it to be coincidence.
“What do you think it means?” I asked.
“They’re Elven runes,” Ava replied. “And I think the door is crucial to the prophecy.”
I tilted my head. “How so?”
Pages began to slide over one another, and I realized Ava was flipping through a book. It must’ve been that journal she kept that detailed the wording of her prophecy. She began reciting a line. “A discovery of the ancient ones on the island of shadow will change the course of our universe. I already know theisland of shadowis Darke Island. It’s why I came here in the first place. Theancient onesobviously refers to the Elves. They’re the oldest known supernatural race, and they died out a century ago. So thisdiscovery… ithasto be the door, or something similar.”
“What do you think is behind the door?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, flipping through pages again. “Maybe a weapon that will win us the war. I went back to those ships while I was on break. I can’t translate the runes yet, but I wrote them down, along with any of the symbols I remembered from the door.”
My mouth went dry. If Ava managed to translate those runes and got answers about that door, it would push her further toward fulfilling the prophecy— push her toward me making that decision between her and the world.
The sound of pages flipping stopped instantly. “Are you okay?” she asked. “You look a little sick.”
I cleared my throat and reached for her hand. “Are yousureyou want to pursue this, pidge?”
