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“Prophecies are never easy to decipher. The whole of it was based on a vision. And visions, as I’m sure you know from storybooks, are never literal. But look around you. Winter never comes here. All over Titus, perhaps not the south yet, winter has been brutal and will only worsen. There is unrest among the people, the rich and the poor. Right now, Port Minerva and the capital are in upheaval. Since your becoming Omega, events are unfolding at an exponential rate, Sierra.”
I started at her use of my name. I had never given it to her. More proof that this network she mentioned was plausible. With the weather delaying the post back in Ordelpho, there was no other explanation other than communication through a very different kind of line: of the soul.
A shiver went through me.
“Sometimes, people are born with an extra sense, you might say,” she said thoughtfully. “Dreams that seem too real, that show places and people you’ve never seen or met. Events that you could swear have occurred or will occur. This is common for omegas especially, though no one knows why.”
“Dreams,” I mumbled. Yes. I’ve always had strange dreams, especially about Goth Mor Helle.
Esta’s brown eyes caught my expression. “You know what I speak of, then.”
I nodded. “Ever since I could remember, I’ve dreamed things that seemed removed from me, dreams that felt so real. I could never explain them.”
I thought about the nightmare I’d had that last night in Ordelpho. Lucius on a throne. Fadon finding us; his hurt, his threat to kill my mate. Wasn’t that pretty much what had played out this morning?
Pain pierced my heart as it all came back to me, threatening to swallow me whole.
“I am sorry for your pain, Sierra.”
I looked at her in surprise.
“It’s plain to see something has happened.” She glanced at my osnat. “Your mate. That’s who you were running from?”
Nodding, I picked up my tea and drank, seeking the warmth I knew it promised.
Her dark eyes held sympathy. “Love is both wonderfully tender and as sharp as a glass shard.” Her tone was wistful, as if she had experience with love and had lost. “Like I said, Diana hasn’t any insight into those outside of her tribe, otherwise she would have explained things more… plainly, about the rite, about the prophecy and your role in it.”
I blew out a breath. “Honestly, Esta, all of it sounds so outlandish and a waste of time. My life is already complicated enough.”
“Well, how about you indulge me. I’ll try my best to help clarify some things. Fate isn’t done with you yet, my dear. You’ve been chosen, and the smartest thing to do is accept that fact, regardless if it makes sense.”
She was right. Time for me to surrender to the craziness. I could at least listen. So while she refilled my mug, she had me go through what I remembered from the rite, saying that it was through that that I’d find answers.
I absently named Auria when I was telling her about seeing Demos, and she hummed, knowing exactly who and what Auria was.
Her voice was so soothing, her manner so encouraging, that I wished that she had been there that strange day after I’d gone through the rite. Why hadn’t the Sapera done this?
I told her about my mother, about what had happened with Lucinda and seeing her again, my guilt and unloading my burdens and worries to them.
“Are all the rites the same?” I asked, pausing in my recollection.
“Not at all, no. The rite is about meeting our destinies, facing the blocks that get in the way of moving forward on our journeys. I remember my rite.” She smiled fondly. “It was terribly confusing, and to this day, some of the things I saw there—for it is a there, no matter where our bodies were when we went through it—haven’t made sense until I find myself in the midst of them as I go throughout my life. Right here, for instance, with you. I saw it.”
“You did?” It was unfathomable to me, learning about all of this.
“Indeed. Our destinies were bound to merge. Therefore, it’s a comfort if you look at it like this: everything that led you here happened exactly the way it needed to, Sierra. All the heartache, the strife, the struggle, even the joys. Sadly, the losses as well. Trust in what’s bigger than you.”
An image of Lady Lordes appeared in my mind, followed by a dreadful feeling.
“What?” Esta reached out and touched my wrist. “What did you remember?”
“A forest… snow. A woman weeping. An—an elemental, I think.” I focused ahead of me, then looked at her. “Winter. Yes. There were four. Spring, Summer, Winter… and… is there one for the sea?”
She smiled kindly. “Most definitely. There are elementals for many things.”
I didn’t return the smile, still lost to that vision of the woman freezing in the forest.
“I remember a darkness, an utter maleficence… that was different. Not an elemental. Not at all. A man. An evil man.” I gasped, feeling like that man was, right now, peering over my shoulder, seeking me.
