I lifted my eyes from the book and frowned. What the actual hell did that mean? I fulfilled at least two parts of the prophecy—my birthday and my gemstones—the rest of it however, I was unsure about.
My anxiety definitely did not subside by reading the rest of the prophecy, but instead went through the roof. I stood up abruptly and marched to Sebastian, waving the book in his face. “Read this.”
He glanced up from his novel in confusion. I swiped his book from his hands and threw mine into his lap, then crossed my arms over my chest and watched as he absorbed the text. His eyebrows rose as he read, and I brought a hand to my mouth to chew on my nail.
Sebastian’s forehead wrinkled when he looked up from the manuscript. I waited for him to say something, but he didn't speak.
I began parading around the archives with my hands onmy hips. “The chosen will have the ability to reclaim tranquility and restore the balance of the world? That seems like an awfully big task for one person, don't you think?”
Sebastian's eyes flared at me in bewilderment. “Well yes, but?—”
“Embellished into their skin in a manner unheard of.” My head bobbed as I quoted the text. “That one’s obvious.”
“Maeve.”
“I need to find out what time I was born.” My body shuddered in response to the angst rolling through me.
Sebastian stopped my roaming by placing his hands on my shoulders. “Maeve,” he repeated my name.
“Actually, no I don’t. She wouldn’t have given me the constellastones unless I fulfilled all of the parts of the prophecy,” I mumbled to my feet.
“Maeve.” Sebastian squeezed my shoulders harder, shaking me a little and bringing me back to life with the little lakes that swirled in his eyes.
“What?” I yelled back.
“You're freaking out. Take a seat and calm down,” he demanded, his voice firm—and kind of sexy.
I did as he said, swiveling my body and returning to my chair. I propped my head up on my bent arms, in a complete daze trying to decipher the cryptic ending of the prophecy. “A sacrifice? I’m not sacrificing shit. I've already given up enough. What does that even mean?” I looked up at Sebastian, questioning him as though he had an answer.
He shrugged. “I dunno. But it might not even be true. I’ve never heard anything about Blythe having a prophecy before. Have you?”
“No. But that doesn't mean it's not true. I mean, I fulfill all the criteria. We live in a kingdom of salt and stone. Salt as in the sea, and stone as in the gemstones I’m assuming.”
“Yeah, or the cliffside maybe?”
“Either way. Doesn't matter. And I was born during theJewel-Light Meteor Shower. Sure, I don't know the exact time, but my jewels didn't appear until the shower began. It all lines up.”
“This is also just one text,” Sebastian pointed out. “It could be false.”
“It’s not false. Every word of it makes sense.”
He knelt in front of my chair as anxiety took control of every part of my body and mind. “Oh gods,” I whispered when a horrific thought struck me.
“What?”
“Ohfuck!” I bellowed and shot back out of my chair.
Sebastian threw his hand out over my mouth. He held a finger to his lips, quieting me and guiding me back down into my chair with his free palm.
“Maeve, I know you're freaking out, but please try and calm down. If someone finds us here when we are supposed to be wielding, we could blow our cover.” There was not an ounce of leeway in his tone. “Okay?”
He pulled his hand back when I nodded in agreement that I wouldn't draw any more attention to us.
“I’m going to die,” I whispered my epiphany.
“What?” He sounded rattled at my sudden pessimism.
“The prophecy pledges sacrifice. Which means I’m going to die.” The reasoning was not exactly logical, but the only explanation that made sense to me right now.
