Chapter 18

O h, gods. This feels all too familiar.

She turned from human to vessel, draining of color and soul, just as Paul had. It happened in a flash, so quick that I couldn't stop it.

Her vacant stare is frozen in the distance, witnessing a vision that I cannot interpret. But when her fingers unwind from my wrist, the fog instantly lifts, as if it had never been there at all. The flecks of golden-brown return to her once black eyes. And like waking from a daydream, she looks around lazily, taking it all in as the life breathes back into her.

How could this be happening again?

"What did you mean by that?" I demand the answer like it's owed to me, but her twisted expression suggests that she has no recollection of her words. "Are you a seer?"

She shakes her head furiously, slowly back-stepping away from me. "I am no seer! I swear it!" The sandpaper in her voice only a moment ago is smoothed by honey and age. She steps back further and further until she collides with the wall.

"It's okay," I assure her. "I only want to know what you meant when you said that I don't belong here!"

She studies me nervously from head to toe and then lingers on my birthmark. Finally, she nods as if committing to a decision. "Come with me."

She pulls aside a curtain that leads to a back room and motions for me to follow. I look around, trying to spot Liliana once more but to no avail. A deep breath does little to steady my shaking hands. I might be a fool stepping into a trap, but I follow her anyway.

Slipping into the back room is like stepping into a void. As soon as the curtain shuts, all of the noise of the bustling market disappears, replaced by a gentle hum. The light of day does not penetrate the space. Instead, a single blue flame licks the air in a cylindrical tub at the center of the room. It casts a soft glow upon the dark woven tapestries pinned against the curtains. And around the tub, four cushions lie on the floor.

At her command, I lower onto one of the cushions. She hobbles down to the cushion beside me and groans beneath the weight of worn joints. It takes a moment for her to gain her positioning, folding her legs laboriously into a crisscrossed posture. But when she's comfortable, or as comfortable as can be, she pulls back the sleeve of her robe, revealing an intricately patterned birthmark that looks similar to mine. "Do you know what this is?"

"My mother told me it was a birthmark. A kiss from the gods." The words sound untrue as I speak. It can't be true, not after all of this. Why else would all of these strangers point it out?

"You are from Umbra, yes?" Her probing eyes set on me, narrowing.

"No. Well, my parents grew up in Umbra, but I've been in Mendacia for most of my life." I don't see how this question relates to what she said or why she might be asking.

"Hmph," she huffs. "You are wed to an Umbrian, yes?"

"I'm not married." I consider telling her about my marriage arrangement, but that seems unnecessary. The thought of Olly starts to stir like a tumultuous wind in my gut, but I force it to calm before it takes hold. One problem at a time.

Carefully and with trepidation, she asks, "What did I say to you earlier?"

I repeat her own words back to her, searching her for any hint of understanding. When it comes and recognition washes over her, she grabs my wrists again. "By the gods, can it be? The prophecy… you shouldn't be here!" She shrieks like a banshee, and the noise reverberates through the room like a siren.

"Prophecy? What prophecy?" My heart is pounding so fast that it makes my vision hazy.

"The gods used me as an instrument!" The shriek turns into more of a cackle. "I am honored!"

The curtains part suddenly, ushering in a tunnel of noise and light. It's so bright that it temporarily blinds me. I try to cover my eyes, but my wrists remain firmly fixed within her grip.

A command bellows from behind me, "Let her go. Immediately."

That bellowing voice, lush with power and strength, must be Liliana. The woman drops my wrists, allowing me to leap up from my seat. Guards rush in behind Liliana and seize the woman, storming inside like a swarm of bees.

Her shrieking resumes when the guards begin to pull her by the arms. She digs her heels into the dirt to create resistance, but it does no good against their strength.

Heat rushes to my violently pounding head as I try to make sense of the ensuing chaos.

There's shouting between the guards and the woman, but I can't understand them over the buzzing in my ears. It's everywhere, impossible to pierce through. My vision is so, so hazy. Everything is spinning, and I can hardly catch my breath.

It's all so…

The guards exit the room, dragging the woman with them until all I can see is the blackness of her shoes. And then, even that disappears.