“I love it here, Em!” she told me happily. “I have a pet bird and I’m teaching him to talk. I can have anything I wish as long as mama and daddy say it is okay. Isn’t that wonderful?”

She stared at me excitedly and I couldn’t help but marvel once again at how much she looked like her mother. Both she and Harmonia had exquisite jade green eyes, so vivid that they seemed almost fake. She had glowing, healthy skin, dark hair that fell in glossy waves to the middle of her back and a bright, white smile. She didn’t look dead, but she most certainly was.

Raquel had been one of the machinations of the Fates…just one of the many ways that they had tormented Harmonia. Harmonia had lived for a couple of thousand years thinking that she was a Keeper of Fate and that she worked for the three ancient sisters. They guided her into making horrendously difficult decisions- both for herself and her mother. In another cruel twist, her memories were taken by them. She didn’t know who her mother truly was or even who she herself really was. It was rectified now, but it had wreaked havoc with her for years.

But Raquel had been affected by the aftermath of the Fates’ deceit. Her very existence had been undone and she had been sent here, which is one of the reasons Harmonia had chosen to stay here. Her act had freed me to leave. At that particular moment, only one of us would have been able to go. I was in Harmonia’s debt.

“Mama’s going to be so happy,” Raquel told me excitedly. “She’s been wondering about you. But I don’t know your friends,” she added as she glanced at Hades and Brennan. She didn’t seem concerned, she simply tugged on my hand. “Come on, Em. Let’s go find her.”

I fell into step with the little girl and we quickly wound our way through the opulent halls of the palace with Hades and Brennan right behind us. I couldn’t see Brennan’s face as we navigated through the lavish palace, but I could feel his wonderment just as clearly as if he had spoken it aloud. This amazing place would be hard for any mortal to absorb.

As we pushed through a set of ornately carved ivory doors, I caught a glimpse of Harmonia and her husband, Cadmus, seated on a nearby patio outdoors. The breeze caught Harmonia’s dark hair and Cadmus leaned over to laughingly tuck it behind her ear. Their loving familiarity had always caused me to ache deep inside, simply because I wanted what they had: a love that withstood the test of time.

However, today my heart did not ache. A quick glance toward Brennan reminded me why. I had someone to share my life with now, something that might withstand time just as well as Cadmus and Harmonia had. At my thought, Brennan caught my gaze and his impish grin caused my heart to skip a beat.

He reached over and brushed my hand with his own. “We can withstand anything,” he assured me quietly. “Including time itself.”

A knot formed in my throat and I struggled to swallow it as I nodded. He leaned over and brushed a kiss against my forehead.

“I mean that,” he added thoughtfully. “Anything.”

Hades snorted behind us but I didn’t think twice about him. I was lost in the intensity of Brennan’s stare. He truly meant what he said. I knew it with every ounce of my being. And it was a really good feeling. I hadn’t trusted someone in such a way for a very long time.

“Mama!” Raquel cried, bringing me back to the matter at hand. Harmonia and Cadmus both turned their attention toward us. Harmonia’s green eyes lit up as soon as she registered who I was.

“Empusa,” she breathed, leaping up from her chair and blurring into motion to reach me. I had no sooner braced myself before she plowed into me, enclosing me in a grip that defied her slight stature.

“Where have you been?” Harmonia exclaimed, stroking my hair in a motherly fashion. “We’ve been looking all over for you!”

I wiggled away just slightly, giving myself enough room to breathe.

“I know and I’m really sorry,” I told her sincerely. “I didn’t mean to cause anyone worry. I was just afraid.“

“I know,” Harmonia interrupted kindly. “I’m not blaming you. We’ve just been so worried. It is a true blessing to set eyes upon you. That’s all.”

Her face was alight with relief and joy and it warmed my heart. There truly were good people out there in the world, mixed in with those who were evil. I had spent so long trying to elude my father that I sometimes lost sight of that.

“Thank you,” I told her quickly. “For your kindness.”

“My kindness?” she asked me with a raised eyebrow. “Empusa, you risked a great deal to keep my daughter safe. I’ll never forget what you did and I’ll never be able to repay you.”

I grew uncomfortable with her glowing accolades. “Harmonia, you’ve already repaid me ten-fold. You stayed here so that I could leave. That was an unbelievable sacrifice. I’m the one who will never be able to repay you.”

“Pssh,” she dismissed my words with a shake of her head. “Let’s simply agree to disagree. What brings you here to me today? Have you spoken with your mother?”

As Harmonia spoke, she rubbed my arm with her slender hands and her eyes finally drifted away from me. As her gaze passed over Hades, her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t say anything. She was too intent with staring at Brennan.

“The son of Apollo,” she murmured, a look of intense curiosity on her exquisite face. “Why have you brought the son of Apollo?”

Brennan looked at her with an expression of curiosity, humor and resignation. It seemed he’d grown accustomed to being called the son of Apollo. He stuck out his hand.

“I’m Brennan,” he told her good-naturedly. “Apparently, I’m the son of Apollo.”

Harmonia smiled and shook his hand, her Bloodstone pendant flashing crimson as it swung forward when she moved. Without thinking, I reached out and touched it, the glistening blood-red color pulling me in.

I immediately wished I hadn’t. An intense bright light exploded behind my eyelids and brought me to my knees with its sheer force. Shooting pain radiated from my temples and I clutched my head. Images shot in and out of my mind in rapid succession, coming and going so quickly that I could barely register what they were before they were gone.

It was the future. And it wasn’t pleasant.

Chapter Seventeen

“Empusa, I’m so sorry,” Harmonia apologized for the one-thousandth-time, as she sat next to me and brushed the hair away from my face. “I shouldn’t have been so careless with my Bloodstone. It is known to illicit strong visions and emotions to those who touch it. I’m sorry that I didn’t shield you from that.”

Her perfect face was troubled and I hurried to reassure her, even though I still felt shaky and weak in the knees from what I had just seen.

“Harmonia, it wasn’t your fault. But tell me, what was that?”

I grew increasingly cognizant enough to notice my surroundings and realized that Brennan sat to my side and that I was reclining on a plush lounge on the veranda. Harmonia, Hades, Raquel and Cadmus surrounded us and I took a deep, steadying breath.

I am strong.

I am strong.

I am strong.

I repeated the phrase to myself silently over and over, trying to remind myself. I could withstand anything. Nothing could faze me. I was strong.

“That’s true,” Brennan agreed with my silent thoughts. “You are very strong. But something just happened. What was it, Em?”

“I don’t know,” I replied softly. “I think I saw the future.”

“The future?” Cadmus interjected, his bronzed face thoughtful. “That would be new. Usually, the Bloodstone grants visions of the past. What do you think, my love?” he asked Harmonia, stroking her shoulder lightly.

I could see that he was trying to hide something. Concern? But just as quickly as the emotion crossed his face, he reigned it in and replaced it with a calm, impassive expression.

“What exactly did you see, Empusa?” Harmonia asked calmly. Raquel sat at my feet and watched me worriedly. I tried to keep my expression calm and steady for her benefit, but it wasn’t easy.

“Raquel,” I focused on the nervous little girl. “Could you possibly run and get me some nectar? I’m dying for a drink.”

“Of course, Empusa. I’ll be right back,” Raquel jumped from the lounge and took off for what I presumed was the kitchen. As soon as she was out of earshot, I refocused on the adults surrounding me.

“I think I saw the end of the world,” I mumbled anxiously. I couldn’t help it. My unease bled into my voice. My heart was racing and I couldn’t calm down. The terrifying, scattered images had burned into my head and I couldn’t get them out. Fire, floods, pain and tears. So many images crowded into my head and I struggled to block them out.

Harmonia stared into my eyes as she read my mind and tried to see what I had already seen. As she saw the images in my head, her vibrant green eyes widened then narrowed as she came to the same conclusion.

“It does seem like an apocalypse of some sort,” she concurred, her thin shoulders slumping slightly. Cadmus stepped protectively up behind her, as if to guard her from an unseen threat. “But the question is… why?”

Brennan stared at me, troubled and pensive. “Yes, Em. Why?”

But I could see on his face that he already knew. He had seen it in my thoughts.

“My mother was right,” I said simply, my breathing ragged in my throat, each breath more jagged than the last. “Together, Brennan and I are dangerous.”

Brennan’s forehead wrinkled and he grasped my hand. “Em, I don’t accept that. We’ll figure it out. It will be alright.” But his voice was unsure, his gaze wavering. Like me, he desperately wanted it to be alright. But he had seen what I had.

“Brennan,” my voice cracked and Harmonia looked away discreetly as a single tear slid hotly down my cheek. “There was so much blood. Oceans of it. People were screaming and crying…there was so much death and ugliness. We can’t jeopardize the entire mortal world just because we want to be together. That would be irresponsible and cold-hearted. Neither of us is that.”

I beseeched him pleadingly, hoping that he could offer an alternative, anything that would allow us to stay together. And I could see him thinking. I could hear his silent, desperate thoughts. But none of us, not a one, could come up with a viable option. I sighed as my heart constricted. I didn’t want to live without Brennan. Even now, it seemed as though he had always been with me. He was a physical part of my soul. The idea of never seeing his brilliant smile again made me cringe.

He stroked my hand, his fingers strong. “It’s not going to happen,” he assured me. “We will be together. I’ll think of something.”

“Your bond is very strong,” Harmonia nodded. “I can feel it. If you could think of some way to harness the positive energy of your bond instead of allowing your conflicting powers to explode around you, it could work, I think.”

“It’s a possibility,” Cadmus agreed, his glossy black hair glistening in the light as he nodded toward his wife. “But it is something you will have to work at. It certainly won’t be an easy task.”