Destined (Prophecy of the Stars Book 1)

by Rae Hendricks

  “Before humans were made to forget almost all about the fae and the gods, it was my family that was tasked with maintaining the great library. It contained all matters of information regarding magic and ancient knowledge, dating back to the beginning of time itself. Humans were gifted with the ability to gain that knowledge if they were pure of heart, and my family granted it to them. What a feat it was,” the man spoke, and Shiloh was entranced.

  “Back at my place I have the tattered family tree that they painstakingly maintained, the humans that worked right next to the gods. My grandmother was able to procure their history for me on a secret jaunt into the human world, and it is fascinating. They were philosophers right there next to the god influencing the great thinkers of Greece and Rome. And right before the decision was made to separate and build a world for the gods and the many fae descendants, the library was ransacked. Some of the books were burned or ripped to pieces. We barely got it over here in one piece. And it just sat in shambles.”

  Shiloh couldn’t help but gasp, having seen the place now, and she couldn’t imagine anyone doing that to such important and beloved information. Books were sacred to her. It almost physically hurt to think of all that was lost.

  “Then Sagittarius had the castle built around it because Leo took an interest. And thank goodness he did and cleaned it up!”

  There was plenty of agreement from the crowd on that note.

  For the rest of the evening, she was told stories of times past and present. She was given the further history of the Greenwalds.

  A woman named Abatha, in particular, had a lot to say about Bez’s ‘little operation’ down the street—she called it ‘utterly ridiculous’ and an ‘infringement on the quiet enjoyment of my property’! This statement in particular caused Bellamy to raise his eyebrows and smirk in Shiloh’s direction, after which he explained such ‘operation’ to be just a restoration of a community garden.

  Shiloh returned the smirk which Abatha was too distracted to notice amidst the rest of her ranting. It all felt very human to her, which made her think that she didn’t realize what she was expecting of these people in the first place.

  Night fell, and she took to dancing and singing with the people of Aeôs, every person just as welcoming and kind as the last. She couldn’t remember a better time in her life. She never got invited to even the tamest of parties back home.

  Shiloh ate exotic looking foods with strange names--including something called a wolvern tart--which tasted like a strange mixture of berry flavored ice cream and something incredibly sour while taking on an ice-cold temperature. Eventually, the children went off to bed and the parents with them. Vendors closed up shop, and the decorations were just a memory of a party once had.

  And for the first time, she felt something inside her—something like belonging.

  Chapter Five

  When Shiloh arrived back at the castle, she was escorted by a guard to a grand-looking office, fit with an ornate, mahogany desk and uncomfortable looking, leather chairs. A gigantic fireplace took up almost the entire wall on which it sat. She found herself entranced by floating orbs of light that danced below the high ceilings and bookshelves that stretched all the way up to greet them.

  One of those old rolling ladders one used to see in libraries slid carefully toward her as she entered—almost as if silently begging her to use it.

  Sagittarius stood at the desk, looking down on a rather large, leather-bound book. He didn’t look up when she entered but said “I was worried about you.” Briefly, she thought that he reminded her of her own father—or rather, the father who had raised her.

  “I’m sorry I ran off,” she conceded, “but you make it very difficult to—“

  He raised his hand, shushing her. “I understand,” he said, “It is difficult.”

  For the first time, she noticed that her father seemed defeated. Sagittarius didn’t seem like someone who gave up easily—or even someone who accepted things that he didn’t like at all. But standing in front of her, he almost seemed numb. Numb to her disagreeableness? Or was it something much worse?

  “Please, sit,” he said. She did. “I am well aware that this isn’t what you thought your life would turn out to be… I didn’t want this for you. And I want to apologize.”

  “Apologize for what?” She had been the one acting like a petulant child. Not that she could have expected to be pulled into some plot like this involving another world where she was someone of importance or anything, but she could have acted better, at least toward her own father.

  She didn’t know what it would have been like to grow up there with him and didn’t even know if she would have survived it. Even if she didn’t like it, she understood his decision for her not to be a part of that world for most of her life.

  “For bringing you here. For intervening in your life. I should have left you alone. I should have destroyed the bridge between here and your world. I regret that. I wish I had done things differently, and I am sorry that I didn’t protect you like I should have. I am no father to you.”

  She frowned, suddenly ashamed. She hesitated, thinking to herself how infuriating her father was. This was not what she meant by anything. She was still young by means of the human world anyway. Teenagers didn’t deal with kingdoms and evil threats, just high school. And she felt that maybe her father had wanted her to just jump right in too soon like she had always known, always been there. But she didn’t feel like he was a bad father for anything he had done. She sighed, knowing what it would mean to admit it, but he was only doing what he thought he should do; what was expected of him. The people thought they needed her.

  Then, she cocked her head to the side and said, “I’m glad I met you. I don’t regret that.” This seemed to surprise him. Maybe because this was the first time she hadn’t reacted to him in anger, or maybe because he felt more like a burden than a father.

  “You’re here now. You can still be a father to me.” She felt a sting of guilt—almost feeling as though she were hurting the man who raised her as his daughter, even though he wasn’t around to hear her. But as infuriating as this man in front of her was, he was her biological father—and she couldn’t give up the chance to get to know him. Especially now that she knew he wasn’t some bum who abounded her. There were good reasons. He had brought her to this magical place, opened up her world, and gave her a place where she just might be able to fit in—even if she hadn’t asked for it.

  Sagittarius smiled, and almost as if he had read her mind, he said “I heard you visited the festival. Did you have a good time?” Well, that was easy.

  She felt herself soften with the good memories in mind and nodded. “Yes, very much. Leo was right. The people are wonderful.”

  “I’m glad.”

  An uncomfortable silence graced them once again, both unsure of the status of their relationship. But clearly wanting to take advantage of his daughter’s fondness for the city, Sagittarius offered her something she wanted more than anything—information. So, when he offered to tell her how Scorpio came to be the evil that he was now, she jumped at the opportunity to hear it.

  “Scorpio and I used to be good friends. The best. We grew up together, here in this city while going to school in the city where Libra is located; a place of scholars. And we were inseparable for most of our lives …” He paused. “We shared a mentor, we trained to fight together, we adventured together. He was easily the best fighter in our class. He was even handpicked to be part of the guard where he moved up in ranks faster than anyone I’ve seen. I was so proud of him.”

  He continued, “But I could see that the power was quickly going to his head, and when I met your mother, he became distant. Jealous. He was still a very good friend of mine, but it was like he couldn’t stand the thought of sharing our friendship. Maybe he knew something about what the prophecy would eventually foretell. It is possible. But if he did, he never said anything.” Sagittarius closed his eyes, and she supposed he must be remembering the ev
ents that transpired, and eventually led to the present. It must have been hard, having a friend betray him so badly. “Maybe he thought that he had less power over me with her around. But he got angry. Not just his mood—his entire personality. It was overtaken by anger and darkness. My friend disappeared completely before my eyes.”

  “He resented me. When he saw the distance growing between us, he only resented me more. He made new friends—people that were like minded in anger at the world. I had an inkling that he had started to make these friends in very dark places. And when I told him my concerns about his mindset, he lashed out.”

  Shiloh listened intently, leaning on the edge of the chair. She wasn’t sure she understood what could lead a good friend to dare to kill his friend’s wife and child, so there had to be something wrong with this man. Something no one had seen early on.

  “He only escalated from there. He tried to kill your mother. Only this time, he did not succeed. He lured her out to the forest, under the guise that I was injured, but instead his newfound ‘friends’ were waiting to attack. I hate to think about what they’d have done to her if she wasn’t exactly who she was. But your mother was smart, and his cronies were no match for a dragon and a warrior like her. She was well-loved by everyone in the city. He underestimated this—and when word got out, Scorpio was banished from the city. No one would accept a member in the guard, especially one in a position of power—to continue living amongst us after such an act.”

  “I felt something for him, still. Despite all of it. After all, he was being banished from the only home he ever knew. I had to think that some part of the friend I knew was still inside him. But when I escorted him outside the gates and tried to talk to him—he only swore up and down that he would get his revenge on me. He swore that he’d burn this city to the ground. I could tell by the way he looked at me that something far worse than jealousy had possessed him. My friend was no longer in there. There was nothing in those eyes except for hatred and scorn.”

  “Since, he has collected groups of resentful people just like he was, creatures who don’t have any compassion, only abhorrence in their bones. Even those who are just alone and vulnerable, he has easily turned to the darkness. It’s a shame, too—because Scorpio is charismatic and a true leader at heart, but his bitterness and need for total power overshadows everything else in his life. He has created an entire city—an ecosystem in which hate only feeds off of more hate. It has ruined the greatness and peace we once had, and his blackness only grows.”

  Shiloh could tell that the loss of his good friend had taken a toll on her father. But it was clear that Sagittarius knew that trying to help Scorpio was futile. She couldn’t even imagine something like that. Someone you cared about and trusted, your good friend, becoming some kind of monster and then meaning to harm you. Then, actually harming your spouse. It was another moment where she felt a disconnect between herself and this world she was supposed to be a part of. She didn’t have that kind of strength to handle something like that.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly, not really sure how to comfort her father.

  “For?”

  “For sharing. For telling me more of the story.”

  Shiloh did actually feel more bonded to her father, knowing all of this. She figured it probably wasn’t easy for him to talk about his friend, fallen from the light—and trying to kill his daughter. It wasn’t a lot, but it was a start. And for now, it was enough.

  When her eyes began to droop, Sagittarius showed her to a room where she could get some much-needed rest. It was a simple and bare bones room, much like most of the rooms in Leo’s castle—but it had exactly what she needed; a large bed. She must have been asleep before her head even hit the pillow, and she slept dreamlessly.

  ***

  Storm clouds gathered over the city of Vakaul, hiding the stars and making an already dark sky even darker. Scorpio sat on his throne, stewing in fury and bitterness. He tapped the fingers of his left hand onto the back of his right fist, his brow furrowed in thought.

  “Guard!” he spat. “Tell the commanders to get the soldiers together! Now!”

  “Yes, my liege,” a large orc bowed slightly, and disappeared quickly back out of the room and rushed to the commander’s chambers. Scorpio wasn’t sure that it was true—that the girl was alive. Though he had sent an inconspicuous person to scout for information and was still waiting for confirmation. Regardless, he was furious, and worst-case scenario, he could put an end to Sagittarius himself. His army was stronger than ever, and his city was thriving. Now was the time to act.

  The battle klaxon blared deafeningly outside, signaling his troops into formation. It cut into the air of the cold, silent night like a knife. Four-winged birds scattered in flocks off of the city rooftops, alarmed.

  Scorpio went outside to address his soldiers, pacing up and down the beginnings of the army lines feverishly, thinking hard about his plans. Emerging out of the shadows was his army—forming cohorts of mages, archers, and infantry. Creatures of all kinds seemed to make up Scorpio’s army—goblins, golems, and elves alike had found some sort of solace in being there. Many of Scorpio’s soldiers had been outcasted or banished and had found a new home in Vakaul, which was now growing the more power Scorpio harnessed.

  The pale moonlight that had pierced through the thick clouds glinted off of devilish weapons. Thunder sounded off in the distance, paired off with quick flashes of lightning.

  Scorpio turned to a commander—“Get me our strongest mages.” A nod, and he was off and back with four mages, all dressed in black, hooded cloaks in mere minutes. He didn’t bother with introductions. “You will arrive at the Aeôs city gates first, before the rest of the soldiers. You will warp holes into the city’s walls and barriers, large enough so the army can funnel in on all sides. You will not be seen. Understood?” The mages nodded in compliance and melted off into the shadows without a word to begin their tasks.

  Scorpio climbed the castle stairs, onto a small overlook front and center to his army. They stood silent, waiting for him to speak. He obliged.

  “On this night, we gather to lay siege to Aeôs! They cast you out! They banished you! They left you with no one and nowhere to go! And we will make them see the error of their ways…”

  The crowed jeered.

  “All eyes are to be searching for this so-called daughter of Sagittarius—find her, bring her to me, and we will put an end this blasphemous prophecy nonsense and RIGHTFULLY CLAIM THIS WORLD AS OURS!” A slow chant from within the ranks quickly turned to elated shouts and ultimately culminated into blood curdling battle cries. These creatures were out for blood.

  Scorpio looked down on his murderous army and smiled.

  Chapter Six

  Sunlight shone the curtains and onto Shiloh’s face, forcing her to open her groggy eyes back to reality. For a moment, she was filled with an incredible confusion—not recognizing the room she woke up in. When everything came rushing back, she felt her heart drop and her chest tighten. Part of her felt lucky to be on this strange adventure. The other part of her felt sick with anxiety of what was to come.

  She felt homesick, even knowing that time had not passed much, if at all, in her home. She felt as if she had been gone for months.

  She laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling for an inordinate amount of time, wondering what the day would entail but not willing to leave the room to find out. Did her father even have a plan?

  A sharp knock forced her out of her thoughts, and the door opened without her response. A young woman carried a pile of clothes into the room and placed it gently on the end of her bed.

  “Good morning, Miss Andrews. I’ve brought you a change of clothes, and your presence is requested in the dining room, where breakfast will be served,” the young woman paused, before saying, “I’ll wait outside, and then I can show you there.”

  She gave a quick nod and a small curtsy before she hurried out of the room. Shiloh was only just able to shout a small ‘thank
you’ before the door shut quickly behind her. Her stomach rumbled loudly—shocking her and making her realize that she didn’t even know when the last time she had eaten a full meal was.

  She changed quickly into what the woman had given her. It wasn’t something she would have chosen for herself. It was a long, muted, blue dress with a high neckline, and a dark-colored light-weight coat for over top. In the human world, she might have looked like someone in costume. But here, the outfit seemed to fit right in. It didn’t, however, manage to match her black Nike sneakers. Luckily, the dress was long enough to cover her shoes entirely. She scoffed to herself at the fact that she was still considering fashion choices in this situation at all.

  Shiloh made her way out into the hall, where the woman who brought the clothes was waiting, as promised. They walked silently through the halls of the castle, down the stairs and through some heavy wooden doors into the dining room, which was much smaller and cozier than she had expected. It was just as minimalistic as the rest of the castle, the main décor being a large wooden table with matching chairs—seats enough for twelve. Occupying one of those seats, at the far end of the table was Leo.

  “Good morning, love!” His smile was contagious, and he seemed genuinely happy to see her. Shiloh took a seat, uttering a good morning back his way.

  “I hope Myrena didn’t wake you. I just wanted to get you fed and see how you were settling in,” Leo said. Shiloh was surprised at the term ‘settling in’. She hadn’t really considered how long she’d be here, or when she’d be going home. She considered the notion that Sagittarius and Leo might think that she was here to stay and couldn’t even fathom how she herself felt about that. She quickly cast the idea away completely.

  “You have such a lovely city,” she said, somewhat dodging the question. “I had a wonderful time at the festival last night.”