The Emerald-Opal Heir 16

This wasn’t Emmeline’s first vision. She was pretty sure it wouldn’t be her last. 

She stood before two golden thrones, both of them occupied by two of the most beautiful women she’d ever seen. Emmeline automatically knew they were Viridi and Argenti, though she didn’t know how. 

They could have been sisters, with identical dark hair streaked with white, their skin a lovely golden-brown. One wore a long, silver dress in a style Emmeline had only seen in old paintings. Her delicate fingers perched on the arms of her throne, tapping a bored rhythm. The other goddess was dressed in a shorter, emerald dress that hung loosely from her form. Her dark eyes were fixed on the woman that knelt between both of them. 

Emmeline recognized the figure as the first Reader. She’d only met the woman three times before - and she’d only spoken to her once. Estella. With bright green eyes, she easily could have been related to Emmeline. She probably was. 

If I were blonde, I would look just like her, Emmeline realized. 

“Estella.” Viridi’s voice boomed as it echoed across the massive hall before them. Emmeline wondered if this was the palace of the goddesses. 

The blonde woman didn’t move, her chest barely rising and falling. 

“Our most humble servant,” cooed Argenti in agreement, her eyes tracing over Estella’s white robes. Was Estella an acolyte? A maid? Emmeline spotted the gold bands on the woman’s bony wrists. A slave? “You have been devoted to us since your indenture began.” 

An indentured servant then. Estella’s family had probably fallen into poverty from taxes and turned to the goddesses for help. 

“We’ve finally decided to return the favor,” Viridi added. 

Both Argenti and Viridi shared a smile and it seemed to Emmeline that the stories were all a lie. How could two practically inseparable goddesses manage to kill each other? They were queens, rulers with the entire world under their influence. How could they be unhappy? 

Estella still knelt, her forehead almost touching the floor. She kept her mouth sealed shut. The golden bands on her wrists looked heavy, a constant reminder of her place. 

“We bestow upon you the gift of prophecy,” Argenti said, her voice reverberating across the marble of the walls. “Come forward, humble servant, and receive your Blessing.” A demand, one that Emmeline knew Estella would obey. 

The woman stood up, her spine stiff and Emmeline realized that Estella was probably no older than Emmeline herself at this point. Her eyes were wide, her form still slim as though she resembled the child she once was. Her feet made no sound as she ascended to stand beside the goddesses, her limbs not even trembling once to betray the fear she had to be feeling. 

Both goddesses lay their hands on Estella’s shoulders. 

The girl dropped to her knees and Emmeline’s stomach clenched. She thought about how Estella always seemed to be in pain whenever she spoke to Emmeline. Was that because of her past, or some other reason? 

There was a quick flash of light and Emmeline found herself in the same room as before. 

However, this time Estella was a bit older. Her hair was more ragged looking, her eyes rimmed with shadows. Instead of white robes, she wore what looked like a torn ball gown. Gone were the golden bands from her wrists, and yet she still seemed burdened by their weight. 

Argenti and Viridi looked the same, right down to their outfits and seating positions. The only difference was the tension rising in the air between them. Emmeline could almost feel it thickening the air, sending prickles up her back. Estella seemed aware of it too, her muscles tense. 

“You come before us again and ask us to revoke our Blessing?” Argenti scoffed. 

“It is a burden too heavy to bear,” protested Estella, her voice weak with fear. Emmeline’s heart ached at the thought of Estella being the first Reader. How it must have hurt to be the only one of her kind, cursed to know the future and yet unable to change any of it. “I have seen the future and I need both of you to allow me to change it.” 

Viridi’s brow wrinkled, her perfect features marred by the simple action. “What do you mean?” 

“There will be a goddess,” Estella breathed. “One who is unnatural - but I don’t understand how. She is going to tear apart the kingdoms patron by patron until she is the only one left. There is no way for her to die.” 

Neither goddess reacted. Argenti mumbled, “So is the way of the future,” and that was that. 

Emmeline felt a bolt of fear strike her. An unkillable goddess bent on destroying the world. 

Estella had predicted Baelle’s reign, and she’d tried to stop it. Maybe Estella had even seen Emmeline and … was that why her reactions were so weird? Did she know what was to come? 

“Please,” Estella pleaded, dropping to her hands and knees. “So many will die - my own family will. Please.” 

Argenti and Viridi shared a look, one filled with fire. Estella shook on the floor and Emmeline knew that if she were in Estella’s shoes, there was no way that she’d still be able to withstand the tension. 

“Our fate is written already,” Viridi said at last. “We will offer you the power to conceal this unnatural goddess, and it will be passed down through your line - tied with the gift of prophecy. Your descendants will be able to end this goddess with our power.” She bowed her head slightly. “It will mean a great deal of sacrifice - from all of us - but it is the best and only way.” 

Estella’s lip wobbled but she said nothing. 

Argenti and Viridi stood at the same time, mirror images. Emmeline’s breath stopped at the power they radiated. She could feel it through the vision. 

They once again placed their hands on Estella’s shoulders. Flames erupted along both of their arms. Emerald and opal fire raced up their arms, stopping at their shoulders. Estella shuddered as their power flowed into her, pouring into her soul and sleeping there, dormant. 

Emmeline felt a slight stirring in her chest, as if her own magic was responding.

Your descendants will be able to end this goddess with our power. No wonder Emmeline and Estella shared the same green eyes - Emmeline was the Last Reader. The one prophesied from the very beginning to end Baelle. 

Her power was dormant, sleeping inside of her. 

A single world reverberated through her bones, singing in her blood, slamming into her mind. Wake. 

Emmeline was all alone when she woke up. She recognized the room as the one she and Newt had stayed in at the village where she’d grown up. Somehow she’d made it back here from the SIlver Palace. 

Her dress was surprisingly still intact, the fabric torn in many places and stained with blood in others. 

The vision of Estella stuck in her mind and Emmeline wondered if it was a gift from the goddesses. Were they trying to tell her something, or was it a coincidence? Was it even real? Emmeline decided it would probably be best to ask the others what they thought. 

She found herself wandering outside to where she assumed everyone else would be. Movement caught her attention to the left and Emmeline raised her fists protectively as she glanced over, only to find a grimy mirror. Her own terrified expression stared back at her, dark hair stringy and wide eyes that were rimmed with shadows. 

You’re fine, she found herself whispering internally. You’re okay. You’re alive. 

Her gaze caught on deep, black markings on her arms. They weren’t normal markings, if one were to inspect them closely. There were no drawings, no way to Read what was Written. They were only lines, like shadows. 

Baelle’s gift to me, Emmeline thought, touching one of them gingerly. No pain - they were meant to scare her only. 

Unless … No, she wouldn’t let herself consider the alternatives. 

The air outside was a bit warmer than before, humid and sticky. Emmeline could smell the smoke of a campfire and followed it until she emerged in the streets of the village where her friends sat on fallen logs, laughing together.

The sight filled her with both warmth and cold. 

She stayed hidden for a moment, watching them interact without her there. Forrest and Bethany sat side by side, poking each other relentlessly. Clara, Rae, and Margo were playing cards with Morgan and Newt watching from behind. Only Calli was sitting alone, but on her lap was a well-worn book that made it clear she wanted to be left alone. 

Emmeline knew that the second she showed them she was awake, this joyful atmosphere would slip away. She even contemplated heading back to bed, letting the others enjoy the time that they had together. A place she would never belong. 

But then Calli looked up from her book and spotted Emmeline. Her face broke into a grin and Emmeline knew it was too late to go back now. 

Calli was at her side a moment later, the others looking up from their game as Emmeline let herself be pulled forward. She kept her eyes down, averting her gaze. The street fell silent as she approached and she was sure she could hear everyone else breathing. 

“You’re alive,” Forrest commented. Emmeline jumped a little at the sound of his voice, still not entirely used to hearing it. 

She glanced upwards and immediately regretted it because her eyes locked with Newt’s. 

Time seemed to freeze as he got to his feet and rushed towards her. Emmeline felt as though her knees were going to give out as he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. She pressed herself into his warm embrace, letting his presence envelop her. You’re safe. You’re safe. You are safe. 

Emmeline wanted him to kiss her, but she knew it was wrong to ask. 

She gently pulled away, keeping her fingers intertwined with his because letting go meant falling back into a world of uncertainty and fear. 

Clara cleared her throat and blush rose to Emmeline’s cheeks. 

“Are you hungry?” Forrest asked. “Morgan and I managed to get a deer the other day, and there’s still some of that left over… Are you okay?” 

The other day. 

Emmeline had been unconscious for days. She knew she should be used to the feeling by now, but the idea of more hours wasted made her dizzy. 

“I … I think I need to sit down.” 

Newt was immediately ready, helping her stumble to one of the logs. He lowered her to the ground, taking a seat beside her. Emmeline didn’t release her grip on his hand. 

She wanted to be up and about, wanted to be able to walk places without stumbling or falling or getting dizzy. She also knew that she probably still needed time to recover. It’s simply time you can’t have, she told herself. 

“I had a vision,” she said before she could think better of it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Calli scooping her a bowl of soup from a pot near the fire. When Calli finally handed Emmeline the bowl, she didn’t eat it anyway. Her stomach growled a warning but she had to explain her theory to the others first. “I saw Estella - the first Reader and also my ancestor.” 

No one reacted, their eyes all glued to her. 

“Estella saw Baelle rise to power through prophecy, and to ensure that Baelle could be killed and stopped, Argenti and Viridi sacrificed their power and imbued it into Estella’s blood,” Emmeline explained. And now that power is inside of me, lying dormant and ready to be awoken, she didn’t add. 

“So what? Does that mean you couldn’t kill Baelle because you didn’t have that power?” Margo asked.

Emmeline nodded slowly. The thought hadn’t exactly come to her, but now that Margo mentioned it… It wasn’t exactly impossible to believe, in fact it made a lot of sense. The second she’d touched her knife to Baelle’s neck, it had exploded. Could Baelle only be killed by the power of another goddess? 

“She still has it,” argued Calli. “The power is buried inside of her. We need to dig it out.” 

“And I have to be able to wield it,” Emmeline added. “You can’t kill someone with a sword if you don’t know who to use it.” 

“I beg to differ,” Forrest interrupted with a pointed look in Newt’s direction. 

Emmeline stifled a laugh as Newt realized what the comment meant and turned bright red. 

“The point is that somehow we have to awaken this power before anything else can happen,” Calli summarized. “Did the goddesses tell Estella anything about how she was to unleash the magic?” 

Emmeline shook her head. “Since Estella wasn’t meant to use it, they never gave her any hints on unlocking it.” Which was probably for the best considering this power lived inside all of the Readers, passed down generation through generation. And although the history of Readers wasn’t entirely clear, Emmeline was sure that at least one person in her line would have abused the magic if they knew it was there. 

Everyone was silent for a little, the only sound was the crackling of the fire. Emmeline’s soup sat uneaten in her lap. 

It was Clara who finally broke the silence. “Maybe only a goddess can wield a goddess’s power.” She looked up at Emmeline, her expression grim. “Since only a goddess can kill a goddess, doesn’t it make sense that you would have to be a goddess to wield the power of one?” 

The magic in Emmeline’s chest stirred a bit, startling at the idea. She forced down her panic at the fact that this goddess-worthy magic was inside of her. 

“But Emmeline isn’t a goddess,” Rae pointed out. 

“Baelle wasn’t a goddess originally,” Clara mumbled under her breath, eyes never leaving Emmeline’s. In them was an unspoken plea, the seed of an idea that could very well end in Emmeline’s destruction if enacted correctly. A good deal of sacrifice… 

“No.” 

The word came from Newt and he immediately laid a hand on Emmeline’s shoulder protectively. Her cheeks flamed. 

“No way in the lands below am I letting Emmeline turn herself into a goddess.” 

“It’s Emmeline’s choice,” Clara said with a shrug, her eyes sparking at the sight of Emmeline and Newt together. “She gets to decide if she wants to do it or not.” 

“And it’s only temporary,” Calli added. “At least, probably. If Emmeline has to use all of a goddess’s power to kill Baelle, then wouldn’t it set her back to normal? That’s the reason Baelle hasn’t directly attacked the other goddesses yet - they’re too powerful and she’d lose all of her magic by only killing one. It would put her at a major disadvantage.”
“Besides,” Clara continued. “That’s if the goddesses even allow it in the first place.” 

“And if Emmeline decides to go through with it,” Newt said from behind her, his voice barbed. 

He had valid reasons for defending her freedom. Emmeline knew he was just trying to help. 

Her entire life had been spent at the leisure of others - performing Readings for a living, praying every day that she would do well enough to avoid a beating. There had been times where Newt was whipped for her disobedience instead so she wouldn’t be injured for a performance. Emmeline could even recall a time when Zoro had pretended to sell her to a king for a sizable profit and she’d narrowly avoided a life of slavery. And then, when they’d escaped, Emmeline had foolishly let herself believe that she was free when really she shackled herself to the fate of the kingdoms by rescuing a certain, selfish prince. There was no freedom - now or ever - for her. 

At this point, they’d exhausted every last option. 

Either Emmeline became a goddess and killed Baelle, or Emmeline didn’t and the world collapsed. That wasn’t much of a choice. 

“I’ll do it,” she whispered, trying not to grimace as Newt’s fingers dug into her shoulder blades. Heat filled her chest as Calli and Clara gave her identical reassuring smiles, but it was quickly overwhelmed by the cold of Newt’s disapproval. 

She would deal with him later.

“So,” Morgan interjected. “How exactly does one attract the attention of twelve goddesses at once to ask to become a goddess?”
“The persuasion shouldn’t be hard,” Clara said, as though she’d already considered this. “Most of the goddesses already love her. The real issue is getting them to actually listen to us - and not through prayers.” 

“When we were travelling through Maconia, we came across a mountain with a gate at the top,” Forrest exclaimed. “It was the entrance to the land of the goddesses. If we could open it-” 

“That’s a hard pass from me,” Margo said with a shudder. “It’s too high. If you can touch the clouds, it’s too far up.” 

Bethany and Morgan both let out impolite snorts. 

“The gate had twelve handprints,” Calli recalled, ignoring Bethany and Morgan. “One for each of the twelve patron lands. We probably need someone from each to open it.” 

“Well I cover Elyviel,” Clara thought aloud. “Calli is from Ibeni, and Rae is from Quigon. That leaves Waelia, Golla, and Nelith for Silver. And for Green, Forrest is from Rackelofft, Newt from Dinrali, Bethany from Faroshin, Morgan from Zachryose, and Margo from Maconia. So all that’s left for Green is Layene.”

“Gwen is from Layene,” Forrest suggested. “If we contact the Sprite Hunters, she might be willing to help.” 

“So what, we split up?” Clara asked. She shook her head. “The last time we did that, it didn’t go so well.” 

“But last time we were under fake missions from the generals,” Newt pointed out, his voice level. Emmeline forced back her surprise at his willingness to negotiate despite the fact that he disagreed with the whole idea. 

“There’s enough for three groups if we go in groups of three-” Calli began, but Forrest cut her off 

“No.”

Calli didn’t manage to mask the shock on her face. “Why?” 

Forrest crossed his arms. “I go with the group I took last time. Clara and the other demigoddesses can go together - if they’re still in contact with us. That leaves Newt and Emmeline.” 

“Why make the groups uneven?” Calli protested. 

And why do Newt and I have to go alone, Emmeline wanted to add, but she kept her mouth shut. 

“Baelle knows who all of us are,” Forrest explained. “I’m sure someone at that castle can track us. So I go with the biggest group because none of us are absolutely important in defeating her, and we’ll be the easiest to track. Clara goes with the demigoddesses so they can protect her. And if Newt and Emmeline have the smallest group, it’s less likely that Baelle is able to track them.” 

Immediately, shouts and arguments rose from nearly every person. Clara complained about how she wasn’t important and didn’t need help from some random demigoddesses. Calli, Margo, and Morgan mewled about how they weren’t considered important. 

Newt and Emmeline stood silent on the outskirts as Forrest tried to defend his plan. 

As much as it made sense for the two of them to go together … Emmeline just didn’t like it. Alone time with Newt… It wouldn’t end well, especially with the growing tension between them from her choice. 

But just as Emmeline was about to voice her dissent, the rest of the group fell silent. Forrest convinced them, she realized. They were waiting for her reaction. 

“Sounds great,” she lied. “When do we leave?”