Joined (The Secret World Of Atlantis 4)

Chapter 1 - A Prophecy To Solve

I was never one to like winter. There was something about it, that kept turning me off. The cold, the darkness, the lack of sunlight. The lifeless forms of trees without the bright green leaves I loved so much. I thought that might change in Atlantis, the land that sounded like it was trapped in an endless summer. But it was just a silly wish. Nothing can exist without eventually meeting its winter. Especially not nature.

I know which date it is, and what it means in the human world. The people on Earth are celebrating Christmas today. The birth of their saviour. I can’t help but wonder if he truly exists too. Just like the Gods of Olympus.

I’m currently staring through the window, watching the snowflakes falling from the gray clouds, that are covering the sky. The shore of the main island is already covered in white, hiding the brown sand that I’m used to seeing. It’s an odd sight for sure. Especially with the sea looking exactly the same colour as the sky. I hate how the winter manages to ruin even the beautiful ocean.

Dairelis looks completely different in a weather like this. Everything seems to be in the same tones with the snow covering the usually blue roofs of houses. It seems like the city is frozen, not a single light visible in the windows. It’s strange how fitting the weather is to our moods.

I am sitting in one of the lounge rooms of the Palace with Eros, Demitri and Emilia. It’s early in the morning, but we can hardly tell that by how gray everything looks outside. This place has become our favourite spot to hang out in. It’s rarely occupied and located in a part of the Palace that is usually empty. That is why it’s perfect for when you need some privacy. Just like we do now.

“Seriously, where is Elena?” Emilia asks, a frown forming on her face. I turn my head to meet her annoyed gaze. Her complexion looks unhealthy in the gray lighting coming from outside. I think we’ll have to light some candles soon.

I know why my cousin acts so impatient. Last night, Eros and I told them to come meet us in the lounge room, because we had something important to discuss with them. And naturally, our serious faces made everyone anxious.

“She’ll be here soon. She simply needs a little extra time in the morning. But you might brace yourselves for grumpy Elena,” I joke, trying to ease up the tension a little. I almost breathe out in relief as I see everyone c***k a smile in response.

We tone into silence once again, all of us staring through the window, watching as the land suddenly disappears in the fog of the snowflakes. It seems like the islands are situated in the middle of nowhere.

A few minutes later, the doors suddenly burst open, and we all turn to a very tired Elena. She is completely out of breath, as she mutters a ‘good morning’ to us and takes her place between Demitri and Emilia. I watch as Demitri smirks at sight of her, then frown as I sense some ugly thoughts surfacing inside Eros’s mind.

I turn my head, sending him a warning look. Aren’t you used to seeing them together already? We barely spent any time apart in the last few days, I remark, making him take a deep breath, before turning to me.

It doesn’t mean I like him near her. I don’t like any boy near her, he admits, making me let out a soft sigh. Classic Eros. She’s suffered too much already, because of that scumbag. I hope he’s rotting in that cell now, he adds, making my eye twitch.

I completely agree with you on that point. But my cousin isn’t anything like Daniel, I state, still wanting him to see that they seem to be working it out well together. He turns to them, and I do as well, realizing the three of them are all staring us with expectation in their eyes.

“Will you guys quit making gooey eyes at each other and finally tell us what you said you will?” Emilia speaks up again, her impatience amusing me. But in order not to piss her off, I supress a smirk and glance at Eros again.

Are you absolutely sure we should tell them? I ask, suddenly feeling anxious about it. What if this is a wrong decision? What if they will react even worse than we imagine they might?

He covers my hand with his in a comforting way, his eyes boring into my reassuringly. They need to know. And I don’t want them to find out about it by overhearing us talking. That would be horrible, he declares, finally convincing me.

Alright, I say. Let’s do this then. It’s not like we have any other choice. They wouldn’t stop bugging us until we spoke up, since we already said we need to tell them something. But before I’m able to open my mouth, Elena already does. And what she says makes me freeze in horror.

“Are you two sleeping together?” Eros grows pale beside me, and we both refuse to look at each other, knowing very well that we would tell them everything, if we simply shared a glance.

“That is not what this is about at all,” I slowly say, staring at my best friend in disbelief. How the hell did she think of that? It’s not like we wrote ‘we are screwing’ on our foreheads. Or is it? I shake my head, trying to stop thinking about the night of our betrothal. And all the other nights that followed.

I can sense a wave of amusement coming from Eros’s side, before he decides to take measure. “Can we now finally tell you what we meant to or does anyone else have a wild guessing in store?” he asks in a voice that lets them know that he isn’t up for listening to those anymore. They all turn serious, making me smile in content. Ah, he is going to make a wonderful King one day. Thanks, love. Go ahead now, he tells me privately without sparing a glance my way.

“Good. As you all know, I’ve been captured on Earth by Teivel. It might sound completely insane, but the Gods visited me during that time and presented me with a prophecy. I thought it was useless at the time, but when the first thing from it came true … Well, let’s just say that I was in a mildly panicking state. We’ve been trying to solve it during the time, that we were hiding, but nothing we came up with made sense,” I reveal, making them all stare at me dumbfoundedly.

“Really? Another bloody prophecy?” my best friend says, her tone full of disbelief. I sigh, nodding my head. How else am I supposed to respond to that? “And how does it go?” she wants to know.

I share a look with Eros, before taking a deep breath and reciting the lines, word by word. As I finish, the trio still stares at me wordlessly. Well, at least until Demitri decides to speak up. “No offense, but how do you know it’s real? What if it were just a dream? Your exhausted mind playing tricks on you? You were after all training your mind powers at the time, weren’t you?” His voice is gentle, like he thinks I’m crazy, but doesn’t want me to figure that out.

I openly glare at him, shaking my head in disbelief. “It’s real, because I’ve been on Olympus before, and you can’t mistake it for anything else. It wasn’t a normal dream, and it wasn’t something my mind made up, because as soon as we Eros and I returned, the second line came true. My most cherished possession, thus the bond, disappeared.” By the time I finish, I realize I’ve been speaking more and more loudly with every sentence, almost yelling at my cousin already. I take a deep breath, shaking my head. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have raised my voice, no matter how hard your words hit my nerves.”

He smiles, shaking his head. “No worries … I’m just not a believer in those clairvoyant things. Prophecies don’t seem legit to me,” he declares, making me nod in understanding. If he says so, it’s not my business to try and change his mind.

“I never found them legit either, until I was given one and it came true,” I simply remark, making him raise his eyebrows, but I already turn my gaze to Elena, who has a thoughtful expression on her face.

“I will try to help you, but we must ask Korinna about this as soon as possible. She is experienced in this … Well, at least she heard her grandmother solve many prophecies, so she might have some idea what this one might mean. She did after all help you with the previous one, hasn’t she?” she asks, her eyes filled with hope.

I shake my head in response. “I didn’t tell her how the prophecy went … But she guessed a word inside it and told me not to worry about it, because it might not be meant literally,” I explain, making Demitri and Emilia seem puzzled about our conversation.

“Okay, what? You lost me soon after you told that prophecy,” Emilia admits, her lips parted in confusion. I let out a heavy sigh.

“You know Korinna, right? Well, her grandmother was a clairvoyant. People were coming to her with prophecies, and she explained what they meant to them,” I tell my cousin, whose face lights up suddenly.

“That’s wonderful! So, we can simply go to Korinna’s grandmother and ask her what your prophecy means!” Emilia exclaims happily. I let out a heavy sigh.

“That would be a wonderful idea … If she wasn’t dead for almost three years now,” I declare in a dark tone, making her face fall. “I know. It would be the easiest solution to this problem, but sadly, it isn’t possible,” I add a bit more softly.

“What about some other clairvoyant? Don’t you think there must be someone out there, who is able to do same thing Korinna’s grandmother was able to?” Elena then suggest, but I simply shrug in response.

“That would be wonderful, but even if they are out there somewhere, we have no idea how to find them. Or whether they would be willing to help us,” Eros replies to her question instead, making the atmosphere a bit grim.

“Listen, our best shot is having you take a look at the possible meanings we came up with, bring a fresh perspective. Perhaps we’ll be able to come up with at least something helpful. If not, our next shot is Korinna, after we get back to the Academy,” I break the silence. But it isn’t the same anymore. Even Demitri seems to realize how grave the situation is, despite not believing in prophecies.

“And what if Korinna won’t be able to help either?” Emilia asks, making everyone turn their heads towards me with curious expression on their faces. Even Eros.

I take a deep breath, silently hoping that it doesn’t come to that. “We’ll be dealing with that, if it turns out this way,” I finally say. Elena and my cousins nod, but I can’t fool Eros. He knows I’m terrified.

When we find a moment for ourselves later that morning, he pulls me into a cleaning supplies closet. It’s incredibly narrow, so our chests are pressed tightly against each other, but it’s not like I’m bothered by that. I melt into his embrace, staring up at him.

“I thought we could use a moment for ourselves,” he whispers, his eyes glistening in the dim lighting of the closet. I smirk, before stepping on my toes to have a taste of his lips. I can soon feel the familiar tingling at the bottom of my stomach.

His hands slip down my back, roughly grabbing my bottoms. I moan into his mouth in response, which makes him smile against my lips. “I’ll leave the balcony door open tonight,” I whisper, not even waiting for a response. I kiss him passionately, sliding my hand down towards the edge of his trousers. I can feel him tense for a moment, as I slip underneath them, grabbing a handful of him.

“I can barely wait,” he grunts. I pull my hand away just as he lifts me up, pressing me against the wall. I gasp as I feel his hard member between my legs, not knowing if I’ll be able to contain myself until the evening. “Patience, love,” he says, smirking before his lips find mine once again.