The Weight of Words
For a second, the entire camp was silent. No crackle from the campfire, no rustle of the wind — just the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears.
Rachel’s hand dropped from my shoulder. Her eyes were glazed, glowing faintly green, her voice distant and hollow. And then she spoke:
“When the tide turns to flame, a storm will rise, breaking bonds oh so dear.
Darkness will call, demanding sacrifice.
The path ahead comes at a deadly cost.
A child must rise to take their place,
And not all who fight will make it home,
For what is found may soon be lost.”
I blinked. My breath caught in my chest. As soon as the last word left her mouth, Rachel staggered back, gasping like she’d just run a marathon.
She looked at me with wide eyes. “I… I didn’t mean to…”
I barely heard her. The words echoed in my head over and over. A child must rise to take their place… And not all who fight will make it home.
Who was supposed to fall? Who wouldn’t make it home?
“What… what does that mean?” I managed to choke out. My voice came out quieter than I wanted. Shaky.
“It means trouble,” someone muttered behind me.
“Another big prophecy already?” another voice whispered. “Seriously?”
I whipped around, my face burning. Everyone was staring at me. Wide-eyed. Whispering. It felt like the entire camp had decided I was radioactive.
“She just got here,” someone else said. “How can she already have a prophecy?”
“She hasn’t even been claimed,” another voice added.
I felt my chest tighten. My hands balled into fists at my sides. “I’m not dangerous,” I snapped. “I didn’t even do anything.”
“That’s the thing about prophecies,” Chiron said, his voice calm but heavy. He approached slowly, hooves barely making a sound against the grass. “They don’t wait for you to be ready.”
I swallowed hard. My heart pounded in my ears. “But… what does it mean?”
Chiron sighed, his expression grim. “It is difficult to say. A tide turning to flame suggests something calm becoming destructive. A storm breaking bonds could hint at conflict among friends… or family.”
“And the part about darkness and sacrifice?” I asked.
He hesitated. “That… we will need to discuss.”
The campers were still staring. I felt my stomach twist. I wanted to yell at them to stop, but I didn’t trust my voice to work. I barely noticed Annabeth jogging over, worry etched across her face.
“Maria?” she asked. “What happened?”
I opened my mouth to explain, but all that came out was, “I… I don’t know.”
And honestly? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.