Hades Legacy (Hades Series #3)

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

The night of the ball quickly became one of the only nights in my entire life that I truly came to dread.

That dread manifested from two main concerns. The first, superficial as it were, was mainly due to the conversation I had with Jasmine while trying on those dresses; in particular, the part where she said with unwavering certainty that both Alex and Eric liked me. I wasn't sure what bothered me more; that Alex, my now closest friend (excluding Jasmine) up on the surface had supposed liked me the whole time, or that Eric, despite his confession and despite the way he'd been completely avoiding me the past month, apparently liked me so ostensibly that it was completely obvious to everyone except me. I still wasn't sure if I believed that, mainly because it didn't make any logical sense; if it was that obvious, then why didn't I pick up on it? Furthermore, if it was that obvious, then why didn't Eric, the patron god of love, pick up on it himself?

It felt like I was stuck in the middle of one of the cliche teen fiction books I used to spend all my time reading, where you wanted to scream at the main characters and tell them that they were blind for not seeing the obvious; except in my case, I was the oblivious protagonist. But at the same time, despite the logical reasoner inside me scoffing at the very idea of Alex and Eric actually liking me, I couldn't help but wonder if it was true. And the very thought that it could be true confused and bewildered me much more than I cared to admit; mainly because if it was true, then I would have to figure out where my heart lay. A month ago, I was convinced it was with Eric, but now, I wasn't so sure. I wasn't sure at all. And that terrified me.

The second concern was one that had been plaguing me almost ever since I had made the decision to stay up on the surface: my ill-fated destiny. I still hadn't come any closer to figuring out how I could stop the civil war without dying, and the closer my birthday crept, the more stressed out I became. I knew that the moment I turned nineteen, my prophecy could come true at any moment, and I hated that still had no idea how to prevent it. How was I expected to enjoy the ball with Alex and Jasmine when my birthday was the very next day? How was I expected to even go to the ball at all and enjoy myself when every fiber of my being was terrified that the moment the clock struck twelve, my very own Pandora's Box could be unleashed? I knew I wasn't going to intentionally cause the civil war, but with all the ambiguity surrounding me at the moment — from the increasing number of suicides happening in both the human and super world, to the rising number of rumors that a lot of the nymphs were amassing against me, even to the uncertainty of my broken relationship with Eric — I wasn't certain that it still wouldn't happen. And even though I couldn't procure a logical hypothesis as to why the civil war would occur without me intentionally starting it, a small voice inside my head couldn't stop reminding me that the Fates' prophecies were like a ticking time bomb; you never knew exactly when they would explode, only that they always, always did.

— — —

"Ellie!" Jasmine sings, and seconds later she comes skidding around the corner, clad in her fluffy pink dressing gown and her hair twisted up in a towel. Her face falls when she sees me. "What are you doing? Why aren't you in your dress? The ball is in less than an hour; Alex and Isaac will be here soon!"

"Jasmine." I laugh a little, shaking my head. "Breathe."

She pauses, her head bobbing slightly as she takes a deep breath, before she launches back into a flustered tirade. "You still haven't answered my questions! Why aren't you in your dress? Why are you just sitting there? We need—"

"Jasmine." I cover her mouth with my hand. She huffs, slamming her hands down on her hips and raising her eyebrows at me expectantly. I sigh, squaring my shoulders and bracing myself for the inevitable. "I don't think I can go."