“What if the fate of your world depended on it?” Because if Garrick is right and the walls of the Pithos are falling, and bringing Daphne to the Underrealm is the only way to stop it, the Fates of both her world and mine are hanging in the balance.
She grips the edge of the armchair so hard, it looks like she might pierce through the fabric with her fingers. “Then I’d say, find another way.”
“There is no other way. This is what the Oracle decreed, so it’s what must be done.”
“Actually,” Dax says from the couch. The expression on his face makes it seem as though he’s been enjoying a really good show. “There might be another way.”
“What?” Daphne and I say in unison.
“Well, not another way, per se. But perhaps a way to find out some more information on all of this. See if there is another option even available.”
“What is it?” Daphne asks.
“What if you could talk to an Oracle again?” Dax says to me.
“She resides in Elysium. That would be impossible.”
“There’s more than one Oracle, Haden. You know that. Even one or two in this realm.”
“If we could find one, what difference would that make? The Oracle of Elysium has spoken. Her words have been sealed.”
“Not all Oracles speak from the same source,” Dax says. “Another one might be able to give you more information. Look at things from a different angle. Let you know what other options might be available to you. If any.”
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“Helping.”
“How is this helping? You can’t make her think there are other options when there aren’t.”
“You don’t know that unless you find out for yourself.”
“It isn’t my place to find out for myself.”
“Yes, it is, Haden. You’ve been conditioned all your life to obey without questioning. To treat your father like he’s the new Hades. Like he’s a god. They tell you your impulsiveness is your weakness, but it’s not. And I never should have encouraged you to restrain it. Your impulsiveness is your greatest strength—because it’s the only time you think for yourself.”
I shake my head at Dax. “Thinking for myself is what got me into this mess. My most impulsive act was what caused my father to disown me in the first place. I can’t do this—”
“Yes, you can. But you need to stop thinking like an outcast. Stop thinking like an Underlord. Or even a want-to-be prince. You’re half human, Haden. Start thinking like one. Humans question. Humans think for themselves.”
I glare at Dax. “This is what you wanted all along, isn’t it? This is why you’ve encouraged me to open up to my emotions—to my humanness. I thought you were my friend. I thought you were on my side. But all you’ve wanted is for me to fail. From the very beginning.”
“What I want is for you to make your own path. To find love. To live. Just like me.”
“Like you?” How could Dax call anything about his life since he returned from his time as Champion living?
“Excuse me?” I hear Daphne say. “Still here, remember?”
Both Dax and I snap our attention back to her.
“Yeah. Hi. I know you think you all are whispering, but you might as well be shouting from the rooftops. I gather Mr. Drool here knows where to find one of these ‘other Oracles.’ ” She steps out from around the armchair, no longer barricading herself behind it. “I want to go see her.”
“I can get you a name and city,” Dax says. “Assuming she hasn’t moved to a new town in the last six years.”
“That’ll do.” Daphne looks at me. “You’re coming with me.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in all this ‘fate mumbo jumbo,’ ” I say, quoting the way she put it when we were in the music shop.
“I don’t, but I believe you believe it. And if I can convince this Oracle lady to tell you that you’ve got the wrong girl, then you’ll believe her.”
“You can’t change an Oracle’s mind. It doesn’t work that way.”
“We’ll see,” she says, sounding far too confident.
“So what’s it going to be?” Dax says. “Are you going with her?”
“Before I agree,” I say to him, “I want you to tell Daphne what happened to your Boon.”
Dax’s face goes ashen, confirming what I’ve suspected for some time now. Ever since I found out that Tobin’s sister went missing. Ever since Simon insinuated that Dax tried to run away while he was here last—and how unpleasant it would be if he had to send someone after me.
“You know I can’t say anything about that,” he says.
“Then I’ll say it for you. She died, didn’t she? You fell in love with her. You didn’t want to take her back to the Underrealm, so you consulted this other Oracle for help. But you didn’t like what she said, so you tried to run away with your Boon.… But something went wrong. And she died.”
“That’s the basic gist of the story,” Dax says, his voice barely audible.
“Was her name Abbie?” Daphne asks.
He nods.
A small sound escapes her lips. It almost sounds like a sob.
“You still want to go find this other Oracle?” I ask her.
“Yes,” she says, sounding more determined than before.
“Then we can leave in the morning.”
“No,” she says.