Page 15 of Phoenix Chosen 3

“No,” I say. “There’s more to it.”

Kalistratos nods and motions for me to tell Airos what we know. He looks so tired and stressed. I rub his back with my palm, trying to comfort him. I know how worried he must be about Alyx, his best friend.

“The Great Phoenix told us I’m not the only chosen omega. There are two more. And that means two more eggs.”

Airos’s wide eyes flick back and forth as he digests this new information. He brushes a strand of gold hair from his face and sits back. “This was not in any of my readings,” he says finally. “Of course. Three guardians, three omegas. And Lord Aethereos… Did he tell youhowwe are to find these other two?”

“Lord Aethereos wasn’t particularly good at answering questions,” Kalistratos grumbles.

“I guess since you guys were able to find me, you should be able to find the others,” I say.

“We don’t know whether they are still pregnant, or if they’ve given birth like Tyler has,” says Kalistratos. “All we know is they aren’t from this world.”

“Well, that makes things a little easier, right?” I say.

I know that it doesn’t. Not at all. I don’t need to be good at math to know the odds of finding two people hidden somewherein this world is pretty much zero. The look on Airos’s face tells me he’s thinking the same thing.

“They would still be pregnant,” he says. “But does that make it easier to find them? I don’t think so.”

I have to remind myself there’s magic at work here.Fate. There’s a story, a cycle, that’s moving like a flowing river and we may just be along for the ride.

“We just need to trust in the process,” I say. “If these other two guys are out there, we’ll find them. That’s what the Great Phoenix said.”

“Then, we go west,” Airos says decisively. “We find our lost cat, and somehow, two phoenix omegas.”

I lie beside Kalistratos in the shack with the egg tucked cozily between our bodies. Airos is somewhere outside, keeping watch.

I’m exhausted. So is Kalistratos. I haven’t had proper rest since giving birth and my body just feels dead. We’ve been going nonstop since being woken up by Feather in the Great Phoenix’s sanctuary. I have no clue when yesterday ended and today began. I’ve never been jet lagged before, but I’m guessing this is what it feels like.

“I can’t stop thinking about what might’ve happened had Airos not shown up,” Kalistratos says, breaking the drowsy silence of our wandering thoughts. “It’s been twice now that I’vehad my powers interrupted. It’s humiliating that it could happen at the hands of Praxis, someone who isn’t a phoenix.”

“Those weren’t his powers, though, right?” I say. “He could do those things because he’s working with Umbrios.”

“Yes…” He sighs. “I can’t let this happen again.”

“Kalistratos, I’m not blaming you for anything, alright? I’m positive thatwewould’ve found a way to beat that guy, even if Airos hadn’t shown up. You don’t have to keep so much pressure on your shoulders. I’m a grown-ass man.”

I know perfectly well that there’s not much I could’ve done. I’m just not used to feeling so helpless.

“Your powers…” he says, trailing off.

“I don’t think they’re my powers. Not fully, at least.” I stroke the egg gently. “I think I felt them from the egg. That’s how we were able to get back to Circeana. But I guess I still don’t know how to access them.”

The truth is, I don’t believe they belong to me at all. How can I control something that isn’t mine? What influence do I really have?

Kalistratos is silent in thought. He stares up at the decaying roof, where a spider advances on a moth shaking around desperately in its web.

“Aw, man,” I mutter. I stand up and, using a twig, poke the moth out of the sticky fiber. It lands on the ground, twitches around, and then finally flutters away.

Kalistratos looks at me curiously. “Have you always had a habit of rescuing insects?”

“Never,” I say. “But I couldn’t just let it die.”

“You changed its destiny,” he says with a smile as I lay back down with him.

“Maybe my brain chemistry changed after giving birth to this egg,” I reply, partially joking. “Seeing it in danger got me all emotional. And Ihatemoths.”

His laugh is quiet and sleepy, and he kisses the side of my head. I feel the warmth of the egg against my body and Kalistratos’s hand on mine, and sleep finally drifts over me like a weighted blanket.

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