Page 147 of A Queen's Game
“You are, and have always been, one of my Iros, my chosen.”
“But why?” Marietta asked, her heart stricken. She had never been religious; she never paid the gods much attention. “Why do I deserve to be your Iros?”
“It is less what you deserve and more what you will do—what you are and who you become.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your future decides the fate of many, your lifeline entangled with those you do not know.”
Marietta tried to bite back her surprise. “My future? How will that decide anything?”
“It is your choice of future that shall decide. Death will be a known friend to you.”
Well, that was ominous. Marietta’s chest tightened, but the warmth of the goddess soothed her uneasiness. “Can I prevent the deaths? Are those the decisions I’ll need to make?”
“Death will follow any decision you make. Some choices will bring more and others will lead to less.”
“But what will I do? What is my goal that makes me a chosen one?”
“Seek the truth. Answers follow. You have already learned this.”
Exasperated, Marietta asked, “Is that my only goal?”
A smile tugged at the goddess’ lips from Marietta’s impatience, as if her emotions were amusing.“Stay true to who you are. Forgetting yourself will affect the choices you make.”
“What will happen now that I’m one of your chosen?”
“You’ve always been my chosen one. The only change is that you’re now aware.”
“But what will change? What do you expect of me?”
“Train and learn. Follow the other Iros, the one named Coryn. Devote yourself to me, and you will earn the strength to deflect your enemies.”
The warmth faded from her body. “What of the King? My husband? What will happen if either of them knows I’m an Iros?”
“They will kill you.”The voice was a whisper in the back of Marietta’s head. Her entire body shivered, twitching.
Marietta’s eyes opened, facing up at the statue of Therypon.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Marietta
The goddess’ warning echoed in her head as the temple came into view around the statue. Being in Keyain and Wyltam’s grasp already put her in danger. Now the goddess shared that her being an Iros, which was completely ridiculous, put her in peril. Gods, Keyain hated the temples, calling the attendants cultists. What would he do if he knew her status? That she was now a deity’s paladin?
Perhaps Therypon made a mistake. Perhaps Marietta was hallucinating. What if she never woke up from the drugs that Keyain put her under? The sudden thought sent chills across her body. With a hard pinch, she determined that no, this was real. She had conversed with a damned goddess who claimed her as her paladin.
Marietta turned towards her friends, who stood off to the side. Deania silently cheered for Marietta while Coryn smiled and beckoned her to follow them. Amryth stood between them, mouth agape.
“You should’ve seen you!” Deania whispered in the hallway. “You were glowing with the goddess’s light with your hair floating around you like you were underwater! Oh, Marietta, this is so exciting!”
“Deania, hush. Wait until we’re somewhere private,” Coryn chided, though a smile still lined his face.
After a silent trek back to Deania’s office, Coryn shut the door, turning to Marietta. “So we were correct; you are an Iros.” Coryn clapped her shoulder as he walked past, propping himself up on the edge of Deania’s desk. “Congratulations, Marietta.”
“This was all meant to be! Coryn, you get to tell her about the Iros!” Deania bounced on her toes, unable to contain her excitement.
At a loss for words, Marietta turned to Amryth, who stood with a bewildered expression. “Mar, this is not good. I mean, it’s incredible, but still not good.” Amryth shook her head and sat on the couch, her gaze feverishly shifting back and forth in thought.
