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I knew you from another life…”
Chance was shaking, joy spreading across his face.
“Then it's true,” he whispered. “You are Vesta. You are my
goddess...”
“That can't be!” I pulled away. “You thought Jana
was your goddess, didn’t you? But she died.”
“I was eager for her to be my goddess, and she
wanted to be Vesta so badly that we were both blind.”
“Blind to what?” I asked.
“Blind to the fact she never had any of these visions.
Blind to her not feeling or seeing the flames that you do
when we are close. I know now, which I should have
admitted before, she was pretending to be Vesta’s
Embodiment. She knew about prophecy, and she did
everything she can to try to fit into it. But you…you don’t
even know about all of this, yet you’ve shown more signs
than anyone else. And that was what I loved most about
Vesta…how clever she was. If she did not want to be found,
she would make it very difficult for anyone to find her.”
Chance took my hands in his. “Believe me, I tried
convincing myself over and over again that you’re not Vesta.
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I don’t want to take that risk at all, to harm you in any way.
But everything points to you as being the one – the cave, the
flames, how we feel for each other, this sudden rush of love
so great only knowing someone for so long and accepting
them for who they are and loving them beyond time…the
book…”
“But the book – it vanished....”
“Did it?” Chance grinned as he looked down at my
hands.
I followed his eyes. Between my palms there had
appeared a stone, gleaming orange and gold, a stone that was
slowly morphing before my eyes into a book.
He touched my face gently and said, “I see you have
reservations, doubts – and I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t
jump into believing I’m Vesta, too, if I were you, without
more proof and certainty.” He looked down, and when he
looked up again at me, his beautiful sapphire eyes were
stormy with angst. “I’ll leave you alone and let you figure it
out, Mac. I won’t chase you. I won’t persuade you. I’ll wait
until you come to me on your own. Body, soul, and mind.
Because I won’t take you until you’re sure.”
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Chapter 18
This time, I wasn't going to lose it again. I told
Chance to take me home, too shaken by what I had seen to
let our relationship progress any further. When he had
seemed to hate me, I had wanted nothing more than for him
to want me. But now that he was convinced that I was this
goddess, I grew afraid. Having the book didn't necessarily
mean I was Vesta, I told myself. Surely it was possible that I
was just a handmaiden, or even a truthsayer – that I was
protecting the book for the real Vesta! And although I had
experienced a vision of the Temple, that too could mean little
more than that I was one of Vesta's line. After all, Chance
had been wrong before – hadn't two girls died because he
was convinced that each one was the goddess he wanted to
find so badly?
At the same time, though, I knew I was falling for
him. His pulling back from me at Vesta’s temple only made
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me want him more, seek after him. The brief moments we
spent together – the more seconds I spent with my lips hotly
pressed against his – the more I was certain that we had a
connection that went beyond mere physical attraction.
Something in my soul craved a release which only Chance
could give; some strange part of me cried out to him.
Yet I could not bring myself to open the book.
Although I carried it with me everywhere, terrified that the
book would vanish again, I couldn't bring myself to do more
than touch its ancient pages. What would I find, I wondered?
And I was certainly afraid to find out. The memory that
Chance had inspired in me – the vision of Vesta – was so
powerful it had nearly knocked me unconscious; could I deal
with having memories like that flooding into my head page
by page? Yet although I did not open the book, I found
something comforting in its presence. It was like a talisman
– giving me energy, giving me strength. I liked keeping it in
my bag and putting it on my knee, feeling my body react to
its energy.
My mother was especially busy with work this week
– a relief, I felt. I didn't dare talk to her, lest I betray any of
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the secrets I'd discovered. My mother would probably think
I was crazy, I told myself – she'd have me committed! But
the Conference for a Post-Erosion World was scheduled for
next week, and my mother's hands were full trying to sort
out security for England's Prime
