An imposing figure in a black robe stood with arms crossed in the Sibyl’s torch-lit cave. A hood obscured his face as he guarded her hourglass with its swift, constant stream of sand. Somewhere in the darkness were the sounds of clanking chains and scuffling feet.

In the very center of the temple, a glass jar hung from the high ceiling on a thick chain.

“It is time!” the Sibyl hissed…

In the amber firelight, my forearm gleamed with the Mark. It was so exquisite and refined with its gentle, looping lines, I almost forgot its true purpose. Beautiful as it was, the Mark was a reminder that Apollo had cursed me to be the Muse Warrior, the one who would use the Oracles to defeat the Sibyl and save Olympus. He had sacrificed me long before I was born. Apollo had marked me to die.

It was my turn.

Now I understood why the Sibyl had taken my brother, and the only thing standing in the way of getting him back was the Mark.

That night, I tried not to overthink Bax’s reaction. On one hand, he was right. It was a lot to process. I couldn’t take it personally.

But I didn’t have the luxury of time. I couldn’t wait for Bax to decide whether or not he believed I was a Muse. I had no choice but to believe in the unbelievable, or risk losing Troy forever.

And if Bax didn’t believe me, I’d have to move forward alone.

The Sibyl’s threat rang in my ears the rest of the school day, overpowering everything else. I didn’t hear Daria’s lunchtime chatter and couldn’t recall Nyx’s pettiness on the volleyball court. As I left practice to meet Bax at the front gate, the Sibyl’s words continued to torment me.

I will send everything you love to the Underworld!

Since the day Troy disappeared, I’d thought Pluto had kidnapped him and taken him to the Underworld like my mother. But it was the Sibyl who haunted my dreams, who said I was the only one who could release her.

She had Troy. I knew it in my gut.

That night, my dreams were a jumble of nightmares.

Troy stood behind a wavering hologram of the words of my destiny, flanked by faceless attackers in black robes.

“Read it or they’ll kill me!” he shouted.

Ding!

I squeezed my eyes tighter, waiting for Mercury to grab me, for the weight of my punishment.

“Eden!”

The voice wasn’t as deep and gravelly as Mercury’s, but still I shivered as I opened one eye, shoulders lifted in fear.

In my room, I shoved my homework to the side and stared at the wall.

Calliope’s earrings twitched. Get Notebook 19.

My grandma’s “gift” was starting to feel like a curse. Why had I been condemned to obey the wishes of some ancient jewelry?