Evers. That this is your destiny. This is the Emerald, the fourth stone. The one that brings love and contentment. The one with the power to show the future. I am proud of you, Mackenzie.” She smiled an impish smile, her wise eyes betraying her age. “I knew it was you from the first.”
I was too stunned to reply. Before I could say anything, Misty turned on her heel and vanished.
I sighed. So I really was Vesta, after all. I clutched the emerald to my heart, walking over to the shore, away from the party. I looked out over the black water, over the waves. Tonight had been so lovely. Me with Varun and Chance together – experiencing tenderness and passion at the same time. Close to water, close to fire – close to both of the elements so near to my heart. But soon I would have to choose. Soon I would have to break somebody’s heart – and with it, my own.
The sound of footsteps disturbed my reverie. I turned around, but it was too late. A dark figure had rushed towards me, pushing me with all of its strength into the ocean. I stumbled forward, feeling salty water flood my mouth. “What the…” Salt stung at my eyes – a strong pair of hands held me under. I began to flail, kicking out at the figure, trying to call for help in vain. Was it Brandon? But this opponent wasn’t as large – wasn’t as sturdy. Whoever was attacking me was smaller, more compact.
At last I was able to get my head above water, scratching at my opponent’s face. At last I got a good look – and what I saw made my jaw drop with shock. Haven was standing before me, her soaking hair matted and tangled, a look of fury in her eyes.
“Haven?” I spluttered. “But I thought we were friends?” It was a stupid thing to say – but it was the first thought to come into my head.
“Well, you thought wrong,” Haven snarled. “I’m Water – you should have guessed that. And just because you thought you could come in here, take Jana’s place, snatch Varun…”
“I never wanted to do any of that!” I broke in hurriedly. “I only wanted to…”
“Abzu was right,” scoffed Haven. “The Fire clan can be so stupid, so trusting.”
“But I’ve never done anything to you.” Somehow the idea of Haven’s betrayal was worse even than Brandon’s. I’d trusted Haven, learned to think of her as a friend. I should have stuck to my first impressions. “I was on your swim team. I was…”
“You think that was friendship? I wanted to test your abilities – to see who you really were. Water or Fire. At first you almost tricked me into thinking you were one of us. But now I know the truth. You think you’re Vesta, don’t you? Of all the…”
I swallowed. Hard. If Haven had made an alliance with Abzu, then I didn’t stand a chance – particularly not so near the ocean. But surely Haven had supported her best friend Jana when she thought she was Vesta? Unless…
“You tricked her, didn’t you?” It dawned on me all at once. “You pretended to be her friend – pretended to think she was Vesta. You encouraged her. You faked the stones, made her think she was Vesta when she wasn’t, just to get her out of the way…”
“She was in my way,” scoffed Haven. “Of my destiny. Varun’s destiny.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Salacia – the wife of Poseidon. That’s my Embodiment. That’s who I’m destined to be. And when Varun and I Unify, our power will exceed that of any deity – Fire or Water. Vesta and Mars – that romance is nothing compared to Poseidon and Salacia. Nothing! So you see, Mac, I can’t let you live. I sent my assassin after you, but Brandon was too foolish to finish the job. You think he has a crush on you, too? Truth be told, he’ll do anything for me. He thinks he’s in love with me, poor deluded guy. I guess if you want something done right, you do it yourself.”
“And you think Varun will love you when he finds out what you’ve done?” I gasped, stalling for time. The longer I kept Haven talking, the better the chance that someone would find me. “Killing me won’t solve anything – it’ll only make things worse.”
“Too late,” said Haven. “I passed the point of no return a long time ago.