Chapter 90: Whispers of prophecy

The morning had a soft glow when Raven arrived at the Lunar Orphanage, called in a hurry by director Helena. His countenance, which rarely showed emotion, was pale and tense.

In the courtyard, Lili, with her glittering wings waving, was surrounded by golden and purple sparks that danced around her like a veil of stars.

"Mother!" Lili called, frightened, with tears running down her rosy face.

The other children had been rushed away by their caregivers.

Raven ran, her heart pounding, wrapping Lili in her arms. But the sparks did not stop. The more the little fairy cried, the more intense were the magic flames around.

"It’s okay, my love... I’m here," whispered Raven, with a rare tenderness in her voice.

But inside her, the fear grew.

Helena approached, with her rigid posture and stern look.

"She manifested it suddenly" explained. "No provocation. Just... exploded."

Raven stared at her with dark eyes.

"Get everyone away. Now."

Helena nodded and left, leading the others.

Pandora, who had watched everything from afar, ran to them, ignoring the risks.

"Lili!" he called, with a tight heart.

Lili, still trembling, looked at Pandora, and the sparks began to subside.

Pandora approached slowly, reaching out.

"Trust me, my little one. Breathe with me. Slowly. That’s right..."

Guided by the soft voice of the fairy, Lili began to take a deep breath.

The sparks decreased until they disappeared completely, leaving only the natural glow of the girl’s childish wings.

Raven knelt beside Pandora, still holding her daughter firmly.

"You managed to calm her down," he said in a low voice, without hiding the relief.

Pandora smiled, stroking Lili’s hair.

"Fairy children are sensitive... She didn’t need magic. She just needed love and patience."

But inside Pandora, a shiver remained. That power Lili had manifested was not common.

Helena came back, bringing a cloak to cover the girl.

"I... I don’t know what happened," Lili said, sobbing.

Raven wrapped her in the cloak, squeezing it against his chest.

"Don’t worry, dear. Mommy will protect you. Always."

But his gaze exchanged a brief and tense contact with Pandora.

Later, in the safety of Raven’s Tower, Pandora was alone with the vampire, while Lili slept in a corner of the sofa, exhausted.

"Do you think she...?" Pandora couldn’t complete the sentence.

Raven took a deep breath, hand through hair, a rare gesture of nervousness.

"I feared it from the first time I held her in my arms" she confessed. "Lili is not an ordinary child, Pandora."

"The prophecy..." whispered Pandora, her heart tight.

Raven nodded.

"Someone among you will bring destruction or salvation"... " I thought it was you. Or Thiely. Or even Persephone. But now..." his eyes went to Lili, who slept peacefully.

"Raven..." Pandora approached, putting her hand on hers. "Whatever her fate is... I will protect her. You have my word."

Raven looked at her, dark eyes softened by the confidence and affection of Pandora.

"Would you protect even if it meant facing all of us?" he asked, his voice a cold whisper.

Pandora did not hesitate.

"For her? Yes."

The two remained silent, listening only to the soft sound of Lili’s sleeping breath.

But deep down, they both knew that soon they would have to choose between protecting the island... or protecting that little girl with innocent eyes.

The night fell on Arkanum with a thick blanket of silver mist, as if the island itself felt the weight of what was revealed that day.

In the tower, Lili continued to sleep soundly, protected by spells of silence and cosiness cast by Raven, who stood before the burning fireplace. The flames danced reflected in his dark eyes.

Pandora approached slowly, still feeling the echo of Raven’s words.

"You don’t have to carry this alone, Raven," she said softly.

The vampire turned her gaze to the young fairy, her hard strokes softened by tiredness.

"I always carried. Since the day I brought her into this world. From the moment I became a mother."

Pandora walked up to her, steady.

"No more," she said, with a decisive tone that surprised even herself. " If the prophecy speaks of anyone among us, then it is the responsibility of all of us. Not just yours."

Raven arched her eyebrow, the ironic trace that never disappeared appearing on her face.

"All of them? Including Thiely?" she teased, a bit bitter.

Pandora hesitated for a brief moment, but raised her chin firmly.

"Yes. Including Thiely. And even Persephone, Morgana and Amy. Whether we like it or not, we’re all stuck with that fate. Denying it won’t change anything."

Raven let out a low, tired sigh, and finally allowed herself to sit next to Pandora, eyes fixed on the flames.

"Do you really believe that we can protect all the ends of this wire before it breaks?" she asked, the voice sounding like a prayer.

Pandora thought for a few seconds before answering, watching the dancing shadows on the floor.

"I don’t know. But I know I won’t abandon anyone."

The silence stretched between them, comfortable and heavy at the same time. Both knew that there were no easy answers.

Lili shuffled on the couch, muttering incomprehensible words in her sleep. Raven stood up in an instant, maternal instinct to the surface of the skin, and stroked her daughter’s hair gently.

Pandora smiled, watching the scene.

"You have a good heart, Raven. No matter how hard you try to hide it."

Raven gave him a corner look, a half smile on his lips.

"Don’t spread this around. I need to keep my reputation as a cruel woman."

The two laughed low, almost in whispers, not to wake up Lili.

Pandora then walked to the window, staring at the starry night that poured over the sea.

"You know..." began, in a low voice "when the Goddess Selene warned us, I imagined that the threat would come from outside. It never crossed my mind that danger could be so... near."

Raven joined her at the window, eyes fixed on the same point in the horizon.

"That’s how it always happens," the vampire muttered. "The greatest dangers do not arise from distant enemies. They are born within the safest walls."

Pandora shook hands on the parapet, determined.

"It doesn’t matter. I’ll protect Lili. And I’ll protect each one of us until the last second."

Raven looked at her sideways, amazed by the fairy’s bravery.

"Do you really think you have the strength to carry all of us?" he asked, with a slight tone of irony, but also of admiration.

Pandora smiled, with a spark of humor in her eyes.

"I guess I’m used to carrying messed up hearts."

Raven laughed, sincere this time.

"That is true."

As the dawn advanced, Pandora and Raven stood side by side, united not only by affection, but by the certainty that when the time came, they would have to make impossible choices.

And the veil between love and destruction never seemed so thin as that night.