Beckett

"*I've been expecting you, Beckett, son of Poseidon, ruler of the five kingdoms.*"

*The door hasn't even shut behind me and the woman's back is to me as she stares out her back window, not bothering to turn around. I've never seen an oracle before, nor have I ever been presented with a picture of one, so I'm taken by surprise when I look at her form, a creature mixed between a human woman and an octopus. The top half of her is all woman; she has long blond hair that flows down her back, which is bare and curves in a way that one can only describe as feminine; her skin is silky smooth all over, a creamy milk color that gradually changes, taking on a deep ebony black around the curve of her waist, where her body contorts from a human to an octopus, eight silky legs, that somehow still look feminine even with the suckers. She's unique, which makes her dangerous, a woman that men will find tempting.*

"*Delphine?" I inquire, only wanting to give information after verifying her identity.*

"*The one and only," the woman replies, turning toward me finally, a faraway gaze in her eyes.*

*Before I can tell her why I'm here, I watch her eyes shift. Their glassy appearance is gone; now it's as if her eyes can see through me; they're bright and alert, full of wisdom. The premonition is spewing from her mouth before I can ask her my question.*

"*Without light, there cannot be darkness, and without darkness, there cannot be light. Steal the light from the darkness, and life will be bestowed. Steal the darkness from the light, and death will become but a shadow. Embrace the darkness. Include the light. Only then will the world be righted.*"

*When her eyes return to their glassy faraway look, I know I won't be given any more information. The Oracle has told me the knowledge she's obtained, and it's up to me how I decipher it.*

"*Beckett," Delphine smiles, her eyes not meeting my gaze, "Next time you stop by, make sure you aren't alone." She states eerily before turning to stare out the window again.*

*I high-tail it out of there. Not only eager to get away from Delphine but also eager to hold Katrina in my arms. It isn't until I'm halfway back to the surface that it dawns on me a secret has been revealed. Even the all-seeing is blind.*
*************************************************

"**Wait**... what?" Aphelion asks, scrunching his nose and rubbing his temple.

"This is why you don't fucking seek out Oracles." Miles groans.

Katrina looks confused. Samael looks almost as angry as Miles, and Luka's concentrating so hard on what I just said he looks constipated.

"I thought the light was life and darkness was death," Katrina mumbles, her head resting on Miles's arm, her left hand absent-mindedly stroking his forearm as she tries to soothe him, the diamond ring glinting on her finger.

My gaze zeroes in on the ring; it's not the same as what Miles showed us. The ring is made up of five large stones. The middle stone, slightly larger than the other four, is a typical engagement, princess cut diamond. The other four stones represent the four kingdoms; Moss agate for the Earth, Turquoise for the Sky, Stibnite for the Underworld, and Aquamarine for the Sea. The ring's band is onyx, a hidden representation of Tartarus. Even though he's engaged to our girl, giving his kingdom the ability to stake its claim, he's found a way to include all of us. I don't think my cousin will ever cease to amaze me. I tuck this information away so I can remember to thank him later and refocus, bringing myself back to the matter at hand.

When I realize no one has said anything, I speak up one more, "I think that the last part of Delphine's premonition is about Katrina. She's both light and dark. She needs to accept both parts of her to correct whatever is about to happen. It's why I don't think Kek was after Michael and Lilith. I think he wanted Katrina."

"How would he even know about Katrina? Lilith and Michael disappeared. No one knew of Lilith's pregnancy." Miles states firmly.

"Except that's not true," Samael states, standing abruptly, heading over to the table to grab a file he brought in with Luka, shuffling through some papers until he's clutching a few in his hand. He walks back to our little circle and shoves the papers at Miles, knowing he'll need concrete evidence, before plopping back down, sitting beside Katrina, and pulling Luka back firmly against his chest.

"Loki knew Lilith was pregnant; he visited her often during her pregnancy, the stalker who was taking those pictures knew Lilith was pregnant, and whoever he was taking them for also knew she was pregnant," Samael states, nodding his head toward the papers now in Miles' hands.

"How do you know someone was paying to have Lilith stalked?" I ask, already knowing the information wouldn't be in the paperwork Samael recovered.

Samael's face pinches with worry as if he's just remembered how he obtained this information, but Luka answers my question with a single word. "Hades."

Hades? How were they able to get this information from Hades? What excuse did they use? Why, if Hades knows, doesn't the rest of the Divine world know of Lilith's pregnancy?

"No. I don't know if my father knows the full truth." Samael answers, knowing its the question we all have, "He overheard Luka and me talking about finding this hidden folder in the archives. Due to a rather unfortunate mishap," his eyes flare, and his lips twist into a snarl, his voice laced with a hint of anger, "my father was more than willing to share any knowledge he had."

I notice Luka rub Samael's thigh and hear a soft murmur about forgiveness. Samael takes a deep breath and, on the release, seems to expunge all the anger in his body, the tension physically leaving as he relaxes his muscles.

"Apparently, the demon carrying this file was banished to the underworld and told my father that he'd been hired to spy on Lilith. My father never did say why he kept the information to himself, but he did say to be careful." Samael pauses, his adam's apple dropping as he swallows, "If Lilith had the baby, then SHE could be even more powerful than Lilith herself, especially if HER father is just as strong as Lilith."

I can feel my anxiety rising as I hear the emphasis on She and Her. Hades knows. He wouldn't say She/Her if he didn't. He's also keeping secrets. Secrets that he chose not to reveal to Luka and Samael. He knew Lilith was pregnant but didn't share the news. That in itself shows there's more than what Hades revealed.