Starcrossed (Starcrossed 1)

?Yes, you would. In fact, I think that?s what your mother had in

mind for you all along,? Cassandra said in that spooky, faraway

voice she had a tendency to slip into at crucial moments. ?But

naming you is something your mother did in the past, and I can

only see the future.?

?You?re an oracle!? Helen said, astonished. She should have

known all along.

Suddenly, she wasn?t so sure she wanted to be alone with Cassandra.

There was something wrong about her eyes. Helen started

to circle around her, always keeping an equal distance between

them, but subtly closing the gap between herself and the exit.

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?Delphi, Delos. And the Oracle at Delphi was always one of

Apollo?s chosen priests,? Helen said as evenly as she could, trying

to keep Cassandra distracted.

?Close. The Oracle was always one of Apollo?s Scions, and always

a priestess. A girl,? Cassandra said bitterly. ?The Oracle of Delphi is

the female offspring of Apollo and the Three Fates.?

?I?m pretty sure that wasn?t in the book you gave me,? Helen said

uncertainly as Cassandra pulled the sword out of the ground, hefted

it in her hand thoughtfully, and took a few steps toward her.

?It wasn?t made known to any of the ancient historians, but they

did know that Apollo is the son of Zeus, and not one of the original

gods. He was second generation, a kind of glorified Scion, and, like

us, he was going to die eventually.? Cassandra came closer to

Helen, still holding the sword.

?Then why didn?t he?? Helen asked cautiously, trying to stay calm

so as not to provoke her. She circled back the other way, never taking

her eyes off the bright bronze blade that Cassandra alternately

lifted and let fall, as if she couldn?t entirely bring herself to raise it.