The Prophecy (The Goddess Game Book 1)

Chapter 15

Amelia knelt in front of her potatoes, the stalks still bright green and straight as a board. They wouldn't be ready until next month, but she was craving the comfort of potato soup after the long day she had had. After Jeremy left the clinic, her mood had shifted from pleasant to increasingly agitated.

Despite her conviction that she trusted Jeremy more than herself in this matter, there was still a little voice in the back of her head that told her Jeremy was wrong. She tried her best to ignore it, but flashes of Osric from these last two weeks kept invading her brain. She saw him laughing at something she had said, him and Esmerelda teasing one another, the gentle reminders he gave Esmerelda while they trained, and lastly his face, half-submerged in water after thanking her for listening to his problems. Those didn't seem like the actions of a tyrant. But that didn't change the fact that Jeremy was having a hard time with him. And the burns on his hands were proof of strain.

Letting out a frustrated breath, she took her watering can and, closing her eyes, she poured water over the potatoes and imagined the tubers slowly growing until they were ready to be picked. When she opened her eyes, the stalks were yellow and wilted.

After gathering enough potatoes and an onion for her soup, she went inside. She nearly dropped her basket when she saw someone spread out on her couch. His feet hung off the edge and his arm was slung over his eyes. Soft snores came from his slightly parted lips. Osric. He must have come in while she was out in the garden. After they had returned from the meadow, she gave him permission to just come in when he got here.

She couldn't move as she looked at him. She hadn't been outside more than 10 minutes. He must have come in, laid down, and passed out within that time. He must be exhausted, that sympathetic voice said. And just like that, all of her apprehension from earlier was gone. She still wasn't sure if Osric was pushing those under him too hard, but that didn't matter in this moment, because it was obvious that he was pushing himself just as hard.

What they didn't know, what Jeremy didn't understand, was why he was pushing them so hard. But she did. It was the same reason she had spent so many sleepless nights as she trained to be a healer. Because they're some of the only people that know that a threat is coming.

Staying as quiet as she could, she walked to the kitchen and began preparing dinner. Amelia loved cooking. It reminded her of making potions. Plus, having something do with her hands helped take her mind off of things.

As she listened to the boiling cream and potatoes, she began humming and swaying to the music in her head. Getting lost in the rhythm of her song and the bubbling soup, everything else disappeared. Her worries, her hopes, everything.

"Your soup is about to boil over," came a deep, amused voice.

Amelia yelped and spun around, thankfully not spilling any of the soup. "Jeez," she panted, placing a hand over her racing heart, "Make some noise when you enter a room!"

"I haven't technically entered," he said, leaning against the door jam, a small smile playing on his face. His eyes were still heavy with sleep.

"Did I wake you?"

He shook his head, "I didn't mean to fall asleep. We're supposed to be spending time together." He stretched, gripping the top of the door jamb as he did. Amelia's heart gave a little leap when his shirt rose with his movement, revealing a small sliver of his stomach above his pant line. "Why didn't you wake me?" he asked through a yawn.

Needing to avert her gaze, she turned around to stir the soup. "You looked so peaceful; I couldn't bring myself to. The soup will be done in about 5 minutes if you want to go wash up." He nodded and left the room, looking like he would fall asleep mid-step. She instantly missed the way he filled the tiny space.