A Promised Prophecy

Chapter Fifty-Eight

There wasn't some massive shift in the crowd, which I'm not sure James necessarily wanted to begin with. But there was a pause, a deafening pause, the kind in which you could hear a pin drop. It took me a moment to process what James was saying, even though it was just a way of warning why certain policies are in place. It had implications, implications that maybe the people of Silverleaf were too privileged to accept, just like the people of Coralis. Contrary to the town square of Silverleaf feeling normal, there was a war going on outside of its borders and people were dead. What Cybill was saying was not just an amazing god-like level of prophecy no one had seen outside of Silverleaf but real-world scenarios happening too close to home.

James spoke up amid the silence by placing a hand in front of Cybill and gesturing through the crowd, as if to go somewhere else, "When you're ready."

"The people want answers," Cybill tried again, refusing to move.

James crossed his arms, realizing that Cybill wasn't going down without a fight. He didn't speak; he just stared at her with his arms crossed, not intending to do anything else. Cybill stared back, ready to challenge him. Except, Cybill didn't realize that James gave up on her bullshit. I was surprised she couldn't tell, but maybe she did think James and my disguise were lovers and couldn't see any further into the truth. If that was the case, she didn't know James nearly as well as she thought she did. Well, in some ways. To me, it meant that she didn't realize he would stand here and stare at her just as long as he did.

Regardless of how people around us responded, which was oddly quiet as they were assessing the situation themselves, James stared at Cybill. She began to fidget under his gaze, pulling at her blouse, adjusting herself in her chair and finally looking around for some form of response from the crowd, until her eyes finally met my own.

She immediately turned back to James, "I didn't want to play this card so early, but I guess I have no choice."

Something about the way she spoke, or maybe it was that our eyes met right before she said it, triggered my fight or flight response. I pushed my chair away from the table and walked away before she even finished her sentence. Given the crowd structure and sheer number of people, I didn't make it far before she continued with her plan.

"James," she announced loudly. "How can your people trust you when you already keep secrets?"

I was shoving my way through the onlookers when I briefly looked back. Cybill began to climb on the table and raised her arms into the air. The people around us responded to her moment of power, pushing to get closer to her and making my escape harder.

"Move," I ordered, fighting through the sea of people surrounding me. Realizing I wasn't going to get out of fast enough, I looked up for the Crystals, ready to make my escape back to the Vault.

"Rhea," Cybill cried. "I won't allow you to run any further."