It had been almost six years since Alexander had returned from the portal and the incident with Ciaran. Alexander had been cherishing every moment he had, as he never knew when the prophecy would come to pass or even when the next trial would come, which was also worrisome. It had been like a shadow looming over him. But, more than that, he didn't just have Owen to lose anymore. He had Aine.

A few months after the incident, Owen and Alexander heard King Rory and Queen Sile talking about Ciaran having a child out of wedlock and discussing what should be done with the child. Owen had spoken up before Alexander even had the chance to know what was happening and volunteered to raise the child. Alexander knew nothing about children, let alone elven children. He’d had his concerns and his doubts, but after a lengthy discussion, Owen had convinced him.

It was only supposed to last a short while, especially since Owen and Alexander weren't married, which was a big deal in this country. He wasn’t sure if it was like that all over Ellond, though. However, the short-term soon turned into the long-term. So, a year after Alexander had arrived in Ellond, he was now married to Owen, and they officially adopted Aine. In Earth’s terms, that would have been considered moving too fast, but to Alexander, it wasn’t. After all, he had no idea how much time he had left with Owen and Aine. Days, months, maybe years, he had no idea when the prophecy would conclude.

Though, he got the feeling it could be soon.

About a year or so ago, things started happening all over Ellond. Floods, fires, tornadoes, and all in places they didn’t usually happen. So far, even two dormant volcanoes have erupted. Everyone was on edge, and you could feel the fear when you entered town. Owen and Alexander did their best to hide their emotions and put up a brave front for Aine not to scare her.

Right now, Alexander was in the front garden of the castle, waiting for Owen to return. He had left nearly two weeks ago with his eldest brother Callum on a diplomatic mission into the Human territory of Saunian. Since they had to travel a long distance to the Capital, Alexander had been on edge since they left.

“Daddy.”

Alexander turned to see a younger elven girl with long dark brown hair tied into pigtails bounding towards him, teddy bear in hand. Alexander knelt and hugged her.

“Papa comes home today, right?” she asked excitedly after they pulled away from the hug.

Alexander nodded, “He does. Did you come to greet him with me?”

The front garden was close to the castle entrance, so watching the elves come and go from there was easy.

Aine nodded, “Uh-huh.” She said happily.

She walked over to one of the benches and sat down, smoothing her dress down after sitting. Alexander walked over and sat next to her. However, their wait didn’t last long after that, as you could hear a commotion coming from the docks as the royal percussion returned. Only a small group accompanied the princes back to the castle while the rest headed back to the barracks to make their reports.

Aine took off before Alexander could stop her, so by the time he got to where Owen waited in the throne room, Aine was already there hugging him and asking how his trip went. Alexander couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It seems I’m too slow, " he said as Owen walked over to him. They embraced. “I’m glad you made it back safely.”

Callum cleared his throat, signaling that he was still in the room. Owen and Alexander pulled away from each other. Callum was the oldest and the Crown Prince. He was tall, almost as tall as his father, with long dark blonde hair and violet-colored eyes. He was very close in appearance to Owen, with the same tawny-colored skin, although his build wasn’t as slim due to his training in swordsmanship. As the King and Queen entered, Queen Sile hugged both sons while the King got straight to the point.

“How did it go?”

Callum nodded, “the Human King Bjørn Rendall was very accommodating, and the meeting went well. A representative of each main territory was there, and an alliance was formed. In addition, King Bjørn has requested aid for the flooding in the northern region of their territory.”

The King nodded in approval. “Good, we couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome. Come, let’s discuss their need for aid.”

He motioned for Callum to follow him to discuss things more privately.

The Queen smiled at Owen, “I’m glad to see you and your brother home safe. Now, I’m sure you three want to catch up, so I’ll leave you be.” She said before leaving Owen, Alexander, and Aine alone in the throne room.

Aine was beaming, “Can we go somewhere?” she asked suddenly, wanting to spend time with both of her parents and not just Alexander.

Alexander chuckled, “Come now, I’m sure your Papa here wants to rest. After all, he's been on a long journey, remember?”

Aine pouted, clearly upset. Owen smiled, “I’m not that tired. Let's go into town and have a meal together, shall we?”

Alexander could tell that Owen wasn’t entirely honest and was tired, but he understood why he had made the suggestion.

Aine bounced, “Yay!”

She was always so full of energy that sometimes it was hard to keep up with her. It wasn’t long after that that the three of them had cleaned up and headed into town.

They had decided on a small restaurant that was situated on the docks. It was Aine’s favorite. Owen glanced at Alexander as they ate and mouthed the words, ‘Are you okay?’ Alexander nodded, deciding to talk with Owen later, not wanting to ruin the meal.

Suddenly, the chairs beneath them began shaking.

As Alexander glanced at his cup, he saw the tea moving as the table became restless. However, the shaking didn’t last long, and as abruptly as it began, it stopped, and Alexander looked at Owen, who was more than a little startled.

Worry clouded both their faces. “I didn’t think Celecia had earthquakes this close to the border?”

Owen shook his head, “normally, we don’t. We need to head back to the castle.”

Normally, Aine would have protested and wanted to stay out longer, but the quake had shaken her. Alexander scooped her up in his arms, and they all walked quickly back to the castle. After Alexander left Aine with one of the nursemaids, he headed for the council chamber, where Owen waited.

The room was large enough to accommodate at least fifteen people, including King Rory and Queen Sile. It was adorned with décor similar to the throne room, with the same sanguine rug taking up the entire floor space and a large rectangular oak table taking up most of the room. There were only two doors to this room, one to enter and the other to enter the room adjacent, which was the study room and held scrolls and books often used during meetings.

Once Alexander arrived, Owen looked at his father.

“How long has it been since Celecia experienced a tremor like that?” he asked, concern filling his voice.

Everyone was here. King Rory and Queen Sile, Ronan, Owen, Callum, Shauna, and Alexander.

Callum spoke up instead of their father, “If I recall, was the last time not when Sleeping Storm last erupted?”

King Rory closed his eyes for a moment, his bangs falling before his eyes. Then, when he opened them again, he spoke.

“It’s been centuries since Sleeping Storm last erupted, and I don’t think I need to tell you all how devastating it would be if it went off again. Our Capital is in its direct path, and we would need to be the first to evacuate.”

He looked at Ronan, “You were alive when it last went off if I recall.”

Ronan nodded, “I was but a child no older than Aine is now, but yes, I was around when it last went off. Unfortunately, though, at the time, we were not aware it was a volcano, so we had no preparation or planning, and when it erupted, many lives were lost.”

“Though if these are warning signs that Sleeping Storm is going to erupt again, we have more warning and should be able to plan an evacuation.” Shauna, who was quiet until now, spoke.

Callum looked at Alexander, “You’ve been quiet. What are your thoughts?”

When Alexander didn’t respond, Owen glanced at him, “Alex?”

Alexander was so deep in thought and didn’t even realize that Callum spoke to him until Owen touched his shoulder.

“Alex?” he asked again.

Alexander looked up to see all eyes on him and felt his face flush with embarrassment.

“Sorry, I was just thinking, could everything happening be related to the prophecy?”

Shauna looked down, “I think it is, but.”

She trailed off, leaving her sentence unfinished.

Ronan looked at her, “Go on; they need to hear it.”

Shauna looked very uncomfortable, something that was unusual for her. She typically had no problems talking about anything if it needed to be said.

“It's Owen.”

Owen frowned, “what about me?”

Tears welled up in her eyes and fell down her cheeks. At that moment, everyone knew what she was trying to say. Shauna had many gifts for her age, though one was more like a curse than a gift. She could see when someone was going to die, though she could not always see how.

Alexander felt himself go numb. “No, how?”

Shauna shook her head, “I, I don’t know.” She was crying now, and Queen Sile hugged her daughter.

“How will we stop it if we don’t know what will happen? We-“

Alexander felt his voice rising in frustration, but Owen's hand on his arm cut off his words.

“It's alright; I think I know how.” He gave a small, almost inaudible sigh. “It’s probably prophecy, right?”

Alexander looked confused before Owen continued speaking, “The prophecy simply says that it will, in essence, save the fate of Ellond by, in turn, taking away the prophesied person’s fate. That doesn’t always mean their life, though. Before meeting Alex, we all assumed it would be their life. That isn’t the case, though, is it?” everyone knew what he was getting at.

Alex did, too, though he hated the conclusion. The thing Alexander cared for the most. What was most important to him wasn’t an object or his life. It was a person—two of them. Owen and Aine, and he didn’t want to lose either of them. Taking either of them would emotionally kill him.

“There has to be a way around this,” Alexander said as he fought tears.

Ronan shook his head, “prophecies are tricky and hard to avoid. Sometimes it's possible to change them, but most of the time, it's impossible.”

No one seemed comfortable with the conversation or its implications. Still, no one could find a solution, and no progress was made when the king concluded the matter, and everyone dispersed. Callum stopped Owen and Alexander before they left, and he hugged his brother.

“Don’t worry; we'll find a way to stop this, I promise.”

Later that evening, Owen and Alexander were in their room, and Alex was pacing. It was as if his worst nightmare was playing out right before his eyes, and he could do nothing to stop it.

Owen sat on the bed, watching him pace, before finally he sighed, “Could you please stop pacing? You're making me nervous.”

Alexander stopped but frowned, “I’m making you nervous? What about the prophecy? What about what your sister said at the meeting.”

His voice was raised again, and he felt like he was hyperventilating. Finally, he sat down and held his face in his hands.

“It was supposed to be me,” the words were barely a whisper.

Owen wrapped his arms around Alexander.

" It’ll be okay. I’m sure we can find a way to prevent it, and everything will go back to normal in no time.”

Alexander heard Owen say the words, but he didn’t believe them, and the panic that was seizing him only continued to grow, and in the weeks to come, it didn’t get better. The quakes didn’t get any better either and instead got worse.

It was as if everything was getting worse.