Temple of the Winds

Her face paled. "I forgot. . until you said. . I told Jagang that I didn't believe him-about invoking the prophecy. He said that proof would come on the red moon. Richard, do you know what that means?" Richard's tongue felt thick. He made himself blink.

"The moon was red last night. I've been outdoors my whole life. I've never seen anything even remotely like it. It was like looking at the moon through a glass of red wine. It gave me goose bumps. That was why I came back early." "Richard, what did the prophecy say? Tell me."

He stared at her, trying to think of a lie he could make her believe. He couldn't. "It said," he whispered, " 'On the red moon will come the firestorm. The one bonded to the blade will watch as his people die. If he does nothing, then he, and all those he loves, will die in its heat, for no blade, forged of steel or conjured of sorcery, can touch this foe. »

Silence rang through the still room. Kahlan's face was white. "What's the rest of it? Jagang said it was a bound fork prophecy. What's the rest of it"-her voice broke-"the other fork? You tell me, Richard. Don't you lie to me. We're in this together. If you love me, then you tell me."

Dear spirits, let her hear the words, and not my dread. Let me at least spare her that.

His left hand clutched the hilt of his sword. The raised letters of the word TRUTH bit into his flesh. He blinked his vision clear. Show no fear.

" 'To quench the inferno, he must seek the remedy in the wind. Lightning will find him on that path, for the one in white, his true beloved, will betray him in her blood. »

CHAPTER 16

Kahlan could feel tears falling down her cheeks.

"Richard." She sucked back a sob. 'Richard, you know I would never. . You don't believe I could ever. . I swear on my life. I would never. . You have to believe me…"

He swept her into his arms as she lost control over a wail of anguish. "Richard," she sobbed against his chest, "I would never betray you. Not for anything in this world. Not to spare myself eternal torment in the underworld at the Keeper's hands."

"I know. Of course I know that. You know as well as I that you can't understand a prophecy by its words. Don't let it hurt you. That's what Jagang wants. He doesn't even know what it means; he just put it down there because the words sounded like what he wanted to hear." "But…I…" She couldn't halt her weeping. "Shhhh." His big hand held her head against him.

The terror of the night before, and the worse terror of the prophecy, came out in uncontrollable tears. She had never cried in the face of battle, but in the safety of his arms she couldn't control herself She was swept away by a flood of tears no less powerful than the torrent in the drainage tunnel. "Kahlan, don't let yourself believe it. Please don't." "But it says…I will. ."

"Listen to me. Didn't I tell you not to go down there to question Marlin? Didn't I tell you that I would do it when I got back, and that it was dangerous and I didn't want you down there?"

"Yes, but I was afraid for you and I just wanted-"

"You went against my wishes. No matter your reasons, you went against my wishes, didn't you?" She nodded against him. "That could be the betrayal in the prophecy. You were wounded, you were bleeding. You betrayed me, and you had blood on you. Your blood."

"I wouldn't call what I did a betrayal. I was doing it for you, because I love you and I was afraid for you."

"But don't you see? The words of prophecy don't always work the way they sound. At the Palace of the Prophets, in the Old World, both Warren and Nathan warned me that prophecies aren't meant to be understood by the words. The words are only obliquely connected to the prophecy." "But I don't see how-"

"I'm just saying that it could be something as simple as that. You can't let a prophecy gain control of your fears. Don't let it."

"Zedd told me that, too. He said that there were prophecies about me that he wouldn't tell me because the words weren't to be trusted. He said you were right to ignore the words of prophecy. But this is different, Richard. This says I will betray you."

"I already told you how it could be something simple." "Lightning isn't simple. Being struck by lightning is a symbol for being killed, if not an outright declaration of the manner of your death. The prophecy says I will betray you, and because of that, you will die."

"I don't believe it. Kahlan, I love you. I know it isn't possible. You wouldn't betray me and bring me harm. You wouldn't."

Kahlan clutched his shirt as she gasped a sob. "That's why Shota sent Nadine. She wants you to marry someone else because she knows I will be the death of you. Shota is trying to save you-from me."