Page 33 of Styx

the sound of divine feet dancing with my brothers

as my sisters played a myriad of songs.

The sound was faint compared to

the drip drip drip of the water from the cave

but somehow it still lulled me to sleep.

I dreamed of disquieting things: eels,

my father’s thunderous face, and my brothers

and sisters laughing at my expense.

I tossed and turned on the hard rock floor

until finally my eyes snapped open.

And then I saw them.

A pair of feet

standing before me

close to where I slept.

Asteria

A CHILD MADE OF NEBULA AND PROPHECY PART II

The Secret

The voices in my head

were whispering again,

they needed my guidance,

they wanted me to hear them,

they needed their prophecies—

‘Asteria,’ my mother spoke over them,

just before I left, ‘remember

to return before Nyx flies

to paint the sky dark

so the stars can shine.’

I sighed. ‘But, Mother,

are the stars not my realm?

Should I not stay to watch