Chapter 2

Humiliation burned my cheeks.

Josiah' s words echoed, "Eleanor is pure! She will bear the Harbinger!"

The commune murmured agreement.

I knew the truth.

Abigail, my "Blighted" child, was the true Harbinger.

Eleanor' s "blessed" Daniel was my stolen son.

This knowledge was a stone in my gut.

The ceremony continued.

Josiah praised Eleanor' s light, her purity.

He painted me as a shadow, a risk.

His new choice was clear.

Eleanor, radiant in her stolen glory, accepted the Locket.

She looked at me, a flicker of triumph in her eyes.

My father, a Community Elder, looked troubled.

He knew parts of the prophecy, the Old Sage' s words about me.

But Josiah' s power was absolute now.

The High Elder had spoken.

The choice was made.

Eleanor was the chosen one.

I was the outcast.