Chapter 21: Chapter 19

Violence Content Warning!

Is it foolish to think one can defy prophecy?

Sköll heitir ulfr,

Er fylgir inu skírleita goði

Til varna viðar,

En annarr Hati,

Hann er Hróðvitnis sonr,

Sá skal fyr heiða brúði himins.

- Grímnismál stanza 39

Translation:

Skoll is the name of the wolf

Who follows the shining priest

Into the desolate forest,

And the other is Hati,

Hróðvitnir’s son,

Who chases the bright bride of the sky

Chapter 19

These Gods hadn’t spent enough time around wolves.

They stared hard and murmured loud, posturing with heads straight, shoulders back, every marker of challenge in their body language.

The magic in the room didn’t help the situation. The tingling presence awoke my own. My fingers tingled, energy thrumming over my skin as I met each pair of eyes with a passive expression, making sure each time that they looked away first; even if they only looked away to further the gossip flying around the room.

It reminded me of the pack a bit; the way they stood shoulder to shoulder around tables set similarly to back home in the food hall, a solid wall ready to protect. Padded couches like the ones in Ingrid’s chambers lined the walls too, taken up by lounging gods with watchful eyes and smirks playing about their lips as they swirled golden goblets filled with sweet smelling wine.

One thing stood out immediately however. There were no pups. No one looked younger than myself, but I couldn’t trust my eyes to gauge age. Their eyes were the only clue that behind their appearance were ancient beings. Nobody could hide many lifetimes lived from showing in their swirling depths. It was a glint no one human lifetime could gain.

Did my eyes look like that even though I didn’t remember all of my lifetime?

Maybe that was one of the reasons Hati didn’t believe me when I first arrived, maybe that was why he’d suspected I must have been sent by his brother or a god.

Vali slunk away to a distant corner as Hati and I neared the high table. The row of gods staring down at us were all stern faced and impossibly beautiful. In fact, they were impossible full stop. I knew these faces from the stories told to me in my youth. Even after meeting Freyja herself, it felt surreal to see the auburn-haired Thor in all his bulk that threatened to tear the seams of his tunic, and the Tyr with his one hand and steely eyes I swore judged my every move. It was the man stood by Freyja who made my entire body shudder, however.

Hati bristled next to me as one intense blue eye, for the other was covered by a plain leather patch that I’d expected to be gold. Blonde hair was braided and decorated in glittering beads with runes etched into their surface, and his skin glowed a golden hue the same as the spear that rested on the wall behind him.

“Fàilte,” he greeted warmly, no sign of mistrust in his expression as their was on the faces of most of the others.

His use of my native tongue was probably meant to put me at ease, but I felt another icy shiver go up my spine. “All Father.”

“You may call me, Odin. There is no need to use such formal titles when we sit to eat.” His one eye crinkled at the corners as he smiled warmly. “I must thank you for the news you brought-“

“Vali brought it,” I corrected sharply.

Hati gave my arm a squeeze, but he’d told me to be myself and so I would be.

“Of course.” There was less warmth as he turned to pin Vali under his gaze.

My mate’s uncle shrunk deeper into the shadows. There was more than a few hisses of displeasure at his presence.

“I thank you both all the same. You’re very welcome here and you are invited to sit and share of our meat and mead. Come sit on my right,” Odin said as he turned back, causing yet more gasps and murmurs. I may not have been brought up amongst gods or humans but I knew sitting on the right hand of an Alpha, or a king of gods, was a place of high honour. “I am sure there is more you would ask of me in regards to your pack, Hati, and I am willing to hear, and help if I can. You took great risk in coming here when your brother begged of you to remain neutral, and he will not take well if he were to hear you chose a side. That must be rewarded.”

I was sure he explained his actions more for the benefit of the scowling gods around the room than for us. Most accepted it, grudgingly, but they did. They understood the risks we’d taken. However, the reminder caused Hati to stiffen next to me. Eyes squeezing shut, his chest heaved with a harsh breath. I slid my fingers down his arm to brush against his own.

We had no choice. He’d done the right thing. Whatever happened, however Sköll retaliated, the fault would lie with Sköll alone. We hadn’t expected to be rewarded with the ability to ask for help of gods. Help we desperately needed. This surety I tried to communicate with my mate by touch alone, my body pressing closer to his, going on tiptoe to nuzzle my head beneath his chin.

Tension melted from him slowly. Golden eyes met mine, bright with gratitude and love that filled my chest with warmth, before he looked up to Odin once more. “I would be honoured to sit at your right. Indeed, there are some requests we would make of you in regards to repairs being made to our home, and defences you might be able to advice me on to best protect my pack.”

Surprise flashed across the god’s face. Maybe he had expected Hati to refuse out of pride. That made me look up at Hati again and wonder what I would have made of the wolf he’d been the last time he set foot here. Odin shared a glance with his smirking wife before proffering his arm to the chairs beside him. Creaks and scraping wood on stone echoed as space was made for us both. Space next to the children of Freyja and Odin.

I chortle got caught in my throat.

If I woke up and this had all been a dream, I would not need any other convincing.

“I will never get used to this,” I murmured. Not even being mated to one of the wolves from the same stories as these mythical beings all staring at me with mixed emotions.

Hati tugged on my hand to urge me to move, yet the surreal feeling of floating in a dream quickly shifted. An unpleasant tingle went up my spine, one that in wolf form would have had my hackles standing on end. It warned of a nearby threat. I twisted on the spot, scanning ever face, every darkened corner and window, for what my senses picked up on.

“We’re safe here,” Hati promised, tugging on my hand again.

But we weren’t. My heart beat faster, pumping adrenaline through my veins, joints loosening in preparation to shift forms, despite the face I couldn’t pinpoint the one in the room harbouring dark intent.

“He is right,” Freyja called out. “You are safe. Everyone here we trust with our lives. We do not harm those we have invited into our hall; we believe in the same guest rights as your people back home.”

Another scan of the room proved their point. Many disapproved openly of us, but more watched with a hungry curiosity that made my stiffened form finally loosen. Fear lingered in the expressions of a few as well. Of me. And that knowledge rocked my entire being.

I shook my head and took a breath to refocus.

Whatever I’d picked up on was gone. It wasn’t unlike me to be skittish on another’s territory. That was all it was, I told myself. Nobody else sensed what I did. My gaze shifted to Vali but even that suspicion proved fruitless; he looked around with the same alertness I did. He didn’t want to be here and would be happier once we returned home.

A comforting growl from Hati softened the last of my prickled skin.

“We will be home soon,” he murmured, squeezing my hand and finally rousing my limbs into moving. Golden eyes flicked around the room as he maneuvered me to walk in front.

A look of mutual respect passed between him and Odin as he took his place. Hati might have trusted him, and Freyja, but that trust wasn’t extended to everyone in the hall. I hated to think I’d put him at ill ease. At the high table it was impossible to hide from the stares and whispers. Hati barely touched the food as he laid out his need to Odin. I couldn’t eat either. Not when my name was spoken so much it was a song sung in the air. But I managed a hearty swallow of the mead.

“There are some here who think we shouldn’t allow you to leave. They talk of keeping you here, one way or another.” The observation was spoken so plainly by the giant male crushing me between his side and Hati, that it was the only reason I didn’t take it as a threat.

“And I’m sure there are some here who don’t think I should be here at all,” I replied. “You’re one of the few who isn’t looking at me like I should be chained up or tossed out.”

Hati’s fingers slid across my leg, showing that he was paying attention to me even while he conversed with Odin, and another god he waved to join them. I caught the odd word here and there - tools, plans, workers – and from the sound of it Hati might manage to get us hands who knew how to wield the tools he was bartering for. That would be good. Too few in the pack knew how to build, and those who could, could only teach so much so quickly.

“My mother thinks you have more right to be here than any of us. You’ve wandered these lands long before half in here were created, and will most likely outlast most of us too. Myself included.”

Whatever I thought meeting Thor himself would be like, not that I’d ever really considered such a meeting, it certainly wouldn’t have been this. His smile was friendly, eyes alight with mirth that nearly hid the weight of a hundred life times and an impending death. His end too had been foretold - a heroic end at that - for one of the most famous warriors to live. But he wasn’t a warrior sitting next to me now. His aura was warm, and he made respectful eye contact that told of time spent amongst wolf-kind. I could have been sitting next to any stranger.

“We will see about that,” I replied. “It turns out I may not be here much longer than you."

Auburn eyebrows tugged low over eyes the same vibrant cerulean as his parents’. To change the subject to more lighter topics acceptable at a meal, I was about to remark on how unimaginable it was to be seated next to the man from one of my brother’s favourite bedtime stories, when the whole hall fell suddenly quiet.

I almost didn’t feel it at first, the tremble beneath my feet that grew until the tables rattled. Men and women were on their feet in an instant, weapons in hand and eyes alert.

“It’s the ground,” I murmured.

“Yes, but it is no earth quake, my lady,” Thor advised as he stood slowly and reached for the short handled hammer resting by his feet. The metal shimmered as he did, magic electrifying the air as if something linked the god and his legendary hammer together.

For a long minute we all waited, and the longer nothing happened, the more tension choked the hall.

“Husband?” Freyja prompted as Odin lowered his spear. “I think it would be wise to-“

Her words were cut off by a scream, and it took my pain-blinded mind a second to register that it was my own. My body curled in on itself as fiery pain shot up my arm, skin crackling and bubbling as if doused in flames. Hati flew to his feet and yanked my chair back, his voice fuzzy to my ears. Water was grabbed from somewhere and poured over my flesh, and I felt the prodding touch of Hati’s magic but we already knew his power did not work on me.

Even after the pain began to ebb, I felt the strangest sensation, as if someone was hacking away at a piece of my soul.

“It hurts,” I gasped, allowing one of Freyja’s handmaid’s to inspect my arm.

Around us was a flurry of chaos. Orders were being thrown out in every direction, and all the while my mate was demanding answers from the grim-faced King and Queen.

“What is going on?”

“The distraction you warned us of, I believe it has begun. I’m sending warriors to deal with the intrusion,” Odin explained, squaring himself up to Hati when he dared growl. “Eabha has a connection to Yggdrasil. I believe that it what they’ve attacked. They want to draw us away from the hall.”

“Yes,” I hissed through pain, doing my best to face them when they but blurry splodges to my eyes. “That’s it, that’s what I’m feeling. They’re attacking the world tree. We have to go. We have to stop them.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Hati argued.

“I agree,” Freyja added. “You should remain within our walls until this is over and you can return home. This attack has been too well timed, Sköll must know you’re here. Running out there is exactly what he would want.”

“Vali.” Hati’s gaze tore from me to the cowering male emphatically shaking his head.

“I did not tell him you were coming here! It isn’t out of the realms of possibility that your spy figured it out. Please, I swear I did not give you up.”

I staggered upright and placed a calming hand on my mate’s back, feeling tense muscle twitch beneath my palm. “He hasn’t been out of our sight, Hati. How could it be him?”

Another growl rumbled from his chest, echoing around the now near empty hall. Food and drink lay abandoned on tables, the beaches skewed at awkward angles from warriors rushing out. Hati’s golden eyes scanned the room before they fell on my face, and then the arm I held to my chest.

He choked. I couldn’t bring myself to look at the damage.

I wouldn’t get the chance too either.

Odin was right. Sköll thought attacking Yggdrasil would draw away the warriors of Asgard, but a dozen remained ready, including Odin and Freyja themselves, when the doors of the hall burst open.

Odin whipped his spear into his hands just as Hati tossed me towards Vali and shifted to the form of his wolf, leaping over the tables before the sound of clanking swords had even reached my ears. I threw myself forward as my mate joined the line of warriors at the door, keeping the enemy from spilling inside. Vali tried and failed to keep a hold of me, but Gná planted herself in front of me, crossing her spear in front of her body to bar the way.

“You are injured, and you have never fought in battle.”

“I have fought before. I have defended my territory from other packs, I have faced Blood Drinkers and Gods before.” I lifted myself tall, and peeled my lips back to show fangs when she still refused to move.

My gaze flicked over her shoulder. Blood already coated the floor, but no enemy had managed to make it past the line as of yet. Who would want to when Hati, a towering wolf of grey and cream fur hiding rippling muscle, growled with snapping jaws, waited to take down any who managed.

Gná’s expression softened with sympathy, but she stood firm. “No. You are our last hope. Your safety is all that matters.”

The first of Sköll’s warriors broke through; a tall and lithe man wearing little armour, his long hair bound back to show pointed ears, feline features contorted into a snarl as he ran at my mate. The metal tip of his spear glinted in the setting sun, and my heart jumped into my throat as I watched Hati crouch to face it head on. Fangs just as sharp as the spear grabbed hold of the shaft and crunched down, causing wood to splinter and fly off. When another broke through the line before Hati had dealt with the first, nothing could have held me back.

My dress ripped down one side as bones and muscle reformed and fur sprouted from skin. I shook myself out, my surroundings sharpening in a form meant for battle. My vision tinted red as I watched a knife slice across Hati’s chest and red begin to stain his fur. On all fours, it was too easy to get around Gná. Strength pulsed through my limbs. I flew over the table, claws sliding across the marble floor, desperation to defend my mate’s flank overriding any sense of fear.

While my mate slammed the elven warrior to the ground, I leapt over him to tackle a heavy-armoured dwarf swinging an axe towards Hati’s back.

Blood sprayed across both of us. It was tricky to strike for the kill with armour in the way, but I managed to get the dwarfs throat between my teeth, and shook my head so flesh tore. Warm copper flooded my mouth. With the taste of enemy blood on my tongue, I turned and aimed my furious growl at the dwindling number still fighting to get through.

“Stay back!” a voice shouted.

Ears twitching, I pinpointed who it was. Blood streaked and fierce, Odin took down elves and dwarves alike with quick jabs and slices of his spear. Magic shimmered in the doorway. Whatever ward kept this hall safe, it was being pressured by more than bodies alone but a foreign magic that stuck like oil to my skin.

I shook out my fur and snapped my jaw.

I didn’t want to stay back. I wanted to crash through the fighting gods and fulfil my need for violence. Each one of them was as equally guilty as their leader for what skin shifters had been through, for what happened to my brother and Uncle. I would have what was owed to me.

Hati planted himself in front of me, tail flicking in warning, ears swivelling to make sure we were safe. I snapped my teeth. He lowered his head and growled, bloodied fangs on show as his dominance demanded I submit.

How could he deny me this?

A cry behind us warned Hati another warrior had broken through. His distraction was all I needed. I beat him to dealing with the shorter warrior holding a long sword. A whiff of their scent reached me, and my pace faltered, as did the way the warrior made no attempt to lift the sword in his hand. In fact, his wide eyes and trembling lip spoke of fear. . .

Hati shoved me out of the way, a swipe of his claws tearing the warrior’s chest. Blood bubbled forth, and he feel to his knees, a look of confusion and shock play about his dainty features.

Irritation replaced whatever had caused me to falter. Hati had taken my kill, and Odin, Freyja and their kin were finishing off the last dregs of the attack.

“Leave one!” someone ordered.

A scuffle broke out. Most leaned against what they could to catch their breath, Hati’s whole form heaved with heavy breaths, but I was still thrumming with pent up energy that now had nowhere to go. I shifted to skin in the hopes of regaining control of my instincts. Death gave the air an acrid scent that made my nose scrunch, and het my gums ached with the need to sink my teeth into something. My fingers twitched at my sides.

Hati shifted too, his bright eyes raking over my naked, blood splattered form to assure himself I was unharmed. Even with my damaged arm, I was better off than him, but he didn’t seem to feel the ragged wound on his chest, nor notice the steady flow of blood.

Freyja stepped beside me as the only survivor of the attack was slung to his knees with his arms secured at his back.

“Tend to the wounded,” Odin ordered as he circled round to stand with us.

Only a few gods were led hobbling or carried away. Three remained with their weapons aimed at the pointed-eared elf with silk dark hair falling from the ribbon at the nape of his neck. Pale red eyes, nearly pink in hue, narrowed as they fell on me.

“She-wolf. You’re the bitch causing our leader to lose sleep?” Blood dripped from his split lip down his chin as he spoke, his teeth painted a gruesome red as he sneered. “Not as pretty as your brother. It’s a pity I couldn’t touch him when we visited him in-“

My fist flew out, colliding with the side of the elf’s face. A snap and loud crunch made us both wince. The elf’s face whipped to one side, his eyes rolling back before he managed to straighten up, blinking rapidly. My hand throbbed. I hissed, spinning on my heel to hide the tears in my eyes. I’d broken a finger at the very least. I’d never punched anyone in my life.

Hurting an unarmed and bound enemy was beneath me. Shame made my mouth turn sour.

“Now you are completely useless,” Gná muttered, eyeing me in ear disapproval.

One arm burnt, and the other hand unable to move. It was no wonder Hati stood with his glare moving between the smug elf who’d baited me, and myself who’d foolishly taken the bait. He made his decision, reaching out to take my wrist with a frustrated growl. Before I realised what he was doing, he locked his hand tight and grabbed my finger, tugging the joint back into place. A flash of pain blinded me and I struck out at his chest. He staggered back with a flash of teeth that told me he wasn’t impressed with my actions, that there would be a conversation later, maybe even consequences, but not in view of others.

Hugging my still throbbing hand to my chest, I tilted my chin up and met his gaze. It was worth it.

Thor cleared his throat as he entered the hall again, swinging his hammer in his hands. His neat braids had flyaway hairs but I couldn’t see any wounds on him. “They didn’t get the weapon Sköll sought, and if he really did know Eabha was here and this was an attempt to get her, then he sent useless warriors. Swatting flies is more challenging.”

“Maybe he didn’t know she was here,” Hati said. “I would like to take her home before he does. Her wounds need tended to and I must check there were no further attacks on my pack, or those I sent to keep an eye on the nearby port.”

“You may take her home, Hati,” Freyja agreed, before looking towards where her son shifted his weight. “What is it?”

“It was confirmed Yggdrasil was attacked. One of the limbs was hacked off and was taken. I can not think as to why. You are wiser in these matters.”

“I can think of only one reason but to what end? I am unsure as of yet, I will look into it.” Creased blue eyes fell to me.

But I’d already guessed as much. Sköll must have been aware of my connection to the world tree. Could he exploit it somehow using a now dead branch of Yggdrasil?

“We got exactly what we wanted in coming here, you fools,” the elf spat. “More then we’d bargained for, in fact.” His pale red eyes flicked to the warrior Hati had felled.

A sick feeling twisted my gut. There was something. . .something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. . .the reason I’d hesitated. . .

“Eabha what is it?”

I shook my head, crouching by the body. Again a gut feeling told me something wasn’t right.

“See me.” The echo of a female’s voice made me jump, the same ghostly tone as when I’d heard the voices of the dead. . .

“Eabha!” Hati demanded.

A scent. There was a scent coming from the fallen elf. A warrior who hadn’t attacked. . .

I inhaled deeply, catching the sweetness of hormones, similar to how my mother smelt when she was still feeding my younger siblings from her breast.

Horrified, my head whipped back to our captive. He smirked at me. A flurry of ancient sounding words spilled from his lips, sparking an electric charge in the air. Magic.

The mirage he’d created faded.

Before me, where the dead male elf had lay, now lay a woman with oaken skin and hair as bright as the sun. Eyes a similar golden fire colour as Hati’s stared blankly at the wall, her pale lips parted on a final gasp. Blood covered every inch of her, the open wounds of her chest ragged and deep.

“Álfröðull!” an older male ran forward and fell at her side, turning her limp head towards him. A broken yowl broke free, the male tugging the woman’s limp body onto his lap as his tears fell onto her cheeks.

I stood slowly and backed away. No one else moved. No one else breathed.

At first, I didn’t understand the ruse. Didn’t understand why the captive elf was laughing. Until Freyja murmured softly from my side, “Sól, she was goddess of the sun. Another step towards Ragnarök has been taken.”

Hati dropped to his knees.

Expression blank, he paled to the point I thought he might be sick. I ran to him.

“You let him into our hall,” the male bellowed, clutching at the dead goddess with misted eyes as he aimed his anger at his King. “You knew what that wolf was destined to do and you let him come here. I will make sure my granddaughter knows where to place the blame of her mother’s death! And you wolf. You will know no peace for this. Every time you watch the sun rise I hope it haunts you.”

Hati didn’t react. In fact he didn’t seem to hear or see a thing happening around him. Not even when I rubbed my hand along his shoulder, not when my growl rumbled out towards the god whose gaze had shifted to spit fire at my mate.

“Do not raise Sinthgunt to hate, Mundilfari. My friend.” Odin crouched at Mundilfari’s side and placed a hand on his back. That touch was all it took for the grieving father to break.

It hurt to watch. It hurt to once more see a glimmer of hope as he looked to me, only for it to fade at whatever Odin whispered in his ear.

I’d heard her voice, but that was all I could do. I would have offered condolences, even help if it was possible, but my help was needed elsewhere. Sinking to my knees before my mate, I cupped his slack jaw in my hand and pressed my cheek to his, offering a deep purr and a nip to the sensitive spot beneath his ear.

Around us the battle was cleaned up, the dead taken away with the grieving, while Thor ran to check on Sól’s brother Mani who’s fate was closely intertwined with her, as Hati’s was with Sköll. Freyja lingered somewhere nearby, as did Vali and Gná, but they did their best to remain motionless as I tried to tempt my mate out of wherever shock and guilt had drawn him.

“Mate mine,” I murmured at his ear, drawing his hand up to where my heart beat for him. “Tha gaol agam ort. I love you.”

He didn’t say anything. But his gaze lifted to meet mine, brimming with hope. I knew him well after so few months. I knew what he feared. This wouldn’t make me fear him. Not would it change that I wanted him.

“I will not allow you to take blame for this.”

He shuddered and closed his eyes. “Eabha-“

“No.” Fingers tangled in his hair, I bit at his lip harder than necessary to regain his eyes. “I will not allow you to take what belongs to your brother. As your Alpha Female, I refuse, and you will not challenge me on this. We will go home, you will cry and feel what you must, and then you will rise up again with me, and we will make Sköll face up to what he has done.” Furious with fate, and maybe she who foretold it, I turned to face Freyja and stated, “We are leaving. Now. I do not trust Mundilfari.”

Because I knew what my father would do if I had been hurt, and the male who’d done so - whatever the circumstances - was nearby.

“I will call on Heimdallr.”

She moved to leave then paused when I added, “Sinthgunt, Sól’s daughter, she will survive Ragnarök, yes?”

“If you do what you must.”

“Then Hati and I will visit her. We will watch over her. It was not his fault, but it’s our way. We look after the young.”

She smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. She looked to Hati still kneeling on the floor, and nodded, her voice firm as she agreed, “No, it was not his fault.”

Gná followed her Queen out of the hall. She too paused, turning back to bow her head before leaving. Before the chaos, I would have preened under gaining the warrior’s respect. All I could manage was a small tight lipped smile in return.

Heimdallr did arrive, far more sombre than when we’d met this morning. He opened the Bifröst without a word, and maybe it was the prickle of magic that made Hati stir.

He stood slowly, his voice empty of emotion as he said, “We should get dressed first. Caldar will have a fit when he sees us in this state.”

I nodded, but didn’t move until I was certain he was capable of walking to where his clothes lay mostly torn. Vali brought what was left of my dress for me, more skittish than ever with his darting gaze and trembling hands. He probably thought he was in for it too when Sköll’s warriors had battered at the doors.

Home would be a blessing.

I could see the Bifröst properly this time in all its shimmering glory, a bridge of rainbow flames leading into the sparkling stars of the cosmos.

“Lift your head up, wolf,” Heimdallr urged as he moved aside to let us cross the bridge.

Hati accepted the arm held out to him, embracing the god as if old friends, and maybe they were. Eyes as mysterious as the stars moved to me, and the god offered all the words of comfort I needed in a simple incline of his head.

“Thank you, Heimdallr,” I murmured, before looking up at my sullen mate.

Vali crossed first, eager to leave without so much as a glance back. Sliding my hand into Hati’s, I intertwined our fingers and squeezed tight.

But fate had one more hand to deal.

A howl rang through the air.

All the hair on my body stood on end.

The power that sound had, the way it demanded submission. . .the only thing that stopped me from lifting my head to answer the primal call was the stricken way Hati stood. Mouth slack, eyes dimming all the more, the howl did not excite his blood as it did mine. He looked like he’d seen a ghost, or rather, like he’d heard one.

That’s when I knew. And heat turned to ice in my veins.

“This was all a trap,” Hati choked out. “All of it. Sköll wasn’t after the sword in the vault, or you, he wanted me to fulfil my destiny, he wanted to free him. . .”

“Free who?” I asked, despite knowing full well the dreaded answer because maybe, just maybe, I was wrong.

“Fenrir. Sköll freed Fenrir. He’s forced me to take another step on the path to Ragnarök by killing Sól, and taken his own by freeing our father. Ragnarök is coming. We can no longer stop nor delay it. We were foolish to think we could defy prophecy.”