Free The Path to Destiny: Tia's Folly by Elly Helcl

over her head.
                “ Where are we? ”
She immediately demanded to know.
                “We are on the island of Lesbos,” Helena crooned
soothingly, approaching her with a smile. “Only women can come here. It is our
sanctuary and our safe place to give birth.”
                “Oh.” It was the only thing Tia’s exhausted mind could
think to say.
                “Come. Let’s go eat and then we will talk more.”
                Once again following the Centaurs, Tia had to wonder what
the midwives thought about her coming to them for help. So far, they appeared
to be happy –almost anxious - to help.   She could only hope that they had the ability.
    She
was guessing Helena knew Bylan could feel that she was pregnant with his child
and would be able to trace her whereabouts. That guess was solely based on the
Centaurs’ immediate reaction to finding out that she was pregnant with his
baby. The Warlord would stop at nothing to possess this child once he knew
about it. Considering she had left Falkerie land the day before, Tia had no
doubt he was trying to find her at this moment. This placed her and anyone
around her in danger.
                “Leave the horse here.”   Helena wrinkled her nose in disgust at Tia’s horse.
                “I must see to him,” she told the Centaur.
                “One of the lesser mares will see to it,” Helena replied
with a grimace. “We may not like them but we do not believe in abusing
anyone…not even our idiot ancestors…of a sort.”
                Gingerly dismounting, Tia followed her on shaky legs into
an odd dwelling that was built into the side of a large cliff. Walking through
a brightly lit tunnel, she surveyed her surroundings curiously. Every now and
then, there were smaller tunnels that joined with the larger tunnel the
Centaurs were leading her through. Trying to look down one of them, Tia
realized her view was blocked by strategically hung beaded curtains.
Interestingly, she saw each curtain had a unique design. It didn’t take long
before she realized the design of the curtain was a way of identifying what was
down the tunnel.
    Abruptly,
the group turned into one of the smaller tunnels. Passing though what felt like
a small maze of curtains, she nearly moaned in appreciation as tantalizing
smells greeted her making her realize exactly how hungry she was. Stepping
though yet another beaded doorway,
she saw rows of tables that were the perfect height for a Centaur who was
seated. Meaning they came up to her chest while she was standing.
                “We have benches for guests.” Helena indicated a special
table - obviously reserved for the head of the herd - equipped with stairs to
assist the shorter beings in climbing onto the benches.
                “Thank you,” she replied, gingerly taking a seat.
Immediately, Tia felt like a little kid again as her feet dangled from the
bench, far above the floor.
                Moving to the opposite side of the table, Helena settled
herself to join her guest for dinner. With a clap of her hands, other mares
began bringing food and drink to their table. Everything from fruit and
vegetables to nuts and sweets were set on the table before them. Quickly
finishing their task the mares moved on to the rest of the rooms occupants.
                “I know why you came to us,” Helena informed her. “The
only thing we can do for you is share the specialness
of this place with you.”
                “So, I will die birthing this child?” Tia bit her lip as
she said the words, her heart sinking in her chest.
                “No, but this child will kill you out there.”
                “What? What do you mean?”
                “This child is half Phoenix,” Helena explained gently.
“Without the healing powers of this place, you will