His magic brought it to life, giving it an internal red glow that grew stronger, forcing it to shudder out a single beat. Then he dropped it into my gaping chest. It immediately attached, as if grateful to be reunited with its goddess.
The person turns around, a wide grin spreading across a face identical to my own. “Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you here. I think it’s about time for you and me to have a little chat,” my dark alter drawls, causing my heart to drop into my stomach.
I don’t shift, only run. Run as fast as I can as I hold the sides of my dress. Run up the winding stairs toward her room as tears begin to fall. I know what I have to do and what I have to give up. He was right, a heartless bitch I’m not. At least not yet. I’d made enemies, so many enemies, and now they are coming for the ones I hold dear.
He would die a mortal death, and I would let him, drachma on his eyes so he would rest in peace. But the day finally came, and I’d held him in my arms as he took his final breaths. I knew we’d made the right decision, but it took everything in me to allow it to be.
The air burns my skin and pierces my airways. Normally, I’d travel through the night or with the aid of my wings. However, I am too tired to command much of anything at all. I must walk and wander as if I am another soul seeking the unknown exit. I am seeking the comfort of a past life and normalcy. What could be more mortal than that?
My face flashed between the three aspects the mortals used for me. A beautiful young maiden, the face I wore now, and the sharp weathered angles of a crone. My body stayed the same, dressed in light robes that swayed with the building wind, gore streaking the tops of my breasts and exposed stomach. I wore a crown of human bone, chanting as I lifted a snake into the sky.
“Wait!” I hear him shout after me, but nothing can stop me. Nothing but— I suddenly slam into what feels like an invisible force field. My feet come to a grinding halt as I feel her black tentacles wrap around my subconscious. I try to scream, but it doesn’t meet my lips. Instead, laughter bubbles up from me as she pulls me under.
When we finally had our fill of fun, I stole Amphitrite away to Skellig Michael. We made love on the grass not too far from where Luke taught Rey how to control The Force a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. We rolled around and howled in drunken revelry when the moon came out. We danced and pounced on one another as the waves rose to meet the emotional state of their queen. The surge came as it went when we finally lay there on our back, completely spent.
She ran to me. I picked her up in my arms and twirled around as if we were filming the dramatic I will catch up to you at the gate before your airplane leaves type of scene from a rom-com. Of course, that made her blush profusely, and that was fine by me. I enjoyed making my Pheephee blush. Who would not take pride in seeing a goddess turn red at your whim?
The air burns my skin and pierces my airways. Normally, I’d travel through the night or with the aid of my wings. However, I am too tired to command much of anything at all. I must walk and wander as if I am another soul seeking the unknown exit. I am seeking the comfort of a past life and normalcy. What could be more mortal than that?
I was filled with more emotion than I felt comfortable showing, letting the sea churn for me instead. The waves hit the mountainside so hard it kicked spray through the broken windows. “Is there even a Nikolas?” I asked quietly.
Adrestia held her hand out for Mourgo to smell, but he already had the scent from her first step onto the trail. Instead, Mourgo leaned in and headbutted her on the cheek lightly. That made her giggle and give him scratches. What a charmer.
I tilt my head. It is different, and that’s what I want to be now. No more ruin. All I have done is ruin. I want a fresh start. I want to be more, so I simply nod. “Make me different.”
I stand and stretch my body, feeling my joints crack and connect. I reach for the gray sky and let out a howl to let the Underworld know I am alive. I expand my wings far and wide. They sting, and I flinch. Not yet, I am not able to fly just yet, but I already knew that. I am far too weak in both body and mind.
“Woe to ye of little faith. You actually had doubts? I even wore a tie.”
Reaching up to set the tie, Luis frowned at me. “It’s not your ability that I challenge, but your choices. I was half expecting you to choose something in tie-dye. And no, draping a tie around your neck does not count as wearing one.”
