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Ash felt a surge of love and trust for the goddess. She hugged her, and Maerlin gratefully returned the embrace.
“I felt the final seal break a week ago. I was…well, we’ll get to where I was later, but I had bound myself to stay away until the final seal broke. I had to, or I couldn’t have resisted the lure of knowing you.” Maerlin looked like she was waiting for Ash to lash out in anger.
“You mean when Nadya killed me?”
Maerlin gave a tiny nod. “Yes.”
“What?” Brian and Melinda shouted in unison.
Ash smiled. “I was only partly dead. I got over it. The spark brought me back.”
Maerlin sighed. “Yeah, that would do it. Death was the final seal. I wasn’t sure if you would rise like me, but I added it as a failsafe just in case.”
“In case of what?” Ash asked, wary again.
“In case the spark didn’t bring you back. You were reborn as an immortal, and you are a goddess,” Maerlin stated.
Ash jumped up and paced, feeling the need to move as she worked through this new information. “Hang the fuck on. I’m a human. I’m a witch. I’m a vampire. I carry the spark. Now I’m a Greek goddess?”
Maerlin smiled. “You’re not Greek.”
Ash stared at her open-mouthed until Maerlin took pity on her. “Goddess trumps everything else, dear. You carry elements of all those things with you and can manifest them if you choose, but you’re just a goddess.”
“Just. A. Goddess. Is that all?” Ash deadpanned.
I thought I was the only one who called you that, Luca sent, forgetting to use their mating bond.
The others heard his mental comment, and Viktorija snorted. Mikhail and Kittania smiled indulgently. Maerlin glanced at Luca with an expression only a mother could muster. “Really?”
Luca blanched. “You heard that?”
Viktorija laughed. “Brother, we all heard that.”
“Shit,” he muttered, flushing but standing by the sentiment. She’d been his goddess when she was human. He wasn’t ashamed to admit it. He liked strong women.
The wheels started moving in Ash’s head as the connections and implications registered. Her expression brightened. “So, if I’m not a vampire, do I have to drink blood?”
Maerlin grimaced. “Ew, no.” She shuddered. “Gross.”
Ash laughed. “Pizza?”
Maerlin nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Why did food taste so bad?”
“Have you tried since the seal broke?” Maerlin asked.
In a flash, Ash was across the room, kneeling in front of Melinda. “Mommmm,” she wailed dramatically. “I’m hungry, and your pizza is the best food in the world. Please make some tonight. I haven’t eaten in forever.”
Everyone laughed, latching onto the moment of levity to focus on the positive aspects of the new developments. Melinda pulled her daughter to her feet and hugged her. “Of course, I will make your pizza. You were right about the bowing. It’s weird.”
“Right?” Ash returned to sit next to Maerlin. “Okay, what do I need to know about being a goddess? It kind of explains some of the weird shit that’s been happening.”
“One of the main points we need to address is the limitations of your power.”
“Okay, tell me about that.”
Maerlin sighed. “There aren’t any, not that I have discovered. Our magic is based on potential, so when you use it, focus on what you want to happen. You can shape reality, and your imagination is the only thing that can hold you back.”
