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As we kissed, his hand slid down to my neck, his fingers circling there tightly like a necklace, and my blood sang for him, my heart nearly bursting through my chest as I soaked up every touch we were gifted, each one feeling more substantial than the last.
Of course, I knew it couldn’t last, but I still felt the wash of despair when his fingers began to fade, their touch turning to little more than smoke over my body. His eyes flickered hollow, and his body began to dissolve back into the gathering mist.
I didn’t beg him to stay, though. He had no control over it, and now that I knew he felt desire, I didn’t want to make him feel regret.
Find your weapons, mon amour...
And with a rain-damp breeze, he was gone, the mist dissipating down the corridor into the silent night.
I gave myself a few minutes to process away the pain, but then I pushed to my feet, working to ignore how raw and needy my skin felt after his touches.
I knew he wanted me to return to Kas and Luca. I wanted to.
But I couldn’t get past the idea that it felt so selfish to put them in danger just so we could be together.
“I don’t get both, do I?” I asked the bit of mist still swirling at my ankles. “I don’t get to have both revenge and love.”
A spark of hope bloomed in my chest as the mist rose again, forming a figure. But it wasn’t Nicolas.
It was a woman with long, pale hair flowing down her back. Her face wasn’t clear, like a smudged charcoal drawing, but her voice was warm and fluid.
Hello, Kana... do you remember me? Saori Sang has forgotten my name. Have you?
I frowned. “Are you one of the Original Sisters?”
She shook her head.It’s no matter. I have a message for you. My power... my magic belongs to another now. But mine isn’t the only magic, and it’s truly meant to be shared. Goddess to Goddess to Goddess...
“Iaga?” I guessed suddenly, standing up straighter as the name came to me in a flash. She was the oldest Goddess I knew of - the counterpart to Earth’s Gaia. And she’d gifted her magic to Carlyle, the Qilin Queen.
My best friend.
The woman laughed, low and joyful.Indeed I am. Carlyle thinks me gone, but magic never truly leaves. It passes out of and into, over and through and around. But it’s never gone. Will you help her bear the burden of shaping it, Khione?
I startled at the name more than the request - Vento had called me that. “What does it mean?”
Iaga shook her head.You will know when the time is right. Will you share the burden of the magic?she repeated, bringing my attention back to something I didn’t want to think about yet.
“Are you... are you asking if I want to be a Goddess?” I asked slowly, barely able to force the words out. It was impossible.
Carlyle was the Goddess, not me.
I couldn’t take her place, and I’d never heard of the power and responsibility being shared at the same time, only passed down.
Then again, I’d never known of a Goddess who lived with six mates, drank gallons of coffee, and had twins that could bring the house down, either.
Carlyle hadn’t exactly followed any of the rules anyone told her to. Maybe Iaga was telling me to break some rules, too.
You did promise her not to become a martyr, Iaga reminded me with a laugh, and I huffed.
“I did, damn it. I guess you’re going to tell me to go find my weapons too.”
Iaga nodded, and although her face was still blurred, I sensed a gentle smile there like a warm sunbeam.Go to them. Share blood and grow strong. Claim your aima - old and new. Embrace your destiny, and it will embrace you, Khione.
Her words echoed in my mind as I puzzled through them, hesitating to believe what I wanted them to mean -aima, both old and new.
Did this mean I would find Nicolas again somehow? That I really could rescue Cade?
Holy fuck, I hoped so. With every cell in my aching body, I hoped so.
