AllFreeNovel
Share Us
With enough blood. And time.
Silence weighed heavier. Isis’ displeasure evident—and mounting by the moment. Her hands closed on my shoulders, Her fingers as unyielding as stone. “So be it.”
Something fluttered inside my chest and then was gone. I shivered. My spirit was still seated deep in my body, but I’d felt the loss of… something.
Despoina’s head tipped forward in acknowledgement. “I’m satisfied.”
:IT IS DONE.:
The room started to fade away, but I noticed a small stream of water trickled from the dark cleft in the rock. Watering the roots of the World Tree.
Arms tightened around me. I clung to them. Breathing in their scents. Soaking in their touch. My mothers. My goddess.
:Fret not, Daughter of Isador,: Isis whispered in my head. :You still carry many of my gifts, but more importantly, you carry my blood, and thus the Blood of Gaia. Your blood will always be your greatest weapon.:
53
SHARA
Before I opened my eyes, I knew exactly where I was.
In Rik’s arms. His heart thudded beneath my ear. His mouth pressed to my hair, waiting for me to come around.
My bonds filled my head, bringing tears to my eyes. I soaked in my Blood. Wallowed in their emotions. Shining rivers winding through my mind, tying us together. Forever.
Penelope’s whiskers tickled my cheek, and she slipped back into my hair.
:Thank you, my loves.:
A wet cough nearby made my eyes fly open. I sat up and turned to Thierry.
He lay beside me in a black puddle. I wasn’t even sure he could see any longer, not the way his eyes had sunken into his skull. Most of the skin had torn away on his lower jaw, showing gray, pitted bone.
Lew crouched on the other side of him, holding one of his hands in both of his. He met my gaze, his eyes tortured pools of tears. :It’s time to let him go.:
I closed my eyes for a moment, fighting back a sob. Even if I’d wanted to try and heal him again, I couldn’t this time. I couldn’t resurrect him.
I’d never be able to resurrect anyone again—other than myself.
“Miracle,” Thierry croaked.
Oh goddess. My heart.
Crying, I opened my eyes and reached for his other hand.
He flopped and jerked away. “Taint. Filth.”
“No taint can touch me now.” Soothingly, I closed my fingers around his, smearing his hand with my blood. I must have cut my hand deeply on the coral for it to still be bleeding. “You saved me, Thierry. You did what no one else could do.”
“Time.”
I nodded, my throat aching. “It’s time to send you to fly with Esetta now.”
His head jerked. I wasn’t sure if he meant no, or if it was just his dying nerves. I stroked his hair back off his forehead. His mouth worked, the tendons crackling beneath my palm. “Worth it.”
“I love you, Thierry Isador.” I switched hands so I could lay my right on his chest. “Give my mother a kiss from me when you reach her.”
I wasn’t sure I could still pull his spirit out, but I needed to try. I refused to burn him alive, and as long as his soul was trapped inside his corpse, he wouldn’t be able to fully die.
