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"The story of you fighting naked in Beirut because you lost a bet isn't true? Because I liked that story," Persephone said.
Laverna choked on her juice as she started to cackle. "Tits out, guns ready. Sounds like you."
"That story is true, but a bet is a bet. What can you do?" Bellona only shrugged before her smile turned wicked. "I can't believe Hades finally got himself a consort. It was a long time coming. How did he fuck it up so badly that it made you come here?"
Persephone blushed. "Hades didn't do anything. This was all on me. I panicked and heard Isis calling to me, and then I wanted to investigate."
"Here, eat something. You need it for the babies," Ashirah said gently, putting fresh rolls and honey before her.
"Babies?!" Persephone squeaked.
"Well, that explains it," Laverna said. "She's freaking out."
"I thought there was only one." Persephone put her hand on the bump of her stomach. "There can't be two in there."
"I am a mother goddess, my dear. Trust me, you are having twins," Ashirah said and patted her on the shoulder. "Eat. You will feel better."
Persephone pushed down the rising panic, bit into the fresh bread, and groaned. "You must be a goddess. Holy shit, this is good."
"I'm glad you like it. There's plenty more where that came from. Immortal children grow quickly, so you will spend the next few months eating nonstop," Ashirah said, putting a plate of food next to the bread.
"Few months?" Persephone asked around a mouthful.
"Yes. Your pregnancy will only be about three months because of how quickly gods mature." Ashirah frowned at Persephone's apparent confusion. "You know nothing about this, do you? Wasn't your mother immortal?"
Persephone swallowed. "She was, but she didn't prepare me for any of this. The only time she mentioned being pregnant with me was to follow it up by saying how much she regretted it."
Bellona clicked her tongue in irritation. "Demeter always was such a fucking bitch. It's a surprise you turned out so good."
"Let's not be reduced to name-calling," Ashirah chided gently. She laid a hand on Persephone's arm. "You are here now and can ask me anything you wish."
Persephone didn't want to bring up the pregnancy again while eating. The shocks kept coming, and she would lose her appetite altogether.
"Why did Isis refer to you as the Lost Goddesses?" she asked instead.
"We aren't lost, baby goddess," Bellona huffed. "We are hidden safely in the hearts of all women, just waiting for the moment they need us. They only need to reach inside and pull us free."
Persephone studied the silvery scars on Bellona's strong arms and hands.
"You are there when a woman needs to wage war on someone?" she prompted.
"Women understand war better than men." Bellona drained her espresso in a quick shot. "Men fight for misplaced glory. Women have to fight for their fucking lives every goddamned day."
Persephone couldn't argue with that.
"Women know what's worth fighting for," a new voice said, making Persephone turn. The newcomer also wore red, though a brighter shade than Ashirah's. Her black hair was out in flowing ringlets. She kissed Ashirah's cheek before sitting down.
"This is Miriam, but we call her Magdalena. She likes to meddle," Bellona said, but not unkindly. "Watch her. She is all peace and love and pathetically sappy."
"Love is the only thing worth having and worth fighting for," the other goddess replied with a slight shrug.
"We were just telling Persephone here why we aren't lost," Laverna said, refilling her cup. "I only come here for the peace and quiet, not because I'm lost. Also, the food is good."
Ashirah blew her a kiss. "This feels right, all of us here in the kitchens where women have always gathered. It helps to reiterate our point about not being lost too. Many thought I was lost when the fanatical kings destroyed my trees and left only their stone pillars to Yahweh at their temples. When my artifacts and worship were wiped clean from their scriptures. I wasn't gone then. I just moved from temples to the open sky in the high places and away from prying eyes.
"Yahweh became faceless, confined to a stone room in a temple to only talk to a single high priest. Me? I was in the homes, in the kitchens, as women baked effigies to honor me and prayed to me when their birth pains became too much to bear. I'm still the queen of heaven. I'm sacred wisdom, and all I need to do is wait for the patriarchal religion to burn itself out, and the old ways will return. They already are because the humans are pulling too much evidence for me out of the ground. The old lies can't hold up anymore."
Persephone stared at the powerful woman beside her, the faint threads of her divinity glowing like rubies in her eyes.
