Her sad smile returned. “Oh, my daughter. I know what you fear and I would not do that. I know that what Rhiannon did to you will be difficult, if not impossible to forgive, but I will not punish you for feeling as you do.”
“Then why?” I asked, my voice tight and high as strong emotion nearly choked me. “Why ask this of me?”
I blinked. Shocked as tears lined her eyes and a single one fell to the ground. Where it struck the grass, a winding vine appeared from the earth, growing within seconds. In less than a minute, it bloomed with teardrop shaped flowers in purple, silver, and blue.
Goddess Tears were rare in this realm and highly prized. They contained a great deal of magic. I realized why as I watched more of the flowers open on the vine. They were literally from the Goddess herself.
“She is my daughter,” she explained. “Centuries before you were even born, she begged me to give her physical form. To allow her to live among the humans that I cherished. She said she wanted to learn, to grow, to understand them better. So I gave her one mortal life to live. A long life, filled with beauty and peace. I told her that she would have to serve the humans around her in order to truly understand them. That they were not as she was.” More tears fell and I watched as more vines appeared and flowers bloomed around her. “But she never understood, not truly. The longer she remained in her mortal body, the more twisted her mind and her magic became. She insisted that mortals didn’t deserve our mercy or our help. That they were weak. We argued. Then, when she killed the villagers where she lived, I knew I had to bring her back. I came for her and she fought me. She said I didn’t deserve to have dominion over humans. That I was as weak as they were. Then she cursed you and Macgrath and disappeared. I have searched for her for two millennia, fearing the worst. And now that I have found her, I know it has come to pass.”
As I stared at her, I shook my head. “I don’t understand, Mother. If she is your daughter, how would I have the power to destroy her? How is it she did not destroy…” I trailed off, understanding flaring in my mind. “That is why you helped me and granted me power,” I murmured. “To keep her from killing me. But why would it matter? I’m only a human witch,” I muttered.
The Goddess smiled then. “You still do not understand,” she replied, her eyes soft. “I call you daughter, but it was your mother who was my blood daughter and Rhiannon’s sister.”
The world seemed to tilt on its axis as I stared at her. Rhiannon was my aunt. And my mother. If she was a child of a Goddess, why had she died as a mortal?
The Goddess smiled softly at me. “Your mother, she chose a different path. She wanted to live out her life as a mortal. She lived for millennia and felt it was time to return to the earth. To the magic.”
“Just how many children do you have?” I asked.
She only smiled that same sad, serene smile. “Even the deities aren’t perfect. All my years of existence have brought me wisdom, but not perfection.” One last tear fell. “I’m asking a great deal from you, Aveta. I know this. I will beg if I must. Please have mercy on my child.”
“Even though she had no mercy on mine?” I choked out, remembering the horrifying silence after my daughter slipped from my body.
The Goddess’ face crumpled but there were no more tears. “I cannot replace your child, but I can give you a reassurance. The woman who took her from your hut, she managed to revive her. Then she took her.” The Goddess sighed. “The woman tried for many, many years to have a child and then her husband died and her flux stopped. She was not in her right mind when she stole your child. But she lived. She lived a long, beautiful life. The woman who stole her never told her, but she raised her with love and kindness. She cared for her more than anything else in that realm. And I am sorry that I could not stop it.”
“Why?” I asked, my voice cracking. I could feel something dark stirring within me, something that craved destruction and pain.
“I could not see. Not then. It is only now that I see the whole of our time apart clearly,” she gasped, pressing a hand to her chest. “Rhiannon took you too far from me, through many realms and many centuries. We exist in more than one world, Aveta. There are thousands. Until you broke Rhiannon’s curse, you were lost to me. If I had been able to find you—” her voice broke and I heard the raw pain inside it.
She was in agony over what had been done to me, what her daughter had done, yet she could not stop loving Rhiannon. Just as I would love my daughter to the end of time. I would have done anything to protect her, even ask the impossible of someone else I loved. It seemed I was not so different from her as I thought.
“I will do everything in my power to spare her, Mother,” I relented. “But you must promise me that she will never again have access to the human realms. She must be punished for what she has done.”
The Goddess nodded, her hand reaching out and grasping mine. I gasped at the influx of power that jolted my entire body. “You have my vow. In magic and in blood.”
She looked down at the hand that held mine. I watched as a small cut appeared on the inside of her wrist and three blood droplets slid over her skin to the ground below. Immediately, another plant appeared, a thorny bush covered in deep green and burgundy foliage and ruffled crimson flowers that seemed to pulse with light. I had never seen anything like it before.
The Goddess reached out and plucked a flower from its vine. She held it out to me. “This is my vow and my magic. The flower will never wilt or fade. It cannot be destroyed and it will help you find and capture Rhiannon. Use it wisely,” she murmured as I took it from her fingers.
A thorn pricked my finger as I handled the stem. I watched as it glittered on my skin before dropping to the earth. To my utter shock, another vine appeared. This one smaller and greener than the Goddess’. Dark pink flowers opened, their petals unfurling to reveal a shimmering red center. They smelled warm and nearly sweet, reminding me of honey, sunshine, and summer.
I gaped at the small plant. The Goddess smiled. “You are of my blood, Aveta. Magic lives within you just as it lives within me. We are born of it and when we die, so shall we return to it.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to my forehead. “Be at peace, daughter of my daughter. Love and be loved.”
“Will I see you again?” I asked.
Her smile grew. “If you wish.”
“I-I think I do.” She was the last of my blood. I wouldn’t be alone.
As though she plucked the thoughts from my head, she shook her head. “You are not alone at all. You have a descendent waiting for you with your mate.”
I frowned at her, then it hit me. Finn. I’d marveled at the similarities of our eyes and our coloring.
“Who is he?” My throat felt tight with emotion.
“Your great-grandson. He is a credit to your bloodline. Powerful yet gentle and kind.”
The Goddess stopped speaking, her eyes shifting over my shoulder, unfocused and unblinking. Then she sighed. “You must go,” she stated. She gestured to Satchel and the cat came forward.
