“No.”
“So this time won’t be any different, right?”
“I guess not.” Evie ran her small hands through the hanging strands of Nyx’s hair.
“Whose job is it to keep everyone in line when I’m gone?”
Evie fought the beginnings of a smile. “Me.”
“That’s right. And who has to keep Mommy safe?”
“Me!”
“That’s my girl.” Nyx smiled and placed a quick kiss to the girl’s nose. Evie giggled and pulled back, wiping invisible saliva from the tip. “Now come on. I’ve got some things to give you before I go.”
“Yay! Presents!”
Nyx stood to grab the discarded blankets and settle them into neat pallets on the floor before going back for the bag she brought.
“Sit on your blanket, love-bug.” Evangeline settled on the floor and clasped her hands as she waited for Nyx to join her. Nyx placed the bag in her lap and patted it as she said, “Alright. Are you ready?”
“Yes!” Her voice was pure, unadulterated joy.
“Okay. I’ve got…” Nyx rummaged through the bag dramatically which drew even more giggles from the girl as she pulled the contents one by one. “Two loaves of bread. Two blocks of cheese. And a few days’ worth of meat.”
“I can share with mommy.”
“I know you can love-bug, but it’s mine and mommy’s job to protect you until you’re so big and strong that not even Zeus could win a fight against you.”
“I am almost six,” she said matter-of-factly.
“You are. Just another year and a half and I guess you have to move into your own house.”
“I will! I’ll build a house all by myself right next to yours, Nini.”
“That sounds like the best of plans, Evie.” Nyx brushed a wayward curl from Evie’s forehead and tucked it behind her ear.
Evie’s mouth stretched wide as she yawned. Nyx cherished the last few moments she would get with the girl, memorizing every delicate feature of her face. Lying to Evie sucked, but Nyx would never voice the truth. She wouldn’t make it home from the Freakshow. She just had to hope that Tor stayed true to his word and would feed and protect the town once she brought him what he wanted.
Once she betrayed Xia.
Nyx swallowed against the aching lump and looked to the ceiling as she blinked to clear the pooling tears. Her voice was ragged as she said, “I’ve one more thing before you go to sleep.”
“Is it more bread?”
“No, sweet girl.” Nyx pulled the roughly sewn stuffed toy from her bag. “I made you something so that when you’re scared or missing me, you have something to snuggle.”
What was supposed to be a chimera ended up being some sort of fur and linen conglomeration, but Evie’s eyes lit as she snatched it from Nyx’s hands.
The little girl looked the animal over and rubbed her fingers along the stitches. Nyx put it together with hide from her last hunt and pieces of her favorite blanket. She and Evie spent many a cold night under that blanket together and Nyx hoped Evie would take it when she…
Well, when she didn’t come back.
The forest-green blanket was hand knit and colored with a mix of dyer’s weed and indigo. The color faded with time, but Nyx couldn’t make herself throw it away. It was the only thing she had from a childhood she’d never known.
“I love her!”
“I’m glad! She’s a chimera. She has the head of a lion and the tail of a snake. She’s one of the strongest and most cunning creatures out there, just like you love-bug. She will help you be strong when you’re scared.”
