Kyla placed her hands on his, interlacing her smaller fingers with his larger ones. “Don’t worry, Garnel. Inducing ovulation isn’t easy. It will take several tries, and a lot of my essence, tomake it work. I just want to try for the first time tonight. That’s all.”
Garnel pressed his lips to Kyla’s. The tender touch made Kyla’s heart beat like a drum. Would he agree to do this with her tonight? She’d waited so long, wanted more than anything to see peace in her nation and to finally begin a family with her soulmate.
And now it was here.
She didn’t want to wait any longer.
Kyla thought Garnel felt the same way as she did. So many late night conversations about the child they would have together, about the life they would give that child.
“Alright, my love,” Garnel whispered into her ear. “We’ll give our child what neither of us had.”
Kyla smiled up at him. “Love.”
Kyla woke from her sleep and she could feel her soul traveling to another place. A mountain that was stiflingly hot, and yet the breeze around her cooled the flush in her skin. There was something pulling her to this place, and she could do nothing to stop the draw as she rushed forward into a dazzling throne room made of pure amethyst.
She walked around the room, taking in the beauty and riches in the space. A large, sparkling throne was carved out of the largest crystal Kyla had ever seen. The pure, clear stone allowed light to shine through the room. Surely this was a royal’s residence, but who did this splendor belong to?
A woman’s voice, deep and powerful, shook Kyla to her marrow. “You have done well, my daughter.”
Kyla looked around the room. She couldn’t find anyone in the glimmering space. “Hello? Where am I?” she asked, but nobody responded.
Kyla walked toward a tall, arched window and looked out to see a vibrant valley below with a wide river flowing through golden fields. Bright autumn colors shone, and even the larch were resplendent in yellow needles. Steam rose across the valley and water gushed forth from geysers. Far in the distance, Kyla saw a deep, tumultuous red stain flowing across the land. A lava flow.
Fire on the mountain.
A chill went down her spine as she realized where she was. There was only one place in Aeritis where lava flowed freely—the caldera near Amethyst Peak, the home of Althea with the entrance to the Abyss below her famed mountain.
“The False King is dead at long last. You have used my gifts wisely,” the voice said, filling Kyla’s every sense with pure, untapped power. Kyla reached out with her essence to find where the emotions from this being were coming from, but she couldn’t sense any emotions in the room. All that was there was a void so expansive that Kyla felt it would devour her essence if she pressed it further.
She stumbled back as she fell to the floor, the emotionless, raw power thrumming through her.
“Where am I?” she said, barely above a whimper.
A woman appeared before her. Taller than any woman she’d seen, the deity wore nothing over her dark green skin. On her head grew the antlers of a great elk and her essence swirled in a brilliant mix of starlight and gleaming minerals. The woman’s blue eyes seemed to roar with the current of a glacial melt river. Her clawed hands pointed down to Kyla, and Kyla shielded her eyes from the radiant brilliance before her.
Kyla knew without a doubt that she was, indeed, in the presence of the Premier Goddess Althea. She prostrated herself before the Goddess, fear and awe coursing through her veins.
“Mother Althea. I am blessed to be before you!” Kyla said, pressing her forehead into the cold crystal floor.
A chill went down Kyla’s spine as a claw brushed through her hair. “Rise, my daughter,” the Goddess said.
Kyla stood on shaking legs in front of her most sacred deity. She couldn’t utter a word as the Goddess’ power pulsed against her skin. The force of Althea’s essence swirled around Kyla, making it difficult for her to draw a breath without choking on the energy surrounding her. She bowed her head low, her eyes burning from the sight of the Goddess’ magnificence.
“I shall give you a blessing for your good faith, my daughter.” Kyla felt a rigid, black tipped claw touch her chin as Althea raised Kyla’s head to meet her icy gaze. A sharp-toothed smile met Kyla, beautiful and terrible at once, as the Goddess leaned in closer to Kyla’s face. Kyla gasped as the Goddess brought her lips to her forehead. Warmth and bitter cold, pain and comfort, flowed from Kyla’s face and through her body, sending her into a convulsion. With the tenderness of a mother, Althea drew Kyla close to her and helped her to the floor. Kyla's face burned as the searing mark made her vision blur from the pain.
“Go, my child. You have proved your worth in protecting the witches. Help them to restore the Divine Five and you shall be greatly rewarded,” Althea whispered into Kyla’s ear as Kyla drifted into a deep sleep.
“Wake up! Please, Kyla! Wake up!”
Garnel’s muffled voice felt far away, like she was hearing his cries from underwater. Again she heard her name cried out, but this time it was from Jay. He spoke in a tone that Kyla didn’t remember hearing from him before—desperate and afraid, like he was facing an unspeakable danger.
“Please, my love, please,” Garnel pleaded. His desperation and the writhing bond between them snapped Kyla out of whatever held her back from her soulmate, and Kyla’s eyes opened to Garnel cradling her body in his strong arms.
Her heart was racing and her body shook. Kyla gasped for a deep breath, looking at the fear in Garnel’s and Jay’s eyes.
Garnel’s face turned ashen as he tentatively stroked Kyla’s forehead. “You’re back, my love. You came back to me.”
Kyla just stared at him in disbelief. Back? She hadn’t gone anywhere. She’d had a bad dream, that was all.
