“What do you have to give or lose?” his mother asked. “What is so precious that you are willing to give it up to be rid of the beast.”
Philip stood there and could think of nothing. Whatever he sacrificed would go to her, and a goddess would not want his horse, or title, or his useless possessions. He had no talents. The only thing that was truly important to him was his family and Antonia. Those could not be sacrificed and even if he were able to do so, he would not.
“I have nothing of worth,” he finally murmured.
Except, he had himself.
Was his life really worth living if Antonia was not part of him? Was it worth living if he had to endure changing every midnight since it would drive him mad? So long as the beast lived within, he could not have Antonia. She deserved more.
“Only myself,” he whispered.
Antonia gasped. He had not meant to state what was necessary aloud.
“You will not sacrifice yourself,” she insisted.
“Is that not what you are going to do?” he countered.
“No, I have sacrifices for the goddess that do not require my very life and soul. You do not.”
“Why?” he demanded. “What do you have?”
She shook her head and pulled away. “It matters not.” Antonia then turned to his mother. “Could you walk me through the ceremony. I want to be prepared.”
Philip reached out to Antonia. “I forbid this.”
She pulled away before he could touch her. “It is not for you to approve or forbid, Lord Chedworth. I will do what is necessary.”
“I understand that you wish to begin now, but you should rest,” his mother said.
“We do not have time,” Antonia reminded her. “The sun has already risen, and it will be dark again in eight hours. The sacrifice must be complete before the moon starts to rise.”
His mother frowned. “Do you know this for certain?”
“No, but I have noticed changes in Lord Chedworth’s moods, and they begin to shift and alter, even if it is unnoticeable to others, once the moon starts to rise, and it only increases until he disappears as it nears midnight. I can only assume that it is the moon affecting the beast within.”
His mother looked at Philip. “Is this true?”
He wanted to deny what Antonia had said, but he had noticed his changes too, and fought to keep his dark mood in check. He had assumed it was because of the situation and dreaded what was to come. But if it really was the moon, then they had less time than he realized.
“Cook has prepared breakfast. Once you have eaten, we will see that you are prepared for the sacrifice to Gaia.”
“Have you made such a sacrifice before?” Philip asked his mother.
“I have not,” she answered “But, there is an ancient ceremony that I and your aunts will review so that we can prepare Lady Antonia.”
“Is it dangerous to ask the goddess to intervene?”
His mother looked down and closed her eyes and blew out her breath.
This alone told Philip that what they had planned was not wise.
His mother looked up again. “The goddess could choose to ignore our request, or she could grant it.”
“There is more,” he prompted.
“She could become angry to be summoned. This is vital, life-altering for you, but to her, it might not be worthy of her notice. She may be angry that we bothered her with something so insignificant.”
“If angered, what might she do?”
