“Yes,” Kaitlyn said. “I am. But…” She nibbled her lower lip. “I’m not quite sure how to tell you what’s wrong.”
“Tell me what you can,” the priestess invited. “Your words will remain here with me and will not pass the borders of the Sacred Grove.”
“Thank you.” Kaitlyn nodded. “Well…I’m an Ambassador for the Kindred Mother ship and I have a Protector—a Kindred warrior who comes with me everywhere I go to keep me safe. So…” She took a deep breath. “On this last mission we were on, we had to, er, pretend to be married—Bonded, I mean.”
“I know what you mean.” The priestess nodded and made a hand motion. “Go on.”
“Well…things got a little out of hand.” Kaitlyn made an aimless motion, not sure how to explain what “out of hand” meant. “We…went further with our fake marriage than we meant to,” she said at last. “And now it seems like…it seems like he hates me.”
She was surprised to feel tears stinging her eyes again. She’d been feeling like she wanted to cry ever since they’d come back to the Mother Ship, but she hadn’t let herself break down. Now, suddenly, it felt like her emotions were right on the edge and she couldn’t hold back anymore.
“He wants to break our partnership and leave,” she whispered, as tears poured down her face. “I thought…I really thought we were getting closer. Maybe even close enough to actually Bond. But he can’t forgive me for what happened, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Oh, daughter—I feel your pain. Come here.” The priestess held out her arms and Kaitlyn found herself enfolded in a warm, comforting hug. She sobbed harder, glad to find her comfort at last, even in the arms of a stranger.
The priestess stroked her hair and murmured,
“All will be well, my child. Do not let your heart be troubled.”
“I just don’t know what to do…what to say. How to get through to him.” Kaitlyn sniffed and stepped back, wiping her eyes.
“Well, you—” The Priestess stopped speaking abruptly and a blank look came over her face. Kaitlyn stared at her, worried.
“Hello?” she asked tentatively. “Are you all right?” Was the woman having a stroke or?—
Suddenly the Priestess’s face came back to life and her eyes…Kaitlyn stared in disbelief.
Her green-within-green eyes were glowing.
“Hello?” she said again. “Are you okay?”
“I am well, Daughter.” The voice that came from the Priestess’s lips didn’t sound like her own. It was deeper and more powerful, though still feminine—it echoed through the Sacred Grove, imbued with gravitas and authority.
Kaitlyn took a step back.
“Who are you?” she whispered. “What’s going on?”
“Do not fear, Daughter,” the priestess said. “It is I—the Mother of All Life—I am simply speaking to you through one of my chosen vessels.”
“You mean…you’re the Goddess? The Kindred Goddess?” Kaitlyn asked, her voice shaking. She knew that all the Kindred warriors worshipped the female deity, but she wasn’t a true believer herself. Though after this, she could hardly deny the reality of the divine being.
“I am she,” the priestess said—or rather, the Goddess said through her. “I have come to tell you that I mean for you and Braze to be together. Your needs and desires compliment one another—truly, you were made for one another.”
Kaitlyn gave a bitter laugh.
“Try telling that to Braze—he won’t even talk to me.”
“You will find a way through to him.”
The Goddess spoke with such authority that Kaitlyn didn’t dare to question her—though she had no idea how she was going to get the big Beast Kindred to open up to her and talk.
“You wonder how this reconciliation will come about, the Goddess said, clearly reading her mind. “I will tell you—the key to your future lies in your warrior’s past.”
“His past?” Kaitlyn frowned and shook her head. “I…I don’t understand.”
“You will,” the Goddess told her. “When the time comes, you will know what to say…and what to do. Do not hold back, Daughter—lean into your nature and fulfill your destiny.”
Then, before Kaitlyn could ask any more questions, the priestess’s eyes abruptly stopped glowing and she took a deep gasping breath and staggered.
