Lila Smith opened the door before Eve even knocked. She looked exactly as Eve remembered with her smooth cocoa skin and friendly dark eyes. And like the last time, she wore a long, flowing dress, but in blue. Her salt and pepper hair she’d pulled back in a single braid.
She smiled in welcome, creating little lines around her eyes.
“Eve. It’s good to see you. I did wonder when you would call again. You are well?”
“Yes, Lila, I am.” It surprised Eve that Lila still remembered her name after all this time. Heck, she’d been fifteen then. “You remember my friends?”
“I do. Come.” She stepped aside and ushered them in, her dark gaze studying Kataya. “Your fate will soon be tested, child. Be strong.”
Before Kataya spewed her irritation on Lila, Brenna stepped in front of her. “I do love those vines outside,” she told Lila. “The flowers are striking.”
“My little hobbies sometimes turn out surprising results.” Lila smiled. “I never expected those flowers to be purple since they only come in white.”
She led them into the living room and turned to Eve. “What can I do for you, my dear?”
“I need your help. No, it’s not about me,” she said quickly when Lila glanced at her scarred hands. Before she could explain about Inanna binding Reynner, Lila grasped her fingers.
Eve sank into an abyss as she stared into those obsidian eyes.
A swirling sensation swamped her at the touch, but she didn’t pick up any thoughts from Lila—a sudden, mind-numbing pain took her hard, stealing her breath. Gasping, Eve snatched her hands and stumbled back, felt as though her entire being were splitting apart. She wrapped her arms around her waist and fought to hold herself together, fought not to curl up on the floor in a ball of pain.
Kataya and Brenna hurried to her, but she held them off. Gasped, “I'm fine—I'm fine. I just need a m-moment…”
“You have chosen a difficult path,” Lila said, softly. “What you seek will come at a price. It is only the beginning.”
Eve struggled to get air into her lungs. “So much pain,” she whispered. “Whose is it?”
Sympathy clouded Lila’s expression. And then the truth hit Eve like a punch in the belly. “Why?”
“You know why. It’s the price he pays for resisting.”
Oh, God—oh dear lord!She ran out the door and vomited into the vines Brenna admired.
Reynner suffered because of Inanna’s binding? Tears filled her eyes.
Gentle hands stroked her back. A glass of water appeared in front of her. Eve took it. The cool liquid splashed on her trembling fingers. She drank deeply. Brenna took the glass from her.
Lila led her back indoors. “For every curse, every spell ever chanted, there is a counter one. But yours will not be easy.”
Eve faced her. “It doesn’t matter what I have to do. I won't let him suffer because of some selfish goddess.”
Brenna appeared at her side and touched her elbow. “Evie, maybe you should sit.”
“No, I can't sit—” She needed to walk, to work off her anger. Eve brought her determined gaze back to Lila. “Tell me. What must I do?”
“When the time comes, you need to follow your instincts. Your abilities will aid you. But remember, once you start to break the binding, it must be completed or what you fear most will come to pass.”
A shiver of unease slithered over her skin at the oracle’s prediction.
Lila patted Eve's scarred hand. “Do not fear, child, it’s the strength of the heart that matters.”
As Eve climbed into the car and shut the door, she was unable to rid herself of the weight in her chest. If she failed, she would tie Reynner to Inanna for eternity. She knew it without a doubt because that was her greatest fear.
Jesus, she was only human, how the hell could she take on a goddess and win?
***
Kataya parked her car near the flower stall. Someone had taken her parking spot, much to her annoyance. They crossed the busy road back to the apartment.
