The bastard touching my fated mate huffs. “Celestials and demons? Realms? I feel like I’m losing my mind.” Running his hands through his thick hair, he stands and paces in front of the couch.
Nora’s eyes follow him. She’s scared this is all too much for him, I can sense it. She’s afraid he’ll leave. If only I could be so lucky.
“I’m a witch.” Katie waves. “There are lots of witches here on this realm, just so you’re aware. The world is not at all what it seems.” Katie’s blue eyes glow as she smiles over at him.
Olivia gasps quietly and then leans in to get a closer look. “You people just keep getting weirder. I love it.”
The sister approves. At least that’s one less person Mio will have to place in a magically induced coma for a bit for not taking it well. There’s still a slight chance Ere will have a meltdown and we’ll have no choice but to send him back to dreamland. Here’s to hoping.
“Which one of you are going to tell Nora what she is?” Mio chimes in, standing and making his way to the kitchen. He leans against the island, looking first to Katie and then at me as he waits.
That’s why he walked away. He was afraid I’d murder him. Godsdamn him to hell. Why is he like this? I’m trying to ease her into it all, not give her every bit of information all at once. It’ll be too much. I almost hate him as much as I hate Ere right now, though watching him clasp his hand around Nora’s, I truly don’t believe I will ever despise someone more.
“What does he mean, Katie?” Nora’s high-pitched tone reveals her panic.
Katie says nothing.
“Kairos? One of you tell me what he’s talking about, now. What… am I?”
Katie stands, removing her heels and tossing them beside the recliner. “I have a confession first, one that ties into all of this. I suppose I might as well get it out of the way.” She sighs. “Kairos, I need you to stay calm and save all your questions for later.” She glares at me, and I hesitate for a moment before nodding back and leaning in closer.
Her energy has shifted. It’s no longer calm and full of peace like it usually is. Instead it’s a nest of turmoil and anxiety. Shit. What is she keeping from me?
“My name isn’t Katie. I’m… Hekate. The Queen of Witches and Magic.” A glowing crown appears around her head, one wrapped in thorns and roses that disappears just as quickly as it appeared. “I’m here to protect Nora for many reasons, but mostly because we were friends in a past life. I helped create her. I faked my death and switched up my name to keep hidden from Nyx.” She crosses her arms and peers into my eyes, her own glowing as her power reaches into my mind.
Suddenly memories of Mera and Hekate push their way in. Memories of the two of them laughing and dancing at the balls in the Realm of Light. The two of them fighting together against Nyx’s army, never leaving each other’s sides. Her… Nyx’s lover before she was banished from the Realm of Light.
“Why can’t I remember you, Hekate? If you were friends with her, I should have remembered without you having to show me. What the hell is going on?” Positioning my elbows on my knees, I lean forward, tilting my head as I watch her.
She raises her eyebrows and then sighs, her shoulders falling and her face going flat. “I told you to save all questions for later. We’ll get to it, I promise, but basically the gods came to me with a message. Sort of. For now, this is about explaining to Nora who she is and why we’re here. We’ll talk later.” I give her a stiff nod, but keep my eyes pinned to her as she focuses her gaze on Nora. What the hell does she mean the gods came to her with a message? We thought all the gods who remained after the war with Nyx were in hiding, or worse, dead and in the Elysian Fields in the Underworld. Their names and faces are all a mystery. We cannot remember them, and we sure as shit don’t see them or hear from them. We no longer feel them here in the world. They came to her. They exist still. I’m not sure whether I should be thrilled they aren’t dead or pissed they refuse to show themselves, but I’ll work through that later. As I look at Hekate now, it’s as if somewhere deep down I always knew she was a queen, and I can’t make sense of why I had forgotten until now. I sense her power taking up more space in this room than would ever be possible for a mere witch, because she is letting me feel it for the first time. Holy shit. It’s true.
“Helped create me? What do you mean?” Nora stands as Ere leans back against the couch and stares blankly at nothing. He looks as lost as I feel.
My eyes follow Nora as she paces the living room, hands running through her hair and her breathing too heavy. It takes every ounce of restraint in my body to keep myself pinned to this seat, to keep from taking her into my arms and holding her against me. I believed she was Mera before, but seeing Hekate’s memory more than confirmed what I already knew had to be true. I’m suddenly a man gone mad who can’t think or feel anything except for her soul and how it’s connected to mine. She is more than just mine. More than just my fated mate.
She is my entire heart that was for so long lost, now living and breathing here in front of me.
I sit quietly, waiting for Hekate to respond as she steps up to Nora and takes her hands. “You were created, Nora, in 1851, by myself, the Queen of Celestials, Gaia, and the Queen of Darkness, Nyx. We called you the Divine One because you held so much light within your soul, A divine light that no one else has the power to possess or wield. You are so special. One of a kind, truly. We were best friends instantly.” She smiles but Nora suddenly pulls away, her hands trembling as she sits down next to Ere.
“Why are the demons attacking people I love and coming after me? And if what you’re saying is true, why don’t I remember any of this? Who I am or this… power you say I have.” She leans her elbows on her knees, running her hands through her hair and then grasping it tightly between her fingers as she stares only at the floor.
Taking a deep breath as I decide where to start, I glance at Hekate and she nods, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. “I believe they’re once again after your power. It’s like watching history repeat itself. Nyx has done this before.” Shaking my head, I meet Nora’s gaze as she finally looks at me. “At first, I thought your grief was sending you spiraling. I thought it was the reason for your jump from the bridge, but I’m assuming you weren’t in control. It was all her.”
Olivia jumps to her feet then, anger and pain reflecting in her eyes. Finally, a reaction that makes sense with everything she’s learning. “What the hell do you mean, the reason for her jump from the bridge? Nora, you jumped from a bridge and didn’t tell me!?”
Hekate reaches out and places a hand on her arm, blue light sparkling across her skin. “She’s fine, Liv. That’s all that matters now.”
Olivia takes a deep breath, and then sits, saying nothing else.
Nora’s eyes glaze over, and her features contort in anger, no longer stunned to silence. “It was her who forced me off the bridge? Her who haunted my thoughts? Her who nearly drowned me in the lake!? Was it all her, then!? What about our parents?” She spits through clenched teeth. “Please tell me the reason they’re dead isn’t because of me. Because of her.”
Hekate’s power flashes as she sends sparkling waves of blue toward Nora, wrapping it around her in a comforting embrace. Nora calms slightly, closing her eyes and allowing the magic to ease her worried mind.
“Let’s start with why you don’t remember your past. It ties into your parents and why they are not here now, though I can’t say I completely understand it all myself.” Uncrossing her legs, she reaches up and runs her fingers along the obsidian necklace around her neck, the blue, purple, and pink colors swirling within it and stealing my attention. “The necklace your mom cherished. The one that looks similar to mine, I believe it was once yours, though for the life of me I cannot remember for sure. Bits and pieces of my past are fuzzy still. Like something is blocking me from knowing the full truth.” Her eyes shift to me for only a second, but long enough for me to understand it’s something we’ll need to discuss later. “But they came to me once, your parents, and had a message for me from the gods,” she shrugs, smiling softly at Nora. “I didn’t believe them at first. Two mortals speaking to divine beings seemed unbelievable, but then they spoke my real name. They called me not Katie, but Queen Hekate, and suddenly I remembered who I was. I remembered who you were, too. Your mother placed my hand on her swollen belly, and I knew it was you. I knew I had to do whatever I could to protect my friend.”
Nora’s tears slide down her cheek, and I wish I could sit by her side and wipe them away. Ere does not. He sees them but does nothing, almost looking at her incredulously like he’s shocked she believes any of what we’re saying. He doesn’t have to believe it now. He will one day when she’s out of his life for good thanks to fate.
“What was the message, Katie? What did they tell you?” Nora breathes, tilting her head slightly to the side.
