Unlike the spirits of the underworld that were made from darkness and hopelessness, the spirit before me was light. Shining and peaceful and magnificent. She wore a flowing white gown, and her eyes still held life, despite having left the realm of the living many years ago. As she moved toward me, she was surrounded by a melody that followed her like a perfume.
My melody.
Hermelody.
Our melody.
“It’s you,” I whispered, my breath catching as tears sprang to my eyes at the sound of the lullaby that’d been inside of me since I was a baby. A token from her that I hadn’t known existed until now, a tiny piece she’d left with me—known to nobody but me. A bond between us that could never be stolen or taken away, even in a world that was not my own.
I wasn’t sure exactly how I knew that it was my mother, other than the melodic clue. I only knew that I was confident this woman belonged to me in that primal, familiar bond that could never be broken. It felt similar to how I’d known Silas was meant to be mine, but not in a romantic sort of way. If anything, this was a deeper sort of love, the kind that had existed even before I was born.
She sang the words, so softly I wasn’t sure they were actually audible. It was the first time I’d ever matched the words to the melody, and it felt like my life was coming full circle. I’d felt like I was a misfit my whole existence, placed in a life that didn’t belong to me.
A way of life that kept me locked in a concrete jungle, supposed to care about what others thought about the clothes I wore and the company I kept. I’d squashed the part of me that told me I didn’t belong, that there was something more for me. But as the words echoed around me, thrumming through me, I knew I should have,couldhave, trusted my instincts all along. I hadn’t belonged in that life. I’d finally found where I belonged.
Hush now, little star, the night is kind,
The moon keeps watch and the winds unwind.
No shadow lingers, no fear shall stay,
My love will guard you till break of day.
Hush now, little star, the night is kind,
Forever safe in this heart of mine.
“My daughter.”
I swallowed as she drifted toward me. “Mom?”
The word felt too small for someone like her—a goddess, a queen. Still, a better word escaped me. All my life I’d attached images and ideals and dreams to the wordMomlike a treasure. Only I’d attached them to the wrong mother figure, and only now was it all starting to make sense.
“Mom,” I said again. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what else to call you.”
Her smile deepened as she stepped closer. “We normally don’t reveal ourselves like this.” She swept her hand to indicate the stone statues—the rest of her sisters, the rest of my ancestors, frozen in a majestic display of powerful women. “But given the circumstances, we agreed it would be acceptable. Just this once. For me to reveal myself to you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered to them all. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“We don’t have long. The longer your spirit is separated from your body, the harder it is to reunite the two,” she said. “So though it will be difficult, we must keep this moment brief.”
“It’s possible?” I asked, my voice laced with hope. “To return to the land of the living?”
“Yes. Your time is not up, sweetheart.”
“How can I defeat the Darkest Lord, then? It feels impossible. But if I’m to return to my court, I have a huge problem to face.”
“Alone, yes, it might feel impossible. But you’re not alone. There are ways that you haven’t encountered yet, and we’ll help you see the options as they arise. But time is of the essence. And you must keep working; we cannot do the work for you, but we can guide you if you are putting in the time.”
“What happened to you?” I asked. “Why…”
Her smile turned bittersweet as I trailed off, unable to finish the rest of the questions that’d boiled in me since the moment I’d learned of my true heritage.
“I was the last Triune Queen,” she said after some pause. “I reigned over a small land that not many have heard of and, unfortunately, no longer exists. A land that was like a fairy tale, where I hoped to raise you in times of peace and joy. But our fairy tale was destined for a tragic end.”
“Ah. When the Hunters overthrew the Fae Queens?”
She nodded. “When we were defeated, overthrown, I knew itcouldn’tbe the end of our kind, even though that’s the way things were rapidly going. Only a Triune Queen can cast a spell like the one I did—I preserved the life of my child at the cost of a life.”
