That was until Niamh became queen and Asherah remained a princess.
The world changed, but Niamh always kept Asherah at the side of the throne, built temples for both goddesses next to the Palace, and had Feast Day celebrations for them. When would Niamh stop recognizing the joint power between them?
When she would not listen. When she shut you out of decisions. When she sent you away without escort.
In the darkness, where Skuld couldn’t see her, Asherah opened her mouth and silently wailed in her head.
He’s here.
The oil choked her, slipped down her throat, coating her with death and decay.
Feel him.
Her soul wrenched, jerking her painfully to the water’s edge. Her bones ached and joints cracked.
Let him take this pain.
She did not understand. No one could take this pain.
You will die if you don’t. You will become rage. You will become a Fury.
No! She would never want that. If she did, everything would end. If Asherah became a Fury, she would use the very seas to drown her sister to nothing, wherever she was, without care to who else may meet their demise. Asherah had forgiven her sister long ago. Skuld might not know it, but Asherah was tired of fighting with her anger. But the hurt … the hurt still remained, and Skuld unwittingly plucked at it.
Asherah’s heart pounded in her chest, a trapped bird terrified of never having that final chance at flight.
Reach for him.
Blindly, she did as she was told. Not knowing who was speaking, she chose to believe. Skuld had always this from Asherah, but she would rather die than give her captor what she wanted.
Help me, whoever you may be.
The world spun, darkness loomed, and then she was flying through monochrome colors and sharp shards of grass. She felt nothing, no wind on her skin or the slice of the blades. Everything rushed by her too quickly to make sense of it all, but far in front of her—miles and miles it seemed—was a blazing beacon of silver light. It danced as if it were the wind itself, threaded with shadows.
She had never seen a light more beautiful.
Asherah reached for it, fading from the pain, the oil choking her and taking her breath. She left the walls of the Forgotten Tower and only focused on getting to that light. It pulled her just as quickly as she raced toward it.
Only then, when she got closer, did her heart swell. She knew this, understood now what was happening. Her soul cried out, finally sensing what her nearly dead form could not.
Mine. The half to my split soul.
She’d never believed, had never even wanted to dream she’d ever know this. All Fae were born as a half and would know instantly when they were in the vicinity of their other half—their Fate. They would become one, stronger, and even lived longer, but in return, they would also meet death together.
The light grew blinding, and she shut her eyes, covering her face with her frail arms until she slammed to a stop. When she opened her eyes, she was standing on the ground, her white dress falling around her toes, and the light was coming toward her.
Let me see him. Let me know.
The male slid to rest just feet away from her, and she sucked in a deep breath. Long, dark hair curled around his shoulders, his pale skin a stark contrast to it. His black eyes danced with sparks of silver, his nose narrow and straight above thick lips pulled back in a snarl. His armor gleamed like onyx with threads of silver through it and she could make out the hilt of a sword behind his head. The fine dusting of a dark beard made her clench her thighs together.
At the sight of his fangs, she stopped herself from reaching out for him. They were decorated with a silver design of swirls.
Unseelie.
She knew the signs of one of them sensing their Fated Pair. She’d studied how their fangs elongated and how the decorations matched the color in their eyes.
That same color would become the mark on their partner. She had never thought it possible their kind could come together though.
The Seelie were the progenitors of magic while the Unseelie were the more animalistic souls like daywalkers and shifters. It was a fact once buried thousands of years ago when the Fae decided not to interfere more than necessary with the outside world.
