“Did you not think I didn’t fight to be with you?” she teases me. “I fought with everything I had. At the end, I cut Aaron with my nails. I’m sure it’s faint, but on the right side of his throat, collar bone, and probably a little bit on his back, he will have scratches that will always show through his skin, no matter who he is.”
She just gave me a wild card to call this man out at all possibilities. I’ll at least be able to call him out when he tries to play Anwen again.
“Thank you.” I lean in and wrap Mom in my arms and squeeze her, tears once again stinging my eyes.
“You’ve made me so proud,” she whispers as I feel warmth flood my body along with a surge of power snaking along my veins. It’s a shock yet pleasant feeling that reminds me of home, of love, andmomas the wind whips around me, and when I open my eyes, I’m sitting on the floor in my nursery room.Did I just receive Mom’s power?
Was this all a dream? A vision? Catching sight of myself in the floor-length mirror, the tears start streaming down my cheeks as I stare at the intricate braids in my hair.
“Nerezza?” Anwen calls out.
“Are you okay?” Seren asks, poking her head into the room. She meets my eyes in the mirror and drops down to my side, immediately pulling me into a hug. “It’s okay.”
“It was real?” I squeak as she rocks me back and forth.
“Yes.”
“My mother was really there with me?” I rub at my eyes, trying to dry them.
“Yes,” Seren says, pulling back to look at me. “That marble sent you into a pocket of aether where time is not a thing, and you got to have time with your mother,” she explains, standing and pulling me up with her. “As I said before, I wasn’t supposed to do that, but with Anwen’s insistence, I went, and thankfully I did because I was able to pull Liliwen’s power into that marble, save it for you, and create that pocket.”
We walk back into their main room, where I find the scroll still moving along with my movements, and Anwen standing waiting for me. I remember mothers words and stop in my tracks before clearing my throat.
“Let me see your neck,” I order, not taking no for an answer.
Anwen narrows her eyes and hesitates, but seeing how distressed I am, she gives me a nod. “Very well.” Anwen pulls her cape to the side, allowing me to see her throat and shoulders, one at a time. I don’t see any blemish along her dark skin, and I swallow down the lump in my throat.
“I’m sorry for earlier. I-I didn’t know,” I admit, sheepishly.
“We figured you ran into your essence father, so you needed to talk to Liliwen,” Anwen says, sitting back down. This time, she points to an extra cup on the table where there were two before I went into the nursery.
“That cup is yours,” Seren says, grabbing the one closest to her and taking a seat on the sofa.
“Mine?” Heat seeps through the cup as I pick it up and sit down between the two Fates, feeling extremely raw but yet somewhat comfortable in their presence.
“Yes.”
I smell the sweet aroma and bring the cup to my lips, taking a tentative sip before gagging on the taste.
“Ugh. What is this?” The sour taste puckers my lips and wrinkles my nose.
“It’s the Devil’s Crosshairs. The antidote for God’s Trumpet,” Anwen tells me as she sips her drink.
“You didn’t expect it actually to taste good, did you?” Seren smirks behind her cup.
“It smelled good, so yeah, I did,” I mumbled before looking at the milky white concoction once again.
“Medication, especially one for removing a foul curse, is never as simple as or pleasurable as one hopes. Your powers will no longer be blocked, and they can continue to grow again.” Anwen simply raises a brow and nods her head at my cup.
I take the hint and take a deep breath to psych myself into downing this drink as fast as possible. If I can drink Goblin sweat to save my life in Hell, I can drink this shit for my powers. I bring the cup back up to my lips, tip my head back, and start chugging the drink as fast as I can. The liquid not only tastes sour but also changes temperature as it hits my tongue. Warm, ice cold, then burning hot as it hits my throat, and I almost choke, and once it hits my stomach, I get sucker punched, having the air leave my lungs.
“Easy,” Seren says, patting my back. “You’re not supposed to chug it, Nerezza.”
Anwen sighs as I have a coughing fit and takes the empty cup from my hand, setting it back down on the table.
“She’s in a hurry to get back to her family. It is the Gauntlet after all, and we did pull her away from it,” Anwen clarifies asshe stands up. “Might as well not keep her waiting.” I’ll meet you in the room.” She gives Seren a look I can’t decipher, then turns and leaves as I wipe the tears from my eyes.
Why does this shit burn?
