Page 46 of Up from the Earth

I slumped slightly, taking in a shallow breath as I heard my worst fears confirmed. I wasn’t skilled at this. Beneath the crowns of mother and crone—titles I’d only recently won, thanks to the journey The Beast King guided me toward—I was still a young maiden, still just Cerridwen.

“But I will not let her go out there without the backing of everything that I can muster. You can rest assured, our valiant wolf.”

Cerberus didn’t reply, his eyes falling to the hem of the blanket that covered his waist. He’d not been on this world long, and still, he’d already had to deal with and accept so much more than most people would in their entire lives. I was abundantly proud of him, but it pained me to know that I was keeping him from something that he felt he needed to be a part of.

Still, protecting him was in my blood, something I would never be able to deny.

“I love you, Cerberus.” I leaned down, taking his face and kissing his forehead. “I love you so damn much. I will protect you until my last breath and beyond. I never understood why my own mother would be so concerned for me, why her protectiveness was so fierce, unyielding. I do now. You are the best parts of me made manifest. You’re my child, and I love you in a way that is so profound that words do not do it justice.”

As I met his eyes, they were glassy with unshed tears, and I let mine flow freely. That green and blue stare reflected my own. A piece of my soul lived in him, and regardless of time or space, he would always be my little boy.

“I love you, too.” Cerberus’s voice was rough, thick with the things left unsaid. “Please, just promise me that you’ll call for me if needed.”

Smiling, I nodded at him. “I will.”

A gentle lie, one he would never learn of. Still, I considered his future, where his golden thread of destiny was leading him.

“You’ll have your own part to play. I’m sure of it. You will have your own journey, and I will watch you with pride, as will our Beast King.”

Looking to her, I held her hand, the two of us draped over Cerberus like a blanket—like a shield.

“I will be so proud, fierce boy. Your path is far from at its end. You have forests to run and ecstasies and pains all your own to find.”

We circled in toward each other, holding onto the liferaft of our combined presence before we all knew it was time to depart.

“Get me ready, love.” I looked up into the gleaming eyes of The Queen, my chest pinching for the way my entire being called out for her. “I will go out to meet him.”

Shiningarmorsatdrapedover my body. It was heavy and cold, the bright silver reflecting all the light in the empty chamber. Thick pauldrons perched on either shoulder, and a segmented breastplate smoothed down the front of my white dress. The fabric floated down gracefully beneath the hard metal, covering the hardy leather leggings I wore beneath it.

I looked around, my gaze settling on each of the familiar sights in The Queen’s throne room. I’d asked her for a moment alone in the space, gathering whatever strength I could muster before she would deliver me to the battlefield.

A breath whistled out of me—long and drawn out until my lungs were utterly spent. “To whatever end, Cerridwen. To whatever end.”

The flicker of hope in my chest was a dim, pallid glow that barely registered amongst the raging sea of dread that drowned me. But I had no choice. I needed to go.

Footsteps sounded behind me, and I didn’t turn to see who approached. I knew it was my Queen. The delicate detailing that covered my armor hummed with her presence, the flowers and vines covering it endlessly coiling and twisting.

“It’s time.”

Her voice was quiet. I nodded.

“I can see myself standing atop a mountain of cracked skulls, the warmth of light vacant from all things. I can see all darkness, the sun’s face banished from every plane of existence.”

She stepped in front of me, taking my face in her hands. “I can see my wife. Standing as resolute as ever in the face of incredible odds. I see a Queen in her own right. One of balance and nature. I see…”

Slowly, The Queen placed a reverent kiss on my lips. “You.”

I sucked in a breath, smelling her and our home. “I love you, dearest darkness. I love you endlessly.”

“And I love you—my bloom of spring pushing up through the snow.”

And with that, she pulled us through the folds of space and time, bringing us face to face with Father Paine.

Twenty-One

Rise To The Occasion. Seek Out Your Villain & Face Him.

Theairsmelledlikerotting meat—the too sweet, too sharp scent cutting through my awareness as if I’d stepped into a fresh burial ground.

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