Page 70 of Forged in Deception

“Thank you for standing by me,” she said.

“You’re stuck with me now,” Axel said firmly, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze that sent a ripple of heat down her spine. “I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to.”

She swallowed hard, not trusting herself to respond to the implications that his words held. Part of her was terrified tobelieve that he meant them. A bigger part was terrified that he didn’t.

But she couldn’t think about her heart right now.

Tomorrow, things were going to be set into motion that she couldn’t undo.

Her life was going to change, for better or for worse.

God, please help me, she prayed silently, trying her best to focus on keeping the truck safely on the road.Help guide me through whatever comes next.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-ONE

THE WOMAN

Mother was waiting for her this time.

As soon as the woman awoke, she was there, somehow, in the dark.

She was in her bed now, but it didn’t matter where she was, any more than it mattered if she took the drugs or not.

Mother found her whenever and wherever she was needed. The woman was important, precious. It was hard to believe Mother could need anything at all, but somehow, in some miraculous way, Mother needed the woman.

Now, she had been awoken from sleep, long after the moon had risen over the earth.

She tried not to yawn, but she couldn’t help it. She had struggled to fall asleep the night before, her mind filled with a mingling of worry and excitement.

“I have disturbed you, dear one,” Mother said. There was no apology in her tone of voice.

The woman searched the room, but Mother had not revealed herself as a serpent tonight. Often, she preferred just to exist at a more primal level, something disembodied, above and greaterthan anything in all the earth. It always filled the woman with awe, even if she did like to see Mother’s dark eyes and glittering scales.

“I spoke to our chosen one today,” the woman said, shaking off the last remnants of her exhaustion. Sleep could wait.

Or maybe it wouldn’t need to.

Perhaps humans did not need to sleep at all once they arrived in the empire of light.

“What did she say?” Mother prompted. The woman could sense something in her tone, almost an impatience. It was always fascinating to note even the slightest hint of imperfection in the godlike being. Not that the woman would ever dare to point it out.

“I spoke to her about our rituals. I was careful. I wanted to tiptoe around the subject until I knew that she wouldn’t balk.”

“So wise, dear,” Mother said. “Always so wise.”

The woman blushed at the compliment, though she didn’t know how much Mother saw of her in the dark, or if she could see at all now, lacking the eyes of her serpent form.

“Her response was better than I could have hoped for, Mother,” the woman said, struggling to keep her voice calm. “She actually told me about how she had learned of these magics in the past, and the way that every culture knew its power, until the Christians came with their centuries-long campaigns of hate and murder. She is ready to partake. Eager, even.”

“It seems you were right,” Mother said. “She does not sound like Amira. She will not allow the foolishness of shame to stop her from doing what must be done. Good. Very good.”

Without another word, Mother was gone.

The woman was not sure exactly how she knew this, but she did.

She was alone in the dark again, listening to the sound of her own breathing.

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