Page 48 of Winter Goddess
* * *
I don't wantto wake up. The dark room has disappeared and so have the three Gods, but I'm not ready to return to the living. Beira, dead. My mother. Now I've lost both my mums. My father is the last remaining family I have. How am I supposed to function, to fight, with so much sadness in my heart? So much grief. It's filling me, my veins, my bones, not letting me move.
I can't deal with this, I just can't. How much sadness can one heart feel before it dies?
Not that my heart can die. I need to start accepting that I'm immortal now, and even less killable than other Gods. Igrewa new body. People just don't do that, not even in the Realms.
Beira is dead.
I'm alive.
It's so not fair. She's the Mother of Gods, the very first Goddess of them all. How can she just disappear? It shouldn't be possible. It's wrong.
Did I perhaps contribute to it? Could she have died if I hadn't been crowned? Maybe the universe thought she was no longer needed now that there was a new Queen.
The universe. The balance. The seasons. They can all go screw themselves. I'm done with all the heartbreak. From now on, my life is going to be good. I'm going to kill the Morrigan and her demons, and then I'm going to turn this Realm into a paradise without suffering. Not for me, not for any of my subjects. The Winter Realm is going to be a place of peace, of happiness.
No more war. Just this one, final battle. And I'm done waiting for the battle to come to me. I'm going to bring war to the Morrigan and end her once and for all.
I wake with a grim smile.A body is warming mine. I let my magic explore the room before I open my eyes. Four people. Arc is the one in my bed, holding me close as if he's scared I might disappear. Theodore is sitting in a corner, half asleep. The other two are guards, standing by the door, wide awake and ready to react to any threat.
I don't know this room. It's neither my bedroom nor the infirmary. I push my magic out further. We're underneath the main Palace in an area I haven't explored yet. The walls here are thick and ancient, gleaming with a strange substance that repels my magic. It's possible for me to push through it, but it's not easy. They must have put me in the safest place they could think of. An area where magic is inhibited, so enemies couldn’t use it against me while I was defenceless. Clever.
There's a smaller room beside this one, and inside are my other three Guardians. Crispin is sleeping. I'm glad; his aura is faint with exhaustion. Storm is awake, walking up and down, brooding. Frost is sitting by Crispin's side, his aura as restless as that of his brother.
I gently pull on my bond to them and watch as they all jump up and run out of their room and into mine. Storm commands the guards and the healer to leave and they immediately do as he asks.
The arms around me tighten.
"Welcome back," Arc whispers, before loosening his grip and disappearing from my bed. Why is he leaving me alone?
Crispin is the first to approach me. Magic pours from his hands as he examines me for injuries.
"Wyn? Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear." My voice is surprisingly strong, not as weak as I'd expected. For someone who just regrew her body, I sound pretty good.
"How are you feeling?" His magic is still examining me, but all I can feel is a slight tickling sensation.
I check my body for pain. There's a dull ache in my right arm, but that's about it. I can't imagine I was seriously injured just two days ago.
"Pretty good," I reply. "What's the situation?"
They look at each other. The elephant in the room. No, the dead Goddess in the room.
"I know," I say tonelessly. I can't afford to break down now. "I know she's dead. I also know about the explosion, and that Angus is on our side now. I had a little conference call with the other three season Gods."
"You know about Bridget too, I suppose?" Storm asks.
"That she's Dewi's mother and supporting us? Yes."
"This is weird," Frost mutters. I tend to agree. I'd love to still be sickly in bed and surrounded by my loving, caring Guardians, but there's no time. I can feel the change in the air. The storm is about to come and hit us hard.
"Angus says the Morrigan might not be aware that he's no longer on her side," Storm reports. "She's ordered him to get his troops ready, and he's going to pretend nothing's changed for a while longer. Only his highest generals will be briefed, and that only just before the battle. Hopefully, it will be a surprise to her when Angus's forces suddenly turn and fight the Morrigan's demons."
"Is everyone ready? Our allies?"
Storm nods. "Yes, they're all waiting for the signal. Angus has been trying to stall the Morrigan so you had time to heal. I don't think she's going to wait much longer though. Her demons are no longer staying hidden and they're amassing by the Gates."
