Page 42 of The Forgotten Life of Ella Moon
“Fine, you want the truth?Thanehas moved on.Atthe last council meeting,Isaw him andPain.Theysat together.Infact, his mother,Sorrow, mentioned thatPainhas been around much more.AccordingtoSorrow,PainandThanemended their differences.”Moonplucked a sunberry from the plate. “Andyou know how muchThane’smother lovesPain.”
And how muchSorrowhatedAurora. “Well, it’s not his mother who decides whose bed he’ll be in.Becauseit was mine, notPain’s.”Painwas the reason forThane’scurse.Aurorapoured more wine. “Whywould you spread such a lie?Areyou trying to hurt me?”HavingtheMoonfor one’s mother was like being raised by a viper.Onemoment she was fine, and the next she would strike at whomever was closest.
“No.Ifyou won’t listen to reason, then you must deal with the truth.Andthe truth is that while you sit here brooding overThane, he is attending weddings and council meetings withPain.”
“I am not brooding.Andhe can’t love her either.”Couldhe?Pain’sfather,Fate, had cursedThane.
“Yes, you are.Andfrankly your father is tired of it.Theheavens cannot hold any more of your tears.Nordoes your father want to listen toSorrow’swails every time you leaveThane.”
“ThenFathershould stop entertaining her,”Aurorasnapped.Shegrew tired of this conversation. “Doyou andFathernot care the toll this is taking on me?Iwill loveThaneuntil there is nothing left of me.Andif you andFathertruly cared about me, you would help me break the curse.Fatherwould demand thatFatedo something.Instead, you both demandImarrySky.”
“That is not true.IfIdidn’t care,Iwouldn’t be here.I’dlet your father marry you off,”Moonsnapped back.
“ThenIshall wish myself to forget all of you.Theheavens,Sky,Father, all of it!”Aurorayelled.Shewould never love another.Thane’sand her love was written in the stars.
Moon laughed. “AndThane?Willyou wish him away too?Yourwishes are powerful, daughter, but nothing is as powerful as love.”
Aurora flopped down in the satin-covered chair.Shehad somewhere else she needed to be. “Godsbelow,Mother, make up your mind!ShallImarrySkyor loveThane?”
“Neither!” her mother shouted back. “Don’tmarrySky.Icare not.Butknow this, daughter.Oneday your father andThane’sfather will demand you both take your rightful place as head of the heavens and the underworld.Andyou are no more equipped to live in the underworld thanThaneis to live in the heavens.”
The only reason for her orThaneto rule was if their fathers stepped down.Godscouldn’t die.Theycould be forgotten, even replaced.Butthey didn’t die.Theycould retire when they grew tired of the demands of the mortal world.ButneitherDeathnorLifewere gods that would be forgotten by man, nor would they quietly step down and allow their children to take over. “Well, thank you,Mother, for that lesson in life.Nowif you are done spreading goodwill,Ihave better things to do.”
Aurora should’ve been used to her mother’s sharp words by now.Godsproved to be cruel creatures even to their own offspring.Thaneand his father fought until one of them drew blood.Itwas usuallyDeath.
“You are lucky.Asit is,Ido have other business to attend to.”Moonstood, brushing the wrinkles from her gray gown. “Iknow you think you love him.ButThaneis not yours to have.Atleast not until that curse is broken.IfThaneis to love again, someone has to die, andIwill not let it be you.”
“Gods can’t die,Mother.”Thething about a curse is it is never as it seemed.Andthere was always a way to break a curse.Whichwas whyAurorawould need to see a witch.
CHAPTER21
AURORA
Aurora stepped from theBetweenonto the solid mortal ground.TheBetweenwas an odd place that she didn’t like to visit, the place between her world and the mortal world.Itwas void of anything and everything.Therewas no sound, nothing to see, no wants or desire, just a barren waste.Theonly beasts that survived there were long-forgotten creatures from faiths long past.
It took her a moment to shake off the nothingness of the space.Travelingto the mortal world always made her a little nauseous.Mortals’ emotions burned bright and quickly.Whichmade their feelings intense and weighedAuroradown.
But more than that, there was the noise and the chaos that mortals brought.Thesethings existed to discourage gods from spending too much time with them.Butgods likeThaneandDeathhad become immune to it.Aurorahad not.
She brushed the sharp shards of theBetweenthat clung to her skirts.Hermaid had helped her pick out something that looked less godlike and more mortal.Thestockings, even made of fine wool, were rough against her skin, and the heavy skirts tangled aroundAurora’slegs as she stepped onto the worn path that led to the witch’s cottage.
It had been some time since she had been amongst the mortals.Shehad forgotten how bright the forest could be.Howharsh the colors of the tree were.Andthe noise.Eventhe softest flap of butterfly wings was too loud.Shehad almost decided against the foolish errand.Whatcould a mortal witch know about the lives of gods?
“More than you do.”
Aurora looked up to see an old woman standing at a gate made of sticks and what looked like bones. “Areyou also a seer?”Aurorasnapped, trying to brush off the uncertainty that pricked at the back of her neck.Mortalscouldn’t hurt gods, but they could trap them and demand favors of them.Manya mortal man had been made king because they trapped a god.
“I’m just an old woman who sells herbs to young girls who get themselves in trouble.”Theold woman eyedAurora. “Butthat’s not what you are seeking, is it?Youwant to break a curse.”
Aurora stepped closer to the old woman.Heronce youthful skin was speckled with age spots and crinkled with time.Theonly thing that gave away the deal she had made withDeathwas the brilliance of her blue eyes.Theystill held their youthfulness. “Youshould’ve been clearer withDeathwhen you made your bargain.”
The witch waved offAurora’scomment. “Ihave lived with this face long enough to accept it protects me from those who don’t understand me.Nowcome, andIwill answer your question.”Theold woman turned and headed back to the cottage.
“For a price, of course.I’mnot a god who will bless you with great riches or power.”Nocelebrations were held inAurora’shonor.Notemples built to appease her.Thosewere built for her father or mother.Veryfew mortals knew she held the secrets of the sea and commanded the stars.Mortalsjust expected her to be there each day to chase away the darkness.Andno one feared the dawn.
“You have nothingIwant, daughter of light and life.Nowhurry up.Idon’t have all night.Youare not the only godIam expecting,” the old woman called over her shoulder.
Aurora looked around for anything that could be a threat, not that she knew what a threat would look like.Shewas a young god compared to her mother and father.Theyhad lived hundreds of lifetimes.Aurorahad only lived twenty-seven of them. “She’smortal;I’ma god.There’snothing she can do to me,”Auroramumbled to the grass and leaves that turned to her.PlusIneed to know how to break the curse,Aurorareminded herself, stepping through the macabre gate.Shepaused, looking at the symbols written in blood around the door.
