Page 3 of Hex
There are a lot of similarities with the place with all the angels, only there are a lot more decorative columns and gold accents on the few large buildings that can be seen.
“This is Hekate’s palace. Follow me, Lady Sage.” Gwendia doesn’t pause or check to see if I’m following; not that she needs to because of course I am.
My curiosity is ramping up by the second. Like, why hasn’t she grabbed me and turned me into a glowing light yet? Why aren’t we going to the Great Library? And why the fudge is she calling me Lady Sage?
“Can you tell me why we’re here, Marshall Gwendia? And you can just call me Sage, there’s no lady here.” I chuckle tomyself, but there’s no response from the valkyrie to even suggest she heard me. So I open my mouth to ask again, but her soft butterfly voice strikes again.
“Hekate has requested it, and while she is the Dei of Witches and not the Gods, she is a goddess. Therefore, I still serve her will.”
“So I’m not going to be made into an orb and reincarnated again just yet?”
This earns a chuckle from the valkyrie with almost golden hair that glows with every flash of light that hits it.I want to be her when I grow up.
“No, Sage. You are not being reincarnated again.”
The long hall of columns and stone, veined with golden threads, comes to an end as we reach the hall I was in before…when Hekate went nuts and Baba Yaga hurried me away.
I was excited about this until that memory surfaced. Now, not so much.
“I will leave you now. Hekate will greet you.” Gwendia finally turns to look at me. Well, down at me because she’s amazingly tall. She tilts her head in reverence before walking away with such grace she may as well be floating down the long corridor we arrived through just minutes ago.
What a woman. Valkyrie.
Quicker than I can blink, or maybe longer because I was staring at Gwendia for too long, a heavy presence fills the room and I look toward the bronzed glowing woman elegantly walking down the white marble steps. The square room has stairs, almost like seating, surrounding the large space in the middle, and large archways with delicately designed pillars stand tall at the top of each stairway. All except for the one behind me, that did have an opening when Gwendia left…now it’s gone.
The woman is Hekate. I recognize her from last time, and I take a moment to admire her beauty. Are all supernaturals in Ryetoh this gorgeous?
Her long, dark hair flows around her legs, with some braided pieces holding cute, intricate, bronze metal rings. The same bronze is in her bra, looking as though it was painted onto her body, with a matching chiffon skirt that falls to her ankles. It’s probably not chiffon, since there’s a metallic sheen to it, but that’s the only way I can describe the material.
I’m bracing myself for another meltdown, but I’m also treating her like a dangerous animal.
No sudden moves.
Don’t make eye contact.
Appear non-threatening.
“You can look up, child of mine.”
Oh my goddess, her voice is even better than Gwendia’s. It’s like a hundred kittens snuggling into you for cuddles, so I do as she says and look up at her, rather than at her perfectly manicured feet in a pair of stunning bronze-crystal sandals.
“Wait…” The words are unstoppable at this point. I’m like an avalanche and all respect has flown out of the window. “Did you say ‘child of mine’? And if so, what do you mean? Because I’ve had a hell of a few weeks. I found out magic and supernaturals were real, my best friend was kidnapped by my stalker and his snake friends, my mother figure was murdered, I found my fated mate, hated him, then loved him, then died in his arms and watched him suffer, I have run from a horny demon, and now I’m being mesmerized by you and your valkyrie friend. So what I’m saying is, I need you to spell this out for me because I’ve been through a lot. Also, how can you see me if you’re not basically reaping my soul?” I shrug, an apologetic smile on my face, hoping I didn’t just take my rant too far.
“Sage, you are of my blood. You are my daughter.”
How the fuck do I have two biological mothers?
Chapter Two
Sage
“Please don’t think I’m being rude, but I find that difficult to believe.” The only birth mother I ever knew was Baba Yaga. The others all died in childbirth.
Hekate chuckles lightly and it sounds like the sweetest of bells jingling.
“I understand this is not your first life? You have had many, and yet you have never reached the maturity of your kyn.”
“If that translates into me never having a thirtieth birthday, then you’re right, but I feel like that’s common knowledge at this point. Hack’s been searching for me over and over again for years an—”
