Page 32 of A Witch Out of Time
“Little doll? Is that you?” My mother’s usually hearty voice was strained, her hand weakly lifting to blindly search for me in the space beside her. I quickly grabbed a stool and slid it closer, grabbing her shaking hand in mine and almost crying out at the feel of her after all these years.
“I’m here, mama,” I choked out, feeling Asa move to stand behind me, his hand on my shoulder a steadying presence. Heartache and empathy poured down our bond, and I realized my Rider never had the chance to say goodbye to his own mother.“Weare here,” I amended, sending a blast of love back to him, hoping he might find whatever he needed in this moment as well.
My mother shifted her head on the pillow, the sudden clarity in her gaze making me sit up straighter. “Listen to me carefully, child,” she slowly spoke. “Before I was your mother, before I even met your father on the battlefields against the Russian conquest, I was a Mari priestess. My people revered elemental gods long since forgotten, including demigods who walked this earth.” Her gaze flickered to Asa, and she smiled before refocusing on me. “When I became pregnant with you, I suffered early complications, so I prayed to the Great Mother to protect you, no matter the cost.”
No matter the cost...
Tears stung my eyes as I realized my mother died because of me. She may have enjoyed a long, healthy life had it not been for my existence. Asa immediately dropped to a crouch next to me, tightly curling his muscular arms around me—his touch the only thing holding me together in my grief.
“Vasilisa,” my mother’s stern tone snapped me back to attention. “You are not to blame for my death. It was my time, and I left willingly, secure knowing you had beenblessedby the Mother herself. During our short time together, I gave you what I could to help you in your future role as protector of this earth. You simply need to reclaim what you’ve lost. Please, know that you were loved. That you are still loved. Always remember that.”
I leaped to my feet as she began to disappear, my hands grasping at empty air where she had been solid a moment before. Desperate for more time, I tried to call on my new powers to freeze this moment, to keep her here with me, but she continued to fade into nothingness. The last thing I saw before my mother vanished completely was her soft smile, encouraging me even as my heart shattered.
Asa stood and wrapped both arms around me again, silently holding me close as the smell of smoke mixed with my stepmother’s distant screams. The entireizbadissolved around us, along with any lingering guilt I’d been carrying. My breathing turned steady as I realized my stepfamily deserved to die, and it was time for me to fully live.
Sinking to the ground, I placed my palm on the earth and made a solemn vow. I would honor my mother’s memory by finding the blessing she’d given me, many moons ago, and use it to save my Rider and fulfill my legacy.
Chapter 26
Taneer
“Holy shit.” Nox’s voice snapped my focus away from the vivid memories of every kiss I’d ever shared with Asa that was currently on loop in my head. I followed his gaze down into the valley and grunted in agreement. The entire village of Toska was dematerializing in a cloud of reddish smoke, leaving behind nothing but the endless plains of the Nav once again.
When the power of pussy and not-so-gay men combine...
“You know, Tan, you could stop sulking anytime now, because it’s getting pretty fucking annoying.”
I laughed, pushing off from the tree I’d been leaning against. “Yaaa, I suppose I should get back to my job of being the only ray of fucking sunshine among all of you intense, brooding, assholes. Vasi included.”
Nox barked out a laugh before quickly looking around, as if worried our witch would appear and flay us for our insolence. “Exactly. Although, I’d like to point out, it was the biggest asshole of all who came to the Nav to rescue you.”
“I always knew if I went to hell you’d be right behind me!” I joked, then instantly sobered. During one of our earliest drunken escapades, Nox had told me how he’d died as a kid. That his grandmother had then brought him back to life only to be killed by her neighbors for practicing “witchcraft.”
Knowing what I did now, I wondered if the short time he’d spent in the Nav had something to do with his connection to Veles, and if that was why he’d been so adamantly against Vasi making a deal with the god of the underworld. Either way, I was humbled to realize coming here was probably the last thing he wanted to do.
Good thing this man has bigger balls than all of us. Literally.
“Listen,lan,”I leveled him with as serious an expression as I could muster. “Thank you. Truly. Not only for coming to this hellhole, but for protecting Vasi while you were stuck in the Facility together.”
Nox snorted. “Let’s get some shit straight. The Nav is not actually ‘hell.’ It’s more of a general admission afterworld. But more importantly, Vasi did not, at any time, needmeto protecther.In fact, I watched her punch her fucking claws through somesvoloch’sskull and pop out his eyeballs like a pair of oversized grapes.”
“I am not too proud to admit, this tale of witchy badassery is threatening to give me a raging hard-on,” I sighed. “And, that I am incredibly jealous you got to watch Vasi claw-punch someone like a sexy Wolverine.”
As if on cue, Vasi crested the hill, with Asa following closely behind. Something must have been discussed during their return walk as Vasi immediately hooked her arm through Nox’s and led him away, purposefully leaving me alone with Ace.
Fuck.
“I need to talk to you, Tan. Please.” His voice held so much desperation I had to grit my teeth to stifle my knee-jerk reaction to comfort him.
“Whatever you want, Ace,” I shrugged and crossed my arms. “Although, I don’t know what you expect me to say.” I may have been acting indifferent, but every fiber of my being was on edge, terrified this would be the moment he confirmed our relationship was truly over.
Asa cautiously stepped closer, as if approaching a wild animal. “I don’t expect anything, I just need you to listen.” I nodded, and he exhaled slowly, looking as nervous as I’d ever seen him. This, of course, only amplified the shared angst I could now feel through this bond of ours.
This is intense, and it hasn’t even started yet.
“I fucked up, Tan,” he began, and my gaze snapped to his face. Ace was raised to be an overachiever in all things, so simply admitting he failed was noteworthy. “I took you for granted. I took your love for granted. You were nothing but supportive after my mother died and I shut you out. It was only after Vasi…” he noticed me tense up and carefully continued. “It was only after Vasi helped me feel again that I realized how much I neededyou.”
Gaping at him, I realized in an instant how fucking stupid I’d been. All I’d allowed myself to see was him falling in love with someone else and leaving me behind. In reality, I should have been thanking Vasi for bringing Ace out of the dark hole of grief he’d dug for himself, especially when I’d been unable to reach him.
