“Just Hecate will do. No need to stand on formality.” The goddess chuckled. “You can rise. It’s so disconcerting talking to the tops of heads.”
“Thank you for letting me cross over to be with Simon one last time.”
“And let’s not forget Darius, hum?” Hecate tisked, her tone amused.
Oh, great that is a big fat TMI as far as Arthur was concerned. He knew the two shared women, but to talk about it? Yeah, not something he was keen on hearing about. And from the uncomfortable looks from the others, they were all feeling like some peeping toms. But for the life of him he couldn’t stop watching the drama unfolding in front of him, reminding him of the lookie-lous who always flocked any accident.
Rhea flushed, but met the goddess’s frank gaze head on. “I’ve come to love both of them equally.”
Simon’s long legs ate up the distance between him and Rhea. “Wait, you can’t just take her from us.”
Hecate’s eyebrow arched, her eyes snapping with irritation. “I can’t?”
“I humbly ask if we can have a say in this decision.” Darius’s more respectful tone seemed to appease the goddess.
“What do you wish to say to sway my decision to bring my child home with me?”
“We love her,” they spoke in unison.
Simon took a step closer. “I lost her once and damn near died from the loss, don’t take her from me again.”
Darius closed in from the other side. “I have not known her long, but her absence would be felt as if a part of my very soul was taken.”
“Eloquently put, Darius, but then you are a romantic at heart I think.” She chuckled. “What about you, my daughter? Have you satisfied your oath?”
Rhea looked at the two men towering over her and took a deep breath, time to come clean. “I have been waiting for the final confrontation between Arthur and Mordred for countless centuries. I swore an oath to Hecate to help with the final battle, knowing everything in this world hinged on Arthur’s success.”
“Alright, why do I feel a but in this somewhere?” Darius frowned.
“Because I kind of cheated to get here.”
“Cheated in what way?” Simon asked cautiously, his ice blue eyes wary.
“I skipped several reincarnations.”
“Skipped? Is that even possible?” Darius shook his dark head in disbelief.
“Um, yeah, it is with the help of a goddess. In my last reincarnation, I was her high priestess. I knew I needed all my powers to help with the end game, but with every reincarnation my powers weakened further. I needed my magic intact in order to be of any use.”
“Tell them, daughter,” Hecate cut in gently yet still firm.
Rhea sighed, then straighten to look each man in the eye. “Look, I’m two hundred and thirty-six years old. I made a pact with Hecate to keep me immortal only until the end battle was finished. Now that it is my immortality is at an end and I need to return to the other side with her.”
Darius shook his head a growl tore from his throat. “I don’t care if you’re two thousand. We…I need you and not just for calming the visions I have. Your complete me in a way no one ever did.” His gaze locked onto Simon’s. “We are only complete with you, in our world. Simon lost you once, are you really going to put him through that again?”
Rhea’s eyes filled with tear’s spilling unchecked down her pale cheeks. “Don’t do this, Darius, please. It’s hard enough, but to leave the two of you like this is killing me, too.”
Arthur couldn’t take another minute of what was turning into another goodbye. He lost Gwen, he’d be damned if these two men, brothers and the closest thing to family he had, would suffer the same fate if he could help it. He gave Viviane a pointed look and with a slight nod, she rose and joined Arthur. Nimue remained huddled on the floor, still in shock, no doubt from whatever abuse Vance inflicted on her.
“Uh, hum, pardon me.” Arthur cleared his throat as he approached Hecate. “Seems to me with you being a powerful goddess and all, couldn’t you see your way around to leaving Rhea here with us. She is family now, our family and would be cared for as such.”
Hecate grinned, her hazel eyes twinkling with amusement. “Why should I let one of my subjects go to another pantheon?”
“Well, I’m not exactly another pantheon,” Viviane chimed in, “more like on the fringe and I would have no problem if she wants to continue being your high priestess.”
“Huh, I’ve always wondered what you would be like,” Hecate mussed absently, rubbing the head of her black wolf. “Definitely not what I expected.”
“Oh? And how did you think I would be like?”
“Well, not like this.” Hecate waved a hand toward her. “Anime Goth girl goes to college.” She chuckled at the shocked expressions on everyone’s face. “I don’t spend all my time on the other side you know. I do get around seeing what is going on in your world.”
“You know looks can be deceiving.” Viviane laughed, letting her fingers twirl around a white, blond and pink curl.
“By all the gods I do hope so.” Hecate struggled not to laugh, but the telltale evidence of her humor danced in her eyes.
“Come on, give the girl a break. Let her live out the rest of her life in the human realm. You can check on her anytime you wish.”
“How…magnanimous of you.” Hecate sighed and turned her focus back on Rhea, who didn’t flinch under her penetrating stare. “It seems that an accord has been reached. Let no one ever call me a cold-hearted bitch goddess without good cause. I strip you of your immortality, from this time on you will live only on the mortal realm, aging as mortals do.”
Rhea’s shoulders sagged with relief.
“Only one condition, you will keep to the traditions and responsibilities I bestowed upon you as my high priestess. If for any reason, you should stop them, I’ll take you back to the other side faster than you can blink. Understand?”
“Oh, yes, yes, yes!” Rhea agreed, eyes bright with more tears as she turned to the two men who sandwiched her between them in a heartfelt embrace.
Arthur watched Viviane struggle not to laugh at Hecate, impressed by the level and serious tone in her voice as she addressed the other goddess. “Very selfless of you, I like your style. If you every want to get away from it all I would love to have you visit me at Avalon.”
Hecate raised one arched brow, a small smile playing on her lips. “What would the other pantheons think? How deliciously scandalous of you to offer.”
“Never been all that interested in following protocol, guess it comes with being on the fringe.” Viviane gave her a large bright smile and shot her a look of innocence. “After all, there isn’t a rule written anywhere that states goddesses of different beliefs couldn’t hang together.”
Lancelot moved behind Vivian and, wrapping her up in his arms, brushed his lips on top of her head in a small kiss. “I see I will need to learn more about poker nights with the boys so you two could have your girl time out.”
Darius shook his head with a groan. “Man, that’s girl’s night out.”
Lancelot looked puzzled. “Isn’t that what I said?”
“No!” everyone chimed in.
Viviane’s turned in Lancelot’s arms, love shinning in her gaze. The look punched Arthur in the gut. How could he be so blind not to see the love between them? A twinge of envy settled in his heart as he moved back to Gwen’s body. He memorized her beautiful face, more than ready to join her.
“My daughter sacrificed all for you, Arthur, have a care on how you treat the gift she freely gave you,” the goddess spoke softly, but caution carried weight to her words.
“To live without her is a hollow victory. I failed her, didn’t keep her safe. I must live with that knowledge.”
Laughter made Arthur’s head snap up, eyes narrowed on the goddess.
“Oh, Arthur, I see why Gwen loves you so, you’re filled with much honor and love. I approve Gwen’s choice, not that it would stop either of you. And there was
little you could have done to change what needed to happen.”
Anger rose up inside him at Hecate’s cryptic words. “She didn’t need to die. I gave my vow to protect her and failed.”
“Die? Look upon your woman and tell me what you see.”
Afraid to hope, but compelled to do as Hecate ordered, he returned his gaze to Gwen and saw…her chest rose and fell. Her skin pinked, lids fluttered open and blue eyes, sharp and aware, locked onto his.
A hoarse cry tore from his lips and in the next second, he was by her side, lifting her into his arms and locking her close to his chest where his heartbeat took off like a runaway locomotive, making him dizzy.
“How, what…I thought you lost to me.”
“I would have been if not for your killing Vance. His spell only called for one sacrifice not two.”
“So what happened, love, how did you get back to me?” Arthur’s voice still held the edge of his grief, his arms locked tightly to her as if he feared she would disappear from him.
She reached out, framing his face with soft warm hands, and he fell into her bright loving gaze. He knew she could see his torment. His soul was laid bare before her where she could witness all his grief, anger, regret and self-recrimination, which churned inside him, bone deep.
“None of what happened is your fault, you must believe this, Arthur. I had to cross over the moment Vance evoked the spell.”
A frown formed on her perfect features, causing a small crease to appear between her golden red brows. She cast a quick glance at the goddess standing just a few feet in front of them, then pinned him with a look that brooked no argument. “I needed to stop Morgan from crossing, but when you killed Vance you gave me the chance to fight for the right to come back. So in a way you did save me. Don’t you dare tarnish this victory with feelings that have no place between us. We have the chance to get it right this time around.”
To his delight, she drew him closer and kissed him. True it was a small kiss, but within it held the promise of passion and love to last lifetimes. “I promise to give you all of me, heart, body and soul for all time. You will never feel alone again, this I promise.”
She grinned, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Good, fair warning I will not be ignored a second time, and I can be a very demanding bitch when needed. I want to be your partner in life, not just a pretty addition to hang on your arm. And like any good partnership, any decisions to be made need to be done together. Do we have a deal?”
He couldn’t help grinning like an idiot and didn’t care who saw it. “Deal. Now only one thing remains.”
Her eyebrows arched high on her forehead. “And what would that be?”
“Well our marriage for one. If you will have me.”
“If…wow, you know just how to woo a gal, don’t you?”
“I’ve only begun to woo,” he pledged.
“Yes, yes!” She laughed, holding him tight. “I love you so very much.”
“Everything that I am, you hold in your hands, my Gwen, now and forever.”
About the Author
Coming from a family of artists, I guess being creative was bound to rub off on me. I spent my childhood with my nose buried in a book or drawing. The dreamer of the family—which wasn’t considered a good thing—I spent a lot of my time in my head, building stories to go with my illustrations. Soon those illustrations became less and less as the writing took over. I use my oil painting like most writers use music. I paint to plot my next story or work through a difficult scene. I love what I do and feel blessed every day I can sit down and lose myself in the worlds I create and the characters that come to life within my pages.
Many still don’t know me, but I’m working to change that. I’m the president of my local RWA chapter and I guess, even as an adult, I never lost that dreamer tendency, and it just goes to show with hard work and tenacity dreams do come true.
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