Mother

RORY

I’m exhausted after the birth, sore and light-headed. I close my eyes for just a moment, and when I open them, I’m surrounded by a blank white mist. I heave a frustrated sigh.

I didn’t fall asleep. I died. Again. And now I’m in the Spirit Realm when all I want is to be with my mate, my baby… wait a moment.

The memory comes back to me, the second round of pushing, kissing two sweet, tiny hands with the last of my strength. I had twins! A boy and a girl! Everett was right all along.

I know there’s a lot to figure out—we only expected one baby, we don’t have enough clothes, enough bassinets, enough anything—but right now the only thing I can feel is joy.

My two children, my perfect babies. I love them so incredibly much already, I can barely contain it. It feels like it’s going to burst from my skin, a radiant light.

I was so hoping to have more children; for my little girl to have arrived already feels like Christmas coming early. She and her brother will get to grow up together, to support each other.

These children are going to be more loved than I could have ever dreamed when I was a kid. Me, Everett, Mama, Freya and Ace, Lucius, Mia, the whole damn pack. It’s amazing.

I can’t wait to hold them, to see them learn to smile and crawl and talk and run. Having them is the greatest miracle of my life, and I am so grateful.

And I haven’t even gotten to hold them yet. I need to focus on getting whatever message I need here so I can get back to them, back to Everett. He’s probably going out of his mind.

I peer into the mists, searching for Achlys and the door. It’s always strange when she’s not here to greet me. It’s hard not to be nervous, to worry that I’ll be stuck here.

Achlys sending me through the door is really the only way I know to get back to my body when I come here by dying. It’s easy to get lost here, so I’d rather not take my chances wandering around.

The mists swirl and shift, and my hopes rise. White grass forms around my feet, the silhouettes of trees appear around me, and a figure appears between them.

Disappointment flares in my chest. The figure is too small to be Achlys. But as it approaches me, it resolves into Nadia, the little girl killed by Nemesis who I’d met in the Spirit Realm before.

She skips towards me, and I smile, genuinely glad to see her. I kneel down to catch her in my arms as she flings herself toward me, chattering excitedly. “Rory! Congrats on the babies!”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” I give her a squeeze, then sit back. “What are you doing here?” It’s a little strange that she hasn’t passed on, I think. Maybe Achlys is still looking after her?

She grins up at me, one tooth missing. “I wanted to come see you and hear about your babies! You’re gonna be a really good mom. What are their names?

I laugh. “I don’t actually know yet. The little girl was a surprise, so we didn’t even think about one for her, and I said I wanted to wait until I could see them to try and pick.”

“Oh, okay.” She deflates, but only for a moment. “Are you gonna play with them lots?”

I nod, very serious. “Absolutely. We’ll play dolls and trucks and dinosaurs and whatever else they want.” My heart aches thinking of Nadia’s parents. I’m sure they miss her every day.

“Good!” Nadia suddenly perks up and spins around. “Oh! She’s coming! I was supposed to wait for her, but I got too excited.”

I stand up, Nadia clinging onto my hand. “Who’s that?” Another figure, this one adult-sized, is approaching. I hope it’s Achlys. A frightened, unreasonable part of me is sure it’s Nemesis.

As she gets closer, the details grow clearer, and I gasp, tears spilling down my cheeks. “Mother,” I whisper. Helena, the goddess who gave me life, with her lover Helios.

The two of them are from two separate lines of gods, the Evermore and the Tartarus. The two are enemies, so their love was forbidden. But they managed to be together long enough to have me.

The golden-robed figure smiles at me. She’s beautiful in an eerie way, a goddess like me, but so much older and more powerful. “Hello, my child. It’s been such a long time.”

I’m thrilled to see her, but the continued lack of Achlys is making me tense. What if I’m really dead this time?

My mother holds her hands out to me, tears sparkling in her emerald eyes. Love and sadness well up inside me, and I forget everything else. I rush to her, letting her enfold me in her embrace.

She holds me for a long time. She’s warm and smells somehow like comfort and motherhood. I could stay in her embrace forever, time fading away to nothing as I let her soothe me.

Eventually, though, she pulls away, holding me at arm’s length to look at my face. “I wanted to congratulate you on the birth of your children. I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

“I guess you’re a grandma now,” I say with a sad little giggle.

She laughs, the sound like tolling bells. “So I am.” She puts her hand on my cheek. “My daughter, now a mother. Motherhood is a sacred and powerful thing. It will change you.”

“I can already feel it,” I say, overwhelmed thinking about my children again.

She smiles, holding out her other hand to Nadia, who takes it. Helena must be taking care of her. “Not just that. Now that you have children to protect, you will grow much, much stronger.”

That surprises me. My healing powers are useful, but limited. I assumed they would never get any stronger. “What? Really?”

“It is the way with us,” Helena says. “Our children are powerful, yet vulnerable. You must be able to stand against any who seek to harm them.”

My mind instantly flashes to Martha. I smile, and I’m sure it’s not a nice one. “That’s excellent news.”

“You are strong. You and your children will be alright.” Helena drops her hand from my face and steps back, eyes sad and fixed over my shoulder. “I see we’re out of time.”

I turn to see what she’s looking at. It’s Achlys, her long black hair the only thing about her that isn’t pale. Relief floods me. “I’m really glad to see you.”

She gives me a small smile. “It’s always a pleasure to see you, too. But I’m afraid, as usual, we don’t have much time. I hope you enjoyed seeing Helena and Nadia?”

More than I can possibly express. I glance at them again, wishing I didn’t have to choose between them and my family back in the land of the living. “Yes. Thank you.”

She inclines her head in acknowledgment. “There is a way to save your son from Martha’s grasp. But it won’t work for your daughter. You will have to find your own way to protect her.”

“What is it? Whatever it is, I’ll do it. And I’ll protect my little girl, too.”

“You will know when you return. Now, it is time to go.” Achlys’ puts her hand on my chest, and I go flying through the door.