Page 97 of Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

They were here. But they shouldn’t be, this wasn’t what I planned.

I felt myself fading even more. I wouldn’t be able to save them. My grandmother would win, and she’d destroy them all and there was nothing I could do to stop her.

She yelled something in frustration, and without the combined power of the coven, the spell she was using to drain me dwindled into nothing. Sweet, blessed relief cooled me as she let me go. I fell backwards into the water, unable to stop myself from sinking beneath the surface. The moon stood bright in the night sky, and I watched it as I sank deeper into the watery depths. I wondered if Nyx watched from the sky and I wondered if there was any part of her that wondered if I was worth saving. Probably not if my current situation was anything to go by. But it was a truly beautiful thing to see as I finally faded from this world.

Chapter Forty-Four

Raevyn

The wind ruffled my hair as I sat on the beach, the waves lightly lapping at my toes. The sun was high in the sky and it beat down on me, a warm caress.

“May I join you?”

I looked up and saw a tall man with, not quite a handsome face, but something striking. His nose was too large for his face, the line of his jaw too sharp but his eyes were warm. A bright amethyst that sparkled with mischief. Dark hair, peppered with grey, sat in unruly waves atop his head and a small smile played about his mouth.

“Do I know you?” I asked.

“No, and I am sorry for that.” He sat next to me in the sand, his dark linen trousers soaking up the sea.

“Why?” I had no idea who this man was, but there was something familiar about him and something that felt like me. Which was weird. How could I feel connected to someone on that kind of level if I’d never met them before?

“Because I should have been an important part of your life, Raevyn. And I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry I didn’t know you when it counted, but I’m hoping that I can make it count now.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t belong here. Not yet.”

“But I’ve always been here, haven’t I?” Confusion played around the edges of my mind. I couldn’t remember anything before this moment. How did I get here?

“Raevyn, listen to me. You need to go back. you need to save them.”

“Who?”

“The Revenants, Hawk, Apollo. They need you.”

An image of them popped into my mind but it was fuzzy. “I can’t remember them. Why can’t I remember them?”

“It’s this place, it takes a while for your mind to adjust.”

“What is this place?”

“The Isles of the Blessed.” He smiled warmly at me, and I knew. I instantly knew who he was.

“Father?”

“Hello, daughter.” He tucked my hair behind my ear like he’d been doing it all my life.

A sob burst from my lips. “Am I dead?”

“Not quite. I think you’re stuck in the in-between which is why your brain is a little hazy.”

“Did you know about me?” I feared the answer, was scared that he’d say yes and that he abandoned me to my fate.

“No, sweet girl. I didn’t. I spent one night with your mother and she was so free, so wild. But I only had so much time to spend on the mortal plane and she had no way of contacting me. She didn’t know me other than the man who spent one night dancing really terribly on the dancefloor.”

I laughed at that, and I was grateful he’d told me something ordinary about my mother. It helped me tip the scales to more in the good than the bad.

“Now, we need to get you back.” Cronus stepped to his feet and held his hand out to me.

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