Page 156 of Barbi and the Villain

“There was never any artifact to be found.” She half turns. “I may not have given you the artifact, but I have given you something far more powerful.”

“You are not making any sense, Priestess. Speak or I will have your head,” he grits out.

“My fate is not to die by your hands, demon,” she states unflinchingly. “You’d better prize your mate above all, for she is the key to your return home.” She pauses, her eyes clouded. “Only essence of the same essence can breach the barrier. It will not destroy the seal, but it will allow you free access to and from Tartareia.”

Those are her only words as she disappears from sight.

Nykander blinks slowly before he sets his eyes on me.

My body still shimmers with the same light purple mist, but as I try to calm my heart rate, it slowly dissipates.

“Are you all right?” he asks as he takes a step toward me.

I shake my head.

“No,” I whisper. “The jar,” I swallow, overwhelmed, as I try to form a coherent sentence. “In my dream, the jar contained the power of Lispera’s daughter. She had sealed it so her daughter would not be prey to demons—so she would not die. Then, she hid her somewhere in a different time.”

His eyes widen, and I can see him putting two and two together.

“The same essence. You.”

I nod.

“I don’t know how or why, but… I think Lispera is my mother,” I whisper.

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“But it doesn’t make any sense.” I sigh in frustration. “How could she be my mother? I know who my parents are, and trust me, my real mom is no goddess.”

“I do not understand how this can be either. But your energy does not lie,” he says as he comes closer.

His black shadows slither forward, calling forth my lavender shimmering mist.

They merge together until they’re one and the same.

“I can feel your power,” he whispers, his hand caressing my cheek. “And it is a wondrous thing, Barbs.”

I swallow, slowly glancing up at him.

“I can’t control it. I don’t know how to control it. Even now,” I murmur, watching the way the shimmer becomes more pronounced, intertwining with his darkness, caressing it and letting it be caressed in return.

“It reacts to your feelings,” he says, threading his fingers through mine and holding me close. “It reacts to your moods, just as mine does. But I have had thousands of years to control it. You will learn. I will teach you.”

My lips tremble as I attempt a smile.

“I’m scared, Nykander. I… I don’t know what to believe anymore.” My voice shakes, but I try to control my emotions so I don’t cause him any harm.

“Do not be. I am here. With you. I will help you through this, Barbs. I promise you,” he murmurs as he brings my hands to his lips for a kiss. “We are together in this.”

“I am no longer human, am I?” I ask in a low voice.

“I do not think you were ever human to begin with,” he mentions gently. “It was odd from the beginning that my true mate would be human when that is unheard of. I wondered how it could be. Generally, true mates are, if not of the same species, then relatively matched in spiritual energy.”

I slowly digest his words.

“You know, when I got to Akkaya, I did not believe it at first. I thought it was all a dream—the culmination of my imagination. Slowly, I started believing that it is real. I even started enjoying my adventure in this strange world. But this? Now I find out that my parents are not really my parents, that I’m the daughter of an ancient goddess who basically planned everything from the start. Lispera could see the future—she could manipulate it. That means everything so far in my life has been the result of her machinations. Did I ever have any free will, or did everything just play according to a script?”

“Barbs…” Nykander glances at me warily.

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