Page 133 of Secrets of Avalon

I lift my tear-stained face from Hawke's chest, hardly daring to look at his mother. Where I expected to see hatred, disgust, or blame, I find only fierce determination and compassion in her eyes?

A sob catches in my throat. How can she look at me like that? Doesn't she understand that I've just sentenced her son to death? That I've robbed her of the chance to see her grandchild grow up with both parents?

"I don't understand," I choke out, my voice raw and trembling. "You should hate me. I've doomed him. I've doomed your son."

Isolde moves closer, and kneels before us. She takes my free hand in both of hers. "Melinda, listen to me. You are family now. We face this together, all of us. And we’ll fix this together."

Fresh tears spill down my cheeks as I struggle to reconcile her kindness with the self-loathing that burns in my chest. How can they not see me as the harbinger of destruction I know myself to be?

“My love, listen to me.” Hawke takes my chin and tips it up so I have to look at him. “Do you feel the connection we have? Do you feel our bond?”

I nod, hiccuping through a sob.

“You are not on Earth anymore. You are my heart and my soul. Do they have soul-matches on Earth?”

I shake my head. No. No, they do not. My mother never mentioned it, ever. And she would’ve.

“I need you to believe in us, Melinda. We are bound forever. I will not leave you." His words are fierce and determined, even as tears glisten in his eyes.

I know he believes what he’s saying. But I’ve also seen death. I’ve seen magical babies born. I’ve seen grown men drop dead when their child draws their first breath. I’ve seen the curse take so many lives. How can I not believe what I’ve seen?

“We can beat this.” He kisses me on the lips. “Say it.”

“W-we can beat this.”

“Now you just have to believe it, Melinda. Reality is malleable. It is what we make it to be.”

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