Page 231 of Warlords, Witches & Wolves

Chapter 14

‘Itold you she would find a way.’ Arianrhod turned to Morghanna as the ghost of the ancient witch came to stand beside her.

The Goddess nodded at her partner in this war she was fighting against the Darkness. ‘It seems your faith in her was right.’

Morghanna smiled. ‘Blood will out. She has much of Alistair in her. My love was always so strong.’

‘And he has both you and your sister in him. It could have been a recipe for disaster trusting in them to find the way.’

Morghanna looked up at Arianrhod. ‘Your worry surprised me, I have to say. I thought this path was one of the things you were certain about.’

Arianrhod turned from the shimmering pool in front of her, swiping her hand across the image of Paul and Ivy and their loving. ‘It was the path I wanted them to choose. The path that needed to be chosen. But it was by no means certain they would choose it.’

‘Then why did you let Paul try to change his fate?’

Arianrhod sighed. ‘Because their choices make them stronger, as your choices made you stronger. I need strong soldiers for the fight ahead.’

‘It’s close now, isn’t it?’ Morghanna asked.

Arianrhod stared into the distance, across the sea she had created to look so much like the one Pack McVale’s lands bounded. The choice to have them move across the ocean to this place so many years ago seemed so clear, but now so much of the path ahead was dark to her. Even so, she knew the end was closing in. She felt it in her bones. ‘It is.’

‘You still cannot see the outcome?’

‘No. It is not something I can see.’ Not something she wanted to see. She was not strong enough to see a future where she possibly didn’t prevail against her old enemy.

It was strange to realise she wasn’t as strong as the Were, witches and warlocks she’d worked with and manipulated down through the centuries, starting with Morghanna and down the generations to these two whose role was so important in what was to come.

This Were and warlock who were so special, they looked their deaths in the face and saw life and hope for the future.

It was remarkable. They were remarkable. ‘Morghanna, I make a vow.’

‘Yes?’ Her friend, her servant, her partner, turned to her, brow raised.

‘I vow as I did for you and your Alistair, to find a way to make certain Ivy and Paul’s souls find a full life of love and commitment with each other in the future. When we win against the Darkness, I will make sure they are awarded this gift for their sacrifice.’

‘That is very kind, my Goddess.’

Arianrhod shook her head. Once she might have been proud of her benevolence, but now, after centuries of working with Were, witches and warlocks in her endless machinations to beat the Darkness, she did not think in the same way as she once had.

Was she becoming a little more like those she once helped create? Perhaps.

She looked at the ghost of the woman beside her, so steadfast in her commitment to the cause and to right the wrong she’d once wrought. As strong as the two they’d just helped to set on a path to the end. ‘No, not kind,’ she whispered, thinking about what was to come. ‘It is only right.’

* * *

---