Page 13 of Within the Veil

"Leighis Jade of Faell! I have told you repeatedly not to swear!" A stern voice came from behind. I turned around and looked at the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, with long golden hair like the sun dressed in a striking shade of green and white. Ethereal, magical, a Goddess.Gaia?

Her gaze softened when she looked at me but she turned sternly to the little girl in front of me.

"But GRANDMA, Cogadh keeps poking me and..." her voice trails off as her grandmothers eyes sharpen and start to glow faintly.

"I'm sorry," Leighis grumbles as her gaze drops, but i catch a small smirk and her eyes glint as she turns around and throws a punch that lands squarely on,( who I assume is) Cogadh's eye and runs away as Gaia yells promises of extra training.

"Ow," murmurs Cogadh who is now on the floor rubbing his eye as the two little boys behind him cackle with laughter.

* * *

Gaia sighs,"Well I cannot say you did not earn that Cogadh, stop pestering your little sister and take Alasdair and Aodhan with you, go see Kalen and resume your training. Your break is now over."

Kalen?Here with my kids? I ached for just a glance at his face, but I wasn't sure if it would break me down or build me up. But to know he was, wherever the fuck this is, somehow filled my with peace.

My heart skipped a beat as I watched them skip away, but not before they each planted a kiss on my cheek. Their soft lips fill me with a warmth and rush of love.

I blink back a rush of emotion and start to stand, the softness of an almost sheer, gossamer gold fabric brushing my ankles as I finally stand on my two feet.

* * *

"You look confused, my daughter."Gaia's voice permeated my fog of swirling emotions and suddenly she's right in front of me.

"Where am I andwhenam I" I ask. I vaguely remember getting ready for battle and fighting but then it all went blank. Feelings of longing, sadness, joy, worry, fear swirl low in my belly and I fight the urge to wrap my arms around myself in comfort.

"Walk with me, I will explain," Gaia whispered, her dulcet tones calming me, filling me with courage. We began to walk through the lush green field but in the blink of an eye, we found ourselves in front of a golden palace surrounded by crystal waters. I spun around, dropping her hand, looking for the field and the voices of the small children, but nothing was as it was. This place was a mind-fuck and i said as much and Gaia's laughter rung out across the palace.

"First things first, while time has passed slowly in your realm, we are in the God's realm. Time passes differently here. Everything here is... but isn't. Consider it an alternate reality of sorts." She trails in front of me, leading me to a crystal clear pool slightly shimmering with gold glitter.

"So those children?" I wet my lips, raising my eyes to hers.

"A manifestation of your dreams, wishes and desires that took root in this realm. The children come and go, their presence echoing throughout. Here, but also not. Existing, growing, but also not. In short, once they truly are born, these echos will no longer be in this realm. For their souls will be on earth," she sighed. "I will miss their presence and yours. They have been a balm to my old soul. But I guess it will give me more of an excuse to visit earth," her gaze twinkled as she looked at me, her gaze looking startlingly similar to Leighis's.

A tingling sensation in my chest began as my eyes narrowed, remembering how Leighs called her Grandma, "I know you are Gaia, we met, we spoke, I presume we saved the world and all that but beyond that...who are you to me?"

"Ah, you are indeed astute," she hummed, leaning back on her hands and kicking her feet in the water as she looked at the clear skies, sun warming her face.

"First let me start from the beginning."

She looked at me and the weight of her gaze was hard to hold but I refused to look away, she smiled. "You may have had a mortal magic mother but with your father being a full blood Fae Prince, and the way the Fae genetic makeup works, it made you more Fae than mortal. The transition is complicated..." She hesitated. "There are hundred, thousands of stories of the Fae and the simple answer is that all of them are right and all of them are wrong."

"How is that simple?" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

She shrugged, "Balance. If everything was known, nothing would be worth discovering. Anyways, I realized something during the battle, despite you having technically transitioned by mating, your mortal side, that small side of your genetic makeup left in you, died. I have surmised that it was because you had taken in so much power from your surroundings, feeding your magic reserves, and then quickly let much of it go, without properly being grounded, during your attempt to save the innocent, your body...what's the best way to put this... short circuited."

I scoffed, figures. I was just breaking all the typical rules and now I can short circuit too. Still, I thought for a moment, collecting my thoughts. "Okay. So my body still had a sliver of my mortal side, genetics. But, that sliver, is gone now?" She nodded and I continued, verbally ticking off what I already knew. "I have six full Fae mates, and although I was on birth control, I guess it wouldn't make sense for it to work for me seeing as Faeries have a different genetic composition and our bodies run differently."

She nodded again and smiled,"exactly, the Fae were one of the first of my creations and therefore more connected to pure power. My second round created a lot of magical beings until I finally got it right with the humans. Although,rightis debatable," she says with an eyeball and I snigger. "For the Fae, one can even argue that their control of energy is almost god-like in nature. However, I quickly realized my mistake in their creation. And as a fail safe, I made sure to fully balance the Fae between the Seelie and Unseelie with one particular exception, you'll eventually find out about at a later date. Timing is everything, my dear." She added the last when she saw the annoyance on my face. "Where was I? Ahh, so balance is the key to the Fae and their survival. The balance has been skewed for quite a long time and as a whole, they will weaken and perish. Then there is you, Hudson. You have been able to harness a great amount of power and your journey into your potential is far from over."

Far from over. For me. What about..."What happened to the babies? You mentioned their souls are intact...so, I didn't lose them," I choked out, sudden fear gripping my heart, making it hard to breathe.

She smiled softly, and I looked away breathing out a sigh of relief.

"No, they didn't die," she said simply, reaching over to push my hair from my face. I suppressed a shudder, her hand feeling too hot and too cold at the same time. It freaked me out and yet filled me with peace.Everything here was confusing.

"Riona or Hudson, whichever makes you comfortable, you are one and the same; your human side, that small side when it died, your body finished changing genetically, albeit slightly since you were mostly Fae. The prophecy was quite true, a mother not knowing anguish until one has children is quite accurate. I feel it every day, seeing the earth abused so." She sighed and shook her head slightly, "what I am trying to say is that you were carrying four babies, sweet Riona..and before you panic," she tossed in seeing my expression, "when I say were, I mean that in this realm you cannot carry, in the traditional sense. In this plane, you are just a physical manifestation of your soul. Holding life, rather a corporeal form, is for the physical realm, this is much morelike a spirit realm. In the physical realm, you were about four weeks along by the time you were in battle."

I nodded but then my eyes shot open, "Wait rewind..four? As in FOUR babies?"

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