Page 68 of The Discovered
I concentrated, searching for a means to let Daelon in. I wanted him to experience what I experienced. It was just too beautiful not to share.
“Whoa,” he said, faltering.
I watched as he grimaced at first, his eyes widening. As I let him in, he shifted into a dumbstruck awe. Suddenly his shielded aura shone through the cracks, like a blinding white light. But soon I realized it wasn’t only his—it was mine, reflected in him—and it was breathtaking.
“I—” he stuttered, his brows pulling together. He muttered something in a language I didn’t know but felt familiar. “This isn’t witch,” he said, his tone grave. “This is literally divine, Áine.”
“I know, right?” I said, excited that someone else could finally feel it too.
“No, I mean seriously. I—I’m not very religious, but this is somethingmore.” He frowned. “I don’t know what.”
You are a gift from the Goddess,my mothers had said. To them, the Goddess seemed like more of a representation of the Universe, embodied in a conceptualized deity. They gave form to the formless, just as the infinite landscape of magick took shape in these waters and inside of me. This gift I’d been given meant something bigger than any of us. It was indescribable, inexplicable.
“I don’t know either,” I said. “But I will find out.”
Daelon reached out for me, running the back of his hand across my cheek. The way he looked at me made me falter from self-consciousness—like now that he’d seen the depths of my power, he couldn’t see anything else.
I wanted to remind him I was still me, and contrary to what this magick would have him believe, I was still very much mortal, but before I could open my mouth something pulled me underwater.
I thrashed against this force, and in doing so sucked in a mouthful of water that burned its way through my lungs.The more I struggled the deeper I was pulled. So, I gave in.
I opened my eyes, relaxing my body so that I could concentrate on forming a pocket of air to extend past my mouth and nostrils. I coughed up water, breathing in the oxygen I’d spawned.
I looked up, confused to see that the surface was nowhere in sight. All around me was clear blue. I was unable to detect any energy pollution, which meant whatever had pulled me under had come from the ocean itself. I floated, waiting, and after a few long seconds a vision began to take shape.
It was of my mothers again, dressed in white and standing on this very beach. The waves crashed into them as they held hands chanting, tears streaming down their cheeks.
Let us be of service, they said, the meaning translating seamlessly in my mind from their native tongue.
Show us a way to return balance to the realms. We dedicate our lives to this end. We dedicate our hearts not to revenge, but to salvation, to goodness, light, and truth. In return, we ask for hope.
Goddess bring us hope.
They walked further into the water, disappearing into the waves, and the vision turned hazy. A disturbance in my surroundings made me spin around, my heart leaping out of my chest as I saw the younger versions of my mothers swim toward me.
They looked like angels, their white dresses floating around them among the currents. Momma Celeste’s golden hair flowed around her like silk, and Momma Jane’s pale skin was clear and heavenly. As I looked at them, a lump formed in my throat as they stared back, smiles on their lips.
In my stupor I lost my hold over my magick, and water broke through the air bubble and into my open mouth.
Oh, bloody hell. Not this again.
My lungs heaved and burned as they rejected the salty water. My mothers vanished, and I gathered up all my strength to propel myself toward the surface as my oxygen level plummeted.
I shot upward, my vision blurring as I breached the open air. My limbs thrashed as I forced more water from my lungs.
I felt a presence at my back, grabbing my torso and pulling me toward the shore.
“Shit, Áine, where the hell did you go?”
I continued choking up water, my body weak from all the exertion. I was grateful for Daelon’s support as he dragged me back to shallow water.
He released me once we could stand, and I turned to face him. I was just finally starting to breathe in pure, unadulterated air. The taste of salt in my mouth was pungent.
“You’re okay.” He rubbed my shoulders. “I couldn’t see you anywhere. And you were gone for so long,” he said, panic still lingering in his tone.
“I found a way to breathe. I don’t know what happened. Sometimes those unknowable forces want to show me things in the water,” I was struggling to explain, my brain not working at its usual capacity.
“Like what?”
