Page 183 of Hekate: The Witch

---

for me as a child. Those rules

were not just to keep me safe.

It was the only form of control

a Goddess could have

in this world of Gods.

Her duties. Her rules.

Her world made sense for them.

I was older now. I saw

her for who she was.

And I knew what to say

to change her mind too.

‘Imagine,’ – my voice was gentle –

‘if it was Bia and no one

would tell you where she was.

What would you do?’

I could see her hands

and they clenched into fists.

She could not even stand the thought.

Which was what I expected.

She took a deep breath

and walked over to the black river

that she had nurtured so carefully.

Then she took an emerald urn

and filled it with the water.

Carefully, she brought it to me.

‘Use this. It has the power

to dissolve anything in your way

or even steal a God’s voice.’

As I reached for it,

her hands did not let it go.

---