SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Forty-nine
Celine’s Pov:
The tears flowed like rivers from my eyes as the temple enclosed around me once more. The pain of losing my mother brought me to my knees as I struggled not to cry out. “Come child, she is gone from this life, but it will not be the last time you see her,” the Woman tried to comfort me. While I trusted what she said was true, my heart still shattered.
“I’ll take you home, Celine,” Timothy’s choked up voice rang out from somewhere behind me. “I will have one of the guest rooms made up for you Victoria,” he continued. Victoria’s eyes settled on me for a moment. “No, I wouldn’t want to intrude,” she protested. Timothy shook his head in annoyance as I sensed his gaze at the back of my head.
“It’s no intrusion, you’ve lost someone dear to you as we all did, its best that you take the night to grieve before you make the long journey home. While I realize your journey will be a safe one blessed by the Goddesses, that does not mean you need to take it now. Rest,” he insisted.
Timothy’s guard came down, allowing some of his aura to leak out. I was used to it, so it had little effect on me. Unfortunately for Victoria, who was not, it temporarily overwhelmed her.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, helping me to my feet. “Perhaps I could stay with you tonight, brother, and Victoria could stay in my quarters?” I asked, “Mom, kept most of my father’s things. It’s my understanding you never really knew him,” I offered, unsure of why. But my gut told me it was the thing to do.
Victoria’s face softened. “I would like that; I can sense things about people, like their thoughts and feelings from their personal items. Even though he has been gone for some time, there is a good possibility I will still be able to pick up on it,” she smiled.
I glanced at Timothy expectantly as he rubbed my back. “Of course, you can stay with me. You haven’t since you were small. It will be good for us to catch up as more than Beta and Alpha. Err, or is that High Priestess and Alpha?” he winked, sending a wave of relief through me. Even though I understood Victoria was not to blame for having my father’s heart in her, part of me still harbored some resentment towards her.
We walked in silence as we made our way back to the house we shared, unsure of really what to say to one another. Loss is a funny thing; it not only breaks the heart, but it also breaks the mind. It can bring people together or tear them apart. Capable of making someone stronger or leaving them a complete and utter husk of what they once were.
At this moment, I wasn’t sure what it was I was going to become. Although love surrounded me, I still felt lost and completely alone, as if part of me was missing. The thoughts which swirled in my mind only seemed to draw me deeper into my despair. How would I ever survive the death of my mate if I couldn’t handle my mother leaving this world?
“I need to check on Lyra,” Timothy said. “Perhaps you should show Vitoria around your quarters,” he suggested, nodding to her. “I will, thanks Timothy,” I attempted to smile, but it was nothing but a weak, hollow line. “Follow me, please,” I stated gently, pushing past Victoria and guided her to my home.
As I opened the door to my quarters, I stepped aside, allowing Victoria to enter first, hoping she would understand she was welcome. No sooner than she entered, she let out a small gasp. Alarmed, I raced to her. “Are you ok?” I breathed, trying to get my heart to slow down.
“Yes, I am fine. As I said, I can sense things about people from their belongings. I am not sure if it’s because he was my brother, but I am picking him up strong as if he never left. From the moment I entered, I sensed the love he had for you, for your mother, and hers for him. No wonder she left this world. Her mind went dark. If it wasn’t for Timothy’s love, I believe she would have lost her way, causing Chaos to consume her. The love took me by surprise, considering how much I sensed she and Timothy loved each other,” Victoria explained. “Or perhaps seeing that he is your brother, I miss understood?”
“No, you understood correctly. Timothy and my mother almost became chosen mates. That was long before she met my father. The Goddesses gave her a vision, a vision of me which convinced her to wait for dad,” I explained. “Then how are you, Timothy’s sister?” she asked, clearly confused.
“Without his actual heart, my father and mother became incompatible to reproduce. Your mother’s heart altered his blood somehow. As a result, they could no longer have children. The Goddesses gave them each some of their blood, so I have some of both Goddesses within me. I am Timothy’s sister, as he is the son of the Woman and her human mate,” I explained. Her eyes flash to mine as she tried to conceal the dark expression in them.
“That explains the deep-rooted power I sense within you, the power you’ve yet to unlock. A power that rivals your mother’s own,” she stated as something in the air shifted. We glanced at one another through side eyes. “Feel free to roam, for tonight this is your home,” I grinned, moving to the door. “I hope you rest well.”
As I made my way towards Timothy’s quarters in the upper level, I felt some relief from Victoria’s words. At least she picked up my father, even though I couldn’t. It helped to learn their love was still there, even though they both were gone. Reaching Timothy’s door, I struggled to raise my hand to knock. Almost as if on instinct, the door swung open, only to reveal Lyra. I tried to mask my surprise, but by her expression, I failed.
“The wolf mentioned you were coming to spend the night after losing your mother. I thought it might be ok if I joined after losing my grandmother. I’ve lived with her since I was barely 19…” she cast her eyes down, showing her discomfort with the situation. Something in her vulnerability made me smile. “It will be nice to have some company,” I reassured her as I walked into Timothy’s quarters.
We made our way to where Timothy sat with an expression of deep reflection etched into his face. As I sat next to him, he wrapped his arm around me, holding me close. The grief in the room was unbearable. “Time is a funny thing,” he whispered. “How so?” Lyra asked, sitting across from Timothy and me.
“It changes everything, nothing ever stays the same for long,” he answered, meeting Lyra’s gaze. “It seems like only moments ago, I was hiding in the brush with a small inquisitive girl with the most beautiful amethyst eyes I ever saw. Now she has lived her life and moved on to the next,” he choked, not wanting to let the tears out.
The room settled into silence for a long time. As the candles burned out, it was Lyra who dared to speak. “Perhaps we should sleep. The sun will still rise, and the day will start without them. This is the curse of those who are left behind, but it is also our gift. We have the time to change things we don’t like within ourselves and fulfill the forgotten dreams of those who had passed in their honor. My grandmother would not want us sitting here, allowing tears to stain our faces. She’d want us to move on, to smile and live life with the infectious energy both she and your mother had.”
“You are right,” Timothy smiled. “We must say goodbye to our first and only guest tomorrow,” he urged. “I took the liberty of getting your old room ready for you,” he winked before he kissed my temple. Begrudgingly, I got up and wandered to the room I used as a kid and crawled between the sheets. I always thought he reverted the room back to a study as I grew and stopped sleeping here so much.
Before long, the bright, warm morning sun pulled me from the dark abyss of my restless sleep. I pulled myself out of bed and made my way to the bath and sat in the water until I could no longer take the chattering of my teeth. I sighed to myself and redressed. Lost in thought, I fumbled my way down to the kitchen, where everyone was looking at me with concern.
“I am alright if that’s what you are worried about. It’s just hard waking up knowing she isn’t here, that’s all,” I grumbled. I hoped to turn their stares away as I grabbed some remnants of the breakfast the servants prepared.
To my surprise, Victoria walked over and pulled me into a tight embrace. Timothy motioned for Lyra to follow him before they quickly retreated, leaving me alone with my aunt.
“Thank you, Celine. I am grateful for the ability to get to know my brother. I knew his twin, but he and our father rarely spoke about Joseph as they always believed your mother would run like ours did. Grandma was adamant it would never happen. I am glad to see she was right. I am sorry I was the reason you didn’t get longer with him. The love he had for you was nothing I ever experienced before. I hope you don’t mind, but it was your room I slept in. Because it was where I picked up his love for you the best,” she explained as we made our way back to my quarters.
“I hope you got to know him at least a little. Most of my memories are fuzzy as I was young when he died. The one thing that has never faded is his love,” I replied, digging in my bureau, looking for something but what, I wasn’t sure. I understood I would recognize what it was when I found it.
Suddenly, my fingers skimmed across an old trinket of a wolf my father carved for me when I was still a baby. I hid it away in this drawer because the sight of it upset my mother. The wolf was a replica of his.
“I want you to take this. My father carved it for me when I was a baby. After he died, I hid it away as it upset mom. This way you have a piece of him,” I told Victoria. Her hands shook as she moved to take the trinket but dropped them just shy of grabbing hold of it. “I can’t take something your father made for you,” she whispered.
“No, I insist Aunt, something in my soul wants you to have it. I believe it was meant for you. It’s his wolf,” I pressed, placing the carving into her hands. The awe in her eyes told me I was right to give it to her. “He wished I could have met you when he carved this,” she whispered, clutching it close to her heart.
“It is time for you to rejoin your Coven,” the Girl interrupted, but her voice was soft, as if touched at the moment Victoria and I shared. Victoria cast her eyes to the window for a moment. “So, it is. Celine care to walk with me?” she smiled.
“I would,” I replied as she placed her hand in mine. Together, we walked to the water’s edge. Only Timothy and Lyra joined us to see her off.
Suddenly, a wave of fear crashed over me. The last blood relative I had was about to sail away And I may never see her again. “Maybe you and your order could rejoin with the Priestesses. I am sure the Goddesses would welcome you all with open arms,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
“Celine, I love the idea and the idea of being here with you, but no offence, you are safe here. The rest of the world is not so lucky. You are so closed off you don’t see the damage the dark covens are doing to the good name of witches. Besides, while I may not be as strong or live as long as you, someone still needs to track down and fight Amy,” she grinned, hopping into her vessel. It was clear there was no point in arguing. Her decision was final.
Before Lyra and I helped the small craft back into deeper waters, I pulled 3 hairs from my head and braided and tied them to Victoria’s wrist. She glanced at me curiously before glancing down at her wrist. “A little more protection for your journey home,” I shrugged before we pulled her out to the deeper water. Once Lyra was satisfied it was deep enough, she tossed the rope back to Victoria, and we made our way back to shore.
We watched as the little boat vanished through the vale, and it closed back up, leaving us cut off from the rest of the world. “That’s it, there is no more of my family left,” I whispered, thinking only I knew I had spoken. “No, Celine, you will always have me,” Timothy grinned, wrapping his arms around me.