Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
GALATEA
We lay together, spent.
I’m embarrassed by my loss of control. Asterios is reserved. I’m sure he felt what I felt, even if he couldn’t see it.
As a minotaur, he probably doesn’t understand what exactly happened, only that something has changed between us. I’m at a loss. Our energies are aligned like we are mates, binding us in ways that non-magical beings will not recognize.
I’m of mixed decent, born from a long line of goddesses and witches, with an injection of human or demon DNA here and there. I’m technically a demi goddess, but I preferred the title of witch because I work hard for my magic…
At least I used to. Now it seems I can just fuck Asterios instead.
I have a barn full of male minotaurs instead a harem of human men because the potency of minotaur semen is much greater.
I am by no means a weak witch. Minotaur semen is like a strong energy drink.
However, feeding from the professor is like drinking a pot of coffee while snorting coke and swallowing amphetamines.
Having Asterios absorb my power via my milk, amplified the already potent magic ten-fold, then returned the power back to me via his semen, supercharged me, and might have propelled me from demi goddess to full goddess, or human witch to demon sorceress.
The power is pulsing through every fiber of my being like never before.
I would later reach out to my cousin, Selene, and see if she knew what happened, and if my assumptions are correct. Though, knowing her, she is going to blame it on the moon and tell me not to worry about it.
Did I dare reach out to Aunt Nyx?
I was one of her favorite nieces, even as far removed as I was from the roots of our family tree.
The Fates know things like this do not happen needlessly. There is a reason I have been granted this much power. There is a reason I met Professor Bove, and why he is so different from other minotaurs.
Asterios’ stomach rumbles, indicating hunger.
I sit up. “Professor. Please go to the bathroom and get a shower. I will make lunch.”
Strangely, he doesn’t fight me. With a dazed expression, he wordlessly gets up and walks to where I’d directed him.
I could magically bathe him like I did earlier, but I need a moment alone.
He probably needs the same. He seems as confused as me by the intense feelings we now have for each other.
Not necessarily love, but a connection we now most definitely share.
While the Professor showers, I get two pillar candles, one silver and one black, out of my craft cabinet.
I set each into a silver bowl, then pour in my concoction of moon water until the bottom half of the candles are submerged.
I toss blooms into the water, a handful of jasmine, lavender, and moonflower.
I then add an onyx stone for Aunt Nyx to the bowl with the black candle and add a moonstone for Selene to the silver candle.
Lighting both wicks, I send out a message to both my aunt and cousin to see which of my kin will answer.
Because I never know which will respond, if any.
With that settled, I turn my attention to feeding my prized-bull pseudo mate. At the thought of food, my own stomach growls.
With a wave of my hand, I’m back in my gown, minus the train. Another wave, and a dinette table full of food appears, showcasing a delicious brunch with an assortment of fruits, breads, cheeses and meats.
It was so effortless—my magic is effortless. Like breathing. I didn’t even have to concentrate. It’s so strange. Yet exciting.
My mouth waters, and I know I need protein and hydration.
I complete the setup with all the things needed to eat like plates, silverware, napkins, cups, tea and water, butter and jelly— and two chairs.
Am I missing anything?
Flicking my wrist, wine is added to the table as well. A large bottle and two full wine glasses are set on either side.
“I know why you’ve summoned, cousin. But I am of no help here.”
Ack! I nearly jumped out of my skin and spin to see my much-older cousin, Selene. She looks as gorgeous as ever.
I place a hand on my chest and will my heart to slow. “You scared me. I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”
Selene smiles and waves a delicate hand. “It would be hard to ignore your summons if I had wanted. Your spell was alarmingly powerful. I assume this is why you’ve summoned me, but I do not know why you have been given this depth of power. Perhaps reach out to Hecate.”
I shake my head. “I’m not that close to her.”
“You must be. You wield her magic.”
“I do?” I look at my hands. “I thought this was moon magic.”
Selene giggles into her fist like she’s clearing her throat. “With all the dead minotaurs decorating your semen barn, I assumed you practiced sex magic, blood magic, or demon magic.” She playfully waves everything off. “But you summoned me with primordial magic. So try Hecate.”
“What about Aunt Nyx?
“If you are so…brave.”
That’s not good. “She was very kind to me as a child.”
“She’s kind to all children, especially children of the night, children who are the offspring of chthonic deities. You’re part demon, yes?”
I shrug. “I don’t know a lot about my family, only what the Moirai would reveal.
It wasn’t much. One branch faded into the human realm.
I don’t remember them all. It’s Titaness Tethys, the Oceanid Melia, Priestess Io, Goddess Europa, Sorceress Queen Pasiphae, and so on down into a mortal existence lost to history.
“The other branch is more familiar to us— Elder Rhea, Grandmother Hera, Grandmother Eileithyia—”
Selene laughs. “I remember the serpent boy. Sosipolis, right?”
I nod. “Yeah, I think that was his name. But that branch also fades off as well, but to where, I have no idea.”
“No one knows who Sosipolis’ father is or was, so that should tell you a little about Aunt Eileithyia. No one knows how many children she had or with whom she had them, but she— or some descendant— must have circled back around the family tree because you have been gifted primordial magic.”
“Why now? Is it a given gift or one inherited?”
“Uncle Typhon and Aunt Echidna had many children. And Sosipolis could turn into a serpent.”
“That would make sense.” Gaia is of the Earth, but Tartarus is of the Abyss. They had Typhon, aka the Father of all Monsters. If Grandma Eileithyia hooked up with one of his children, that would be a big circle back around the family tree.”
“Didn’t Uncle Typhon overthrow Grandfather Zeus?”
Selene shrugs. “Initially, no. But now the world is filled with monsters, and we don’t hear from Olympus even as this version of Earth seems to be sinking into evil. So, take that as you will.”
“I know I carry demon blood— probably more than I’ve been told. I mean, I’m practically a succubus.”
My eyes well with tears. I hated that I was so far removed from my more immediate family. All I knew was that I was found by Uncle Thanatos, who gave me to his mom, Aunt Nyx, who dropped me off to be raised by Aunt Theia, even though that woman hadn’t raised kids in two thousand years.
But then the mother of demons showed up and told Aunt Theia I belonged to her and her kin, that I was purposely conceived with a special human, that science was involved, and that I had been stolen from the lab and left for dead when Uncle Thanatos found me.
Then there was a custody battle. And Erikepaios, a creation god named Phanes, was our judge.
He ruled that I had to spend a third of the year in Sheol and visit with my father, a half-angelic demon monster, in Gehenna.
That was such a dark, depressing time in my life.
Once I was old enough to make my own decisions, I stopped going despite the ceaseless demands that I return to Sheol.
What if this is magic from my demon family? Fallen angels were primordial creatures too. Fuck! Was I the antichrist or something?
“Don’t cry, Galatea. Just be patient. Until you know, enjoy the extra power. It’s a gift, I think, as is your new lover.”
I laugh and wipe my tears. “Sleeping with him is how I ended up getting this power increase.”
“Aww. You’ve met your mate.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Does it feel like that?”
I shrug. “A little.”
“He’s there to boost you. Whatever you face in the future, he will be by your side.”
With that, Selene waves and shimmers away.
She’s right. It’s a gift. It doesn’t feel evil, just potent. Maybe one day the Moira will really tell me where I came from. I wanted something more for family than demonic ties and a mother I never knew because she was ritually sacrificed after my birth and consumed by some demonic monster.