8. In the Blink of an Eye
In the Blink of an Eye
everything changed.
My mother,
who was usually serene,
was suddenly a mask of despair.
She ran into her chambers
and I followed her as she took
a bag and filled it with
herbs and simples, draughts and—
‘Mother, what are you doing?!
What has happened?!’
I was only a child as yet.
I had grown quickly from an infant
as all immortal children did,
but I was still too young
to understand what was happening.
My mother did not answer me.
I did notice something
that made my heart pound.
No matter how hard I tried,
I could not hear the din.
The noise of the war… was gone.
My mother ran towards me
and knelt before me.
‘Hekate, you must be brave.
We need to leave.
There are wolves at our door.’