Chapter 30 Water from Mnemosyne #3
When I opened my eyes, I was on my hands and knees. Wildflowers blazed around me in a perfect circle, erupting from earth that had been empty seconds before. Violet and gold and blood-red, species that shouldn’t grow together, shouldn’t bloom in this season.
The circle was at least six feet in diameter, with me at the exact center.
My voice shook when I could speak. “Was that… me? Did I do that?”
Hecate’s gaze was reverent. “The Earth does not lie, child. You are not borrowing her power. You are of her. She knows you, and she’s been waiting for you to remember.”
I tried to stand, but my knees failed.
Kian was already there, arms sliding under my knees and behind my back. He lifted me like I weighed nothing, his chest solid under my cheek as I leaned against him, trembling and exhausted. His heartbeat steadied mine.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured into my hair.
“Babe,” Luz’s voice called from the back door. “You were literally glowing. Like, actual light coming off your skin. I got it on video.”
I blinked at her, still dazed. “Luz? When did you—?”
Kian carried me inside and set me gently on the couch. Luz winced as she settled in beside me, her hand finding my knee.
“Gods, how long was I out there?” I asked.
“You were already out there when I got here about thirty minutes ago,” Luz explained. “Kian said you’d been out there about twenty minutes before that.”
I gaped at her. “Fifty minutes? That’s—no. It felt like—”
“Like five minutes?” Hecate supplied. “Time moves strangely when you’re walking between lives.”
Luz squeezed my knee. “Kian called it ‘training.’ It looked more like goddess possession. Beautiful but terrifying.”
I groaned into my hands. “I felt everything. It was like I was drowning in my own history.”
“But you came back,” Luz said. “You’re still you. That’s what matters.”
“Am I though?” I looked up at her, vision blurring. “How much of me is Melanie, and how much is Persephone? Where’s the line?”
“There is no line,” Hecate asserted. “There never was. You are both. You have always been both. The names change, but the soul remains constant.”
Kian returned with water in a glass that looked like carved crystal. He knelt by the couch as I took the glass.
“You’re stabilizing faster than expected,” he said, eyes scanning my face. “Your divine essence is trying to align with your mortal form.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, sipping.
“It means your body is remembering how to hold power,” Hecate explained. “Mortal flesh resists divinity naturally. But yours is adapting, becoming a proper vessel for what you were, what you are.”
Her hand gripped my shoulder. “We train because the alternative is madness. Losing Melanie entirely to the Persephone that was. And we cannot afford to lose you. Not when we need both of you working in harmony.”
“We’re out of time,” I groaned. “My mother doesn’t have weeks for me to fully integrate. Amy doesn’t have weeks. Every day Cyrus has them, he’s draining them.”
I pushed myself more upright. “If we’re going to actually stand a chance, we need everyone. We need May and Leo. Now. Today. We plan the rescue, and we execute it before Cyrus can prepare.”
“Mel, you need a break,” Luz frowned. “Episode four of the podcast has already reached twenty-five thousand downloads, and the Reddit boards are going crazy. Your followers have doubled! The podcast is doing its job. There’s no need to push yourself.”
Kian’s hand found mine, squeezing. “She’s right. You just drank from Mnemosyne. Pushing too hard, too fast—”
“Could get me killed,” I finished. “I know. But waiting could get my mother and Amy killed. I’d rather die trying than live knowing I could have saved them but was too scared to act.”
His jaw clenched. “Then we plan carefully. And we don’t take unnecessary risks. Right now, you need to rest,” he said. “Let your body adjust.”
I wanted to argue, but even sitting upright was taking more energy than it should.
“Fine,” I conceded. “Rest now. Planning tomorrow.”
“Agreed,” Hecate said. “Luz, contact both Leo and May. Give Melanie time to rest. We’ll need her stable before we attempt to wake the others.”
Luz was already typing. “What should I tell them?”
“The truth,” I shrugged. “Tell them we have information about what’s happening to Amy. Tell Leo we need to discuss Ekklesia in person.”
“On it,” Luz confirmed.
Hecate gathered her coat. “I’ll return in the morning to continue your training. The memories are only the beginning. You need to learn to channel what you’re remembering into conscious power.”
Kian was already offering his hand, pulling me to my feet. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed before you pass out.”
“I’m fine,” I protested.
“You’re swaying,” he pointed out. “And you have that look you get when you’re about to argue with your own body about whether you need rest.”
Luz called after us, “I got confirmation from both of them! They’ll come over around two tomorrow. Does that work?”
“Perfect,” I called back, then let Kian lead me down the hallway.
He settled me back into bed, tucking the covers around me. His hand brushed hair from my forehead.
“Sleep,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”
Within seconds, I was drifting. The last thing I registered was his hand running soothingly through my hair.