Chapter 12
Therian Palace, Friday, January 18, 2013, Afternoon
In addition to the large dining table, the room featured several seating areas, and Ash pulled Maerlin to a sofa. The others gathered around to listen. The goddess took a deep breath and looked at her daughter with the abundant love she’d carried for all these years. “I don’t know how to start.”
Ash smiled. “I can’t even imagine. Let me tell you what I know, and you can fill in the holes.” Maerlin nodded. “I know that the Therians consider you a goddess. You are immortal but occasionally live as a human and possess incredible magic. You worked as a human fertility doctor when you met my parents and became close friends. I guessed that science wasn’t enough to get them pregnant with me, so you threw in some magic. Where have you been all my life? Why did you leave?”
Maerlin sighed. “You’re right, in a way. Melinda and Brian are your parents, but I did use my magic to give them the spark of life and ensure you would survive to birth. In a very real way, you have three parents, especially now that the seal is broken.”
She paused. “I’m getting ahead of myself. I was there for the first two years of your life. You were the most adorable baby, but you added a whole new dimension to the ‘Terrible Twos.’ It became evident that your supernatural heritage came with a limitless well of magic. You can’t imagine how dangerous it is to have a tired toddler who can level a city block—or a continent—during a tantrum when she doesn’t want to nap. That was when I knew my presence was making it worse. I had to block your powers to make you more human and bind them to your soul until you were ready for that responsibility.
“What do you mean ‘more human?’” Ash asked warily.
Maerlin took a deep breath. “You’re not my first child, and our powers don’t always lead to happy endings.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask. That means I have…I guess we’ll call them siblings?”
Maerlin nodded, looking hesitant. “You studied history, right? I assume you’re familiar with the Greek pantheon?”
The color drained from Ash’s face. “The whole thing?”
Maerlin smiled and shook her head. “Oh, goodness, no.” Ash started to relax, but she finished, “Only the original twelve are your siblings.”
“Fucking fuck!”
“Third-siblings, if that’s a thing,” Maerlin added sheepishly.
That was too much for Ash. She couldn’t stop thinking about the other implications of being Maerlin’s daughter. “I don’t have the brain power to process Zeus being my older brother right now. Why don’t you tell me about the seal?”
“If I had stayed, the magic would have gotten stronger, and I couldn’t risk it. I loved you all far too much. Before I went, I had to take the memories of the magic from you and your parents, or the block wouldn’t have held.”
“You took our memories?” Melinda asked, looking upset.
Maerlin turned a pleading look toward her friend. “Please understand that I didn’t have a choice. I had to do it to protect you.”
Melinda and Brian locked gazes, engaging in another of their silent conversations. “I understand why, and I’m not mad. Can we have those memories back now?”
Maerlin nodded. “Of course.” She leaned forward and touched the fingers of her right hand to their foreheads in turn.
Like someone had turned on a video montage, Ash saw the lost memories tied to Maerlin and magic play in her head. So many moments from countless days. Experiencing those memories through the filter of her adult mind, Ash couldn’t deny the love and concern that poured from her other mother. The most detailed memory featured Maerlin babysitting on the Mosiers’ anniversary. She’d taken the toddler for ice cream and spent the rest of the night trying to keep up with the sugar rush and cover the traces of magic as a giggling baby Ash flew around the house, turned the couch to cotton candy, conjured a toy from the television, and transformed her bedroom into Candyland. When Brian and Melinda got home, the house looked normal, and Ash was asleep, looking as innocent as an angel. The exhausted and disheveled Maerlin looked like she’d been hit by a hurricane.
Ash felt a surge of love and trust for the goddess. She hugged her, and Maerlin gratefully returned the embrace.
“I felt the final seal break a week ago. I was…well, we’ll get to where I was later, but I had bound myself to stay away until the final seal broke. I had to, or I couldn’t have resisted the lure of knowing you.” Maerlin looked like she was waiting for Ash to lash out in anger.
“You mean when Nadya killed me?”
Maerlin gave a tiny nod. “Yes.”
“What?” Brian and Melinda shouted in unison.
Ash smiled. “I was only partly dead. I got over it. The spark brought me back.”
Maerlin sighed. “Yeah, that would do it. Death was the final seal. I wasn’t sure if you would rise like me, but I added it as a failsafe just in case.”
“In case of what?” Ash asked, wary again.
“In case the spark didn’t bring you back. You were reborn as an immortal, and you are a goddess,” Maerlin stated.
Ash jumped up and paced, feeling the need to move as she worked through this new information. “Hang the fuck on. I’m a human. I’m a witch. I’m a vampire. I carry the spark. Now I’m a Greek goddess?”
Maerlin smiled. “You’re not Greek.”
Ash stared at her open-mouthed until Maerlin took pity on her. “Goddess trumps everything else, dear. You carry elements of all those things with you and can manifest them if you choose, but you’re just a goddess.”
“Just. A. Goddess. Is that all?” Ash deadpanned.
I thought I was the only one who called you that, Luca sent, forgetting to use their mating bond.
The others heard his mental comment, and Viktorija snorted. Mikhail and Kittania smiled indulgently. Maerlin glanced at Luca with an expression only a mother could muster. “Really?”
Luca blanched. “You heard that?”
Viktorija laughed. “Brother, we all heard that.”
“Shit,” he muttered, flushing but standing by the sentiment. She’d been his goddess when she was human. He wasn’t ashamed to admit it. He liked strong women.
The wheels started moving in Ash’s head as the connections and implications registered. Her expression brightened. “So, if I’m not a vampire, do I have to drink blood?”
Maerlin grimaced. “Ew, no.” She shuddered. “Gross.”
Ash laughed. “Pizza?”
Maerlin nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Why did food taste so bad?”
“Have you tried since the seal broke?” Maerlin asked.
In a flash, Ash was across the room, kneeling in front of Melinda. “Mommmm,” she wailed dramatically. “I’m hungry, and your pizza is the best food in the world. Please make some tonight. I haven’t eaten in forever.”
Everyone laughed, latching onto the moment of levity to focus on the positive aspects of the new developments. Melinda pulled her daughter to her feet and hugged her. “Of course, I will make your pizza. You were right about the bowing. It’s weird.”
“Right?” Ash returned to sit next to Maerlin. “Okay, what do I need to know about being a goddess? It kind of explains some of the weird shit that’s been happening.”
“One of the main points we need to address is the limitations of your power.”
“Okay, tell me about that.”
Maerlin sighed. “There aren’t any, not that I have discovered. Our magic is based on potential, so when you use it, focus on what you want to happen. You can shape reality, and your imagination is the only thing that can hold you back.”
“Oh, fuck!” Dani exclaimed. “We’re in trouble. ‘Creative’ doesn’t even begin to cover Ash’s mind.”
“It will be crucial for you to master control of your emotions and instinctive reactions. Even then, sometimes you will slip, as I’ve proven to such humiliating effect.” Mikhail winked at Maerlin, and she blushed again. “I can show you how to create a pocket dimension when you need a moment to cool down or relieve the pressure.
“You should avoid using magic that affects the whole world or large groups of people. If that happens, I will feel it and pull you into a safe place to talk it through. Impulses and gut reactions can lead to tragedy when you don’t take the time to think about what you’re doing, and you’re so powerful that no one can hold you accountable. I know it’s restrictive, but?—”
Ash held up a hand. “I’m relieved there’s a safeguard. I tend to have a bit of a hero complex and feel compelled to act, sometimes without thinking. I don’t want to become a power-crazy maniac, and I sure as fuck don’t want to be worshipped. You can’t imagine what a relief it is to know there’s a plan to protect everyone if I go off the deep end.”
Luca told Mikhail, “This overshadows my UN news.”
Ash heard his comment and crossed the room to hug him. “You were amazing, Luca. I’m sorry I didn’t say it before. I am so proud of you, baby.”
Luca wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her unique scent. Everything else faded from his awareness. “Don’t be sorry. You have a lot going on, and our lives come with a certain amount of chaos. I love you, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I’m not too freaky for you?Ash asked via their mating bond.
Never. I’m going to miss feeding you, though. It was something else.
You sweet, innocent man. Just because I don’t have to drink blood to survive doesn’t mean I can’t. You’re right, it was special.
Turning to her parents, she offered them her most cajoling smile. “I need to establish a vampire seat of power, choose a location, and design it. I’m twenty, and I don’t know shit about housing and caring for the needs and comfort of thousands of people. Please help me?”