The Goddess of Night and Shadows
She stood on the sand, watching the panther prowl closer.
She’d felt the spirit animal enter these lands, knew her bonded would find her.
Shirina came to a stop beside her, sitting and twisting to look up at her with glowing silver eyes.
She had so much to atone for, and yet the panther stood by her, a steadfast friend for centuries.
“You come with a message?” she asked.
The feline gave a low growl, the sound rumbling from her chest.
“I see,” she replied, pursing her lips.
Her son had refused her yet again.
But then Shirina lifted a paw, dragging it along the sand. A moment later, a piece of parchment appeared. She bent to retrieve it, reading the quick scrawl she immediately recognized as that of her Guardian, and cold fury coursed through her at the words she read.
Clenching her fist, the parchment crumpled in her hand, shadows appearing and devouring it. Then she crouched before the panther, running her fingers through her soft fur.
“This is the last hour we will be bonded, my friend,” she said, her voice as cold as the stars, and her silver strands flowing on the sea breeze. “I must release you to be bonded to another in the future. You will know when it is time.”
Shirina leaned into her palm, and she smiled tightly at the feline.
Releasing her, she pulled a dagger and cut a thin line on her forearm. Dipping her finger into the stream of blood, she drew a Mark in the sand. “I trust you with those I cherish, Shirina. When the moon reaches its peak, our bond will be no more.”
The panther bowed her head, and the female stood, shadows beginning to converge around her. Lifting a palm, another swirl of shadows left a vial of blood in her hand. Blood that would get her back across Wards. To her kingdom where she’d been known as Selinya.
To her son.
To those who were trying to deliver him to the After, and to those who should have prevented all of this.
Saylah stepped into her power, shadow-walking to deliver the wrath of a goddess.