Redeemed
MONA
For days, Mona remained on the cot in the witch caves, letting her body recover from expending too much energy. Too much magic.
She felt sluggish. Foggy. Incoherent. Everything was duller, her senses muted. She had never before realized just how clear and strong her senses had been before this.
Before she’d lost her immortality.
Evander remained by her side the entire time.
He never left, not even for meals. Prue always appeared with a tray of food and sat on the floor next to Mona’s cot while she ate.
After a day of this, and upon realizing Evander wasn’t eating, Mona forced him to take bites of her own food.
At first he refused, until Mona threatened to have the witches throw him out of the caves.
With that threat looming over him, Evander relented.
They did not speak of the future. He only tended to her present needs, checking in to ensure she was healing properly and there were no infections or wounds that were worsening.
But the unspoken words lingered between them like a dark cloud threatening to unleash a downpour of rain.
What did this mean? Mona was no longer a goddess. She wasn’t even sure if she could cast witch spells. She was too afraid to try.
Everything was different now. And for the first time, Mona truly understood how Evander had felt when Romanos had siphoned his death magic. She felt lost. Empty. A presence that had been a part of her was now gone forever. That gaping hollowness in her chest might never be filled again.
So while she rested and healed, she waited for that piece of her soul to repair itself so she could feel whole once more.
But it never did.
Around lunchtime on the third day, echoing footsteps signaled Prue’s usual delivery of Mona’s food. A forced smile immediately spread on Mona’s face as she sat up, preparing to put on a brave face for her sister.
She couldn’t let Prue know how much it hurt. With Cyrus’s injuries and difficulty recovering, Prue had enough on her mind at the moment. She didn’t need to worry over Mona, too.
But Mona’s smile faltered when she realized it wasn’t Prue—it was Gaia.
Her heart lodged itself in her throat. She wasn’t sure if she should call her Mama or Gaia. Neither felt right, so she just uttered a soft, “Hello.”
Gaia’s eyes were tired, but her smile was full of affection. Slowly, her gaze shifted to Evander, who was sitting on the cot opposite Mona, his brows lowered.
“May I have a moment alone with my daughter?” she asked.
“No,” Evander said at once.
Mona’s eyes widened, then darted quickly to Gaia. To her surprise, Gaia smiled.
“Do you think I would harm my own daughter?” she asked coolly.
“Given what she’s endured because of you, I’m not so sure,” Evander said calmly. “But regardless, I’m not leaving her side.”
Mona’s eyes closed with a soft sigh, but she couldn’t deny the thread of warmth that filled her chest from his conviction.
Slowly, Gaia looked at Mona with raised eyebrows. Mona knew that look well. Gaia was waiting for her daughter to fix this situation. To be obedient, as she was known to be.
Mona took a deep breath. “He stays. If you wish to talk, there is nothing you can say that I wouldn’t want Evander to hear.”
Gaia’s chin lifted, her eyes flashing. There was a time when that look might have cowed Mona into submission. For her entire life, she had been the timid and obedient child, the one who studied endlessly, kept to herself, and did everything her mother asked of her.
But that woman was gone. And Mona wasn’t sure if she would ever come back.
After a long, tense moment, Gaia smoothed her hands on her skirts and drew closer to Mona’s cot. “As you wish.” Her voice was stiff, and Mona wondered just how often Gaia’s orders had been refused. “I came to see if your magic has returned.”
Mona frowned. “No. My goddess magic is gone.”
“Not that magic. Your witch magic.”
Dread coiled in Mona’s chest. “I’m… not sure.”
Gaia arched an eyebrow. “You aren’t sure? The Pomona I knew would be aching with curiosity. She would be itching to cast a spell or perhaps even write one herself.”
“The daughter you knew was a lie,” Mona said sharply, then clamped her mouth shut. She wasn’t sure where the outburst had come from. But she was restless and agitated from being stuck in this cave for three days. Her patience was gone.
Gaia’s eyes softened. “You are not a lie, my darling. The goddess you became was nothing but you. Just because I deceived you about my identity does not make your growth any less real.”
Mona shook her head, her eyes burning with unshed tears. She had to look away before the sight of her mother broke her completely. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. I did what I was born to do. What I was bred to do.”
Gaia stiffened. “I did not conceive you with the intent to wield you as a weapon.”
“No, but that’s how you raised me, isn’t it?
All those years, you drilled into my thoughts, my entire being, that to serve the witch coven was the highest honor.
That was why I sacrificed myself to save Krenia from the Book of Eyes.
You made me that way. Because you always knew I would be the sacrifice, didn’t you? ”
Gaia’s silence was damning enough. Mona huffed a sigh and dropped her gaze to her hands folded on her lap.
“I—I did not know for sure,” Gaia said in a strained voice.
Mona looked up. Gaia often spoke with smooth, assured words. But for the first time, she sounded… broken.
Gaia took a shuddering breath. “After Trivia was taken from me, I wasn’t sure if the Triple Goddess magic could still be accessed. And with you and Prudence being considered for Maiden of the coven, I thought you two had found a different path…” She trailed off, her face twisting with regret.
Mona flinched. She recalled the day she and Prue had discovered their witch coven required one of them to die so the other could acquire enough power to become the Maiden. She and Prue had both been so angry. More lies kept from them. More deception.
That was when they had opened the Book of Eyes. They had hoped to find a spell to merge their powers as the daughters of Janus.
But it had backfired. And then, Mona had died.
“As for the prophecy of the three witches…” Gaia continued.
“There were parts of the prophecy that indicated one of you would die when the Triple Goddess powers were unlocked. I prayed it was a mistranslation, that it wasn’t true.
And when you gave yourself up to the Book of Eyes, I—I shattered.
I couldn’t even imagine having to watch you die twice. ”
“Is that why you tried to prevent Prue from bringing me back?” Mona asked quietly. She couldn’t stop a tear from rolling down her face.
Gaia offered a sad smile. “Yes... and no. I didn’t realize what your soul had gone through. I truly believed that bringing you back would undo your sacrifice and unleash the Book of Eyes once more. I was wrong, and for that, I’m sorry.
“But… I also wanted you to have your rest and your peace. I wanted you to be free. Bringing you back only meant you had to suffer more, and I—I wasn’t sure I could bear it.”
“It wasn’t about you, though,” Mona said. “It never was. And that was the problem. You did what you thought was best. You made the choices for us, instead of giving us the truth and allowing us to decide for ourselves.”
Gaia nodded. “You are right.”
Mona blinked. “I am?”
“I have long since regretted keeping you and Prudence in the dark. There are… many things that I regret.” Her voice broke again. Her eyes filled with a despair so potent that Mona’s heart twisted.
Perhaps she was thinking of Trivia.
Or perhaps she was thinking of Sybil, the woman she loved, whom she had left on Krenia.
“You might not have known me,” Gaia said.
“But I knew you to your core, Pomona. You have grown and changed into someone different, but I knew your soul before you became a goddess. I know how you react to failure. You give up.” She gestured to Mona, who was still stretched out on the cot.
“You become languid and unresponsive until something new piques your interest, drawing you back to the surface.”
Mona’s eyes narrowed. “I am not languid.”
“Then prove it,” Gaia challenged. “Perform a simple healing spell on your body. See if it works.”
Mona shook her head. “I can’t heal anymore.”
“You can with the proper ingredients.” Gaia lifted a small sack at her side. “Which I happen to have here with me.”
Mona stared at the sack, her heart racing. Her gaze flicked to Evander, who was watching her intently, Hope gleamed in his eyes.
Did he agree with Gaia’s assessment? Had Mona given up?
“I—I have been through a lot,” Mona stammered. “I’m not sure if I’m ready…” She trailed off, unable to pull her gaze away from the sack in Gaia’s hand.
Mona knew exactly what was inside. Saffron root. Lavender. Eye of newt. Mugwater. The standard ingredients for a healing elixir. It wasn’t quite as powerful as using her goddess powers, but it was still effective. They had used it for many illnesses and injuries in Krenia.
“Just try,” Gaia urged. “If it causes you physical pain, we will stop, and you can spend a few more days recovering.”
Mona licked her lips, uncertain. Fear wriggled in her gut. Why was she so opposed to this? She took a shaky breath and looked at Evander, whose brow was furrowed.
“What do you think?” she asked him.
Evander glanced from her to Gaia, then back again. “I think,” he said quietly, “that the decision is yours. But you have always been in tune with your witch abilities, Mona. It’s a part of you. And I think that… casting a spell can remind you of that connection.”
Mona swallowed hard. He was right.
But that wasn’t what Mona was afraid of.
She was afraid that it wouldn’t work. That her magic was completely gone. That she wasn’t even a witch anymore.
She wasn’t sure if she could process that loss. She wasn’t strong enough.