Redeemed #2
Her breathing turned shallow. She couldn’t get enough oxygen into her lungs.
“If—If—” she broke off, unable to finish, unable to even speak.
Her chest constricted, and her throat closed up.
She shut her eyes, her head spinning. “If it doesn’t work…
” She choked on the words, then hunched over, sucking in rattling breaths that did nothing to fill her lungs.
In an instant, Evander was kneeling at her feet, his hands on her knees. “Mona.”
His tender voice soothed her, along with that woodsy scent she knew so well. Her Evander. He was hers. He was here.
Her eyes opened, locking with his silver ones. She nodded at him, her gaze still pinned on his. Those silvery orbs pulled her in, beckoning her closer. They were beacons guiding her home. She would be lost without them.
“You can do this,” Evander murmured. “And if, for some reason, you can’t… we will weather that storm together. You are not alone, my love. I am here with you no matter what.”
Warmth filled Mona’s chest, and her eyes burned. She blinked rapidly to keep herself from crying again.
Evander pressed her hand firmly to his chest. “This heart… is yours. For all eternity.”
Her vision blurred with tears, and she sniffed. “And mine is yours,” she whispered.
A small smile lit his face, and he sat back on the floor to give her room. He stayed close, as if he knew that withdrawing too far would make her panic again.
Gaia silently approached, removing each item from her sack and placing them onto the cot next to Mona. The last items were a mortar and pestle to mash the ingredients together.
“Do you recall the conditions of the healing spell?” Gaia asked softly.
Mona could almost slip back into the routine of answering her mother’s questions. Teacher and student. A witch apprentice learning from the Mother of the witch coven.
“Essence of saffron root. A sprig of lavender. An open heart and mind. An eye of newt. Three droplets of mugwater.”
“I have everything here.” Gaia gestured to the ingredients spread on the cot. “But the open heart and mind must come from you.” Her blue eyes flared with intensity, challenging Mona.
Mona sat up straighter. She took three deep breaths, feeling her chest expand with each inhale. She cleared her mind of all frustrations and worries, all thoughts and concerns.
Open heart. Open mind.
It was just her and the spell. Nothing more.
Silently, she nodded. Gaia watched her expectantly, unmoving.
Mona reached for the mortar and pestle, then grabbed the jar of saffron root.
Her hands shook at first, but after a moment, she settled into the familiar rhythm of spellcasting.
Grind the root. Add the lavender. Mix together.
Crush the newt eye. Add the mug water. Mix again.
Her hands moved of their own accord, her thoughts emptying. She knew nothing but the task at hand. The mixture became an olive green paste that smelled of witch magic and lush forests.
It smelled like Krenia.
“Good,” Gaia said once the paste was finished. “Now, the next step?”
Mona said nothing as she dipped two fingers into the mixture, then smeared it under her tunic over her own chest. It felt cool to the touch, making her shudder. Her eyes closed, and she froze for a moment, suddenly remembering the reality before her.
Her lost powers.
Her wounded body.
The healing spell that might work… but it also might not.
No, she thought, gritting her teeth. Empty your thoughts. Open heart. Open mind.
She took three more deep breaths, then continued smearing the salve onto her chest. The coolness seeped into her bones, bringing a tingling awareness throughout her entire body.
“Now, the incantation,” Gaia prodded.
Mona inhaled a slow breath, then whispered, “Sano.” She pressed her palm flat against her chest, right where her heart was beating. Her fingers were sticky from the paste. “Hoc vulnus sana.”
Nagging thoughts crept into her mind, but she pushed them away. The worries and fears within her urged her to fret over the possibility of failure, to overanalyze how long this was taking to produce results.
But she refused to succumb to those thoughts. It was just her and the spell. Nothing more. Sometimes it took a few moments for the magic to work, especially with inexperienced witches. Her mind traveled far away, distancing herself from everything personal about this situation.
A fresh new witch was casting a spell. Her magic was unpracticed and unpredictable. If the magic did not come forth immediately, the witch would need to utter the phrase with more conviction. More surety.
The witch had to believe in her own abilities. Sometimes, that was the most important thing.
Believe, Mona thought. The magic will work. The conditions are met. The ingredients are here. Believe in the power.
“Hoc vulnus sana,” she said, louder this time. Her voice was firm and confident.
Power brushed against her, whispering along her skin, tickling her flesh.
Sudden warmth seeped into her chest, blotting out the cold and spreading throughout her body.
It extended from the top of her head to the ends of her toes, filling her with a comforting heat that soothed her aching muscles and throbbing wounds.
It knitted the pieces of her heart and soul back together.
A relieved exhale left her, loosening the tightness in her chest. The salve dissolved into her flesh, making its way through her body as the spell did its work.
When the warmth finally left her, she let her eyes flutter open. It was not as earth-shattering as the powerful and instantaneous healing she had performed as a goddess. This was… gentler. More subtle.
In a way, she almost preferred it. It was a delicate presence that needed to be nurtured. It wasn’t something that came easily, but it meant that the results felt earned.
Mona had no true power within her. But the power she could wield had been honed through years of hard work and practice.
She was breathing deeply and fully now, a smile spreading across her face. In front of her, Gaia was beaming, her eyes shining with tears. Evander’s gaze bored into hers, full of pride.
That’s my Mona, his affectionate gaze seemed to say. He’d had no doubts. No concerns.
He had known from the beginning that she could do it. He had always believed in her.
Always.
Gaia squeezed Mona’s shoulder, jolting her from her thoughts.
“I am more proud of you than you could ever imagine, Pomona,” she said softly.
“You have more power than you know, my dear.” One by one, she gathered the ingredients and placed them back inside the sack.
When she stood, she smiled down at Mona.
“I’ll return tomorrow with another spell we can try. Will that be all right?”
Mona couldn’t stop smiling as tears rolled down her face. She choked on a half laugh, half sob. “Yes. Yes, I would very much like that.”
Gaia nodded once, then left the cavern.
Mona felt Evander’s gaze burning into hers. Slowly, she faced him again, and her chest cinched at the desire sparking in those eyes.
“That’s always been you, Mona,” he said gently. “You’ve always been a witch first and a goddess second. This is who you are.” He gestured to her with that same look of pride on his face.
“I—I couldn’t have done this without you,” Mona said breathlessly. Energy churned through her, restless and volatile. She wanted to leap and scream. She wanted to sprint and laugh.
She wanted everything.
Evander’s expression sobered, the joy in his face dimming slightly. “Yes, you could have.”
Mona’s smile faltered. “Evander…”
“You can do this without me, Mona.”
She shook her head. “Why are you saying this?”
He took a deep breath, then shifted so he was sitting on the cot next to her. “I have to stay in the mortal realm. I made a deal with Typhon and the Wild Spirits. I vowed to help free the other creatures who have been unfairly punished by the gods. Starting with Clotho.”
Mona felt the blood drain from her face. “The Fate?”
Evander nodded. “It is thanks to her that Typhon was kept alive. I must try to return the favor as best I can.”
A hard lump formed in Mona’s throat, and she found it difficult to swallow. “So you’re leaving?”
Evander frowned. “No, I’m staying. You’re leaving.”
Mona let out a surprised laugh. “What? Where am I going?”
“I—Well—I assumed you would return to the Underworld. With Prue.”
Mona’s mouth opened and closed. “I assumed I would be returning to the Underworld with you. But if you must stay in the mortal realm, then I’ll stay, too.”
Evander’s brows furrowed with confusion. “I can’t ask you to leave your sister. You two have been through so much.”
“You’re not asking me at all. I’m telling you, my place is with you.”
“But it’s Prue,” he argued. “Prue has always come first.”
Mona’s heart dropped at the devastation on his face. Goddess above, he looked so forlorn and lost. Had he truly believed she had chosen Prue over him?
Her gut twisted with the realization that she had.
Every time, Prue had come first. Mona had given up her memories of Evander in order to rescue Prue from the Underworld.
She had stayed by Prue’s side when the Titans had closed in, knowing it would result in her capture.
And she had chosen to stay with the witches and fight with Prue instead of returning to the Undead Wilds with Evander.
Realization struck Mona like a bolt of lightning. She had urged Evander to rediscover himself, to find a purpose worth living for, something besides her…
But she needed to find herself, too. She needed to find who she was without Prue. Without Gaia.
And only now did she realize that, for the first time in her life, she wasn’t worried about her sister. Her thoughts were free of all worries or concerns for Prue. Mona had been overcome with self-pity and sorrow over her own losses.
But she hadn’t thought of Prue at all.