Megan Derr The Lost Gods 04 Poison

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oak, Etain's head just touching it.
The leaves of the tree began to rustle, gently at first, then with more force. At the base of the oak, the three figures touching
it began to shimmer, flaring brightly before fading, only to flare more brightly than before in a chaos of gold and silver light.
Abruptly everything stilled once more, the entire room going dark before it just as suddenly filled with sunlight.
At the base of the oak were three familiar figures. Freddie stood to the right, her dress cleansed of blood, showing no signs
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of having suffered a single wound, of having attacked and fought with her sister. Beside her stood Gael, as calm and
reserved as he usually was.
There was one difference, and all the Beasts stirred to see the slight change - Freddie's eyes were now the brilliant blue of
a summer sky. Gael's were no longer brown, but the rich, vibrant green of new spring.
Between them, sitting on the ground, pooled in the skirts of her rainbow gown, Etain sobbed into her hands. Upon her back
her wings were grander and more colorful than ever, one of the most beautiful things Ailill had ever seen.
The Faerie Queen and Guardians.
Chapter Nineteen
"You evil, conniving, cruel& " Freddie looked down in disgust at the woman sobbing at her feet. "A thousand years you have
been doing this to us. For petty jealousy."
Etain said nothing, merely hunched her shoulders and cried harder.
Gael shook his head, saying nothing, the memories that had flooded through him still too overwhelming, too old and new all
at once.
She'd hidden their memories. Kept them sealed along with their power in the great oak. Over and over she had tried to take
away&
He turned away from his sisters and strode toward the figure lying too still in the grass, kneeling and hauling Noire into his
arms. He held Noire close, breathed in the sorely-missed scent of his lover, ran his fingers through that dark, thick hair.
Softly he brushed his lips across Noire's, little more than a sharing of breath. "Kitten," he murmured.
Slowly Noire's eyes opened, long lashes fluttering as he fought his body's desire to stay asleep. When his eyes finally
stayed open, Noire smiled. "Your eyes are different, Gael."
"Yours are still the finest I've ever seen, Kitten," Gael replied, then gave Noire another soft kiss before hauling them both to
their feet. "Are you all right?"
Noire nodded slowly, only wincing slightly. "I think I'll have a headache for a week straight, but I'm fine otherwise."
Gael kissed his brow, his cheek. "I'll distract you," he said so that only Noire could hear.
"I've missed you, Gael& " Noire whispered, leaning in, clinging to him. "I wasn't sure& "
Gael kissed him full on the mouth this time. "It's over, Kitten. You're safe, I'm safe, and everyone watching knows you're
mine." He smiled, then with a last kiss turned back to the problems that must be dealt with before he could truly spend time
with Noire.
"Is Verenne all right?" Freddie asked, the closest to tears she would ever come as she gazed at her fallen former lover.
"Of course," Gael said. "Go and see for yourself, if you like."
Freddie shook her head back with enough force her hair flew out behind her. "Not until this matter is resolved. Not until we
understand why our sister would so deeply betray and hurt us."
On the ground, Etain had grown silent. She stared at her hands, the slight tensing of her slender shoulders the only sign
that she heard them, realized the conversation had shifted back to her. "I did it for you," she said.
"That is a lie," Freddie said. "The fact that you kept our powers and memory from us says that clearly."
"Yes," Gael agreed, folding his arms across his chest, circling around so that he stood in front of her, green eyes flashing
with anger, hurt. "What did you plan to do with these ceremonies? Not restore us to full power - that would mean we
regained all our memories, as we currently have. I remember now& "
"We hid our powers in the great oak, sealing them so that only when all three of us touched it simultaneously would the
powers be returned to us. In every life you brought us here, but kept us from the oak - tried to control what memories
returned to us. Were you trying to ensure that no memory of those we love ever reached us?"
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Etain remained stubbornly silent, glaring at the grass, their feet.
Gael shook his head, continuing where Freddie left off. "No& you are not so simple as that. You thrive on complexity,
Etain& Fae. Of all the gods, you were the most skilled at creation. It was you who helped the dragons craft their daughters
of the sea& you who played with Zhar Ptitka to create that apple tree of his& your hand is in so many beautiful creations& "
He looked at her mournfully. "You would not have simply sought to block memories, or to erase them& the prayers, the
spells& you were hoping to reshape our memories." He turned to look at Noire, recalling every happy moment, in every life,
that he had spent with his lover. "You wanted to put yourself in place of the memories in our mind. That is what you meant
to do - only that would be challenging enough, perfect enough, for you."
"Except it kept failing," Etain said bitterly. "Despite everything I tried, everything I was promised& time and again your lovers
appear to ruin everything, devolved it into violence, mayhem, until I am forced to let everyone die and start again."
Freddie looked disgusted. "You sicken me, sister. I feel as though I do not even know you. All of this because of petty
jealousy?"
Etain finally looked up at them, rage and anguish blazing in her eyes. "Petty jealousy? Is that all you see it as! You are the
ones who do not see. We created this world together, vowed to cherish and protect it for always. To do it together. To be [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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