The Delta's Daughter Chapter 395

ASHE

I found Aodh, sitting regally at the top of Mint's mountains. A throne made of stone. Cold and sharp just like the god of the underworld.

His face was dark and impassive. The hatred inside him poured out and I could feel his disgust with this realm hanging in the air.

"You dare come before me halfling." He sneers as I make my presence known.

I brush off his rude remark. His power has no hold over me.

"How long will you keep the Moon Goddess imprisoned?" I watch Aodh's expressions carefully, but he gives nothing away.

"Until I get what I want." He remarks with a flat tone after a moment of silence.

"Don't be coy with me youngling. You are in my realm now." I snarl back. A little of my beast showing. "You forget your henchmen are dead. My Knights still live."

"I will kill them!" He pounds his large fist against the stone throne, stating a matter of fact, his red eyes holding no lies.

"For what? Because Inanna had been promised to you by her father centuries long before? The same father that condemned her? Stripped her of her immortality."

Aodh's eyes narrow and the red of them darken as his gaze burns into me like the fires of infinity.

"Or because she dared to love a mortal and the moon goddess granted them eternity together?" I step closer to the dark god paying no mind to the undead guards that lingered by his side.

I may only be a demi-god, but I was powerful. Being the only daughter of Lycaon and Fortuna - I was not to be trifled with.

"Your moon goddess will rot in hell for deceiving me and taking my promised one away." Aodh waves his hand as if imprisoning and slowly killing another god was normal. In their realm, it might be. "Tell me where Inanna is and maybe I will spare this realm."

"A new moon goddess will rise. Her sacrifice has already been made." I smirk. "And as for your promised one. She is gone. Taken to the in-between. You can't stop what has already begun. She will live and a new immortal shall be born. The circle of life will be complete this time."

Senko may have managed to open the gates between realms, but Orion, Silas, and Farid were dead. The ones who posed a threat to the chosen one. All four of her knights still lived, which meant together they could possibly defeat Aodh without Lamia.

But Aodh forgets that Arcas is still King in this realm. He is more powerful than even he knows. It will take all four knights and Mathias to bring Aodh to his knees.

I school my face, hiding the devious smile.

Aodh abruptly stands, roaring out at me with rage. "Then your precious shifter realm will burn by my hands!"

"If you think so." I fold my hands behind my back and turn to leave. I pause looking at Aodh over my shoulder, "Her name is Lamia, and she is the Delta's daughter she and Inanna are one. You will do well to remember this, Aodh. For when she returns, she will claim this realm once more. She will be stronger, faster, and crueler. Those who enter the in-between rarely come back the same person."

I leave the mountaintop, and Aodh with my parting warning. vanishing with the snap of fingers and appearing in the sanctuary.

"Ashe." Chakor greets me wearing the form of an old man.

"Has Ascena been prepared?" I asked, brushing past him, through the door that leads down to the pools.

"She is waiting," Chakor informs and follows me down the dark stone steps until we come to the chamber.

Ascena lies wrapped in white cloth. Her body is covered and wrapped like the goddess she will become.

The priestesses gather around in their robes. The daughters of Morrigan prepare the ritual ink.

The chants begin and I take my place as we prepare to ascend Ascena. Her sacrifice was not in vain. We have been without a moon goddess, and it was only right another should rise. Ascena's soul would transcend time and space, she would become part of the gods and serve as the keeper of this realm and more.

This could only happen if another immortal was to be born.

I shouldn't, but I felt guilty for how the events played out. Mathias was my favorite; I had a soft spot for his beast Arcas. But it had to be Inanna and Conri. By now, Lamia should have gone into heat and the young King Kellen wouldn't be able to resist.

Hoping everything went to plan, Lamia should be carrying a child by now.

In the realm of between time move differently and a shifter becomes more animal than human. Their spirit animals would never be able to resist each other. Their connection had always been there. I had hoped the next immortal would carry Arcas' blood. But events played out differently.

This was always the plan though. From the moment Ascena saw her death. It was her destiny to die and transcend, and it was Lamia's destiny as the chosen one to become the queen of shifters and carry the next immortal child.

The three sisters finish inscribing the white cloth with their ink. Stepping back, they take their places by my side.

Ascena's body rises, an invisible wind carries her to the body of water, and she is lowered into the shimmering underground lake.

The priestesses chant as her body sinks below the water's surface and absorbs the magic. Bright and brilliant is the light that emanates from the water, glowing brighter and brighter. Until that flood of light fills the room and in a woosh the cavern's chamber is dark and the powers above that rule the gods accept her.

I breathe a sigh of relief. As this means the chosen one is already with child.

It took Ascena and I over a thousand years to mate and bring together the bloodlines that would produce another immortal. Lamia was always meant to give birth to the next immortal, the father could have been either King Kellen or King Mathias.

It just so happened that the young prince was thrown into the space between realms with the chosen one. He accepted his destiny as he promised. And will protect the child Lamia will carry and give birth to.

She will return.

Ascena had already seen the foretelling of Lamia and the child. Yet, because Inanna was reborn as a spirit animal, the child had to be born outside this realm for her to be immortal.

This was the only way to set Ascena free and for her to rise as the next keeper of the children of the moon.

I had my work cut out for me if I was going to bring Lamia and Kellen back and stop Aodh from destroying this realm at the same time.

Without all four stones, it was nearly impossible. But with the help of the Andorian witch and one other, it is possible. His power grows each day, unaware of what he is capable of or who his spirit animal is.

LAMIA

"Hold on Lamia! I've got you!" Kellen's hand gripped my wrist tightly and he tugged with every bit of strength he had.

I was being sucked into the void that opened up behind me. My eyes frantically look around for something to grab and land on Kings.

I dig my swords into the ground, hoping to use them as an anchor. The vortex was too strong, and my hands began to slip from the handles.

Mathias leaps forward in a bid to grab me and haul me away. He can see Kellen is losing the battle and even though Inanna is lending me everything she has, I know Conri is doing the same.

It's not enough.

Just as Mathias is about to take hold of me and the feeling of relief and hope becomes real, A giant bird with wings that glistened gold snatched up Ascena. Causing the Immortal woman to not only knock into Kellen, kicking us further into the void. But she managed to knock Mathias back, pushing him farther from me.

"Holy shit!" I cry out as I feel the pull of the void sucking me in faster. "Let go, Kellen!" I scream at him and try to wriggle my wrist free, my hand letting go of my sword.

I was scared beyond measure but there was no way I wanted him to be sucked up with me and that's what was going to happen. The look on Kellen's face was brutal determination and instead of letting me go, he threw himself at me and tumbled through the chasm with me.

The last thing I remember seeing was the look on Mathias's face. Dejected, scared, angry. And eyes that shone the brightest silver I had ever witnessed. As the hole closed in front of me, I had to watch the anguish take over his handsome face, twisting his perfect features into something not quite human.

The ache in my heart was immense as the hole closed. I gripped my chest, my heart tightening and contracting with pain as the hole closed before my eyes.

Powerless to do anything but look on in anguish.

Kellen toppled on me, as the portal closed, and we rolled into the unknown.

He began screaming in agony, clutching his neck. "It burns!" He growled with heated pain and anger.

It took me a moment to get my bearings before I sat up. It was then I scrambled to my feet, my eyes wildly searching for the portal that would take me back to the bloody battlefield.

Not finding it, my eyes settled on the scenery in front of me.

"Kel?" I said at the same time Kellen said "Lamia?"

I look at Kellen in despair. As his hand moves from his neck, I frown in confusion "Your mate mark… it's gone!" I exclaim puzzled. Automatically lifting my hand to where my mark would lay.

Wide blue eyes stare at me and Kellen shakes his head. "Yours is gone too."

"Where are we?"

"I don't know." He replies softly.

Gripping our swords, we take each other's free hand, fingers locking together tightly. We stared out into the unknown. Casting our gazes over the vast barren land. In the distance, we see trees, dark and ominous. Beyond that - nothing but fields of dry grass.

Not a bird chirped, or a cricket hummed. Silence engulfed our surroundings, the air still and stagnant with the scent of death.

We had tumbled through a hole. A vortex of sorts. The clouds in the sky moved quickly yet no breeze blew. Before we knew it, day was turning to night. Three moons appeared in the sky. One was a shade of yellow, another a light blue, and the third was a dusty pink. Their sizes spanned across the sky.

That was the first time we heard the strange howl of a monster. Night had fallen in what seemed like minutes. Shadows crept across the bare land.

In the distance, I could see a tree line. Otherwise, we stood in a bare field. Open and vulnerable.

Nights came in a blanket of purple. In a constant state of dusk, until morning came in a fiery blaze of oranges and blues.

Yet morning didn't last for long before the clouds moved in, and the moons rose.

For 33 days I counted seconds, while Kellen counted each sunrise.

Time went quickly but… the years were slow.

It wasn't until the position of the three moons that orbited this realm shifted that I realized I was pregnant. Seneca was two now by our years. Yet here in this strange land, she was barely a toddler. I stayed pregnant for more than a year.

As slowly as empires, my belly grew and the longer we stayed in this realm the more our human side gave way, and our spirit animals came forward. Until we no longer knew who controlled our bodies.

Sometimes I would remember Conri as Innana and fall in love with him all over again. On other days I was confused. Kellen and I had mates, but we couldn't feel that bond. Our marks had faded, and our bond grew stronger and stronger by the day.

I tucked my little girl in, kissing her gently and sweetly.

Each night I thought of the triplets. Zach, Amali, and Max would almost be four now. I wondered what they would think of their younger sister.

Prince Connor would be turning four very soon too. Did Mike have pups now? How big was Zane? He would be close to eight.

How much we had missed, yet I had gained so much more.

In the early mornings Kellen and I would curl up together, watch the swift sunrise, and mere hours later, watch it set. We had become nocturnal for the most part.

Sleeping at night could get us killed.

We took turns scouting the land, always returning before nightfall, trying to find a way back home. Back to our families. Back to our friends.

What had become of our mates, our realm?

What would we return to, if we ever returned? Would it even be home?

Inanna no longer spoke to me. It's as if our thoughts were fully combined. I was her and she was me. It was the same way for Kellen. Some days we didn't know who we were. As if our past lives were fading and our counterpart's pasts were merging.

It was hard to explain. To be someone and not at the same time, but also to know the person you are becoming because they have been a part of you your whole life.

I cross the space of the tiny one-room hut we built by scavenging branches and fallen logs from the edges of the forest and stand next to Kellen.

He pulls me to his side, and I settle my head against him. Both of us gaze out the tiny window as the sun goes down and those eerie shades of dusk fall once again.

Howls and growls begin to sound in the distance, and I shiver knowing what beasts and monsters lurk out there.

"I won't let anything happen to us." Kellen husks, squeezing me into his side tighter.

I tilted my head up to look at him, raising a hand to trace the scar, the one that cut across the middle of his handsome face.

He regards me with his bright ocean-blue eyes, meeting my green eyes and locking on one another.

Bending his head, he captures my lips with a quick kiss.

"I know you won't." I believe his promise as I snuggle closer to him. He had kept us safe thus far, risking his life for me and Seneca.

We had both become someone different. Something different. Yet we hadn't lost hope. We were holding on to it, to each other.

We had no idea if and when we would return to our realm.

It was just us and the monsters. There were no other humanoids that we had found evidence of. Just the three of us.