Page 50 of Spring's Descent
I nodded, head tilting to the side as Persephone’s lips pressed thin.
“Why isn’t she stopping this? Why didn’t she help when The Dark Faction ravaged town after town, demons sucking the life from our world? Why is she in The Underworld in the first place?”
Her chest heaved, her freckled cheeks flushed, but there was a faint sheen of sweat across her brow, proof that the boost in energy from Hecate’s magic would soon be spent.
“Hecate may be the mother of all witches, but her power isn’t infinite. She will be reborn in time, like every other soul. While her power does grant certain exceptions, her life in The Realm of the Living ended.”
Persephone swallowed, leaning back against the pillows. Her breaths were still too quick, the pulse along her neck beating too rapidly, but she nodded for me to continue.
“Do you know what it means for a witch to awaken?”
“They’re blessed by Hecate and granted access to their magic once they swear fealty to a coven.”
“And what of witches not in a coven? What about those who have been lost, or placed with humans, do they not also inherit their magic?”
Persephone’s full lips pulled down into a frown. I lifted my hand, cupping her cheek as my thumb tracing the edges of her pout. Her eyes dipped to my fingers and fuck did I want to kiss her right then. To brand the taste of her into my soul.
“Witches are granted access to their full magic on their twenty-first year, just as Hecate was. If one chooses a coven, their power will be joined to that coven. Likewise, if she weaves her life thread with another’s, the two will be linked in all ways.”
Persephone’s frown deepened, her conflicted gaze searching mine as she drew back. “Then why would Hecate take so many sacrifices? Why make us pledge to a coven at all?”
My spine stiffened, knowing this next bit of information would hurt her, but there was no way around it. She needed to understand how dire our situation was.
“No witch is forced to join with a coven.” Her brows furrowed as confusion flashed in her eyes. “Hecate doesn’t collect sacrifices, Persephone. What purpose would she have in killing her own children?”
Persephone shook her head, pushing the cotton sheet off as she stood on trembling legs.
“You need to rest,” I said, coming to stand beside her. “You’re running on the fumes of Hecate’s healing magic. You’re going to crash any moment?—”
“No.”
Persephone repeated the word over and over again as her hands tangled in her hair. She paced the length of the room and I let her, giving her time to work this out as I matched her stride, knowing that her entire worldview was shifting.
“Witches are dying. Willow’s soul was shredded.Shredded.Because Hecate is angry with us for not stopping The Dark Faction. For not being strong enough. But… Hecate is here, in The Underworld.”
She turned slowly, seeking answers to questions she wasn’t ready for, but needed to know all the same.
“You’re… friends?”
“Yes,” I answered truthfully. “Hecate is like a sister to me.”
She squared her shoulders, closing the distance between us until she placed her palm just over my beating heart. Heat warmed beneath her touch as her thread reached for mine. They were just brushing one another, but the contact was enough to open Persephone’s mind to me. I could feel her trepidation, her distrust of me and The Underworld as a whole, but I could also sense her mounting realization growing like a looming wave on the horizon.
“Every time a witch dies on her awakening, her magic is returned to the coven. Is that true?”
“Partly,” I answered, knowing she felt the truth of my words through our connected essence. “If they’ve pledged themselves to a coven, and die when their magic is bound to it, a small portion will be gifted to the remaining witches. But most of a witch’s power is supposed to return to the realm upon her life thread being cut.”
“Supposed to?”
I nodded, letting her fit the pieces into place.
“But their power is remaining with the coven… isn’t it? Or with the witch’s bound partner…”
Again, I nodded, watching as her throat bobbed.
“Mother encouraged all of us to bond with green witches before the awakening. She said it was the best chance we had at not being taken by Hecate, but as High Matriarch she…”
Persephone dropped her gaze from mine, her fingers slipping. Catching her hand, I pressed her palm into my chest, keeping our connection intact a little longer as I used my other hand to tilt her chin-up.