“How is that possible, Mother?” Gin asked, and then the answer hit her like the business end of an opponent’s staff. “Maelfie?”
“Aye, child, but that is not all. Her family is bound to yours by more than your brother’s love for Elspeth’s sister,” Sephine replied. “It is far more complicated than that. Your sister was also bonded by love to a Turlach. Kamendar, Maelfie’s elder brother, was soulbound to Lairceach.”
“Apologies, Mother, but that cannot be true. I would have known if Lairky…” Gin stopped, her heart spiking up into her throat at the memory of her sister.
“Sephine, with respect, how has this family of Ikedrians come to be bound to Gin’s family?” Sath asked as Gin gratefully took the opportunity to get herself together.
“Well, as you know, nothing in this world happens randomly.” Sath scoffed loudly but fell silent when the goddess shifted her gaze to him. “The two families—The House of Turlach and the Line of the Nature Walkers—came to be bound together in destiny during the Forest Wars, when Draoch of the Trees forged a friendship with an Ikedrian, D’Ayna Turlach. But after Ayna was lost in the war and Draoch gave up his mantle to his daughter, that bond weakened. After the war, when House Turlach dedicated themselves more to the work of their Father Ikara, they became one of the most powerful noble houses of Ikedria. So, when your Cursik began to fall in love with Maelfie Turlach—the twin sister of Elspethe—the events that followed were set in motion as the bond rekindled. Kamendar sought out Lairceach in an attempt to find out more about his sister’s death. He thought that it was at Cursik’s hand and was plotting revenge, but my precious child Lairceach turned his heart, and he fell in love with her. He could not have known that Elspethe had already sought out and killed Cursik. At Lairceach’s unfortunate death, Kamendar was distraught and sought revenge again, but could do naught else but join his Lairky in death.”
Gin stared at the goddess, forgetting her customary reverence. Her soul could no longer bear the weight of the tale Sephine told. “And…Elspethe?” she whispered.
“That, my dearest one, is the point at which I entered the tale,” Sephine said darkly. “The wizard had come to my attention already during his time serving first Salynth and then Lord Taanyth. Isona, the goddess of love and mercy, came to Kildir and me, worried about this Taeben’s influence on the world, and I began watching him. Isona feared he was connected to Ikara, but she could do nothing because he was sworn to follow her brother, Indarr, as many males born in Alynatalos are.” She drew closer to Gin, running her ethereal hand down the side of Gin’s face and lifting her chin until Gin met the goddess’s gaze. “Oh, my precious child, my Nature Walker—the things that wizard did to you.”
“WAIT.” Sath could stand by silently no longer. “You saw her when the wizard had her? You watched Gin’s suffering? Watched? You let him put his filthy hands on her, your Nature Walker—you let him crawl inside her mind like a parasite, you let him leave scars on her body and her mind, and you did nothing? I hear her call out to you in pain and fear even now in her sleep, did you ignore her cries then as you do now? What kind of monster are you? All-Mother indeed!”
“Sath, no…” Gin hissed at him. “Don’t.”
“Stand down, Rajah,” Sephine said, her voice low and even. “There is only so much we gods may do to involve ourselves in the lives of mortals such as you. It does not mean we think of you as—what did you say before? Puppets? Dolls? We do not exist as you do, and we cannot influence your world as much as you think we can, at least not any longer. After the Forest War, we retreated to the Void for fear that Ikara would try to escape. I did as much as I could for my child, Ginolwenye, in her times of great need.” She considered Gin again and then turned her attention back to Sath. “But surely you know by now how strong she is? Your mate, Rajah, is amazing. She not only emerged from her time of trial at the hands of the wizard alive but with her compassion and mercy intact. You cannot say the same of yourself. I have watched while you succumbed to your bloodlust and need for vengeance over and over again.” Sath hung his head. “I have seen you hurt my Nature Walker time and again, and yet, she forgives you and loves you still. I do not criticize you by telling you this, Rajah. I merely wish to remind you of the incredible female at your side.”
“There is no need to remind me of that,” Sath muttered.
“As I said, that was when I entered the story,” Sephine continued. “I needed the wizard dead, but as I said, unless he attacked me, I could not intervene directly. Your love for my child Ginolwenye was just what I needed. When you killed the wizard, I waited for the shift that Isona and I and the other gods felt to right itself. It did not, and in fact, it got worse.
“Taeben left instructions for this Ikedrian, whom he had been mentoring, to take on his work in the event of his death. She did as he asked, and had almost succeeded in creating the mass mind control spell that Taeben and Taanyth were working on perfecting. So I made sure that she knew your part in Taeben’s death and
