Page 44 of Hekate: The Witch (Goddesses of the Underworld #1)

How to Build a Home for a Godling

First you must choose a place where a child feels safe.

And this is difficult. For some children do not know what safety looks like.

They must be taught. So you let them choose the ground, and in this case, it is the ground far enough from the mossy, rock-covered riverbanks that she cannot hear the spirits, but close enough that the River Goddess can come and go as she pleases.

Second, when you begin to build, let her help you.

She may be suspicious of you, for you betrayed everyone she loved, but she is a child looking for something to do.

Let her see how you raise pristine white marble from the palm of your hand and turn the work of a thousand mortals into a job for simply two Gods.

Which brings us to the third. You let her only friend help, in this case the ferryman who once in a while takes leave from his duties serving the dead and the River Goddess to comfort a forgotten child.

Perhaps because long ago he was a forgotten child too.

Fourth, when you finish building this home, a palace just for a Goddess’ child, you give her one final gift.

Inside her chambers, make her a secret window made of adamantine and sacred glass to look into the world above.

Let her have one place within this darkness where the sunshine comes through.