Page 39 of Pirate Witch

Her skin shines with a searing white light which seems to touch all corners of the spirit plane until I can barely make out anything else. There is only black and white smashing into one another with the force of a hurricane.

“So you are the daughter of Shadow, to whom so many threads lead back,”Fate whispers.“And now you attempt to bend the weft to your will.”

Another woman steps out of the brightness, then a third, both as naked as the first, except for their crowns. The first, beaming with silver light, wears a circlet shimmering full of stars which drip down on tiny strands and blend with her hair. The second goddess glows with the warm power of the sun and her crown is taller, with spines that reach up and out like the rays of the sun.

All three goddesses.

Oh, fuck.

I drop to my knees and press my head to the earth.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Are they here to smite me?

The girlish, tinkling chuckle that follows that thought has me swallowing back my nerves.

“No, daughter. We are not.”

She can read my mind.Oh, shit. There aren’t any words for the panic that shoots through me.

It would be really convenient if my mind chose that second to be quiet. Instead, it drags up every embarrassing memory I have and blasts them on repeat.

The Moon Goddess just laughs harder.“Oh, my dear Shadow. You would have made an entertaining High Priestess. Our meetings would’ve kept me amused…”

I disagree. I would’ve made anawfulhigh priestess, and I’m sure she knows that.

“We’re not here to be amused,”the Sun reminds her, gently.

I dare a glance up, just in time to see the Moon roll her pure silver eyes as she sighs.“Quite right.”

Fate nods and bends closer to see me.“What you are trying to do violates the laws on which the realms are built. It cannot be done.”

My heart sinks and my gut clenches until I feel sick.

They won’t help me. The Eagle’s going to win, and in stopping this, the goddesses have condemned me and my males to death. A single, cold tear drips down my cheek as my heart cracks in two within my chest.

“It cannot be done more thanonce,”the Moon corrects.“The Mortal Cure has brought the world so out of balance that we must intervene on this one occasion or else everything will be lost.”

“Sometimes a bone must be broken so it can heal, and so we now must break the web to mend it again,”Fate mumbles.

“There will be consequences,”the Sun adds, softly.“A harsh price to pay for your friends.”

“And us,”Fate whispers.“The web might not line up in the same way again.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, then cut myself off, wondering if questioning three goddesses is wise—or even allowed.

Is it blasphemy to question divinity when divinity is being vague and unhelpful?

“Ripping apart the threads of fate is no easy task, Shadow. The magic required will change your friends.”The Sun is solemn as she stares down at me, her gold light muting with sadness.“Are you willing to let them sacrifice their childhood for the chance to defeat the Eagle?”

“Can you not ask them?” I can’t make that kind of decision for Elsie and Reva. “Can’t I pay whatever price needs to be paid?”

The Moon shakes her head sadly.“You are not the one doing this ritual,”she says.“They are. And revealing ourselves in the physical realm is against the natural laws. Even here, in the spirit realm, we cannot linger long.”

“You are the one upon whom this hinges,”the Sun insists.“You must make the decision for them. This thing which they do will be for naught if you cannot find the strength to fulfil your contract.”

The Moon studies me intensely, and I dip my head under the weight of her gaze.“I chose you as my Shadow because you were the last hope we had. Will you succeed where my other Shadows failed? Will you make their sacrifices worth it?”