Kalona's Fall (House of Night Novellas #4)(25)

Do you command it so?

“Of course not! I don’t command you, or any of the Fey, to frolic. I simply meant that you do look tired and that I am sorry if I have wearied you. L’ota, tonight I want you to rest. Do not be concerned about Kalona, Erebus, or me. Tonight, little one, is just for you.” The Goddess smiled at the Fey and patted the soft tuft of her hair.

L’ota bowed her head and said, You command. I obey. Then she slid into the shadows and disappeared from the chamber, leaving the Goddess shaking her head and sighing. “Though they have been with me for eons, the Fey remain such strange creatures. Sometimes I believe they understand too much; sometimes I believe it is too little. Well, a rest from her duties should replenish her energy, whether she asked for it or not.” Nyx looked around the chamber again and smiled. “And I have been keeping her very busy readying the palace for the presence of Kalona and Erebus.”

“Kalona…” Nyx repeated his name, loving the sound of it. Oh, how she had missed him! She had purposefully kept herself from visiting him so that he would not be distracted and would be well and quickly prepared for the final test. And Kalona was obviously in agreement with her; he had not once called for her, though L’ota had visited him daily and waited patiently to bring his summons back to Nyx. Thus, Nyx believed his greatest desire was the same as hers—to complete the final test as quickly as possible so that he could join her in the Otherworld for an eternity!

Now the palace was ready, though so very empty. And Kalona was so very close! Perhaps she could visit him once, for only a part of the evening. She would show him how eager she was to have him by her side, and then leave him to his preparations.

The winged one calls for you. As if Kalona had read her mind, L’ota was suddenly there, whispering the words the Goddess had secretly longed for days to hear. He is at the geyser. L’ota wrinkled her nose in remembrance of the smell of the place.

Nyx laughed gaily. “How kind of him to choose to meet me at Old Faithful! It shows that he has truly rid himself of his jealousy of Erebus. Oh, L’ota! Could he be more perfect?” The Goddess hugged the Fey, picking up the little creature and dancing playfully around the beautifully decorated chamber that awaited her lover.

Nyx was still laughing when she let go of the skeeaed and hurried to choose something lovely and sheer to wear, too distracted to hear the last hissing words the creature would speak to her: Yesssss, L’ota watch. L’ota tell. L’ota show you!

*   *   *

Much later, during the eons she had to replay in her mind the events that led to heartbreak and tragedy, Nyx often blamed herself. Had she not been so girlish, so giddy, so ungoddesslike, she might have stopped to question the whys and hows of things and prevented the horror of what was to come. But she hadn’t. Nyx hadn’t once truly wondered why L’ota had become so distant and defensive. She hadn’t questioned why she didn’t feel Kalona’s presence as she materialized at the geyser. She hadn’t been wise enough even to consider whether the Darkness she had been sensing, though unable to reach her, had the power to influence others.

No, Nyx had lacked in wisdom and experience, and because of that lack, she and many others paid a price too dear for simple forgiveness.

That evening Nyx knew nothing of future pain and regret. That evening all she knew was that she intended to spend it in the arms of her beloved.

Which was why the Goddess was completely taken aback when she materialized on the ridge overlooking the geyser and was greeted by Erebus’s exclamation of “My Goddess! What a lovely surprise it is to see you! I admit that I had been thinking of you and wishing for your opinion on my discovery. So, you appearing here is, indeed, fortuitous.”

“Merry meet, Erebus.” Nyx quickly recovered her composure. Had L’ota actually said which winged one had called for her? “What is this discovery of yours?”

“Come with me.” Smiling, he held his hand out to her. “I found them in a den made within the roots of an old tree, just there.” He pointed into the tree line above them, helping Nyx to climb over the rocky outcroppings. “Careful,” he said, lifting her over a cluster of brambles.

He led Nyx to a fragrant cedar tree. Pressing his finger against his lips, he carefully pulled back the frond of a fern to reveal a neat little den nestled within the tree’s massive roots. Within the den were five plump, furry creatures.

“Kittens!” Nyx exclaimed, causing the babies to wake and blink at her with bright, curious eyes.

“So, she was right. The wildcats do please you,” Erebus said, sounding satisfied with himself. “They aren’t frightened of you, though they do not thus favor anyone else.” At the sound of his voice, the kittens had bowed their backs and made hissing, spitting noises at him.

Nyx laughed and stroked them, calming their miniature fury. “Of course they are not frightened of me. They recognize their Goddess. And they do please me, very much! So much so that I have actually secreted one away to the Otherworld with me.” Nyx glanced at Erebus. “She?”

Erebus’s grin made him look boyishly adorable. “Mother Earth, of course.”

“Of course. There’s little that can be kept secret from the Great Mother.”

“Does that bother you?”

“No, not at all. I cherish her friendship and the affection she has for me. Does it bother you?”