Page 50 of Healing Elixirs & Wicked Crows

"We ask again, child, what will you give us?"

I swallowed back my unease."I do not wish to rule a kingdom.I do not wish to rule anything.Should I have a path that leads me there, I offer that future to you as payment."

"What if that kingdom is not the one you are thinking of?What if it's a different one?One which holds much more power?"questioned the younger goddess.

"I do not crave power," I answered, my head still bowed."If you truly are the triad, then you already know what my heart desires."

A shimmering light caught my attention, rippling through the air as if an invisible curtain had pulled back.Three tall women emerged, their pristine white robes flowing in the breeze they brought.The maiden, the youngest, gazed at me with long red hair framing her flawless cheeks.The mother stood in the center, her piercing green eyes taking in everything.The crone, with a weathered face, glared at me, her white hair tightly braided over her shoulder.

"She who is chosen by Anya must make the sacrifice knowing," the mother, Baela, said.

Alena, the flame-haired youngest of the triad, nodded toward me."Should we tell her?Or should we show her?"

The crone spoke, her muttered voice wise and deep."We cannot show her," Croela said."It will ruin the surprise.I hate it when the ending is ruined, don't you?"

She held my gaze, and for a moment, I thought she had directed that question to me."Are...Are you asking me?"

Croela rolled her pale gaze."Obviously.Who else would I be asking?"

"I guess I hate when the end is spoiled," I replied.

"Exactly!"she shouted, her frail arms whipping skyward.She pointed a crooked, gnarled finger at me."See, she gets it."

"So," Baela said, "how exactly do you expect us to explain what she would be giving up without her fully seeing it?"

Time continued to pass.Time that Elias didn't have.Time that I couldn't waste.

"Explain it without spoiling the ending?Tell me only what I need to know?I don't care what you do, but please stop this incessant talking and do something!"I shouted, my words echoing around the clearing so sharply that even the birds stopped their songs.My heart stuttered in my chest.What had I done?These were goddesses and I had addressed them so poorly!

"You are destined to rule a great kingdom," Alena said, her words soft and gentle.

"One that would forever put you in the history books as a great positive change to these lands," Baela added.

"You'll have everything you have ever wanted, and everything you could ever dream of," Croela added.

"What's the catch?"I asked.Every path had thorns.

"There is no catch on that path of yours," Croela spat the words as if it pained her.

"And if I choose not to take that path?"

Baela studied me for a moment before she spoke."Then you will take the..."she pursed her lips together as if debating which words she should choose.Finally, her eyes furrowed, then pity softened them as she added, "the harder path."

Alena smiled.She twirled on her feet as if she danced to a beat none of us could hear."Things...change."She blinked at me as if wanting to say more but not wanting to spoil the ending.

Time continued to pass.I shifted my weight, standing from the ground and folding my arms over my chest."Look, I really hate to break up the party, but perhaps you three remember the dying unseelie male who is waiting for my return as if his life depends upon it?"

They stopped bickering, and Alena stared toward the sky with a faraway look.I watched, amazed, as thin threads of gold flitted around the air where she glanced."Ahh, yes.He's one of my favorites."Her delicate fingertips brushed along one of the threads adoringly, and while my stomach twisted with a bolt of jealousy, that feeling dissipated quickly when I noticed how much dimmer that thread at her fingertips was compared to the ones flitting around it.

"Oh, dear," Alena pouted, her head tilting sideways as she watched the threads.

My brow creased."What do you mean, ‘oh, dear’?"I demanded.

"Best to decide quickly, dear," Baela mumbled as she watched the threads twist and dance.

"If it is power that I must give up, or the chance to rule a kingdom, I will gladly give up either if it means I can save a life," I stated.

Alena's gaze snapped from the thread, pinning me with a hard stare."What about love?Would you give up love?"