Page 34 of Tanglewood Legacy (The Three Sisters 3)
“So are we.” She shrugged.
“We are witches, a very specific and magical species of human. He is an earth human. No magic. Terrible tempers. May I remind you that his kind burns people they think are witches, Isis? They burn their own women under suspicion of beingus.”
Hot anger built in her veins, and Isis turned on her sister. “Pierre would never do that to anyone, especially not us.”
“You don’t know that.” Medea rolled her eyes.
“I do know it. He knows what I am, and he’s told no one. He loves me, Medea. And, you know…” Isis paused to examine her feelings. She hadn’t known Pierre long, but when she’d seen him in Lucienne’s arms tonight, the emotions that raged in her had one thing in common. Whether it was the initial jealousy of seeing the woman’s lips on his neck, the resulting anger, or the terror that he might die, the root of all those emotions was a feeling of possessiveness. Pierre was hers and hers alone. “I love him too.”
Medea’s eyes turned glossy. “I forbid it.”
“Why? Am I not allowed love and happiness?”
“No, you’re not!” Medea snapped.
Isis trembled at her sister’s words. There was so much bitterness in her tone. So much anger. “Why would you say such a terrible thing?” When Medea didn’t answer, Isis stared at her, willing her to explain herself. All she saw was a shadow that passed through her sister’s expression tinged with guilt. “Goddess, you don’t want me to find love because you’re afraid of being alone.”
“I didn’t say that.” Medea looked down at her wand gripped between her fingers.
“You had years with Tavyss. You had love, Medea, true love.”
“And now I have nothing.”
Isis shuffled back. “And you’d rather I never experience love than remind you of what you had?”
Medea waved a hand dismissively. “Remind me? I don’t need to be reminded, Isis. I think about Tavyss and Phineas every minute of every single day.” Her voice cracked. “And you wonder why I don’t think it’s wise for you to take a fragile human as your husband? Do you think I would enjoy watching you go through the same thing I did?”
“That won’t happen. I can protect him. Rhys can heal him. I have as much of a chance of growing old with him as I would with a witch.”
“And then what? Do you plan to have children with the man?”
“Maybe.”
Medea harrumphed and looked away from her.
“What is this really about, Medea? I don’t believe you’d deprive me of a man I loved simply to save me from a possible future where he dies before I do. The three of us have been around a long time. We don’t age like the humans here or even the witches of Darnuith. We were born in the Garden of the Hesperides and have a tree that roots us to that immortal power. Have you ever considered that Rhys will likely go before Circe too? If you insist we insulate ourselves from any future hurt, you deny us any relationships aside from each other.”
Her sister’s eyes grew wet with tears. “I’ve already been sentenced to that fate.”
Isis balked at the admission, watching Medea’s walls crumble and vulnerability show in her slumped shoulders. Across Pierre’s sleeping body, Isis pulled Medea into her arms. “I’m not going to leave you alone. You will always have me and Circe and Rhys and little Endora too! You’re my sister! I will never remove you from my life, not ever. But you must know that adding Pierre will only grow our family and increase those who truly know and care for you.” She took Medea’s hands in her own. “I know things have been hard for you since Tavyss and Phineas were murdered. I know you are still grieving what happened, and I don’t blame you for resenting me for what I did to you, bringing you back—”
“Did to me? You resurrected me. Who could blame you for that?” Medea looked away, unable to meet her eyes.
“You could blame me. Bringing you back shredded your heart. If we’d left you in the beyond…”
“None of us knows for sure what would have happened. Our power has always come from our connection. You and Circe might have been weakened or lost your powers completely. You might have been captured by Eleanor. I know why you did what you did, Isis, and I don’t blame you for my pain, although I can’t deny feeling it.”
At their feet, Pierre moaned.
Medea sighed heavily. “If you want this man, Isis, and you truly believe in him, you have my blessing. You don’t need it to do what you want to do, but I give it to you freely anyway.”
Isis pulled her into a firm hug. “Oh, thank you, Medea!”
“Are you strong enough to carry him home? He’ll heal better in his own place.” Medea cast a soft look at Pierre as Isis gathered him into her arms.
“I will find the strength,” Isis said.
“I love you, sister,” Medea said. “You must know that all of this…trouble…I’ve made for you, it comes from a place of love.”
