| Table of Contents |
|---|
| Chapter 17 l Chapter 18 l Chapter 19 l Chapter 20 l Chapter 21 l Chapter 22 l Chapter 23 |
| Chapter 24 l Chapter 25 l Chapter 26 l Chapter 27 l Chapter 28 l Chapter 29 l Chapter 30 l Chapter 31 |
| Chapter 32 l Chapter 33 l Chapter 34 l Chapter 35 l Chapter 36 l Chapter 37 l Chapter 38 l Chapter 39 l Chapter 40 l Chapter 41 |
Ragna
It was dark.
Once I fell to the ground, it was dark and I felt something, floating?
My daughter, I could feel her. I was in her arms as she carried me.
I’ve never been afraid before. Not like this.
I thought I was facing death once or twice but that was different.
My death was here, right now.
My real death.
Not like folks get more than one.
Right?
Would I even deserve a second chance, if offered?
Maybe I did? Maybe I’d get a reprieve?
The falling sensation didn’t help, of course.
Though, after falling, things were calm.
Before this moment, everything was going numb.
My vision, my hearing, even my sense of touch was vanishing.
But still, through all of it, I could smell something. Does that make sense?
A coppery smell, strong, pungent and familiar.
The smell of blood.
I think it was the sound that came to me first. Then I could feel something.
A sensation of a cold hand moving over my face, clearing my hair from it.
“...Oh, it does pain me to see you in such a sorry state,” I heard a cool yet powerful voice speak over me.
I opened my eyes slowly.
Before my death, my vision would take time to focus or adjust. But now, the moment I opened my eyes, I saw everything around me.
Above me, I saw a dark violet sky, soft pale lights emanating from plants, buildings and even from the one who held me.
My eyes moved to hers, her violet irises shifting to meet mine.
She wore silver robes, her large white wings stretched out behind her. Her delicate long white hair framing her immaculate face as she gazed down upon me.
While there was some sorrow in her eyes, I could see she was mostly happy.
The black crown on her head, it’s three spires reaching up high, told me all I needed to know about who was holding me.
My birth mother, Persephone, had finally gotten her hands on me.
I sat up slowly, “Send me back…” I said, weakly.
“So quick to die again, are we Melinoë?” Persephone asked.
I narrowed my eyes on her, “Since you’ve never done anything for me, do this one request!”
Persephone’s eyes narrowed on me, “I’ve never done anything for you?” She scoffed, “Child, I have done more for you than you could possibly know.”
I let out a short chuckle, gritting my teeth as I tried to investigate my surroundings from her lap, “Like what?” I hissed.
I felt us rise up as Persephone stood, carrying me in her arms.
She walked towards a glittering palace. The stone looked like granite, flecked with shimmering stones and beset with dark stained glass windows.
A garden of bizarre plants held within it multiple statues of Gods, old and new. Some statues showed merely the Gods themselves, others showed events.
As we passed by one, I couldn’t help but notice a certain dragon.
It appeared to be Zelletia, complete with horrific tendrils ripping from her form. Facing her was a statue of Persephone, with a small figure on her shoulder.
“Yes, that is Zelletia,” Persephone explained, “When she first died she came here, as all dragons used to. I cast her into Hellfire with the help of your Aunt Eris.”
I flinched at that, Eris my aunt? How? Why would she help with such a deed? Why didn't she aid me in my own fight against Zelletia sooner if Eris had faced her before? So many questions swirled in my mind.
But one pressing matter needed attention first: “Please, let me go home,” I pleaded.
“You are home,” Persephone explained as she walked, carrying me as if I was an infant, “You’ll find that time does not function the same way here, as a note. That will be important for you to understand later.”
I growled, “Put me down, at least! I can walk on my own!” I snapped.
“Can you? Fine then,” Persephone set me gently down on a walkway leading to her palace.
I took a step, my legs shaking beneath my weight. I nearly toppled over as I held my balance precariously.
I turned, briefly, to see if my wings were still cut from me, even in death.
I managed to confirm they were gone, just as I fell to the ground.
Persephone remained by my side, I could feel her gaze looking down on me.
I tried to push myself up to my feet, a glance at my arms showed me how weak and thin they were.
Every ounce of strength was sapped from my limbs. But still, I tried to collect myself.
“No need to put on a strong front here, dear. This is the end. This is Death. You’re with me, you’re safe,” Persephone whispered calmly.
I screamed.
I clenched my fist and slammed it down into the ground.
The stone was unyielding, my hand bouncing off of it, sliding to the side.
Though unbruised and uncut, it still hurt even as I uselessly hammered my small fist against the ground.
At some point during my breakdown, Persephone had knelt over me, her wings encompassing me as I cried out in vain.
I turned to her, blinking tears from my eyes. “What?! Now you get to keep me, is that it?! Now that I finally failed, now that I’ve let everyone down I’m just here to be your little pet?! The one you always wanted?”
Persephone let me shout for a few moments before she spoke. “I have you here, because you are my daughter. A daughter whom, despite my best efforts, I've never met. Something you should be able to relate to now, yes?”
I glared up to her, “Did you… Did you somehow cause Zepherina and I to be separated? So I could learn that lesson?!”
Persephone’s face changed from that of calm patience to anger, “Do not think I would waste my power to inflict such pain on you intentionally, Melinoë!”
“That’s not my name!” I yelled.
“It is, because it’s the name I gave you! And your adoptive parents named you Sellenia, yet you reject that name as well! You adopted the name Ragnarök, shall I call you that? Do please tell me,” Persephone chided, “For I know not my own daughter’s whims!”
I looked to the shimmering stone beneath me as I stared at my thin fingers, splayed out powerless over the ground, “...Call me nothing. It’s all I amounted to.”
“Oh please!” Persephone snapped, “You are not one to beg nor garner pity. You, regardless of name, are my daughter. Act like it.”
I gritted my teeth as I clenched my fist along the hard stone, dragging my fingers against it, “Would me razing a city make you feel better?”
“It would be a welcome change to the sad display you’re providing me now, Daughter,” Persephone reasoned.
I glared at Persephone, unsure what I could say as my eyes locked on hers.
Persephone heaved a sigh, “I will admit, I’ve not much experience in motherhood.” She knelt next to me, her hand resting on my shoulder. “But I know what feeling powerless is like. It’s not a state the likes of us can carry well.” She let out a deep sigh and silvery strands of light rose from the ground around me.
I gasped as the light penetrated my body, or spirit? It felt cold and warm all at the same time.
A sharp pain struck my back and I gasped as I felt my wings emerge.
With them, I felt my physical strength return. At least, a fraction of it.
I got to my feet, looking at my black wings. Without even waiting to say a word, I attempt to shift into my ascended form.
Nothing
“You were still transubstantiated. You only now have an echo of your former strength because you are now tied to the Underworld, as I am,” Persephone rose, towering over me as she looked down on me, “A strength that will grow in time, the longer you remain here. This place is, after all, yours by birthright.”
I looked around, examining my body and my tattered clothing. I was missing my armor, all I had on was the padding beneath.
Like tattered and soaked pajamas.
I flexed my arm, finding my arms no longer spindly, but at least appearing as sculpted as I had them in my former life.
Persephone looked me over, “Hmm, yes that is not your style at all, is it?”
A cool glow overcame my clothing.
In an instant, I was dressed in a pair of calf high leather boots, loose fitting black slacks and a left breasted blue jacket.
My hands were gloved and I felt a high necked shirt from under the jacket. Turning behind me, I saw the jacket had ornate tailcoats and slits to allow my wings to slip through. I huffed as I appraised the outfit.
“I’ll take the silence to mean I’ve read you well enough,” Persephone stated as she walked past me, “Always dressing more like a prince than a princess.”
I narrowed my eyes on her, “Says the ‘Queen’.”
Persephone wasn’t moved by my jab.
I followed her, not sure what else I could do. “You are Queen here, of course. So there must be something you can do for me,” I reasoned.
“I am Queen of all you see, daughter,” Persephone said as she glanced over her shoulder at me, “All of the Underworld is my domain.”
We walked into the palace and I couldn’t ignore the grandeur of it. The garden of statues was one thing, but the staircase leading into the grand foyer was another.
Not only were there grand staircases, glittering chandeliers, ornate carvings and pillars, many glittering sprites and fluttering creatures floated within.
Many pillars had beautiful flowering vines climbing up along their length, all the way to the ceiling. Colors of flowers I had never seen, some fluorescing in the strange light calmly leaking from the chandelier.
In the center of the foyer was a grand fountain, where many of the fluttering creatures and glowing sprites congregated.
“What are those?” I asked, pointing to the sprites.
“Some are fairies, some are spirits who followed neither Heaven nor Hell and chose to exist here,” Persephone explained, “Those who sought Pagan beliefs and traditions. Those who found themselves to be more in tune with nature and the earth than anything else,” she smiled weakly, “They come to me, at their final hour.”
“Somehow I feel like I’m an exception,” I remarked.
“You are,” Persephone confessed, “I had to pull some strings to bring you here. I bribed a reaper, just so you know.”
“A reaper?” I frowned.
“Yes. The Ferrymen of the Underworld. They traverse souls from the mortal realm here and there,” Persephone said with a sigh, “This reaper I had to bribe using young Evangeline.”
I clenched my fist.
“Ah, yes. She made choices after I let her go,” Persephone turned to me, “You need to understand, my dear: Time does not affect us as it does the mortal plane. A minute can be an hour as it can be a year, on a whim. There is no connection. To some the destruction of Dei was but a fortnight ago, to others it’s an eternity,” Persephone smiled, “How time passes here? It’s in the eye of the beholder.”
“So, between time manipulation, your power in the underworld and your ability to deal with life and death… You must have some way to send me back!” I tried once more to plead for a way to rejoin the fray.
“You’re dead, Daughter. Let it go. Enjoy the afterlife. You needn’t commit yourself so hard to the land of the living now that you’ve left it,” Persephone reasoned.
“My daughter is still there!” I snapped, “And unlike you, I will not just sit back in the Underworld and do nothing!”
Persephone paused and I felt the air chill.
The fluttering sprites all rushed away as the temperature in the room grew colder.
The flower petals on the vines wilted, some fell.
The fountain’s waters grew black before they froze over.
“Nothing?” Persephone hissed as I felt a frigid wind blow over me. She turned to me, anger in her violet eyes as she closed the distance between us.
I stood my ground, glaring up at her, “Name one thing you’ve done for me, as my mother. Just one.”
Persephone glared down her nose at me as she took a measured breath to calm herself, “You know not what I have done, and tried to do, for you.” Persephone sighed.
“Then show me and send me back there!” I demanded.
“You ask me to send you back? As if it were a favor? All I could do in this regard is to send a soul back through the mortal world to inhabit a fresh vessel,” Persephone narrowed her eyes on me, “Meaning the best I could do, is have you reborn as an infant. Somehow, I doubt you could do much against your brother in such a state. Besides, when I have done this for you before, it hasn’t worked out.”
“Done this for me before?” I frowned, “What do you mean?”
“You are ignorant of the favors I have granted you,” Persephone snapped her fingers, “But allow me to reunite you with my former favors.”
I was about to speak before I heard an all too familiar voice call out from behind me.
“I’m so glad to see how healthy Zepherina turned out. I must say, the Heavens crowed for days about her birth. The first Angel created from science rather than from nature alone,” the cynical and calculating voice called out.
I turned to see Moira, my lover from Adridia.
Her soft blue hair was short as always, her face thin and body lithe. She wore a garb of a pale blue overcoat and slacks, a simple white blouse under it.
“M-Moira?” I whispered.
“Yes,” she chuckled as her skin changed tone, shifting bluer, “And more. Your mother granted me a favor, since me and her go back aways.”
I was confused as I watched Moira’s form grow into a blue Niten Dragon.
From her black horns to her smooth scales and blue eyes, I could never forget that face.
“Hey, Sellie,” Soardoria smiled warmly.
I rushed to her and hugged her tight.
Soardoria hugged me and sighed, “I know, I know… We just never seemed to get the time we deserved after Nite.”
I gritted my teeth, “I took in your granddaughter…”
“Yes, Scalia, I know,” Soardoria chuckled. “It broke my heart when you found my resting place on Nite.”
I winced at the memory.
“It’s why your mother let me go back, we tried to time it right to meet up with your path,” Soardoria explained.
I pulled away, blinking tears from my eyes. It was confusing, as I didn’t feel the tears, but still they came.
Soardoria brushed the tears from my eyes, “I’m sorry it didn’t work out. I… I really wish we had more time.”
I frowned, turning from her, “I… Soardoria, I don’t know how to say-”
Soardoria cut me off, “I know. Rachel,” she chuckled, “I’m happy for you.”
I looked at her longingly, “I always thought of what could have been, had you survived.” I paused. “Had you survived either time.”
“Me too,” Soardoria smiled, “Both times.”
I turned to Persephone, “...The other Rex Dragons, where did they go?”
“Many are here,” Persephone explained, “We have a grand library where there is one or two you might remember.”
Soardoria frowned, “It’s… probably best you not see them, though.”
I let out a soft chuckle, “I doubt Vekloden would be pleased with me, right?” I glanced up to Soardoria.
Soardoria had a mixed expression. Both concerned and empathetic.
“...You’re not very pleased with me either, are you?” I asked.
Soardoria sighed, “You sent a lot of people your mother’s way.”
“Do not act as if they were all so innocent!” Persephone interjected, “A respectable number deserved everything Melinoë gave them and more! Do not make me recount how many failed Uriel’s judgments!”
I turned to Persephone, narrowing my eyes, “Tell me who burned.”
Persephone chuckled, “There’s my daughter.”
I flinched, as if catching myself falling into old habits.
Soardoria sighed, her hands on my shoulders, “I know they were cruel to you, Sellie. But you didn’t need to prove them all right.”
I frowned, closed my eyes and shook my head, “No. Soardoria, I won’t just walk back everything. I made mistakes, sure. But plenty I put to the blade deserved to fall.”
Soardoria sighed, her hands slipping from my shoulders, “But it’s not up to you to decide. You’re not God.”
“Not yet,” Persephone whispered.
I froze, turning to Persephone.
Persephone’s grin was that of a cat who caught the canary. “...Do you think I didn’t notice your followers, dear? Those who praise you, the Dark Angel? Their sacred herald of reason and honor?”
Soardoria stepped away, “Sellie?”
I turned to Soardoria, unsure what would happen next.
“I love you always and good luck in what’s to come,” Soardoria forced a smile.
“Wait-” but before I could say anything, she vanished.
Persephone’s hand rested on my shoulder, “She doesn’t understand. You made the choices you made with good reason.”
“I don’t need your support,” I snapped, pulling from her.
“I’m merely letting you know, or reminding you, that you have it,” Persephone’s tone shifted as she looked me over. She sighed, her form shrinking dramatically to the point where she was now much shorter than me. “Despite your best efforts, I am your mother.”
“Only by blood,” I chided.
Persephone chuckled, shaking her head as the fountain melted and the sprites slowly fluttered back in, “I have yet to be told the name you prefer, Daughter.”
I followed Persephone as she walked through the foyer, moving towards a large hallway leading out into what I assumed was a courtyard. “Ragna,” I sighed, “I’ve been Ragna the longest.”
Persephone hummed knowingly, leading me out, “Indeed you are. The budding Goddess and bringer of the End Times: Ragnarök.”
I turned from her.
“You might have hidden the fact that you had prayers coming your way on the mortal plane, my dear. But, the immortal realms of Sheol and Heaven were quiet privy to your devout followers flittering about the cosmos.”
I heaved a sigh, “And?”
“And what?” Persephone turned to me as we approached a doorway to the large courtyard, “Gods come and Gods go, my sweet Ragna. From Egyptian to Greek and so on. Some gain power, some shift from old pantheons to new ones as belief shifts with them and some remain in practice from the beginning,” Persephone grinned, “But eventually every God must retire. Something you’ll discover soon enough.”
“I hid my power again,” I chided myself, “Maybe if I didn’t-”
“Your heart was broken,” Persephone said as she opened the doors to the courtyard of her palace, “You couldn’t face Xyphiel with the same power you faced your father, Lucifer, with. Of that much, your brother ensured.”
I clenched my fist.
“I feel your anger. It is those closest to us whom cause us the most harm,” Persephone flicked her wrist, “Cerberus, do come to me.”
A man rose from the ground.
He was an angel of sorts. He had blond wings, pale skin and darting amber eyes. “My Queen?” the accent was odd, I had heard a form of it from my mother once.
“Ah, good, Elijah,” Persephone smiled, “Do me a favor and go fetch the Fairy Queen for me? Tell her that my daughter has finally arrived.”
The angel Elijah turned to me and smiled, “Yuki raised you, didn’t she?”
“Yes. Are you from Dei?” I questioned.
Elijah nodded, “That I am. Your mom, Yuki, we went way back.” He turned to Persephone before he bowed and sunk back into the floor.
“Not every Dei angel sided with your father, you know,” Persephone explained, “Elijah even served me well in life.”
“How… Nice,” I frowned, thinking of what I would be in for and if I was trapped here.
I took in my surroundings, looking at the glowing trees around me. Frolicking among the grass and flowers were a number of small creatures. Some had tiny horns, others were fluttering on gossamer wings.
One such creature rushed over to me, “Oh! The princess is here!”
I frowned as more rushed to surround me, “Princess?! Excuse me?!”
They began to giggle and chant happily at my presence.
“Ipswella?” Persephone whispered.
The first little creature, Ipswella, giggled and bowed before Persephone, “Yes, Goddess?”
“Do not overcrowd the Princess. She’s only just arrived,” Persephone advised.
“Do not call me a ‘Princess’,” I growled at the little creature, though half of that was directed at Persephone.
The little creatures giggled like scolded children before rushing back into the trees and grasses of the courtyard.
They appeared to be playing games or otherwise enjoying themselves.
“What are they?” I asked.
“Fairies. Formerly imps,” Persephone explained, “Those who followed me became Fae. Those who followed your father became demons, though their attitudes didn’t change much,” she turned to me, “I believe after Hell opened up, Malik found you, yes?”
I nodded.
“Loyal creature, that one,” Persephone smiled, “He served me well.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure Malik served you very well, Pat!” I heard another voice call out.
I turned to see Teryn or what I thought was Teryn.
A beautiful woman with Teryn’s face and large pink wings floated before me.
“Teryn?!” I gasped, eyes wide.
Teryn giggled, “Oh, I am not used to hearing my old name! What’s up Sellie?”
“That is not-” I was stopped by Persephone.
“I’ve spent the better part of my eternity trying to get her to stop calling me ‘Pat’ and I am the Queen of the Underworld,” Persephone advised, “Give up now. It will be easier.”
I sighed.
“Pat knows the deal,” Teryn chuckled.
I smiled, “Well… it will be nice now that you’re here,” I sighed, “This has been overwhelming.”
Teryn winced, “Yeah… It’s not getting better Sellie.”
I frowned.
“So uh… You remember my husband, right?” Teryn stepped aside.
My heart froze and my eyes widened.
In all my years, I had all but forgotten what his face looked like. His tired blue eyes set against his red scaled skin, his robes holding onto his sunken shoulders so listlessly. The dark horns jutting from his head.
It was my brother. My actual brother.
Kriggary!
“I knew it!” I shouted, rushing to him and hugging him tight, “I knew it… Y-You couldn’t be him! That monster… You were… You were here?!” I asked, pulled back, “How long? Why?”
Kriggary’s eyes were cast to the ground, “...I am that monster. Do not think otherwise, Sellie.”
My smile faded, “Kriggary…”
Kriggary lifted a clawed hand up, glancing to Teryn and Persephone, “May we have a moment?”
Teryn smiled, moving to Persephone, “Come on Pat…”
Persephone and Teryn left us alone.
“I don’t understand… You’re not Xyphiel. I can see that. Your eyes, you don’t have-” I was cut off.
“I am Xyphiel,” Kriggary said, a stern look on his face, his teeth gritted, “What you see before you is my guilt. My sorrow. My remorse. Even then… I’m an echo of what I once was.”
I frowned, “Kriggary…”
“Do not think me some… saved portion,” Kriggary hissed as he shook his head. “I am aware of what I have done. I am guilty of all of it,” Kriggary growled.
“No!” I shouted, “Kriggary don’t say that, you couldn’t have done those things!”
“I did!” Kriggary’s voice echoed through the courtyard. “Every soul killed, every horror and atrocity I performed, it was me!” Kriggary whispered, “I need not your pity. I seek not salvation, for I deserve none!” Kriggary’s voice cracked, “I had my chance. Once. And rather than take it, I earned the mantle of the Unforgiven.”
I swallowed hard as Kriggary spoke.
“I am here, now, only to satisfy Teryn’s wish to speak to me before I remit myself to my final task,” Kriggary whispered.
“What task?” I asked.
“What I was supposed to do, all those years ago,” Kriggary spoke softly, glancing to his hand where the Seal of the Scribe Lord pulsed weakly. “A task I’ll take on forever. In silence and solitude. Deservedly so.”
My brow furrowed, “Kriggary, we can still-”
“My chance at salvation slipped away,” Kriggary whispered softly, “Between my fingers and because of my pride,” He looked me in the eyes, “You may yet have a chance. Do not let it slide, Sellenia. If I have done no good at all since I was pulled away from my power, let it be this: Heed my words, please!” Kriggary’s voice shook as tears leaked from his eyes.
“Kriggary… I don’t understand. What was done? Maybe I can convince my mother or-” I was cut off.
“No,” Kriggary snapped, “Sellenia… I weep for fear of my punishment, but not aversion to it!” Kriggary took a deep breath, “Part of me will suffer, part of me will vanish,” his jaw trembled, “It is all I deserve. Nothing more. But you? There’s still a chance, slim as it is, for you to make the right choice.”
“I… I think I’m at the end of the line, Kriggary,” I frowned.
“You yet may be,” Kriggary whispered, “But, all I can say is this: Have Faith.”
I looked Kriggary up and down, pursing my lips as I did so, “...I’ll try.”
I heard Persephone shouting in the courtyard, “You will allow me the time I was granted!”
I turned to the shouting, glancing back to Kriggary, “Come on, lets see what-”
I paused, shocked.
Kriggary stood still, skin pale and solid.
Under him was the seal of the Scribe Lord, pulsing a soft white glow. But the rest of him appeared to be nothing but a stone statue.
“K-Kriggary?” I whispered.
There was no response.
“Queen of the Underworld,” a chorus of voices sung, “This is the will of none other than He, Our Father,” the voices rang out through the courtyard.
I rushed towards the sound to see Persephone, at her full stature, facing off against Gabriel in their full Seraphim form.
Gabriel’s heads were snarling, glaring down at Persephone as they floated over the courtyard.
Persephone rose her hand up, vines crawling along the courtyard, the canopy growing denser, darkening the air, “My daughter has been here for the blink of an eye. You will grant me the time I requested.”
I rushed over, “Stop!” I shouted, standing before Persephone.
Persephone paused, the fire leaving her eyes for a moment, “Ragna? Leave us, now!”
“No, she is who I need,” Gabriel informed.
I sighed, turning to Gabriel, “What is going on?”
Gabriel landed as the canopy above us cleared. “You are requested, Daughter of Pride and Spring. Daughter of Light and Death,” Gabriel stated, “In the High Heavens.”
I frowned, “Why am I to go to the High Heavens?” I asked.
“It was a Decree of Our Father,” Gabriel explained, “I asked not for the reasoning behind His plan.”
Teryn chimed in, “The ineffable one?”
Gabriel narrowed their eyes on Teryn.
Teryn giggled.
Gabriel’s three heads turned to me, “Daughter of Pride, you will come with me,” Gabriel opened their hand to me.
I frowned as they did so.
“She will be returned here, when you are done with her,” Persephone countered.
“I can make no such promise,” Gabriel answered.
“Gabriel… You and Duma’s reapers traverse my plains happily and Uriel holds his courts here. I am not making a request of you,” Persephone spoke, her wings glowing white as the vines began to grow denser around us.
“Our Father holds all of the Heavens and Earth in His domain,” Gabriel countered, “What Our Father says is law.”
“The Heavens and the Earth,” Persephone hissed, “But if you are to imprison my daughter, or if you harm her in any way, all of Sheol will rise up to claim her.”
Gabriel landed, approaching Persephone, towering over her as they narrowed their eyes, “The last ruler of The Underworld spoke similar words. Do you wish to share his fate as well?”
“My husband Lucifer fought a war to take over Heaven,” Persephone growled, her eyes glowing violet, her pure white hair shimmering along with her white feathers, “I will fight to bring my daughter home. I am asking you not to force my hand, Golden Herald.”
Gabriel growled low, “Do not think you can win any war with Heaven, Persephone, no matter how powerful your forces are.”
“I have held far more powerful angels than you within my hallowed halls at the behest of Your Father!” Persephone’s voice boomed as the vines grew darker, glowing with an ominous presence, “Do not think such an act was done only once! I shall decorate my halls with the souls of Angels as trophies should you try to steal my daughter away from me now!”
“Mother!” I shouted loudly, feeling an echo of my old strength pulse through me before I nearly collapsed to the floor.
