“No. I’m a Sila. We’re a type of Jinn, an Arabic spirit that’s unusually intelligent and can shapeshift. My body can’t stay on earth for extended periods of time, which is why I had to leave you when you were a baby. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.” Her dark eyes were heavy with sadness.
“Wait, what?”
“I would have stayed, if I could. But you had your father.”
“He’s dead now.” The piercing sensation she’d normally get when she thought of her father was dulled by the morphine feeling of being in this white cloud.
“I know he’s gone from earth. I see him, now that he’s on the other side.”
“He’s happy?”
“Oh, yes.”
Vivienne smiled, calmly packing that little tidbit away. “If I’m not in heaven, where am I?”
“The aether. It connects the here and nowhere, the earth and the afterworlds. Your soul just escaped Erebus. It returned to your body as soon it escaped. You’ll wake up soon, once your body readjusts to housing your soul. As long as you are in the aether, I can visit with you.”
“Will I ever see you again?”
“Probably. You’re part Sila. If you were full-blood, you’d have grown up with our characteristics. As a half-blood, you adopted them in adulthood. The change was probably spurred on by your proximity to Diana when she went through her own change, and completed when you were dragged to Erebus. All that magical energy gave you a jumpstart. Because you’re a half-blood, I don’t know if you are immortal like other Mytheans. But when you die—if you die—your soul will probably join your father and me in our afterworld.”
Vivienne smiled. This really was the loveliest place and the loveliest news.
And her mother was the loveliest woman.
CHAPTER FORTY
Diana opened her eyes to the chaos of Warren’s office. They’d appeared in the corner of the room, Andrasta’s arm wrapped around her waist for support.
“Can you no’ create another portal or something?” Warren asked Esha, who paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. Her hair was askew and her cat was striding closely behind her.
“No! Damn it, Warren, I’ve already told you that. If I could do something, I would have.”
“Are they always like this?” Andrasta asked out of the side of her mouth as she glanced at Diana. She’d removed her arm once she’d realized Diana could support herself and they watched the room’s occupants argue. It was like watching a hurricane, but the undercurrents of tension suggested there was more than just a storm brewing between Esha and Warren.
“No. Where’s Cadan?” He was the first person she’d looked for and he was nowhere to be found.
“I don’t know. I thought this was your headquarters of sorts so I brought you here.” Andrasta had eyes only for the fight raging in front of them. “Nothing so passionate ever occurs in Otherworld. I wish—”
“Diana! Oh, thank gods, you’re back.” Esha rushed toward her and gripped her in a tight hug. The cat lay down in front of the fire as Warren relaxed against the desk on which he was leaning. The tension leaving the room was almost palpable. Esha spun toward the goddess. “Ana! You saved her!”
“Where is Cadan? Did Vivienne make it?” Diana asked.
Esha drew back. “Ah, well.” She hesitated. “He’s still in the chamber. We couldn’t get him to leave. But Vivienne is fine.”
Relief rushed through her at the news that Vivienne was fine, but something in Esha’s expression made Diana’s insides cramp. “Why? How bad is that? Why’d you leave him?”
“It’s been almost a week, Diana.”
“A week?” The breath whooshed out of Diana’s lungs. “What do you mean? A week since we went in?”
“No, more than a month since you first went in.” Esha tried to push her down into a chair, but Diana resisted. There wasn’t time to be sitting if Cadan was in that chamber. “Time passes much more quickly in Erebus. It didn’t affect us when we were only looking in. But when you went in fully, you became subject to it. Warren and I left the chamber once you went in, since I can feel when the energy of the portal changes. When it was about to close, Warren and I went back. But only Cadan, Vivienne, and the boy came out.”
Diana’s mind reeled. To lose weeks when it only felt like hours? What was Cadan doing there? She felt Andrasta rub her shoulder to comfort her, but the gesture was awkward, as if she knew why one would do such a thing, but not how.
“Diana?” Vivienne’s voice sounded from the doorway. “You’re back!”
Her friend ran to her and threw her arms about her.