Soul of a Rose: Clash of Goddesses, Book 2 by S.D. Huston

Author:S.D. Huston [Huston, S.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Literary Dawn Press, LLC
Published: 2022-01-03T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Rose ground her teeth as the light faded behind her, tracing the blue-lit path back the way she had come. The voice in the back of her mind yelled at her.

“What are you doing!”

Ignoring the voice, she asked her own question. “How could I have ever been fool enough to trust Ana?” Failinis padded behind her, a high whine threading through the darkness. His nails clicked on the rocky surface. “Whist!”

With the hound irritating her further, hot blood raced through her veins faster than when she had raced against the king’s horses. Pressure built inside her chest, and even though she had just hushed the hound, she halted and screamed with frustration. As the sound faded, Failinis nudged her balled hand open, his wet nose cold against her palm. The movement deflated the strength of her emotions, and he sat, his panting an even rhythm in the quiet that enclosed them.

Rose wiped her hand on her tunic while threads of thought jumbled together, creating a knot in her mind. Lugh’s words came to her again. “Please don’t blame your mother for having loved someone who had been undeserving. Blame the Morrígan.”

The Morrígan. It all came back to her, and Rose had allowed herself to be gullible enough to believe and love her. Slapping her fist into her palm, she stomped through each step as she moved back toward the entrance to the Hill of Time.

They had all been deceived—even her sister, who tended to be more wary. Had Lily’s natural wariness protected her from feeling as betrayed as Rose?

A glimmer appeared a few paces ahead, and Rose slowed. She had thought going back would stop the visions, but even as she tried to skirt the light where it bled into the dark cave, it sucked her in. She guarded her thoughts, hoping only to be a bystander in what unfolded, perhaps gaining new insight to these immersive visions.

A shuffle-quick shhhs shhhs preceded the salty scent of the ocean, and the onslaught of a bright summer day wrapped around Rose. A sharp sound of a panicked voice punctuated the air.

“Marigold!” Lily ran along the coastline, her lithe body leaning into the sprint then turning back toward Rose, her eyes darting along the small waves. Marigold’s abandoned dress, a lump of pale yellow on the wet sand, ruffled in the breeze.

Failinis ran forward, sniffing the discarded clothing.

Rose merged fully with the scene, running against an incoming wave, diving beneath the surface. The shock of water dragged at her green dress. Pieces of floating sand scratched across her face. The sensations fading quickly, Rose gripped tight against the panic clutching her heart. Her arms moved languidly in the water as she swam beneath the surface, searching for Marigold.

When her lungs screamed, she kicked her legs and swam up, gulping sweet air the moment she broke free of the water, before slipping beneath the waves again. She pumped her legs harder, propelling her closer to the sandy bottom, scanning the litter of rocks and floating seaweed for any sign of Marigold’s white tunic.

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