Cora stared out the window, wondering what she could do for the coven. They were going to have to move. The whole coven. They had been in that town for over a hundred years. It was their home.
And did she even belong after all this time? She wasn’t sure about that anymore. The coven would never give up the coven mentality. However, the more she stood outside of the group, the more she realized she no longer craved the community. She wanted the freedom Druciela enjoyed. No judgment. No rules. Just freedom.
Not that she’d truly tasted it yet. No, she’d been locked up inside for the moment. She didn’t want to be tracked or taken back to any of the bullshit she’d left, so she stayed where they asked her to stay.
“What are you thinking about?” Druciela asked.
Cora turned to her and let out a breath. “The more I think about things, the more I want to try living out here, on my own.”
“I have room in my home.”
“I have money. I can rent until I figure out if I like it here.”
Druciela nodded. “There are a lot of things you can do here too. I’m sure with my daughter getting ready to have her own child, she’ll be doing less real estate, if you’re interested in working with her.”
“Really?” Cora asked.
She nodded. “I could ask her to come over.”
“Here?”
Gina moved back to the living room. “I’m okay with Dacia coming over.”
“What if the guys find the doppelgangers?” Cora asked. “Do you want her here for that?”
“Oh, they’re going to run into a dead end, I believe,” Morrigan stated. “I can help them find the bastards, but I would prefer to wait until my sister can join me.”
“How long before that happens, though?” Gina asked.
Morrigan bobbled her head back and forth. “At the rate you’re growing, I would think two or three days.”
“What?”
“Well, I imagine you should be in labor tomorrow. And then a day or so for her to reach adulthood.”
Gina blinked. “That’s fast.”
“Aye, it is, but she has the capability to push the growth much faster than you would ever anticipate.”
“I have acted as midwife in the past.” Cora offered a smile. “I’ll do anything I can to help.”
Gina nodded. “Thanks.”
Druciela smiled. “If it happens as fast as I think, and you’re here, you will be helping. She’s probably thinking about the fact there are many in Edenton who will help.”
Gina nodded.
“Understood. I’m an outsider.” Cora sank into a seat.
Gina sat down on the table in front of her. “It’s not that. I don’t like feeling like I need all kinds of help. I’m just weird like that. It’s not you.”
“I get that. I started pulling away from everyone when Anthony killed Daniel. It’s been hard to get back to needing others. But the way you all work together is more a community than my coven has been in generations.”
Morrigan nodded. “It’s weird. I feel more connected to you all than any other group in a long time.”
“Maybe because your sister is here,” Gina said.
“Yes, but I can’t talk to her yet. I do feel her presence, which is comforting.” Morrigan moved to Gina with a smile. “You aren’t afraid of what we are?”
“Should I be?” Gina asked, her brow wrinkled.
“Morrigan and Badb, as well as Macha, were part of the trilogy of goddesses called the Morrigan. War goddesses. They were both feared and worshipped.” Cora let out a breath. “Though who knows how close the stories were to the truth.”
* * * *
Gina knew enough about the stories, but humans had a different view than the Fae did. Some of the old Fae had moved to Earth long ago and were seen as gods because of their magic. Some were exiled, some were born there.
She didn’t understand why she could remember things before becoming a werewolf, but the night she was turned was a blank. Probably for the best, as everyone had told her. And everything after, at least until Emily fixed her head, was gone. Again, for the best.
But she remembered the stories her father told her when she was little. About where they came from and what they were. And the Morrigan were fierce warriors who protected their people and helped those who needed it in battle. They weren’t evil, they weren’t dark, they weren’t the bringers of death.
Though the losing side often believed they were evil.
“I believe most people believed worse about Badb and Morrigan because they were on the wrong side of the war, or they saw them and didn’t understand their true purpose.”
Morrigan nodded. “Often the case. That was a long time ago, and if you haven’t noticed, I’m far more interested in stopping a small group of beings whose sole purpose is the destruction of a town or village. They believe they are gaining power, that they are becoming more and more enlightened, but they are stealing magic and destroying the land and people in it. And the stories of people disappearing from a town, or land? A lot of those are the doppelgangers as they leave to take on a new form. Those cities just fade away, the people fading to dust.”
“Such as?” Cora asked.
“Roanoke is maybe one of the more famous ones. There are plenty of stories in other places in the world of disappearing civilizations over the years. All because the Fae chased them out of our world long ago.”
“Interesting,” Cora muttered. “But why aren’t you in Faery?”
She smiled sadly. “I spent much of my youth on Earth, because most of the Fae fear the power I can wield. I’m a Storm Mistress. As are my sisters. We can do things no one else can do. There isn’t much we aren’t capable of. Few have tried to control us and learned quickly why that doesn’t work.” Morrigan let out a breath. “All of that is in the past, and all you really need to know is that we want to live without being forced into a role we don’t want.”
“I take it that goes for your sister?”
“She was never forced in such a way as they tried to force me, thankfully. She found love, and she was happy for centuries, until the Doppelgangers came in and tore everything away from her.” Morrigan let out a breath. “I wish I had been there. I would have helped stop it then, but I’ve learned enough about what can kill them over the years. And now that she’s coming back, I have to ensure they are truly dead and gone.”
“I’ll be happy to be done with them for good,” Gina announced. “They nearly took my mate’s life once, and now their leader wants to finish what he started, but I won’t allow that to happen.”
I won’t let it either, Badb assured.
She smiled and glanced down. Having another being listening to her every word was unnerving but comforting at the same time. They had the same goal. “Badb agrees. Look, neither Morrigan nor Badb are the problem. They are going to help us save your coven.”
“I know. Old stories. They get stuck in my head, and it’s hard for me to see past that.” Cora shook her head. “Just like trusting mages is hard for me. Or werewolves. Or anyone, really. We were told too many stories about Others besides witches hunting us down, as well as humans.”
“Yes, well, you won’t find that here,” Druciela assured.
Gina reached over to squeeze Cora’s arm. “We are very welcoming of all types. Including those of us who come to them broken and damaged.”
Druciela met Gina’s gaze. “No one saw you as broken or damaged, just healing. And now, we all see you as part of our community. It wasn’t hard with the way Mark pulled you in.”