12
Gia was aware of the aching discomfort before anything else. It was unlike the sharp and more concentrated pain she’d experienced from the various wounds and injuries sustained from centuries of service to the Mother. This was more widespread, an insistent dull throbbing that spread from head to toe.
She took a cautious breath, drawing the air deep into her lungs. The tight band around her heart unwound, spinning into the aether as she inhaled the clean scent around her. There was an underlying moisture and fetidness she welcomed after the oily smell and metallic taste of the air in Sheol.
She was home.
Gia felt Diana before she saw her. Her sister’s inherent heat was palpable, even from a distance. After the cold emptiness of Sheol’s wasteland, it was a welcome sensation.
“Di,” Gi
