“We are of the earth and seas.”

“We are born of magic.”

“We are born of magic.”

“We are Sisters of the Beast!”

I repeated it with them, and we all cried, “We are Sisters of the Beast!”

The cyclone grew stronger around us, slapping our clothing against our bodies, whipping our hair in our faces.

Then it flew up, carrying us off our feet several feet up into the air.

“Hold strong!” I yelled, surprised by the strength of the spell, for it was an important casting, but I’d never experienced this kind of power when in the thralls of it.

The twister forced our bodies tight together, and my sisters and I kept hold, even as a burst of energy exploded between us. It and the maelstrom rose up to the skies, whipping the branches in a frenzy above us, tearing the dying leaves from the trees while departing us.

We dropped to the earth, and our linked hands held fast kept us together and on our feet.

“Holy goddess, what the fuck?” Jasmine asked from close.

I looked about us.

All our guards were close.

The men were scowling.

Hera was smiling.

Jasmine was eyeing me.

“Sister, you are something else,” she decreed.

She was wrong.

I was not.

I looked to Silence and Farah.

We were something else.

With the astonishment I saw on their faces, I understood they knew it too.

We all smiled at each other before I let them go and linked arms with both of them, turning them back the way we came.

“Let us return.”

The guard fanned out again and we sisters walked.

“That was…that was…” Farah stammered.

“Amazing,” Silence breathed.

“I wish I could take you both to The Enchantments with me,” I told them. “I have a feeling you’d love it.”

“I have already been there, so I know I would,” Silence said. “It would just be all the better to be there with friends.

“I had never thought to journey there, but now…” Farah trailed off.

“When this is all done, we will meet there. One day,” I vowed.

“We will,” Silence agreed.

“Absolutely,” Farah said.

“With Ha-Lah too,” Silence said.

“All four. In celebration. When we vanquish the Beast,” I declared.

“I hope she is all right,” Silence put in. “Things did not seem a’tall well with her when she left with her king.”

“I will seek her, just to sense her, make sure she is all right, and when we meet on the plane, I will share,” I told them.

“If she isn’t?” Silence asked.

“We’ll figure it out then,” I murmured.

We walked.

After a time, Farah broke our silence.

“Can I…do you mind…can I…?”

She did not finish.

“Can you what?” I asked.

“True is not sleeping well,” she said on a rush.

I looked to her and Silence bent in front of me to do the same.