❝ i’ll have to leave that up to you. ❞
“ that is a dangerous thing to say and an even more dangerous thing to do, ” arden said quietly as she looked at the other goddess. most of their kind had long memories and most of them remembered what had happened a long time ago when arden had crumbled, when she had quietly shattered and something darker, more dangerous had taken her place. arden did not like to think about this, did her best to keep every memory of discord, possessing her under lock and key.
what the other was asking of her would have been a small matter, a long time ago. maybe it would have even been something arden would have volunteered for. but … not anymore. she was afraid on a deep, on a fundamental level. she had failed everyone once and while no one had dared to blame her for what happened, she had always blamed herself. it should not have happened to her of all people, but then it had. and eons later, she was still cleaning up the mess.
squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin in quiet defiance, sherry shook her head. “ i will not get involved and i won’t return, ” she said softly as she glanced down at her hands. it felt strange to reject the olive branch the other had been sent to deliver to her, but … she had always been one for contradictions. “ give my regards to everyone, but … i’ll stay right here. it’s safer for everyone. ”
even if she missed the people who held parts of her damaged heart. even if she desperately wished to go home, to hold her lover’s hand as night fell and to walk next to her father in the golden sunlight. but returning now, getting involved? a recipe for disaster, for discord. and arden did not want things to get worse for everyone, even if it meant that she had to remain in exile.