Caspian chuckled when Zane moved closer, his red eyes wide and glimmering with fatherly tears. He couldn’t even speak, his big arms wrapped around Fiona and baby Sophia. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his daughter’s forehead. Sophia cooed, drool bubbling in the corner of her pink little mouth.
I was crying, too, though I’d only realized this now, upon hearing my own sniffing. Caspian held me close, while Benedict and Yelena joined Fiona and Zane’s tight hug. Fiona’s cheeks were red with shame as she looked at her parents.
“I’m sorry… I really am,” she said.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” Benedict said.
“Honey, we have to understand her. It’s her kingdom, too,” Yelena cajoled him.
“But she’s our daughter!” he shot back, unwilling to let go of the grief and sorrow he’d experienced upon thinking Fiona would die here.
Yelena frowned. “And she is Zane’s wife and queen.”
“I tried to get her to leave,” Zane said. “She’s a stubborn little thing.”
Benedict let a deep sigh out, shaking his head at Fiona. “Yeah. I wonder where she gets that from.”
We all knew it was Yelena’s hard-headed nature that Fiona had inherited. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” Fiona replied, smiling at her father. “We’re okay. That’s all that counts. We’re going to be okay.”
When Benedict and Yelena let go and moved back a couple of feet, Fiona had them hold Sophia for a couple more minutes, so she and Zane could come and hug Caspian and me. The four of us broke down, embracing one another and thanking the heavens for having brought us together again.
“I can’t believe we made it,” Fiona murmured.
“Shall we call it a miracle?” Zane replied, still crushing Caspian against his broad chest.
“Taeral. It was all Taeral and his crew,” I said. “Though, if I’m honest, I think Death would’ve fixed this without them asking. Even the Reapers have said the fae’s demise was unnatural.”
“What will happen to the Hermessi now?” Yelena asked, glancing around.
There were quite the festivities unravelling around us. Daemons, Manticores, and Imen hugged and kissed each other. Cheers erupted from the crowd and rippled across the sky, and I could almost swear that the entire planet was celebrating with us. I could feel the joy riding on the winds. The laughter trickling from nearby rivers. The murmurs of relief coming from the woods…
“I think they’ll go back to just being elements,” I said. “They’ll focus on what they are: agents of life, of nature.”
I wondered about Ramin. The war was over. The power was gone. Would I ever see him again? Would I get to say goodbye, at least?
“That sounds great,” Zane said, staring somewhere in the distance, over my shoulder. “Only, there’s a big flaming fella’ headed our way.”
“Oh, that’s Ramin,” Fiona replied. “It’s got to be him…”
My heart jumped in my throat as I turned around. Indeed, Ramin was coming towards us. A figure made of amber fire, the flames licking at the air around him. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, gazing at him as he reached us.
“How are you still manifesting like this?” I asked. “I thought—”
“I’m on my last legs,” Ramin replied, his voice echoing inside my head. I briefly checked Caspian and the others. I could tell, from the looks on their faces, that they, too, could hear him.
“You made it back,” Caspian said.
“I was on my way to Neraka as soon as I sensed the ritual had hit five million,” Ramin explained. “Granted, I didn’t know whether I could do anything to stop its destruction, but I wanted to try nonetheless.”
“Luckily, you didn’t have to,” I said, smiling. “Thank you, Ramin, for everything you’ve done. You were instrumental in our victory, in our salvation. I’ll never forget it.”
“I wouldn’t have made it without you, Harper,” he replied. “We won’t see each other again after this, I’m afraid, but remember: I’m the fire that will never cease to burn. Whenever you’re here, I’ll know it. I’ll sense you. For you alone, Harper, the blaze will be brighter.”
I swallowed back another round of tears. “I’d hug you if I could but… you know, vampires and fire don’t really mingle.”
“Your kindness is enough for me, Harper. Be well. I hope our paths cross again, but only in the best of circumstances,” Ramin said. “Until then, I will be here, watching, listening, loving every single breathing creature in my Nerakian kingdom, thanks to you and your friends.”
Words weren’t enough to express how much Ramin meant to me. As he bowed and simmered into the hard ground, vanishing from sight, I felt an aching pang in my chest. I’d never see him again. I knew it, and so did he.
But the moments we’d had together would never be forgotten, for they’d helped strengthen me. They’d helped shaped our path to salvation and victory against Brendel and the Spirit Bender.
“We can finally sleep again,” Fiona said, taking Sophia back in her arms and showering her with soft, loving kisses.
“First, we must celebrate,” Zane replied with a devilish grin. All his daemons seemed to agree, as they broke into cheers and laughter. “For as long as our bodies can hold us, we should give thanks and clink our glasses for having lived through this.”
I, for one, wanted nothing but three days’ worth of sleep, given everything we’d gone through. But hanging out on Neraka and partying with daemons, Imen and Manticores didn’t sound all that bad, either.
“I’m all in for a party,” Pheng-Pheng exclaimed, emerging from the crowd.
Unable to contain myself, I took her in my arms, laughing. “We have all the time in the world, now, don’t we?”
It wasn’t in Pheng-Pheng’s nature to get all soft and cuddly, but this time, she’d let herself go, hugging me back and tilting her head back to look up at me. “All the time in the world,” she repeated after me.
Her mother and siblings were safe. My family, my friends, too. Our allies, our people. We’d all pushed through, beyond the limits of everything. Fortune had been on our side, giving us the opportunity to live through another day, and many more after it.
We were lucky. And we would never take that for granted.
Taeral
