She pointed at Thieron, which was strapped to my thigh. “While I’m happy to hear that, what is that thing still doing on you?”
“Ah… Kind of a long story.” I sighed, offering an awkward smile. “I promise, it’s nothing bad.”
“Then explain,” she shot back.
“He’s keeping it for Death until she’s free,” Eira interjected, slightly alarmed by how this conversation had descended from joy to all kinds of motherly suspicions.
“Wait, what?!” My mother gasped, her eyes huge and golden. Her reaction made my father laugh. He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, pressing his lips against her temple for a hot second.
“Nuriya, my love, relax. If our son says it’s okay, we have to trust him,” he replied.
“Yeah, but Thieron—”
“Honey, he just saved us from destruction,” my father interrupted her. “Cut the kid some slack. Go back to being his mom tomorrow, if you really want to reprimand him. Let’s just take this moment in, for now.”
As if suddenly reminded of where we were, my mother softened before my very eyes, a warm smile stretching across her face. It felt incredible to see her like this again. Less than an hour ago, she’d been grieving my father and worried sick about me and the rest of the world. It couldn’t have been easy for her to bounce back to this state.
It was in our most primal nature to stay on the defensive until all peril passed—often, we remained on edge even after it was gone. But our troubles were over. The cut on my back had already healed, thanks to Kelara’s scythe touch, shortly before we’d left her with Death, Nightmare, and Dream.
“What will you do next, Eira?” my mother asked.
Eira shrugged. “I’m not sure. I suppose I should head back to Cerix at some point.”
“You’d leave us?” my father replied, sounding downright offended.
“I… I don’t want to,” Eira conceded, giving me an apologetic look. “I’m just not sure where my place is. Where I belong.”
“Well, technically speaking, you’re both Cerixian and a Hermessi child of that world,” I said. “But you’re also a pretty big part of my life, and I’m sure you’ll be given an honorary GASP member title, too. Your contribution to our victory is undeniable. We wouldn’t have made it without you.”
“That’s my son’s way of saying he loves you and he doesn’t want you to go away,” my mother said, much to my horror. I gawked at her for a moment, wondering what had set her loose. She gave me a wink in return, as if that would fix it.
Eira, however, didn’t seem at all surprised. “Yeah, I kind of figured that one out already,” she replied, a smile fluttering across her lips. “I suppose I could stick around for a little while longer. I mean, my father, whom I might not see again, since he’s back at his usual Hermessi status, will look after Cerix. I’m not really needed there.”
“We’ve established diplomatic relations with your planet, though,” my mother said. “Surely, you can go visit whenever you want. The witches will set up a portal as soon as this whole mess clears out.”
“Meanwhile, I’m more than happy to help out here and in the other parts of the GASP federation.” Eira sighed. “I’m sure you’ll need all the assistance you can get to rebuild and reassure people everywhere that the danger is over.”
My father nodded. “Plus, there’s the matter of returning the Hermessi children to their worlds. New civilizations to reach out to. We’ll be quite busy in the next few months.”
“You’ve got a kingdom to go back to,” I reminded him. “If anyone needs to reassure the Fire Star fae that everything will be fine, it’s you, Dad. Last time anyone saw you there, you were out cold inside a crystal casing, under the Hermessi’s influence.”
He grinned. “Yeah. Imagine the welcome party I’ll get.”
Being here like this made me wonder what fate had in store for us next. After The Shade’s early, dark, complicated days, after Azazel’s bloody reign in Eritopia… after Neraka’s Exiled Maras and soul-eating daemon fiends, and after Strava and Ta’Zan’s overly ambitious plans… we’d just dealt with cosmic entities that had been determined to destroy us all.
They’d almost succeeded, too, and would have, had it not been for our determination and stubbornness, our refusal to just lie down and die. Of course, I had to give thanks to Death and the Reapers. I had a feeling I’d see them again soon, since I still possessed Thieron. But I couldn’t help but ask myself, what would come next? What did the universe have in store for us?
Was there peace on the horizon? A period of zero conflict and nothing but prosperity? Or was there an adventure brewing somewhere, eager to suck us into it, somehow? I hoped, at least, that there would be no more war in the near future. By now, especially after what we’d just been through, it felt like the universe had given us more than our fair share of that.
Eira took my hand in hers, discreetly demanding my attention. “Shall we get back to the grand hall? I’m sure everyone wants to hear our version of the events.”
I kissed her, ignoring my parents completely. It felt as though our souls had been irreversibly linked, and I could no longer part from her, not even for a moment. The thought of Eira sticking around filled me with a different kind of joy. Deep down, she knew she didn’t really belong on Cerix, as much as she loved that world. She’d been made to be a wanderer, much like the rest of us, and I knew she would enjoy exploring new planets and cultures with me.
Blinking slowly, she smiled. “I take it you want me to stay, then,” she whispered, and I nodded enthusiastically.
“What’s the hurry?” I replied.
“No hurry whatsoever. Now, let’s get to the grand hall before Derek and the others send the search parties out to get us,” my mother interjected, slightly amused.
Much like me, she couldn’t wait to get the briefing part out of the way. We all had better things to do. A lot of sleep to catch up on. Plenty of time to spend with the people we’d almost lost. In the back of my head, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the likes of Brendel and the Spirit Bender.
They didn’t understand why life was so precious, just the way it was. They couldn’t appreciate the beauty in a single blade of grass. The sweetness of one’s smile, just upon seeing us. The joy of feeling the breeze through the redwoods. All they’d wanted to do was stomp it all, because they were miserable and lonely in ways that no one could ever fix. Brendel had conditioned the Hermessi to serve her, but I doubted any of them were truly and wholeheartedly into the ritual. The Spirit Bender had lied and manipulated his way toward revenge, simply because he’d been unable to accept his fate.
This kind of rationale was toxic and tiresome, the sign of a miserable existence. Had they won, had Spirit and Brendel pushed through with the ritual, they would’ve eventually discovered that there was no happiness or contentment in killing and destroying entire worlds.
They were gone now. And they would never bother us or anyone else again. The universe had regained its balance, its forces in check and pushing forward. There was something to look forward to, something involving Eira and me, along with my parents, my friends, and every single creature who had resisted the Hermessi’s onslaught.
The future was ahead, and it was beautiful and promising once more.
Amelia
My eyes peeled open, slowly adjusting to the moonlight pouring through the window. The silken curtains shuffled in the midnight breeze, dancing and casting shadows across the treehouse walls. I’d been in a similar state before, I thought. In bed, melting in Raphael’s arms. Only it had been daylight. And it had been a dream.
Smiling, I took a moment to adjust to the much sweeter reality. This was better than Phantom’s dream world, even though I was still bound to the night, as a vampire. Taking deep breaths, I reveled in Raphael’s musky scent. He stirred, his hands moving beneath the soft, satin sheets. A low growl left his throat, as he reacted to my presence.
Outside, the nightingales sang the night away, their trills echoing through the redwood forest like unending melodies of good times gone by and better times to come. A werewolf howled at the full moon, and others were quick to join him. People laughed, somewhere nearby. It had to come from Derek and Sofia’s treehouse.
They’d made a habit of throwing late-night dinners for themselves and their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren. After basically losing them in the ritual, the entire Novak clan had grown tighter, closer to one another. Vivienne and Xavier were in attendance tonight, as well, along with Lucas and Marion. The rest of the family was scattered across the In-Between and the Supernatural Dimension on various missions.
