The Final Kingdom - Chapter 13

<-Chapter 12

Virginia awoke to a curiously calm feeling inside her heart and soul that told her it was time. It seemed an odd sensation in many ways. She had felt it before, but it had never felt so permanent. When she left this plane, there would be no coming back. She had fulfilled her role as Lead Defender of her generation at last.

Her husband's arm tightened around her waist, and she automatically turned over to snuggle closer. "You know," she murmured as she smoothed her hand slowly across his chest, "I really should have woken up this way every morning after we met again that one summer."

Michael snorted softly. "You will never let me live that down." He twisted a lock of her red hair around his finger. "We both know that things happened for a reason." He lowered his head to kiss her and then said against her lips, "And we suffered equally in the years that followed, so we're even."

"I have no desire to argue with that." She walked her fingers up his arm. Strong Caretakers could be a pain in the ass, but they were also wonderful to hold and be held by. "You know, I am rather curious. I know you were celibate after we parted—just as I was—but didn't anyone ever try to change your mind? I find it hard to believe no one would make an attempt. You were rather popular back in the Royal Era, too."

"A few tried," he admitted candidly. "I just wasn't interested. Really, Gin. How could anyone compare with my Carnation Dual Cultivator?"

She kissed him contentedly for that. "Well, to be fair, a few tried to change my mind as well. Most of them I ignored because, honestly, I've long been used to the effect I have on people. A few times, mostly out of pique at you, I did go on a date that got as far as sharing a meal but I just absolutely couldn't tolerate anyone near me in a romantic way except for you."

He tugged her over onto his chest and linked his hands at the small of her back. "Alright. I'm going to confess something and also ask something."

"Huh-oh."

"I kind of had someone watching over you on occasion." He grinned sheepishly when her brows lifted. "Just once and while. I know about your not-so-sordid attempts at not-really-love-affairs, and I'm curious why they stopped right after the Chaos War."

"Well, frankly, it was Siobhan."

His brows shot up. "How so?"

She sighed wryly and fondly. "Well, obviously, she knew you existed as soon as she got her memories back. She determined I must have met you during my art sabbatical, given my reaction coming home, and she decided it was time for an intervention to find out everything." Her head dropped onto his chest. "She got me drunk and pried the entire story out."

He fought back laughter that welled. "Of course she did."

"She then proceeded to bend my ear as I dealt with a hangover and tell me that since I knew my soul mate, I should just bide my time until I felt it right to go chase him down—and if I took too long, then she would do it for me because, hey, some laws did still exist and she would hold me to them or else." She was smiling as she lifted her head again. "Fast forward only a few months, and the Andromeda War began that led us to remembering the Commanders and tracking you down."

"And you were more pissed than usual when you found me."

"Do admit I was entitled." She sighed gustily. "You do realize I blame Beth's overly sensitive heart on you, right?"

He smirked slightly. "That's fine. I blame her tendency to meddle on you." He smoothed her hair out of her face, and his eyes softened. "You're ready."

Very." She took a long breath. "I don't have to ask if you are. I don't think I'd be ready if you weren't." She cupped his face tenderly. "Others wait for us on the other side. I can't lead my team if I am not there, and I wouldn't want to lead without you by my side."

"I have no intentions of ever being anywhere else." He released her and smiled as she slipped out of bed. There really was just something Carnationites that made them naturally sensual in everything they did. Virginia didn't even have to try; she had it down to a literal art. "I can't imagine why Shana got you naked on film first."

She snorted as she got dressed. "I wasn't first."

"You weren't?"

"Nope." She grinned. "Want to try to guess who was?"

Taking a wild stab in the dark, he said, "Siobhan?"

"Close. She was second, tied with Rocky. Alexandria was actually first."

"She was?!" His brows shot up. His little sister's beautiful collection of photographs across five millennia included stunning figure studies of all Elder Cultivators, Commanders, Resurrection Cultivators, and the younger generation's Caretakers—yes, even Chance. "I always assumed you surely had to be the first one, given you have been a model for as long as you've been an artist, and that Alexandria had been the last who gave in due to peer pressure."

"Nope, she was first, and she was first because Shana pulled out the most potent weapons she owned."

He winced wryly. "She did the lip thing."

"And tears."

"Ouch!" He got out of bed and started dressing as well. "Glad she spared me that."

"Honey, she doesn't need them with you or Sam. You two turn to mush with her and Siobhan. The fact that you were the second Commander she got naked after Sam is really no surprise." She grinned. "And in case you wonder the order of how we first round of studies fell, it was Lex, Rocky, Siobhan, Kellie, Desiree, Clara, Juliet, Sherry, Yvonne, Edgar, and then me. Yep, I was actually last, because Shana felt I would be too easy a subject and she had to think about how to make the image more challenging for us both."

"So she covered you in nothing but paint and gave you glass statues and orbs to interact with."

"It took six hours for me and Desiree to get that paint on me perfectly." She smiled. "A time well spent in the end. I loved that photo more than any other because it was so me."

Once they were dressed, they headed out of their borrowed room and went downstairs. Virginia could sense Beth near, and they went outside. Out front, under an apple tree, Beth and Terry were sitting to watch the nearly invisible sunrise. Nothing touched but their hands, and yet they exuded intimacy. "Good morning," Virginia said.

Morning." Beth got to her feet and turned to face her and Michael. Try as she might to smile, her lashes were damp. "It's hard," she admitted. "It's really hard." She pressed her hands to her heart. "Terry and I . . . we can't shut it out. We can't turn off the pain of our friends or of our worlds. But I'm going to do this. I'm going to be strong enough to be the daughter of the Lead Defender of the Rebirth Era and the Commander personally chosen to protect High King Evan Delphinium."

Michael felt his heart ache as he caught her messy braid and tugged lightly. "Off hand, I think you've already proven how strong you are, in many ways. You sass your own Lead." He smiled. "Always a mark of strength."

"She lets me get away with more crap than the others," she admitted. "Possibly because we've known each other longer than she's known Raine."

"Really?" Virginia's brows went up. "I didn't know that."

"It's true." Beth smiled. "We don't remember not knowing each other. We were maybe one when we met. Even then she was bossy! Theo was added when we were three, and Raine when we were five. We came together without even knowing."

"Oddly, that isn't surprising."

Beth took a long breath and covered Terry's hands when he wrapped an arm around her waist. She would not have had the strength to endure without him. "You're ready. I felt it when I woke this morning. Tell me where you want to go, and I will take us there. It's easier for us Resurrection Cultivators to handle the transporting because we're stronger. Less stress on our world."

"There's only one place that I really want to see." Virginia smiled and leaned over to murmur in her ear. "Can you find it?"

"Naturally." She held up her hands and magic swirled around them warmly to carry them away to the Delphinium Kingdom and the palace therein.

They landed amid the ruins of what had once been the grand courtyard behind the castle. The sky there had also covered with darkened clouds. Plants and greenery were dead and dying. A formerly glorious fountain stood in broken array. Terry grimaced slightly as he looked at the scene. "Alright, whose déjà vu am I getting?"

"Mine, sorry." Virginia blew out a breath and walked toward the fountain. She began to smile. "My memory is here." She turned around, and there was a twinkle in her gold eyes. "I'm sure Mike knows where I'm going with this."

He sighed deeply but he was smiling as well. "I had this feeling . . ."

"This ought to be good." Beth's mood lifted as she felt their humor. "Do tell. What did he do?"

"Why do you assume I'm at fault?" her father complained.

She snorted. "Because I'm not stupid?"

Virginia laughed outright. "Well, the story started somewhere else, but it made a turning point here." She linked her hands behind her back. "I was seventeen when the Commanders were appointed to Evan and Robert. Just seventeen, actually, given I am the eldest of my generation, as Lead always is. Right from the start, Maxim and I were at odds. Constantly striking sparks hotter than our Glass element, always butting heads. I sort of had a suspicion why, but I really didn't want to think Destiny would give me a soul mate that was, well, like me. Almost four years later, the Elders of that time were lost to us. I ended up toe-to-toe with Max again, as we had been all along, but a little more, uhm, volatile given I had just turned twenty-one?"

"She broke my nose," Michael told Beth and Terry helpfully. "Right hook to the face. Talon and Sabin laughed their asses off at me when I went to have Kacey heal it. Which," he sighed, "I had earned. The punch and the humiliation alike. Something I'm willing to admit now but back then I was not quite so willing."

Virginia linked her hands behind her back. "Your father, in all his intelligence," she told their daughter gravely, "decided that the best way to embarrass me would be to make me fall in love with him and then humiliate me. He set out over the next four years to basically always rile me up and have me always thinking about him. Problem with that, however, was that I had already suspected him to be my soul mate, and the more I fell in love, the more sure I became. Honestly, everything I wanted to dislike about him, I actually really did like because I enjoyed having someone keep up with me. Let me put it this way: if the deck had fallen in a different way overall, I would have absolutely picked Shana as my second choice for a soul mate."

"Uh-oh." Terry grinned. "So what happened when adulthood kicked in?"

"He cornered me right here while I was visiting, and he riled me up again. As usual. Now, please note it was days after my birthday, so I was definitely feeling the full force of my emotions for him. We got to arguing, of course. Again. I don't remember over what; we've never needed much of an excuse. We're too much alike. Anyway, he made some snide comment about my suitors and how I was toying with their hearts. I told him that I wasn't toying with them because I didn't want them. Somewhere in that," she rubbed the back of her neck, "he got me mad enough that I blurted out I was in love with him."

"You're a jerk," Beth told her father solemnly.

"I was," he admitted candidly. "But mostly because I genuinely didn't have any idea why she got under my skin so fast. She had been provoking my heart for near a decade by then, and my hormones for roughly half that, and I just didn't realize why. Evan tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. Please note: if even the damned Proteans can see something, then you really should listen!"

Terry desperately fought humor. "So noted? You completely missed the obvious, huh?"

"Yeah, you know how we've always teased Chance about not understanding soul mates or love? I can't honestly harass him personally because I completely missed it as well. That 'Cultivators only fall in love with a soul mate' thing went right over my head." He shook that same head in wry humor. "Landed in a strange place when she blurted out that she was in love with me. Triumphant because I had succeeded, and then guilty because she really should love someone else, and sort of proud that I had won the Lead's love. Damn weird blend of emotions, and I fell onto smugness and generally being more of a jerk."

"I threw him into the fountain for it." Virginia sat down on the edge of the broken side and smiled. "Wiped the look off his face fast. I decided that, well, if he wanted to play that game, then I would damned well play that game, too."

"You made him mad enough to blurt out he loved you?" Beth asked.

"Actually, I snuck into his room in the Protea Castle one night and seduced him."

Beth covered her mouth with a hand before she burst into laughter. "You would."

Virginia clasped a hand to her heart dramatically. "I was in love, you know, and I wanted to just enjoy that before I found a real suitor. I promised to say nothing about it, of course, so it would be just our secret. And I absolutely kept that promise, I have to say. We had one hell of an incredible night together, I snuck out before dawn, and said not a word—though I suspect maybe Delilah knew. I think she saw me in the hall. Anyway, I went home and asked to re-review my suitor list to decide who I would allow to advance to the next level of courting. Someone, who shall remain nameless, went a bit crazy with jealousy when he caught word."

Michael scowled. "To be fair, the first thing I heard—from Navi of all people—was that rumor said the Carnation Crown Princess had begun to entertain the idea of accepting one of her suitors. I tried to tell myself it wasn't my business, but, damn it. I knew otherwise. The part of me already your Caretaker kept yelling that you had given yourself to me and therefore anyone else did not deserve you!"

Terry fought as hard as Beth to not laugh. "How'd it come to a head?"

"He of the great wisdom over there lost any sense of subtlety. Every party we attended together—which there were a lot of—he would find the most ridiculous excuses to remove me from my suitor's side. It was terribly obvious that someone was in love and not handling it well. I feigned ignorance, of course, and just kept on pretending like I had no clue. Then came a big party on Carnation some, hmm, three months after my birthday. He lost his temper in addition to his lost subtlety, and he literally pulled me out of my suitor's arms and said, and I quote, 'that I had given myself to him first and he would be damned if he let me go to someone else.'" Virginia beamed. "So, basically, he outright told my entire kingdom that we had been lovers, which, as you both recall, there are laws about. Everyone on Carnation, my parents included, found the entire thing funny as hell. Oh, and that suitor I had been entertaining? In on it. The whole time. So suddenly Max has gotten himself unwittingly betrothed to me, and followed me through the castle to my rooms, panicking the entire time. Rather adorably, because you know what his concern was? Me. That I was stuck with him now."

"Aw!" Beth smiled. "And?"

"I let him rant and vent and alternate between anger and terror until he was in the perfect state, and then I basically did to him what he had done to me, and got him to admit he was in love. He took that well, actually, and realized that he would never have gotten that far in if he hadn't been in love with me all along."

Beth smiled and leaned against Terry. She felt honored to know something this important about her parents. "And the fighting never stopped thereafter."

"We're just too much alike." Virginia took Michael's hand and let him tug her to her feet. She reached up to frame his face and smiled. "I've never regretted a single minute. I'm not sure that we'd be happy if we couldn't fight with each other. We enjoy being temperamental, and for all the fighting we do, we have never hurt one another." She took a long breath and turned around. "I've walked into every war knowing that my life may end. Twice, it has. I don't fear this, Bethany. You will be here in my place. I know you will be fine."

"Then you're ready."

"To go to the Core of Carnation? Yes."

The Core of Carnation was located, perhaps a bit appropriately, underneath a former beauty shop in the capitol city. The hatch had rusted shut, but some patient chipping finally freed it enough for it to be opened. Michael and Virginia jumped down first, and Beth jumped down after them. Terry knew better than to try. He climbed down the ladder and looked up as the hatch closed behind them. It was now pitch dark, and he conjured a ball of majik so they could see.

The only thing around was a long tunnel. They walked down it slowly, no one entirely sure what they would encounter when it was said to be a trial. It seemed to go on for a mile until a point of light appeared. As the light grew stronger, the spell grew weaker. At the place where they met, the spell winked out.

They found themselves standing in front of a massive door carved from familiar wood that had been inlaid with rose quartz. A central carving of a carnation blossom had been surrounded by carvings in all other languages across the universe that represented the Glass Flower Element.

Beth lightly touched the door, and she began to smile. "You know, I'm suddenly making sense of everything. Apple wood and the red carnation and the rose quartz . . . they're all symbiotically linked. Red carnations are pride and beauty and love, and apple wood is youth and beauty and innocence, and the rose quartz is love and art. So of course we of Carnation are known for being enchanting, and for being loving, and for being artists. We couldn't be anything else."

"Explains also why someone gets cranky at being called 'old'," Terry murmured.

"Watch it, kid. I can still kick your ass," his mother-in-law retorted.

A presence stirred around them. It was soft, welcoming, and feminine. It felt familiar to all of them for they had all sensed her at some point or another in their lives. Very softly, Virginia said, "Destiny. I did not expect you here."

The door shimmered with all the colors of life and then began to ripple with the red and gold of Carnation. I feel before me the Mother and Daughter of Carnation. Who is it who comes to make the final sacrifice?

"I do." Virginia stepped forward calmly. "I am the Mother of Carnation. I have come to give back my life and magic to the planet that brought me forth. I give myself in place of my daughter so that she may fulfill whatever need you have of her."

Then you must make the first sacrifice. The sacrifice of mind. Your memories will remain here as you travel, and they will slowly leave you as you progress. You will remember only the people you love but not any experiences you shared with them.

After having just heard how important her mother's memories were, Beth barely managed to bite back a cry of protest. Was that why they needed to undertake journeys of memories? To prime them for this moment? How was it fair? She bit her lip and said nothing.

Michael smoothed his hand down her hair and then stepped forward. "What of me?" he asked calmly. "I am here to give my life and magic to follow my Cultivator to the next world. My twin soul has left this plane. Nothing binds me here."

Your sacrifice comes in the end, Michael. To reach the Core, it must be Virginia's sacrifice to open the way. But your dedication and your vow are heard, respected, and expected.

Virginia touched his arm and then stepped toward the door. A glow centered at her chest and it pushed forth with her Life Orb. Its many facets shimmered against their white veins, and it almost appeared to be shaped like a heart. It might have been whimsy, might have been purely an illusion, but it seemed appropriate. It floated toward the door, the two merged, and they dissolved to reveal the path beyond.

It was painful to walk forward, but she made her feet move even when she felt her memories bleeding away from her mind. The little things went first. The small events that hadn't seemed important. The blur of faces from the hundreds of people she had known who had somehow influenced her life. There were more than she had imagined.

As her steps progressed, the memories gained in importance. It was memories of the Dark world Cultivators and their Commander mates who left her first. She had been especially close with Sam for he was Lead Commander, and she had been closest to Alexandria of the Cultivators for it had been the Hyacinth Defender to step into her role as leader when she could not. She forgot her mischievous pranks with Diaz, and she forgot how Kellie had always been there to support her when her confidence lagged. Tyson and his spunk, Uwe and his quiet calm. Desiree, Clara, and Kellie. All of them were gone.

The Resurrection Cultivators filled her mind and slipped away. She had wept for them, had bitterly understood how they felt to be the only ones who could save the universe. She had been particularly close to Tasia because they were both Lead Defenders. And though the Resurrection Lead was much younger, Virginia had honestly looked to her as a role model. She wanted just a bit of her unflappable calm. In a few steps, everything went away.

It was her partners of the Light worlds and their own Caretakers who were taken from her next. There were hundreds of thousands of memories of them inside her! Three different millenniums but two different lives. Her best friends and her brothers. She forgot everything. Forgot chasing them with paintbrushes until they held still, and being chased in turn by Sherry and her sewing machine. Doug's beautiful music and Nathaniel's protective nature. They were gone before she truly understood how important they had been.

Across her mind, she watched her memories of Shana and Rocky flutter away. She and Shana had been banging their heads together for thousands of years as equal Leads, and Virginia had more than once been tempted to hogtie her friend if it would have done any good to keep her safe. Yet they had made a brilliant team on the field of battle or in a studio. Perhaps because, deep down, they had been a lot alike. And Rocky? He and his eternal cheer had always made her day. Oh, he had frustrated her almost as much as Shana, but you could never stay upset with him. And they both simply . . . faded away.

Siobhan and Edgar left her next. The queen she had sworn to defend and the king she had always loved like a brother. No doubt some reciprocity because of Michael, but she would have loved him anyway. He had been a calm voice of reason compared to his cohorts, and she had been able to trust him—most of the time—to keep himself out of trouble. And Siobhan. It hurt to lose her. Virginia had shouldered her role as Lead very young in both lives just so she could protect that most important person to her. Inevitably, they had yelled at each other, of course, with both being hot tempered, but Siobhan could always defuse her just by hugging her and then taking her for ice cream. If she loved anyone nearly as much as her soul mate, it was her beloved Sayena.

Or was it Beth? As her daughter's image filled her mind, she genuinely wasn't sure. From the moment she had met Bethany, she had known that she had found the daughter she had longed for. She was little bits Virginia and little bits Michael, as if Destiny had taken the best of them and created perfection from it. She forgot everything. Forgot helping her plot and plan birthday pranks. Forgot being taught how to actually use the Empathy inherent in their lineage rather than just be carried by it. Every moment was gone.

Michael's face crossed her eyes, and she stumbled over her own feet. How she loved him! They fought, they bickered, and they sometimes yelled and threw things, but she had loved him every minute. Reconciling with him in this life had been painful. He had left her alone, and yet she had forgiven him everything. She would have done the same thing in his shoes. Her soul mate. Her lover and her confidant. Gone from her mind as if he had never been.

She staggered and would have fallen if he and Terry hadn't leapt forward to catch her. The second door instantly appeared before them and shimmered patiently. Inside Beth, the Resurrection Cultivator could feel something throbbing hotly and powerfully. If she tried, she was sure she could see and feel Virginia's memories inside her. "Destiny?"

It is your final evolution. When this journey ends, your mother will no longer exist on this plane, but her very memories, emotions, reason for being, and strength will become your power. You will be her living legacy.

She drew a deep breath. "I accept her legacy." It was hard. The emotional pain digging inside Virginia had started digging inside her as well. "I've said it before, but it sucks being an empath."

All Cultivators of Carnation have Empathy in varying degrees, given the nature of their totems. It just boils a little stronger in you than most. Possibly because Love herself is rather fond of you, Bethany. Which is fitting, other things considered.

Virginia slowly straightened and found a smile. "I have to ask, Destiny. Who has more power? You or Love?"

"You do seem to work together seamlessly," Terry agreed.

Destiny's voice warmed. In the scheme of things, one could say we are all but equals, but I hold the final power in the end. We have something of an interwoven existence, though. We are twin souls, as I believe some already know. So, in the end, we could not exist without each other. Time is my oldest friend—fittingly so—but Love is my dearest. She gave a soft laugh. So one could say that when I work with Life on things, I am working with my own in-law.

"What of you, Destiny?" Beth asked softly. "Of all those in the highest echelons, only you do not have a lover soul mate. Or do you?"

I do not yet. He is born, but has not come to my side.

"He will someday," Virginia vowed softly. "You've earned it." She drew a deep breath. "I am ready to continue on."

Then it is time for the second sacrifice. The sacrifice of heart. As you progress, you will lose your love for all those around you. Softer, she added, It is a cruel thing to ask of a Carnationite to give up their love. It is not too late. You could go back.

"And if I do, it will be my daughter who must make the sacrifice." Her chin lifted. "Take of me what you will. I will not falter."

So be it.

A second glow formed at her chest and pushed forth a force that became a carnation blossom like her own fading Marks and her daughter's steadily sparkling ones. She watched without a word as the flower merged with the door and both dissolved to reveal another tunnel.

The pain was growing and spreading, sharper than ever because she drew power from Love herself in many ways. Michael's arm around her waist was what supported her. She knew that Beth and Terry had tears running down their faces, but she could not reach out to them. This pain would ease for them. She could be strong for them.

With every step, her love for those in her life seemed to disappear. The Cultivators and Commanders of the Dark worlds. The Resurrection Cultivators. All were gone. Her partners and the Commanders of the Light worlds . . . gone. Shana and Rocky . . . gone. Siobhan and Edgar. Something inside cried out at losing them. And Beth . . . the cry nearly sounded a scream. Her daughter . . . gone.

Michael's face loomed in her mind. For the first time, she rebelled. "No!" she shouted. "You can't take him from me!"

The third door immediately appeared and Destiny's presence was warm. I would never take a Cultivator's soul mate let alone a Carnation Cultivator's soul mate. There would be nothing left of you if I tried.

"Destiny?" Beth asked. "Are . . . Gail and Silas could not feel the Realm. So, those who are—are dying for this war . . . are they okay?"

Though the Realm is now sealed, they are safe. Those who give their lives cannot ascend until the Realm is opened. They will linger in limbo until the Realm is opened again.

"How do we open it?"

When that time comes, you will know.

Virginia drew a ragged breath and straightened as much as she was capable. Though she did not remember seeing the Resurrection Cultivators' collective skills, she as yet had knowledge of them. Somehow she knew they had gifts that would make the impossible possible. "What do you have left to take from me?"

The reason for your existence: your Seed.

She slowly nodded. "It is yours."

The third glow formed and brought forth her Seed. It floated forward to merge with the door, and both dissolved. She tried to step forward but her legs simply wouldn't hold her. Michael and Beth moved to support her, and she let them balance her weight only. She would not lean on them. Though the knowledge of who and what she was fled, the inner will and strength that made her a Lead Defender remained. She was the one chosen to be one of the strongest of her generation. She would not falter.

A point of light appeared in the distance and surged toward them. It became a doorway that rushed over their heads, and when the light cleared, they stood in a circular room. In the very center rest an immensely large rose quartz covered in red carnations slowly being eaten by the evil tar dripping from the ceiling. The Core of Carnation.

Virginia. Michael. Your time has come.

Virginia slowly straightened and walked on her own feet beside Michael as they crossed the room. The evil gathered itself to attack, but it was repelled by a red and gold shield around Virgin that turn into a blast that cleared the room. The Core gave a weak flicker in response. Tired. It was tired and sick, and both Beth and Terry could feel the millions of years' worth of pain in the planet. It had suffered so terribly!

Virginia climbed the steps to the dais and gently put her Mask and hands on the Core. She regretted nothing. Her Mother was sick, and she could help her. She let her lifeforce and remaining magic well and poured both into the quartz. Michael covered her hands with his and let his life and magic join hers. As both gave willingly, they began to fade. Everything came back to Virginia at that moment. She remembered and felt it all. Peace filled her mind and heart alike.

You are everything that is Carnation, Virginia. You are loving and passionate. Your beauty is as internal as it is external, and you even created beauty in your art for others to enjoy. You have been strong and proud, and you have done the sometimes impossible. Now you can rest. You have done all that was ever asked of you, even when you did not know you were being asked.

Virginia turned and held out a hand to Beth. When their fingers clasped, they could both feel the warmth of the touch. "I'm damned proud of you, Bethany," she said softly. "Never ever think you aren't worthy of being our daughter. There's no one else it could be. Stand by your Lead Defender. We can't be strong without those who support us."

Beth's lips trembled. "I've always stood by her. We won't let you down."

Finally, slowly, at last, Virginia faded away entirely, everything that she was returning to the planet that had given her life. Michael, too, faded away. The Core began to quiver and shake and then produced a glow more radiant than anything anyone had ever seen, and the flowers covering it started to blossom again. Beth could feel the pulsing warmth of Virginia's magic inside. It was her memories, emotions, existence, and life. She had become her living legacy.

Her Mask appeared and the sparkling surface mended all cracks. She could feel her Marks beginning to burn hot as her magikry expanded inside her body—but not her Empathy. She had been spared that, at least.

It is time, Beth, came Destiny's voice. You are powered by the oldest of magic, the rawest force of the Glass Flower Element. Take this destiny thrust upon you and bloom!

Beth donned her Mask, and a third carnation blossom appeared on her Defender Mark before both it and her Ruler Mark opened into full bloom. Her armor came to cover her, and it felt and looked stronger than ever. Strangely, lighter too. Terry almost couldn't breathe as he felt her power pulsing around him. Fully bloom, Beth exuded power like perfume, and it resonated through the air and into the majik of those around her. It felt, a little, like Virginia had never left. She was there, living inside her daughter, becoming the power that fueled her.

Her knees gave out and Terry shot forward to catch her. As he lifted her into his arms, she managed only enough will to remove her Mask. Emotionally and physically drained, she could not shield herself empathically. And yet . . . not being able to do so allowed her to realize that she could feel her parents still near. She felt them inside and in the air around her. They were not truly gone. She could not grieve for those who were still there.

Sleep, Bethany, came Destiny's gentle voice. To be the Guardian of the Glass Flower Element is no easy feat when you are made of rose quartz. Let your heart take a break for a little while. Her power began to surround them warmly. I will return you to the surface. The end comes soon enough.

You will help make the impossible happen now.

 

©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.

Chapter 14->

The Final Kingdom - Chapter 12

<-Chapter 11

 

Alexandria awoke to find herself sleeping on her stomach and her husband sleeping on her shoulder. A familiar way to wake for them, really. No matter how she slept, he found a way to cuddle her. The thought made her smile.

A calm had settled inside her. She was ready. Her time had come. It was a bit daunting and a bit painful, but she had no regrets. If she feared anything, it was leaving Shana behind. She knew her twin was strong, but she wasn't sure if she could endure a repeat of losing her soul mates again. There was so much riding on this battle. It would be the war to end all wars.

"Hey." Diaz snuggled her closer and his lips moved over her skin. "I can hear you thinking. What bothers you?"

She turned over onto her side so she faced him. His blond hair flopped in his eyes and she pushed it back out. "Nothing other than the obvious." She poked his nose. "You know I still haven't ever forgiven you for walking away when we were sixteen, right? There was nothing holding you back the way the other Commanders had been held back."

"Yes there was," he disagreed immediately. "There were the other Commanders, of which I was not even one yet. You did not recognize me and that meant rather logically that no one else would remember any of the Caretakers, and I sure didn't want to jog memories that had to be deliberately blocked. That wouldn't be fair to anyone. So I waited, and eventually Sam tracked me down because he's Sam, and he told me pretty much everything I had guessed. Sure, I could have gone to you right then, but I had stuff to put in order and, you know, you're pretty adorable when you're mad and threatening me because I know you are literally incapable of doing harm to loved ones. To coin a phrase, you're kind of full of air about that."

She wanted to be offended, but, damn it, he was right. "I've taken a swing at you more than once."

"And would have missed on purpose even if I hadn't dodged or blocked."

Laughter welled and she leaned forward to cuddle against his chest. "You really do have my number, don't you? And our daughter's. You wanted a 'cranky, can't-be-contained, does-what-she-damned-well-wants Hyacinth Ruler' for a kid and you got exactly that!"

"Sure, because the cranky is a cover for a gentle heart, the can't-be-contained is a given with an Air element, and usually her doing what she damned well wants results in everyone being better off because she would never hurt her loved ones." He tugged her head up and kissed her hard. "Just like her mother. Although I think I can probably be blamed for her, hmm, sassier than average commentary."

"Yes you can!" She sat up and looked around the room for moment. "It's hard to let go. There were still things I wanted to do. But . . . I'm fine with that. There are other things in our future within the Realm. Hey, for all we know, we can introduce electric carriages if they don't have them already and maybe still do what we do best."

Diaz brightened as he sat up. "Trying to tune an engine to traverse a place without space would be fun. I'll never run out of track." He snorted softly. "You know Rocky is already planning to bring computational machines and the like over. Why not, y'know? If the Realm hasn't kept up with the physical plane, well, then this is the ideal time to change that given the other big changes happening." He hopped out of bed and then pulled Alexandria out as well. "Up with you. Let's find our kids and get this done. There aren't many of us left behind now."

It should have felt a little daunting to hear, but in a way it was encouraging. They both got dressed and stepped out of the room. Alexandria could sense Silas and Emily were near, and they found them downstairs in the dining room. They stepped into the doorway but didn't say anything. A smile mutually tugged at both parents' lips as they saw the scene. Silas was sitting at the table, and he had Emily curled up on his lap.

Alexandria shook her head fondly. She really could not at all be surprised that Jessie and Jon's son had turned out to be her daughter's Caretaker. Jon and Diaz had been a lot alike, had become quick friends upon meeting, and they had all laughed at their similarities. So discovering not quite thirty years later that Silas was just like his father and therefore perfectly suited to a Hyacinth Dual Cultivator had been somewhat expected. Silas, especially, worked well for Emily because his eternal cheer easily dragged her out of any worries she had. She was brash and loud and uncontained, but she had a tender heart far too easily broken. Honestly, there was almost as much of Diaz in her as there was Alexandria. "Hey," she said.

Emily tried to leap to her feet, but Silas kept his grip. He smiled. "Hey. Em woke early and felt that today was the day." Emily was not so subtly trying to get free, and he reluctantly released her. She promptly stood, and he did as well to put an arm around her waist. Whether she liked it or not, she was going to have him there to support her.

She carefully ignored him as she looked at her parents. Losing them hurt, but damned if she would let them down! She was not going to be a crybaby! That was Reagan's job, damn it. She took a long breath. "This really sucks. I'm not going to pretend it doesn't. But I'm going to do whatever the hell I have to in order to make things right."

"Of course you will," Diaz said gently. "We have every confidence in you, Em." He tugged on her hair when she walked over to them. "I think you can do anything you put your mind to, and I also think that I'm glad I won't see my grandkids in person because if they're like you, I will never be able to discipline them because I'm laughing too much at their antics."

"My mentor, Krysta, once told me that she wanted me to have a daughter just like me so I knew what she went through. It should have been a curse." Alexandria also tugged on Emily's slate hair gently. "It was more like a gift."

"Damn it you two!" Emily swiped her arm across her eyes. "Don't do that! Just tell me where your place of memory is so I can turn off the waterworks." She didn't argue when Silas put his arms around her again. He had become her sanity in a very insane world, and she knew all too well the value of sanity. "What is the place of most importance to you?"

"I have several places of importance, but there's only one that I feel I need to visit." She leaned down and whispered in Emily's ear, and her daughter blinked as she recognized the location. "Okay?"

"Okay." Emily activated the transport with a casualness that still sometimes surprised her. She had only known about her magikry for seven years and yet both magic and majik had become a normal part of her life. She used them the way she used her feet or hands. It was simply a part of her she had trouble remembering she had once not had.

They landed in the remains of the Hyacinth palace, in a spot just past the gardens. Because of Hyacinth's naturally flat landscape with its grassy plains, the devastation felt more terrible. There was nothing to block or hide what had been done. The battered landscape reminded Emily far too much of Aria, and she fought a chill. "What's here?"

"Well, it's not technically here anymore, but it was here." Alexandria walked over to where a little cluster of trees had once stood but had long before died. "They say that unexpected things happen where trees grow on Hyacinth. One in particular happened here." She knelt down to touch the soil. "When I was five in my first life, I just felt this . . . call. To this spot."

"What was there?" Silas asked curiously.

"A black protea."

"Here?!" Emily's brows shot up. "How did a black protea get here? The special color of a world's flower only grows on that world. No, wait." She scowled as she tried to remember. "I'd swear that I heard someone say there was a black protea growing on Iris, too. Or was at this point."

"There is also a white delphinium growing on Daffodil," Diaz confirmed on a smile. "And at the time Lexie references, there was one of those growing on Aster, too. Starting to see the picture?"

"Oh!" Emily blinked. "Because of twin souls! So the native flower grows on the world of the one to be twin to a High Ruler?"

"You got it." Alexandria trailed a finger through dirt. "I had had some warning in a way. Even though at that moment neither Genevieve nor Hannah were pregnant with the future High Princesses, and most of us never even realized there would be High Princesses given we already had Evan and Robert, I still had a guess because of Evan. You know how those with one sort of Sight will sometimes randomly get other sorts? He had a hint of Future amid his Present, and he had seen his future sister—and me. When he told me that, I just knew what would happen."

"Did you even know you were a Defender?" Silas asked softly.

"No, not entirely until I found the protea. All of us first Duals of Blossom Activated on effectively the same day. Talk about sending a shock across the galaxy." She straightened up and turned to smile. "I was honored. To be a Dual Cultivator of Hyacinth, and to be the one chosen to be the twin soul mate to the future High Princess of Protea. Sure, it scared me a lot when she was born and I realized she would be a Defender as well, but I never regretted it."

"What did you do with the protea?" Emily asked.

Diaz smiled. "She gave it to Shanae on the night of Shanae's twenty-fifth birthday, so Shanae could have a black protea she did not know. Arista had been tending it personally for all those years, just to return it to her later."

"Aw." Silas grinned. "So always knowing the right gift to give is totally a Hyacinth thing, too."

"Bite your tongue," Emily muttered.

Alexandria smiled sheepishly. "Seems so, actually. I've always accounted it to the fact that thoughts and messages can be carried on the winds of our world, so we unconsciously pick up little details we might not realize otherwise. I'm sure I'll still pick up on those sorts of things even when I'm gone."

"Huh." Silas rubbed the side of his nose. "But how are you going to hear the winds of Hyacinth if you are, well, uhm, not here?"

"You can say 'dead'," his wife muttered. "It's what they're doing."

"It's not dead, though," he retorted. "They're technically still alive. If people in the Realm were really dead, then Mom couldn't have gotten pregnant. Gail and I aren't undead."

"You are if you haven't had coffee."

"Okay, that's totally different."

Diaz almost fell over laughing, and Alexandria grinned wickedly. "Gods, could you two be more perfect together? As for the question, the winds of Hyacinth carry to any Cultivator of its land no matter where we may be. I heard them even on Protea while my world tried to heal and recover. By far not as often, but still there."

A little silence fell and then Emily straightened her back. "Mom? I want to offer myself in your place to protect Aunt Shana. We'll all protect her, but I will be her greatest Defender."

Alexandria hugged her close for a long moment. "There's no one else I'd trust more." Her heart ached as Emily held on tighter, and she didn't let go for long moments. Finally, slowly, she released her daughter. Diaz's hand grasped hers instead, and she held on. "I'm ready. There's nothing left for me to do. It's time to go to the Core of Hyacinth."

The entrance to the Core was back in the castle, beyond the throne room and hidden beneath the remains of the library. Diaz and Silas pried the hatch up, and Emily jumped down first. When she landed at the bottom, she call up a ball of majik. Much to her relief, there were no icky bugs in the vicinity. Not that she had anything against bugs; they just made her scream like a kid. Only LeAnn, Tasia, and Ryan knew about that little phobia, and all had vowed secrecy.

Silas, Diaz, and Alexandria jumped down to join her, and they began to move as a group down the tunnel. It was very dark, and it was very long. They weren't even sure how far they had traveled before they spotted light. The spell grew dimmer in response, and when they reached the light, the spell disappeared. In the brightly lit area, they found themselves standing in front of a massive wooden door inlaid with familiar apatite. It had been carved with all the symbols representing the Air Flower Element, and the hyacinth blossom had been carved into the center as an echo to the Marks on the world's Cultivators.

"Oh, hey, spruce." Diaz studied the door. "I had forgotten spruce belonged to Hyacinth. Speaking of the few trees we get. They're only spruce when they grow. Happens so rarely it's easy to forget. I wonder why spruce."

Emily lightly touched the door, and she heard the familiar voice of her priestess in her mind. Spruce grows fast and is a little aloof. It also bargains nicely with Nature elements. It fits well to the playful, rash, and yet constant blue hyacinth, and the communication-driven, grief-shedding apatite.

A snort of laughter escaped Emily before she could stop it. The others looked at her expectantly, and she grinned a little despite the situation. "Someone jumped in my head as she does in order to educate me, as she does. Spruce is aloof and fast growing, and it can bargain with Nature elements. Oh, and the blue hyacinth is playful, rash, and constant, and our apatite is driven by communication and can shed grief easily."

Diaz started laughing as well. "Well, that explains why Hyacinthines and Proteans are always going at it. As well as just about everything else, I'd say. Good luck, Silas. You're absolutely guaranteed a kid like your mate."

Silas grinned. "Well, it didn't do you harm. And besides, twins run in my family. We might get one of each of us."

Alexandria snorted softly. "And suddenly I'm almost glad I won't be here."

"Very funny, Mother."

A presence began to fill the air, and it was feminine and welcoming. It felt even more endless than the air, and it resonated inside all four present. They all knew the presence, and it was Emily who spoke first. "Destiny," she whispered. That followed up with, "Aw, now what does she want?"

The door shimmered with all the colors of life and then began to ripple with the blue and white of Hyacinth. I feel before me the Mother and Daughter of Hyacinth. Who is it who comes to make the final sacrifice? A touch of humor was audible in her voice.

Alexandria stepped forward. "I am the Mother of Hyacinth. I have come to give back my life and magic to the planet that brought me forth. I give myself in place of my daughter so that she may fulfill whatever need you have of her."

Then you must make the first sacrifice. The sacrifice of mind. Your memories will remain here as you travel, and they will slowly leave you as you progress. You will remember only the people you love but not any experiences you shared with them.

Emily took a sharp breath and Silas hastily covered her mouth with his hands. She did not argue for once. She reached up to grab his arms and held on for dear life. She was not ready for this. She would never be ready. This had better be worth it!!

Diaz gently ran a hand over her shoulder in comfort. "Destiny, I am also here to give my life and magic, to aid my Cultivator wherever she goes. My king will follow soon enough, so I must go to where the ones who need me most will be."

Alexandria must make the sacrifice to open the way, but I of course expected your action, Diaz. Your wish will be granted.

Alexandria felt calm settle inside. "Let's do this, then."

A light centered at her chest and pushed forth with her Life Orb. It glowed brightly and beautifully, each tiny facet reflecting another year in her long life. The Life Orb floated to the door, the two merged, and the door disappeared. Her back remained straight as she began to walk down the waiting tunnel even though pain slowly filled her as her memories bled away. Everyday memories of things she had taken for granted and never realized were important until they were gone.

It was the Commanders that left her first. Those stubborn, stubborn men that she had always admired for their ability to keep calm and keep their kings and soul mates alike in line. She had wondered now and then, early on, why she would be the only Cultivator to not have a Commander as her mate, only to discover that she'd had one all along. She had been friends with all of them, but especially Michael and Sam. Many hours had been spent talking with them over the hazards of stubborn twin souls, and she forgot all of it.

She lost the Resurrection Cultivators next. She had never really understood them—no one really did—but she had loved and admired and respected them regardless. She forgot everything about them. How Raine had shamelessly painted her into an image without asking, which even Virginia had never dared, and how Storm had shown up one particularly busy weekend during reconstruction and forced her to eat a dinner she had almost skipped. She forgot how Tasia's presence had brought her comfort for the sake of her twin soul. She forgot everything.

The Light Defenders were the next to go. She had shaken her head over them too many times to count. Sometimes excessively cheerful, never knowing when to quit, and always ready to grab for the happy endings they never stopped believing in. But then . . . she had needed that. Those with Dark cores needed their Light partners to believe in anything in the face of overwhelming odds. All of the years of friendship of ten millennia were gone within a few steps down a simple dirt hall.

Clara and Kellie and Desiree slipped away before she knew she would lose them. She had depended on Clara for many things, and had been one of the first to outright cheer when she had seen the sparks between Claret and Sabin so long before. There were thousands of memories of her oldest partner, and they disappeared. Kellie and Desiree had shared her exasperation at being the protectors of the first Protea Defender, but they had also shared the joys and heartaches alike. They had been more like sisters than anything, inseparable a times. And now they were gone.

Edgar, Siobhan, and Rocky loomed next. Protecting her prince had never been easy, and she had happily turned over a chunk of her duties to Maxim. And yet, perhaps spruce-induced, she and Edgar had always stayed close. Or perhaps it was Shana who connected them. There was no knowing. Would be no knowing for he left her in only a few breaths. Siobhan was next. The cheerful Apex of Light who would hold her hand anywhere and never noticed when Alexandria grumbled half-heartedly about it. She loved generously, protected fiercely. And Rocky. How could you not love him? She and Rocky had bickered and fought for centuries. They had clashed over how to handle Shana, and they had always tried to one-up each other, yet there was almost no one she trusted more. Was it another reciprocity? Possibly, but she did not care. She forgot everything about him, forgot the way he had always been able to smile and make her smile as well.

Emily was the next to leave. Her precious, precocious, daughter. She forgot her, forgot finding her. Forgot how Emily had taught her how to pick locks and lift wallets just 'because it might be useful.' Forgot the way her daughter had shown her love by storming into their wing and yelling at her about not having a close enough room. How she wished she'd had her for all her life! The years had been too short, and it was gone in only a short time.

Shana's face filled her mind, and something cried out in agony. Her queen. Her twin soul. The memories had been engraved inside her soul and mind equally. Watching her grow and bear up under a painful burden. Watching her live and laugh and make the world better just by being in it. Alexandria would have given up everything if only to have her beloved twin soul always by her side. Every memory ripped out of her until tears closed her throat.

And, finally, Diaz was there in her mind. Where her steps had faltered with Shana, they stopped entirely for a moment with him. Was a life worth living without her soul mate? Not a chance. Yet she forgot all of it. Every memory over ten thousand years. In their first life, the way he had marched right to her parents and said he would marry her as soon as they were legal; she had not really objected to that. In their second life, the way he had marched her to Jean Rancul—the High Priestess of the Era—and told her they were planning their wedding, before he had even told Alexandria herself. He had always just known exactly what she thought, and needed. All of it . . . now gone.

She would have fallen to the ground if Emily and Diaz hadn't caught her. The second door instantly appeared before them, and Emily could feel something warm and powerful stirring inside her soul. She could damn near see Alexandria's memories inside herself. "What is that?"

It is your final evolution. When this journey ends, Alexandria will no longer exist on this plane, but her very memories, emotions, reason for being, and strength will become your power. You will be her living legacy.

She reached for all of her strength and nodded. She knew she was crying, but she couldn't turn it off. Stupid traits from her father's Light core influencing her; she would rather have gotten the even temper instead of the gentleness! "I accept her legacy." She drew a long breath. "Destiny? Why did . . . why did Ryan and I have to suffer what we did?"

Sadness filled Destiny's voice. It was not my first choice for you, but it made you the people you are and gave you the strengths you needed to endure what would come. Take comfort in this, Emily: when the Cleansing comes, when peace comes, no more children will endure what you did.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you. We'd never appreciate life if we didn't have people around to hurt us and help us recognize happiness when it comes."

Mmm. Someone has been paying attention to our High Priestess. Yes, you are correct. Bad things will always happen, but there will be no more evil. No more war. There will always be a happy ending. Isn't that worth it?

Alexandria slowly straightened. "It will always be worth it." She drew a deep breath. "I am ready to continue."

Then it is time for the second sacrifice. The sacrifice of heart. As you progress, you will lose your love for all those around you.

Silas grabbed Emily again when he felt the pained protest welling inside her. He cursed softly under his breath, his entire body trembling. He was the son of a Defender Cultivator. He knew what they were there to do. That did not make it easier. He held Emily closer and willingly gave her his strength. She was too gentle for all of this.

Alexandria closed her eyes in acceptance, and the second glow came from her chest. It came out as a force shaped like a hyacinth blossom, and it merged to dissolve the door and reveal the path ahead. She took a step forward and staggered. Diaz's quick reflexes kept her on her feet, and she leaned on her husband as they moved slowly down the hall. With every step, her love for her friends faded. She knew only that she had once loved them.

The Commanders . . . gone. The Elders of the Light and Resurrection Cultivators . . . gone. Her Dark world Cultivator partners . . . gone. Her king and one of her queens . . . gone. Her best friend . . . gone. Her daughter . . . gone. Her beloved twin soul was torn out by the root, and something inside screamed in agony. Diaz's face filled her mind, and for the first time, Alexandria fought back. "Stop!" she shouted. "Don't take him from me again!"

The third door was instantly there before them and Destiny's presence felt soothing as it swirled around her. I cannot take a Cultivator's Caretaker from them. I have neither need nor desire to try. To take him from you would be to take more than you can survive.

Alexandria painfully straightened and fought for a calm breath. Everything hurt. "What is left to take?"

The reason for your existence: your Seed.

"It is yours."

The third and final glow formed and brought forth her glowing Seed. Looking at it, Alexandria did not remember those painful moments when she had made the choice willingly to sacrifice herself to protect Byron and help Shana finally evolve into the Apex of the Dark. Did not remember being the last to fall for all the rest had already sacrificed themselves. Some memories were a blessed blank. The Seed merged with the door, and both disappeared. The final tunnel loomed large.

It was only Emily and Diaz that helped her move down the tunnel. They gave her something to lean on, let her walk on her own feet without fear of falling. Both had unashamed tears running down their faces. Alexandria barely saw them or Silas hovering near just in case.

Every step stole her knowledge of herself as a Defender and Ruler. She lost the knowledge of her skills and her magic, lost the understanding of who and what she was born to be . . . but not the pride. The pride and the honor of being a Dual Cultivator stayed. She was chosen by Hyacinth, and that could never be changed.

A point of light appeared and became a doorway as it rushed toward them. When the light faded, they stood in a circular room. In the very center sat an immensely large apatite covered in blue hyacinths alive and dead alike slowly being eaten by the evil tar dripping from the ceiling. The Core of Hyacinth.

Alexandria, it is time. Diaz, your time is also here. You know what must be done.

Alexandria shook off her help and walked by herself, tall and proud, toward the dais with Diaz at her side as partner and not support. The evil gathered for an attack, but she glowed with blue and white and fired back at the evil to repel it from the room entirely. She climbed the steps to the Core and gently touched it. It was sick, weak, and dying. All of her pain meant nothing at that moment. She had not endured for millions of years what her Mother had.

She removed her Mask to place it on the Core, and Diaz's fingers laced with hers as they both covered the Mask with their hands. She let her lifeforce and remaining magic well to pour into the Core, and his rose as well. They both began to fade, and in that beautiful moment, everything came rushing back to her. Every memory, every feeling, every bit of knowledge. And, as well, she could feel her twin's burning soul-deep agony as she lost Alexandria after losing her brother. "Destiny?"

Ask and it is yours.

"Protect Shana. Shield her heart. Ease her pain when I am gone."

It is done. Alexandria, you are everything that is Hyacinth. You are playful and always constant. Your ability to grow quickly allowed you to adapt and adjust to any trial, and you sheltered those hurt by grief. Now, finally, you can rest. You have done all that was ever asked of you, even when you did not know you were being asked.

Alexandria turned and held out a hand, and Emily slowly walked over to join her. Though she was almost gone, Alexandria still felt her daughter's fingers lacing deeply with hers. "I'm damned proud of you," she said softly. "And I know you'll keep our two Protea Cultivators in line. Just don't give Silas too much trouble."

Emily's lips curved into a trembling smile. "He wouldn't know what to do with me if I wasn't giving him trouble."

"That's my girl."

Finally, slowly, Alexandria faded away entirely, everything that she was returning to the planet that had given her life. So, too, did Diaz fade, and he blew a kiss as Emily as he did. The Core began to quiver and shake then produced a glow more radiant than anything anyone had ever seen, and each hyacinth breathed new life. Emily felt the pulsing warmth of Alexandria's magic inside her soul. It was her memories, emotions, existence, and life. She had become her living legacy.

Her Mask appeared before her and started sparkling as every crack and fracture mended. She reached out to grasp it and felt the magikry in her body expand and swell in a way that made her wonder how she had ever once doubted its presence. Her Flower Marks began to burn against her skin.

It is time, Emily, came Destiny's voice. You are powered by the oldest of magic, the rawest force of the Air Flower Element. Take this destiny thrust upon you and bloom!

Emily pulled on her Mask, and before her newly empowered armor rushed in, her Flower Marks could be seen opening into full bloom as a third blossom joined her Defender Mark. Silas could feel the power inside his wife vibrating through his wings long before it reached anywhere else. It felt, a little, like Alexandria had never left. She was there, living inside her daughter, becoming the power that fueled her.

Silas was already moving forward even before she fell, and she landed in his arms safely. He lifted her gently, and she had no will or energy to protest. He could also feel the added weight to her frame and knew that her majik alone had expanded exponentially. "Em."

Her lashed fluttered but did not lift. She was exhausted in a way she had never felt before. And yet . . . she felt oddly comforted. She could feel Alexandria's memories and powers, could sense her hovering at the edge of this plane. She could even sense Diaz out there as well. Silas was right. This was not death. This was another life.

Destiny's power tenderly removed her Mask and then began to surround them soothingly. Sleep, Emily. The final battle does not come just yet. Rest and recover. Even those who grow fast need to recharge once and a while. I will return you to the surface now. Softer, she said, I am proud of you.

Her lips curved. For a former rabble rouser and orphan, she had done a pretty good job of making the guys in charge happy with her. She wasn't going to let them down now.

 

©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.

Chapter 13->