A restless feeling woke Nathaniel, but the restlessness did not come from him directly. It seemed to echo into his soul from someone else. He rolled onto his side and rose onto his elbow to look at his lover. She was facing away from him with her eyes closed, but he knew she was awake. He tenderly feathered kisses over her shoulder. "Did you sleep?" he asked softly.
"Some." Juliet let out a long breath and savored his presence. "Nate . . . are you sure about what you're doing?"
"I'm always sure about touching you." His fingers skimmed over her supple body. She had never been curvy or soft in any fashion, nor had she really been as visibly strong as she was in actuality. She hovered in a sort of middle area that had always captivated him.
"I'd hope so, but that was not what I meant." She turned over to look at him. Her green eyes had gone dark and intense. "Are you sure about . . . about giving your life and going with me?"
"What reason do I have for staying here if you're gone?" he asked reasonably. He caught a handful of her hair and tugged her in for a soft kiss. Against her lips, he said softly, "I have no reason to be if you are not here. You could possibly argue that with me, saying that Edgar needs me, but, well. If anything, that just makes it more final for me. Our time here is done."
She took a deep breath. "Then . . . then let's go." She sat up and felt a bedrock calm inside her heart and soul. "I'm ready. I'll never be more ready."
He sat up as well and watched as she slid out of bed. She moved nearly weightlessly on her feet, and could strike with surprising speed in battle. She had only minimal hand and foot style skills, but she became brutally efficient and lethal once she had her wooden staff in hand. "You are unfairly beautiful," he told her.
She looked over her shoulder in surprise. "That came out of nowhere."
"Just watching you walk and thinking about you in and out of battle." He smiled. "You're always beautiful to me, Juli. You should have realized that by now."
"Well, of course I know you think I'm beautiful, but the way you randomly compliment me always catches me a little off-guard."
His smile became a grin. "I save my compliments for those moments where I am so awestruck by you that I have to say something about it. Normally I just show how I feel otherwise." He got out of bed and walked over to tug her into his arms. Gravely, he added, "I would try to be less random, but you're rather adorable when I get you flustered, so you will just have to endure the fact that sometimes I look at you and have my breath taken away and I just have to announce it."
Her lips curved. "You are a terrible flirt, Nathaniel." She leaned up to kiss him softly and thrilled as his arms went around her waist to keep her close. Against his lips, she said softly, "When I become the Guardian of the Thunder Flower Element and the Goddess of all worlds holding it, I do hope everyone realizes that your support is what makes me strong." She frowned thoughtfully. "I wonder . . . I wonder what Amanda will do. Is doing. Do you think the current Guardians and Goddesses want to be reborn yet? Gail and Silas never indicated and no one ever asked."
"We'll ask when we get there. You can be sure they'll be glad to turn over duties to all of you, regardless, though." A thought made him pause. "Hmm. I believe I have a question for our frightening son."
She smiled as she got dressed. "Frightening because he is like me or like you? I swear, that Pattern Mastery has to be an evolution of your legal brain." Once dressed, she braided and wrapped up her long hair. Desiree had introduced her to the style some couple decades before, and she had been wearing it since. It kept her hair out of her face while at work, and she also got the sheer enjoyment of having Nathaniel take it down again later. "I know what place of memory I want to visit," she decided. "It is one of my most important memories. It was a deciding factor in my entire life. In both of them."
They, too, were staying in the manor along with all their friends. They stepped out of their room and found Storm and Kari sitting in the hall and leaning against each other. They looked to be asleep, but their eyes opened when they heard the door. Storm gracefully got to his feet. "Well. Time?"
"It is." Juliet smoothed back his hair. It still marveled her how much she loved her son. She had spent forever expecting to have a daughter, and then she had been surprised to find a son instead. A wonderful surprise, really. He had the best of her and her husband alike. "I'm proud of you," she said softly. "Know that I find no higher honor in giving my life for this universe. I know you'll carry on in my place."
Storm took a deep breath. "Don't do that. Please don't. I've managed to not cry. Don't make me start." His voice broke, then steadied. "I lost one mother once," he managed to say. "She gave her life for me. This is cutting a little close to home." When Kari slid an arm around his shoulders, he turned to hold on tight.
"Stormy." Nathaniel gently brushed at his hair. "Pattern something for me." Storm looked at him, and he said softly, "The Resurrection Cultivators will remain behind after we are gone. The Elder Cultivators have determined that this is their final time to go. They will take their place as Guardians and Goddesses. If you all are staying behind for what feels somewhat permanently, what will happen?"
"We all have rightful places to be," he answered calmly. "This was something I and Tasia once discussed before. The 'proper' order of things? The final culmination? We fully believe that the duties of the Realm are meant to be shared in the end."
"Shared?" He lifted his brows. "Shared, how?"
"So you both know how it works, right? Blossom Field Cultivators have the possibility to evolve when they ascend to the Realm, and Rulers become Goddesses overseeing worlds with their element, and Defenders become Guardians overseeing the element itself. The presumption has been that you Duals would become both. You basically have to take the roles, because you're stronger than the last generation. That's how it goes." Storm held up a finger. "Well, in thinking about things, and how Shana and Siobhan are meant to become High Goddesses, Tasi and I started seeing things falling into place. There have been lots of interim Guardians for Illusion and Nature because Protea and Delphinium never had Defenders until Shana and Siobhan, so it was assumed they would be the proper Guardians. But . . . I don't think they can be."
"Why not?" Juliet asked curiously.
"If a High Goddess could fill double duty, then Protea and Delphinium would not have individual Goddesses—which they totally do. So while Rocky and Edgar become the Gods of Delphinium and Protea—and can't be Guardian because they aren't Defenders—we still have no Guardians for Illusion or Nature. Now think critically: if someone wanted to be a perfect Guardian of any element, what should they have?"
Nathaniel's eyes widened. "Magikry. Magic of both sorts and majik alike. Near total control."
"Exactly!" Kari smiled. "It's starting to make sense now, right? That was how it hit all of us. The Resurrection Cultivators were made to be the perfect Guardians of the elements. It gets even more eerie when you take into account the three Apexes and how they work together. Having two Apexes in the Realm and one in the living plane is going to strengthen the hell out of the universe as a whole. Shana and Siobhan's reach and oversight of the universe will exponentially expand, and Tasia shall be their will as Karma—same as they are now, but no longer just Blossom Field."
Storm nodded. "The Light, Dark, and Chaos Flower Elements don't need a Guardian because, well, they have Apexes who literally filter the raw arcane force of those elements directly through their bodies and souls. Rodi has the Chaos element now too, but he's all but a literal extension of his Apex anyway, so he sort of doesn't count. On a related note I will add, given that Rocky and Edgar are all but twins to their sister-Apex and therefore in possession of the most powerful Light and Dark cores in existence other than said sisters, they will be FAR better suited as a God of their worlds than any other Ruler before them. Rulers of Protea and Delphinium never needed to have the Dark or Light elements, and neither have Goddesses, but it will sure make things easier if they're hypersensitive, y'know?"
Juliet felt calm spreading inside as everything came together in ways she had not anticipated. "And," she said softly, "given your generation represents a peak that will never be surpassed, this truly will be the final role for all of us to fulfill. That makes this choice easier for me, honestly." Wistfully, she added, "I suppose I can't ask for one last battle as a Defender just so I can help you guys tangibly as well. Ah well." She ruffled Storm's hair and then Kari's as well. "You'll do just fine."
"So . . . where is your place of memory?" Kari asked.
"Near the Gladiolus Castle actually. It is a memory from ten thousand years ago. The garden near the royal bedrooms."
Storm cocked his head. He recognized the spot, of course, but had no idea why it would be important. He simply reached out for his transport magic to take them there. He refused to think about everything involved in leading to the ascension. He wasn't sure he was as strong as his parents believed.
The teleport dropped them near the decimated castle. Like the Protea Kingdom, it too showed the heavier marks of devastation. The city beyond the walls was quiet and grief-stricken. In just those few moments when the walls had shattered between dimensions, millions of lives had been destroyed. People had been reminded just how fragile peace could be.
Where they stood outside the castle was a place in the gardens that had once been viewable from royal bedrooms. Only one castle wall stood tall enough to prove it, and the crumbling remains of a balcony were still attached. In an effort to lighten the mood, Kari asked, "Didn't I try to scale that in an attempt to be romantic?"
Her husband snorted. "And promptly got yourself stuck so that I had to levitate you free. Spoiled the mood entirely."
Nathaniel covered a smile. "It's the thought that counts." He watched Juliet as she moved around the area in a small circle. He knew she dealt with ten millennia worth of bad memories; he certainly did. It wasn't the first time they had seen the kingdoms fall. But, should everything go right, it would be the last. "Julianna?" he asked softly.
"Don't you remember?" She turned and found a smile for him. A real smile, one that made her green eyes soften. "Ten thousand years ago, don't you remember? We met here."
"You did?" Storm blinked and then looked speculative. Of course this would be Juliet's most important memory, her most defining moment. Protecting her queen and king were critical to Juliet's heart and soul for she had been born loving them, but what had truly defined her was the moment when she had been completed by her soul mate.
Nathaniel suddenly smiled. "We did." He leaned against what was left of a wall. "Tell them," he offered. "Let's see if you remember it the same way I do."
Juliet hadn't a clue why they might not remember the exact same thing. Facts were facts. Still, she smiled. "I was sixteen. It had only been a few months since the eight Commanders had been appointed to the two High Princes, and given I belonged to the Light planets and Navidan's team to the Dark ones, our paths simply just had not crossed yet. We knew of each other, but we had not met. Well, most of us had not. Sabin and Maxim and Alexandria and Veronica had all met as the respective leaders of their team of four, with Sabin and Veronica being overall Leads of the eight, of course."
"By the way," Nathaniel offered dryly, "even at sixteen and twenty-one, Nica and Max were striking serious sparks. Mostly just emotional ones, given their ages, but we all pretty much knew where they were headed. I and Jayden bet Evan as to how long it would take them both to realize what the hell was wrong with them." He laughed. "Evan won, of course. He knows Max best."
"I won the bet with Asheria." Juliet grinned briefly. "Anyway, I had been here at home and Sayena had decided she wanted to come see me. Nothing unusual, obviously, but given her position, she could not travel alone. Most every Commander or Defender happened to be busy in some form or another except for Navidan, so he agreed to bring her. Evan tagged along, of course."
She wandered over to where a yellow gladiolus plant still stubbornly clung onto life. "Evan and Sayena met me in a reception room so we could have tea and snacks together—my snacks, of course. As if I would serve my princess and prince something I had not made!" She smiled. "We had the same rule then as now: at least three hour notice before visiting Gladiolus so we can make food." She sighed. "Navi had not joined us since he wanted to explore the palace grounds. Fair enough, right? Well, we were halfway through lunch when a servant alerted me there may be an intruder on grounds."
"Someone was stupid enough to sneak into the palace grounds?" Kari lifted her brows.
"If rabble rousers weren't so deathly afraid of Rulers who are also witches and the now legendary Resurrection Cultivators," Nathaniel said dryly, "it would no doubt have happened at least once by now to you."
Juliet smiled wryly in agreement. "The Elders of that time had still been alive around then, but Amanda had also been away that day. So I grabbed my Mask, made Evan and Sayena stay put, and headed out to inspect the area. Eventually found myself a rather well-known rabble rouser from town who had decided to either burgle or kidnap. Never did establish which."
"Went right to beating him up?" her son asked politely.
"Given that I had just spent fifteen minutes chasing the asshole through the rain-soaked gardens, I wasn't in the best of moods to begin with. Armor and exposed skin and hair covered in mud, which felt terribly icky. Could have ended it faster with my staff, but he had pissed me off. So I made a fairly strong point about not trying that again, dropped him, and turned to discover we had an observer." She winced wryly. "Navidan, who had apparently come up shortly after I'd found the jerk and then stood there watching the scene. Who, I will add, was nearly as handsome at his young age as he is fully matured. Of course I could not actually feel desire for him at that age, but I sure liked what I saw! I recognized his uniform, so I knew who he had to be, and oh gods I was so embarrassed. I really had not intended to make that sort of first impression."
Nathaniel crossed his arms as he leaned against what remained of the wall. "Now here is where we will deviate," he said gently. "A servant had also told me what was happening, so I was looking for either Julianna or the intruder—whichever I found first. I found both at the same time. I honestly couldn't have alerted her to my presence for the simple fact that she had . . . dazzled me." He looked at Kari. "You remember how you felt when you first saw Storm in his Defender armor? The shock and the awe that such an amazing creature was right there before you?"
"Believe me, I remember." Kari brushed her lips across Storm's cheek.
"Well, that was how I felt." He looked at his startled mate. "You were cranky and filthy, certainly. But, goddess, Juliet, how you glowed. And I knew . . . I just knew that I was your other half. No one else would ever suit you."
"Oh." Her cheeks turned slightly pink. "You never told me that."
"You never asked."
Enjoying the story, enjoying this important information about the parents he hadn't known nearly long enough, Storm asked, "What happened after that?"
"Navi 'escorted' the intruder off palace grounds while I went to get cleaned up and switch to my Ruler gown. We ended up becoming dear friends, and he more than once strongly implied he intended to become one of my suitors. I found that hard to believe." She winced wryly. "After I turned twenty-one, things got a little, er, more complicated. I went into a sort of anxiety-panic mode because I had it in my head that it just couldn't be really that he was my soul mate because I didn't deserve him, but he just calmly kept waiting." She snorted softly in remembered humor. "The day of my twenty-fifth birthday, he went and put himself on my suitor list, came and found me, and then kissed me until I near forgot my name."
Kari snickered. "Which made your life easy because you could then just accept him and toss the list."
"Well, there wasn't much of a list actually, but basically that, yeah."
Nathaniel grinned at their kids. "Maybe I ought to correct her about that too. I wouldn't say the list was as long as what Shanae's got to before Robert obliterated the competition, but it was by no means short!"
Storm had to laugh at the look of surprise on Juliet's face. "I bet your mother hid the real list from you because she knew Dad was your perfect soul mate."
"That definitely sounds like something she'd do," Juliet admittedly dryly. "You're more like your lineage than you know, honey."
He beamed. "I'll take that as a compliment." He studied Juliet for a few moments and then his smile slowly faded. "Are you ready?"
"I am." Juliet took a deep breath. "I really am. It isn't the first time I've willingly given my life for someone. I did it for Siobhan and Shana alike when we fought Mania. Now I do it for you." She turned to Storm. "The greatest gifts a mother can give her child is life and love," she said softly. "If you can't give one, then giving the other is more than enough. You generally hope that you give life, and then love, but sometimes it is the other way around. I have given you all the love I could ever give any child of mine, and it is that love that spurs me to give my life for yours. And I regret this only less knowing there is another wonderful mother still out there to give you the love you deserve."
Tears slid down Storm's cheeks though he did not say a word. With the strength and courage of his Gladiolus heritage, he straightened his back and lifted his chin. He turned and walked into the remains of the castle and led the other three directly to where the entrance to the Core was located. The top opened obediently at his command, and they all jumped down inside. It was a familiar location for Kari and Storm since they had gone down there prior. This time they headed down the long hall looming before them. Kari conjured a small light to allow them to see where they were going, and as light in the distance grew closer, she let her spell dim.
The spell winked out entirely when the light had fully reached them. Before them stood an immense door of wood inlaid with the familiar citrines of the world. Symbols from across the universe that represented the Thunder Flower Element had been carved into the face. In the very center sat the same gladiolus flower blossom that Marked both Juliet and Storm.
Storm lightly touched the door and felt it pulsing under his fingers. Years of patient tutelage from his eldest sister swirled in his mind. "Juniper wood, which we of course knew belonged to Gladiolus. It matches well with a yellow gladiolus and the citrine. Juniper is about hardiness and clearing minds, the yellow gladiolus is strength of character and honor, and the citrine is mental focus and—of all things—success."
"How apt," Kari murmured. "Explains why you lot can buck anxiety faster than most." She smiled. "And why someone is a pattern master."
"I still blame my father being a legal advisor for that one," Storm said with a sidelong look at Nathaniel.
He smiled. "You're not the only one."
A sudden feminine and powerful presence stirred in the air. It was so strong that Storm and Kari felt it ripple inside their majik, and it resonated into Nathaniel's own limited magic. It was a power they all recognized, had all sensed more than once in their lives.
"Destiny," Storm said softly. "Of course you would be here."
The door shimmered with all the colors of life and then began to ripple with the yellow and green of Gladiolus. I feel before me the Mother and Son of Gladiolus. The voice was soft and feminine and uplifting. Who is it who comes to make the final sacrifice?
"I do." Juliet covered her heart with a hand. "I am the Mother of Gladiolus. I have come to give back my life and Seed to the planet that brought me forth. I give myself in place of my son so that he may fulfill whatever need you have of him." Where the words came from, she did not know. It almost felt as if they had been engraved inside her very soul.
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.
Storm's hands curled into fists at his side, and he was barely conscious of Kari's hand resting on the back of his neck.
"Do you need a sacrifice from me?" Nathaniel asked with steady calm. "I, too, am here to give my life for our son."
No, Nathaniel. You are already giving everything you were ever meant to give.
Juliet's back straightened. "Take what you need of me, Destiny. I give it freely."
A glow centered at her chest and pushed forward a highly faceted crystal gemstone with white veins. With surprise, Juliet and Nathaniel recognized what had appeared. Kari recognized it for she had held Storm's in her hands once. Softly, Storm said, "Are you so surprised, Mom? Of course you would have a pure Life Orb. Just by nature of what you have endured as a Cultivator, your mind is pure."
Quite so, Destiny murmured.
The Life Orb floated away from Juliet and merged with the door. It instantly opened and revealed another tunnel beyond. Her physical strength slowly began ebbing away as she forced her feet to move down the tunnel, but her strength of will carried on even as more and more memories fled away.
It was her normal, everyday memories that went first. The little things from experimenting with new recipes to teasing her friends. So many memories over ten thousand years. She had never imagined there could so many inside her mind. She had already let some go from her consciousness, but they had always been there when she needed.
It was memories of the other seven Commanders to go next so that she didn't once remember how they had become the brothers she had always desperately longed to have. They had been there to support and bolster her, and in the case of Tyson and Diaz, always willing to play and have fun. Gladiolans needed to nurture and give love, but, honestly, they also needed to be loved—and her brothers had been part of her family.
The Resurrection Cultivators left her next. That wonderfully fascinating team who had no barriers, no lines, and nearly no limits. She forgot how Raine had truly been like a daughter to her—connected as she was by Storm—and how Tasia had helped her hone her limited hand/foot skills. She had broken her heart watching them suffer, yet she never once doubted them and their skill. All of it went away in a few steps.
The other Elder Cultivators faded next. The years they had been friends, and all the times they had spent teasing each other and supporting each other. Too, the wars they had fought as a team; seamlessly whether as two or four or seven or eight, and how she had always trusted Virginia to bring them back. Her years spent feeding Yvonne because her friend had no ability to cook, and how Clara had guiltlessly pulled recipes from the far past out of the Library just so Juliet could recreate them. She could remember their faces, but not a single thing they had done together.
It was memories of Storm that went next, and something inside her wept painfully. Such a short time she had gotten to have her son! Not even ten years had she been given with the amazing man who walked beside her. She forgot teaching him new recipes to cook, and how to catch and bottle lightning. She forgot the nights they had stayed up plotting birthday pranks on their friends and family. The laughter. Gone.
Her memories of Shana went next. Her idol. How badly Juliet had wanted to be like Shana! So strong and confident and sassy, courageous in facing anything. They would having a sparring match, thoroughly kick each other around (and Shana always won!) and then they would go for ice cream. One of her two precious queens. She had loved Shana as much as she had loved Siobhan. One of her dearest friends . . . gone.
Siobhan left her next, and she wanted to cry out. Memories of the person she had vowed to hold first were torn from her. She had spent many years shaking her head over Siobhan's unquenchable optimism and quick to flare temper, but she had loved every minute. When she had been unable to shake her own doubts, Siobhan had been there to love her. Unconditionally, eternally. And yet she faded away as if she had never been.
Nathaniel's image welled in her mind. She grit her teeth and said nothing though it hurt terribly. Her memories of her beloved husband, her chosen Caretaker, simply left. That important first meeting, and their constant meetings that had followed. The memories of the last five thousand years where he had always been there for her. She knew only that she loved him. She remembered nothing about why.
She staggered, and he caught her as the second door appeared. This door, too, was made of juniper and citrine. It glimmered and glowed softly. There was a throbbing inside Storm now. It pulsed and beat inside his blood. When he closed his eyes and focused, he was sure he felt Juliet's memories inside him. "I see," he said softly. "So that is what you are doing."
"What is it?" Kari asked, her voice hushed.
It is Storm's final evolution. When this journey ends, Juliet will no longer exist on this plane, but her very memories, emotions, reason for being, and strength will become your mate's power. He will be his mother's living legacy.
"I accept her legacy." Storm closed his eyes as tears slid down his cheeks. Something occurred to him, something he had always wondered, and he opened his eyes again. "Destiny, tell me something, please. Why are Cultivators of Gladiolus so desperate to nurture our loved ones?"
Because, in addition to honor and strength of character, the yellow gladiolus is about infatuation and faithfulness. Once you love someone, you are emotionally invested in them, and you will never let them go. I've watched Gladiolans across the millennia find different and more creative ways to nurture and care, but some twenty thousand years ago, they settled on the simplest answer of all: food. All that lives needs to eat, and some people are just terrible at it, and Gladiolus Cultivators happily take up the slack. Laughter filled her voice. And almost always, you Gladiolans are feeding your beloved Irisians. How fitting when the gladiolus and the iris are, in fact, part of the same genus.
It explained so much. Juliet did not remember how many years she had been feeding Yvonne, nor did she remember that Storm had been feeding Tasia since he could reach a stove, but the information just felt . . . right. "I don't mind being infatuated with my loved ones," she decided. Her voice was much weaker than it had been, but the core strength inside was still present. "I was able to provide for them as they needed. Wasn't I?"
Always, little bud.
A tiny cocky smile touched her lips. "Who are you calling a bud? I'm fully bloomed." She took a long breath. "Let me continue. I will not waver."
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.
Nathaniel's entire body jerked though he said nothing. Kari cursed softly under her breath. Juliet ignored them both. She made this choice willingly. Freely. She had no regrets. "So be it."
A glow once more centered on her heart. This time it brought forth a yellow and green glowing force that formed into a gladiolus blossom reminiscent of the ones on Mother and Son alike, though both of Juliet's had begun to fade. In exchange, a sparkling edge had just begun to hint around both of Storm's Marks. A Flower Mark sparkled when the Cultivator stood as the only one of their kind. When this ended, Storm would be the only Gladiolus Defender for the rest of time, and he would be the only Ruler until someday when he and Kari had a child of their own.
The glowing flower merged to the door and it disappeared. Juliet tried to step forward but staggered. Nathaniel and Storm moved to her sides, and they braced her as she continued to move forward. Nathaniel could have carried her, but he knew that she needed to do this on her own feet.
With every step, her love for those around her went away. Her surrogate brothers. The eternally giving Resurrection team. Her fellow Cultivators, who had been her sisters. Her beautiful, brilliant son. The queen she had idolized. The queen she had sheltered. Her soul screamed in fury with every lost love.
Nathaniel's presence loomed inside her, and everything that she was rebelled. "No!" she shouted. "Don't take him from me!! Not again!"
The third door instantly appeared before them. Destiny's presence tenderly curled around Juliet. My little flower, I would never take away a Cultivator's Caretaker. I have asked so much of all of you over the years. The greatest gift I could give you was that of unconditional love. I would never take it away.
After a moment, Kari asked quietly, "What of you?"
Me?
"Where is your happiness?" She shook her head. "You . . . you've suffered more than any Cultivator, of any sort. You knew all along the things that would happen. You were forced . . . forced to make so many painful decisions, do so many horrible things, just to ensure that this moment came, that the Resurrection Cultivators would be here to save everyone. So who is by your side?"
I have had consorts.
"That's not the same thing," Storm immediately argued. "Okay, yeah, you had an interesting affair with Horatio and that's where Orion came from. But . . . Kari is right. You have suffered more than us. You need happiness too."
A note of what sounded like tears filled Destiny's voice. I cannot see my own future, little ones. I didn't know . . . I did not know until after he was born that there would ever be . . . ever be that one person for me. And now I am forced to hurt him as well.
Shock exploded inside Storm's mind as the pattern unraveled wildly. Curiosity about that one tiny detail had been in his mind all along, but he had never expected this to be the answer. It explained everything. "He will forgive you," he said firmly, softly. "I am sure he will."
"If we can forgive you," Juliet said, her voice faint, "then so can this person. If he's your soul mate, he will forgive you anything." She drew a deep breath. "Knowing that everyone will be happy makes this easier to endure. What do you have left to take from me?"
The reason for your existence: your Seed.
She slowly straightened and removed her Mask from its bracelet. "So be it."
The glow brought forth her Seed, and it was a familiar pain for Juliet had endured it before. The gaping emptiness inside her grew bigger and ever bigger as the door disappeared. She had no memories of her battles as the Gladiolus Defender of the Thunder Flower Element. No knowledge of her dedicated service as a protector to High Queen Sayena and High Queen Shanae. No memories of ruling Gladiolus through the long years of rebuilding until it had thrived anew. She kept going anyway. Magic or no magic. Memories or no memories. She was a Dual Cultivator, chosen by the planet Gladiolus. She would not fail.
Something began to loom in the distance, and as it approached it became not a door but a doorway. It surged out to envelop them all, and when the glare faded, they stood in a spherical room that glowed yellow and green. In the very center of the room rested an immensely large citrine covered with living and dead yellow gladiolus flowers slowly being eaten by the evil tar dripping from the ceiling. The Core of Gladiolus.
It is time, Juliet. Nathaniel, it is your time as well.
Juliet straightened her back and brushed off Nathaniel's hands. She would walk beside him, not leaning on him. Proud and straight, she walked slowly toward the Core. The evil tar tried to gather to attack, but it repelled off an invisible shield around the Gladiolus Cultivator. A yellow and green magic swirled around her in return and fired back at the tar to destroy it entirely. The Core glowed in response, but faintly and weakly. Even Storm could barely feel it.
Juliet climbed the dais and gently put her hands on the Core. It was so tired and weak that she forgot all of her own pain. She placed her Mask on the citrine and covered it with her hands, and Nathaniel covered her hands in turn. She let her lifeforce, bolstered after five thousand years, well up with anything remaining of her magic. So, too, did Nathaniel let his own lifeforce and magic well, and both began to fade. The Core soaked in the generous gift, and began to glow. In that moment, that beautiful moment, it all came rushing back to Juliet. Her memories, her feelings, and even her Seed. All of it. Love begot love: the more you gave, the more you received. The unconditional love and sacrifice of a Cultivator could restore their world to its purest state, and in turn, the world could give them back everything they had sacrificed—except for their life. The Elders' time had come.
You are everything that is Gladiolus, Juliet, for you are hardy and honorable. You are the willpower that gives others the strength of mind to survive, and now you can rest. You have done all that was ever asked of you, even when you did not know you were being asked.
Juliet turned and held out a hand to Storm, and he walked forward without hesitation to grasp it. The Elder Cultivator and her Caretaker were nearly completely gone. "I won't be far," Juliet told him. "I'll still be watching over you. And you had better give us some grandkids, got it?"
Storm's lips trembled but he found a smile. "We'll try our hardest."
Finally, slowly, at last, Juliet faded away entirely as everything that she was returned to the planet that had given her life. Nathaniel, too, faded away. The Core began to quiver and shake and then produced a glow more radiant than anything anyone had ever seen as every flower returned to full bloom. Storm could feel the pulsing warmth of Juliet's magic inside his soul. It was her memories, emotions, existence, and life. He had become her living legacy.
His Mask appeared and began to glow brightly as all fractures mended and the surface took on a sparkling effect to the match the sparkling edge now lining both of his Flower Marks. He could actually feel his magikry expanding inside as those same Marks began to glow hotly.
It is time, Storm, came Destiny's voice. You are powered by the oldest of magic, the rawest force of the Thunder Flower Element. Take this destiny thrust upon you and bloom!
Storm pulled on his Mask, and his Defender Mark gained its third blossom before all three and the one on his chest opened into full bloom. Armor swiftly covered his body as usual, and all metal portions had taken the familiar glitter and the cloth had taken on a shine. Standing near, Kari could actually feel the magikry inside her lover. It felt almost as if Juliet had never left. She was there, living inside her son, becoming part of the magic that fueled him.
His knees gave out and she swiftly caught him. She lifted him into her arms and felt shaken to her soul by the events that had occurred. His lashes fluttered and then he went lax in her arms as his body shut down to process her final tier. Destiny's power removed his Mask for him and returned it to his bracelet where it belonged. I will return you to the surface, Destiny said softly. Stand strong, Kari. You will be his strength of will in the coming days. All of you have a role to fulfill. You stand there as deliberately as your mate.
She smiled. "That doesn't shock me at all." As the power swirled around her, she buried her face in Storm's hair. She had every confidence in a happy ending. There was too much riding on it.
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
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