Trin nodded and looked back to the electricity and she reached her hand out. She seized up from the shock, but the lightning disappeared and there was nothing keeping me from Violet.
Thomas rushed to Trin to catch her as she fell, and I ran to Violet dropping to my knees as I took in the scene around me. Violet had been stabbed through the stomach, and she had bled, a lot. How she was still alive was beyond me. But then the reason showed itself. There was a glittering gold substance around the edge of her wounds. Like her magic kept her in a state of preservation.
“Is there anything you can do for her?” I turned around and shouted at Trin and Proctor.
Trin looked a little green, but she stumbled on shaky legs with Thomas’ support. Proctor walked over on his own accord.
Trin and Proctor assessed silently for a minute which felt like an hour. Each beat of my heart seemed to slow. Every second that it took for them to respond spoke of the chances of this turning out well.
“We can only bring back the dead. She’s not dead, her magic is keeping her alive.”
“Then what do we do?” I asked desperately.
“We pull out the knife and hope she’s got enough magic to heal herself,” Proctor suggested.
“Do you think she has enough?” Violet’s father asked.
“It’s hard to say. I’ve never seen anyone with as much power as her. But she used a lot to bring back Queen Victoria. Then she juiced me up to help heal others. Then she had her entire exchange with Prince Kennan, and who knows what all happened there. Then in her sleep-like state managed to keep this elemental shield up, and keep the wound from killing her. She has to have a limit at some point,” Trin said, truly scared for Violet’s chances.
“So we pull the blade out and hope that she has enough magic to heal herself?” I repeated Proctor’s earlier words.
“Exactly,” he answered.
This was a gamble I didn’t like taking, but I couldn’t leave Violet like this either. I wasn’t sure if she was suffering, or numb to all of this.
“Neither of you can heal?” I asked.
“Only the dead. If she dies, we will do our best,” Proctor said, looking to Trin.
They both looked dead on their feet, and I wasn’t sure how good their best would be now.
Violet’s father stood by my side with a single tear on his face, and I felt gutted. I didn’t go through all of that to rescue him, for him to watch his daughter die. I squared my shoulders, and put my hand on the knife.
“I love you, Violet. You are going to make it through this, just like everything else. We have a happily ever after that we are entitled to. Venia said so herself,” I said desperately.
Then I pulled the knife from her stomach and watched as more blood came pouring out. I placed my hand on her stomach to try to slow the bleeding.
“Come on, come on,” I pleaded.
What good was her magic if it wouldn’t work right now, when we desperately need it to? I found that soul mate bond deep in my chest, it felt tangible like a rope. I tugged on it, trying to pull Violet close to me. If I held onto this, it felt less likely that I would lose her. If I could keep her soul with me, I could keep her alive, at least I hoped.
I could see her glittering gold magic, working at the edges of her wound, and that gave me a little hope. It was just a waiting game. One that I’d rather do in privacy.
“I’m going to carry her back, we’re going to get her in a clean sterile room, and wait for her magic to do its job.”
“What do you want done with him?” Thomas asked, referring to Kennan’s body.
I looked at his body and felt pride and disgust. Disgust at the person he was, and pride that my wife was the one to rid us of him.
I looked to Violet’s Father, “Your call, he’s your nephew. There’s nothing left of Samantha.”
He nodded.
“What about Queen Victoria, and what about Kennan’s father, where did he go?” Trin asked.
“Victoria took a page out of Violet’s book. She sacrificed herself to kill Samantha.”
Trin gasped, and quietly began to cry.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I told her. She was her Great Grandmother after all.
“Thank you,” she mumbled. “Violet’s going to be so upset.”
“She’s going to have to wake up first,” I answered.
I turned on my heels not caring what Violet’s Father did with his nephew. As for Kennan’s father, I had no idea where he was, but Violet’s father could handle that too. He was his brother, and that was a family affair.
Chapter Thirty Two
Violet
“Are you kidding me?” I asked out loud.
I looked all around me, recognizing this place. But the last time I was here, I thought I was in the dream world. Now I knew the purple and blue mist and clouds weren’t part of the dream world. They belonged to the spirit world. The last time I was here I was sleeping, but I knew I wasn’t sleeping this time. I had to have died to end up here.
But that stirred up all kinds of questions. Why didn’t I come here the last time I died? Why am I here now? Did the Goddess run out of revive cards for me? Was my nine lives up?
Speaking of Venia, where was she? She had greeted me along with Victoria the last time I was here, but looking around I could tell I was alone.
None of this made sense and I was feeling very confused. On top of everything that just happened on the battlefield in Tate, I now had to worry about being lost in this spirit world. I guess I didn’t have to worry about Tate anymore if I was here.
Should I sit right here and wait for someone to find me? Or should I explore?
I should probably wait, but Venia is a goddess, and she’d be able to find me anywhere.
Exploring it is.
I began to walk through the purple and blue clouds that drifted over the ground like smoke. I took maybe twenty steps before the sound of water hit my ears. I began to follow the sound and I quickly came across a small trickling stream and followed it. The clouds hung low over the water, causing it to look blue and purple in appearance, reflecting back the clouds floating above it. The stream ended in a waterfall that fed a small pond. It was surrounded by rocks, and gorgeous green plants. Some had flowers, and some looked lusciously green. The plants all leaned in the slight breeze that rustled my hair, and the clouds.
The pond looked so inviting. Common sense said to wait here on dry land for Venia. The more rebellious part told me to go for a swim. I was already dead, so what harm could it cause?
I peeled out of my armor, knowing that it would only weigh me down in the water. I stood in my bra and underwear and braced myself before I walked into the cold crisp water. I was quickly shoulder deep, and I dipped my head under the water to push my hair back, flat against my head.
Under the water, I felt off, like my vision was going dark. The light from above no longer reached my eyes, and then I felt darkness.
Kennan’s face flashed before mine. It looked half rotted and angry. He came charging at me with a blade in his hand before disappearing completely. I shot up out of the water, gasping for breath after the disgusting image of his rotten flesh. His cheek and the left side of his face had been literally falling off his skull.
When I opened my eyes Venia was sitting on a rock next to the waterfall, staring at me. I sank into the water a little so my mouth was below the surface, but my eyes remained exposed.
I knew she would come find me, and that I would eventually have answers to questions I couldn’t think of yet, but I hadn’t expected it so soon. This place was so peaceful, that if it weren’t for Kennan’s sudden and startling appearance, I would have easily forgotten what I had just been through. The only thing I wouldn’t forget as long as I existed in some capacity, was my family.
“It’s good to see you, my child,” she said to me softly, from her perch at the waterfall.
I would be lying if I said it was good to see her, so I kept my mouth shut. She had pr
omised me that I would have a good life after all of this was over. Yet, here I was, in the spirit world.
“Am I dead?” I asked.
I watched her carefully, looking for any sign that she was going to lie to me. While we looked so much alike, she looked so much like a perfect work of art.I was a pirated copy with some imperfections. She wore what looked like a fancy toga, like something a Greek Goddess would wear. Everything about her seemed so ethereal.
“No, you are in a state of in between.”
“Am I going back?” I asked.
“That’s up to you. I made a promise that I intend to keep, but it’s your choice. You’ve had very little choice in your life since you’ve learned of this world. You’ve fulfilled your destiny, and I plan to give you the beautiful future you deserve.”
She was right, I did deserve to be happy, but I wouldn’t mind hanging out here where it was peaceful for a little while.
As if understanding my hesitation she said, “I do owe you more of an explanation though, of things past, present and future.”
I nodded. She did owe me that. What I’ve been through at her request, through her creation of the prophecy, was a high price to pay. When I close my eyes at night, before drifting between worlds, images of the things I’ve seen and I’ve done haunt me. I stopped crying at the images, now that Axel was there when I woke up.
I wanted some answers, maybe they’d make those ghosts disappear, if I understood them better.
I swam a little closer to where she was perched.
“Victoria has returned to the Spirit World,” she said.
I guess we were starting with the present. I had a feeling she’d be back here after the blows were exchanged on the beach.
“Is she around?” I asked, looking around us.
“No, she’s resting. Pulling a soul from here, is not only an incredible feat, but it drains a lot from the soul as well. She’s recovering and cannot yet take a form like you and I can.”
“Will she be ok?” I asked.
“Eventually, yes, given enough time.”
“I’m sorry for taking her, but I don’t think I could have taken on Samantha and Kennan at the same time, despite the power you had given me.”
“I understand your reasons, and so does she.”
I nodded, still feeling Victoria’s loss, even though she was still hanging out in this realm.
“What other questions do you have?” she asked.
“So many,” I said too quickly.
“Pick one, and start there,” she said, reflecting my own smile back at me.
I swam in place, trying to pick the most urgent questions first.
“My family, are they all ok?” I asked.
“Depends on which part you are speaking of. The ones you want to be ok, are. Those you sought to stop have perished.”
“So Victoria defeated Samantha?” I asked.
“Yes, it seems that she learned from observing your trials.”
My breath caught.
They watched my trials?
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“She and Samantha perished in a self-inflicted explosion,” Venia said with a smile.
Why is she smiling? That’s not something to smile about, it was incredibly stupid. Then it dawned on me, she was smiling because my thoughts likely mimicked those of my family when they learned of what I did.
It was strange, the parallels between the trials and what actually happened. I figured it was like a practice run for the real thing, but there had been so much that hadn’t gone to plan, and yet, there were still similar results.
I did feel relieved though, they were ok.
“What’s happening to my body back in Tate, and my body that’s back with my mom in that hotel?”
“Your soulmate has you. Right now you are in a little raft on your way back to the ships. And in the hotel, your body is as it was. Your Mother has no idea what you’ve been through.”
“If I decided not to go back, what would happen?” I asked.
“You’d simply pass in both worlds, and spend the rest of eternity here.”
That put a knife through my heart. Thinking of being separated from him for the rest of his life was almost too much to bear. Time would pass way too slowly before he joined me, Mom and Trin too.
“I choose the opposite of that,” I said, before she could assume the worst.
“I know you do, I can sense your heart.”
What a relief.
“I can also sense your inner sarcasm.”
Oh crap.
I smiled in response.
“So tell me more about Victoria and Eduard. He told me what he wanted, but I feel like I’m missing the gaps.”
She nodded, as if she approved of this question.
“Eduard wasn’t much of an issue. He was a test that got away from us. Someone needed to sit on the throne while the next in the prophecy was to come to fruition. You and Victoria couldn’t be alive at the same time. She had him kill her, and then take the throne. Before you ask, I am why.”
My mouth hung open, collecting water.
“Eduard had started with good intentions, but became hardened by a position he didn’t want. He didn’t want to kill his friend, and become an enemy to his kingdom, but he did as his Queen and friend asked. He was told not to tell a single soul about his request, including her love, Wisdom.”
“Why?” I asked.
It seemed cruel not to tell him what was going to happen, and why.
I thought about what I would do if put in that position. I would have to tell Axel, it would break my heart not to.
“I asked her not to. This was all to test you, to prepare you. You’ve always been meant to accomplish more than your predecessor, and the one to follow you will have different challenges that one day you may have to assist with.”
“So Eduard wasn’t as terrible as he seemed, he was just a test?” I felt grateful at the moment for my kind heart, that I hadn’t killed him.
“At the end he got carried away, caught up in the role the kingdoms had casted him in. He did some terrible things, while waiting for you to come take his power. But others had tried to take advantage of the little pieces of the prophecy that were known. Others tried to step in and take the Kingdom, as imposters. Eduard saw through them, keeping the throne safe for you, until you were ready to take it from him.”
It all made so much more sense.
“But why did he hate magic, and kill those who had it?”
“I think he ended up despising the very thing that put him in that situation in the first place. He had heard Victoria speak of the science and discoveries they had made in her world. Some of the things she brought to this world amazed him. He may have just wanted to create a better world, and it got twisted along the way.”
Twisted for sure.
“Why is Wisdom still here, and Victoria is gone, aren’t they similar in age?” I asked.
“Yes, but Wisdom was from this world, and Victoria was not. Is it normal for people to live until a hundred and twenty or a hundred and thirty in your world?” She asked.
“It’s rare for someone to make it to a hundred,” I said.
She nodded as if I had the answer. It was simple really, magic.
Now to get to the burning question that’s eaten away at me this entire time. I was finally brave enough to ask it.
“Why me? Why Axel? Why Kennan? Why did everything play out the way it did? Do you know how absolutely mortifying it is to find out you were crushing on your cousin, who is actually an evil Prince?” I asked.
“Why you? The better question is why not you? You don’t see who you really are. I hope in time, you will see how perfectly capable you have been this whole time. I have a feeling it is something you will learn with time and reflection. You have the very strengths and imperfections that helped you make it to this point.”
I hoped she was right, that one day I’d be able to look back on this journey and feel somet
hing other than the bitterness I do.
“Why Axel? That’s easy, this is not an easy burden to lay on a person, even as strong as you. You needed another part of your soul to lean on. So that part was placed in a man who had integrity, loyalty, perseverance, and enough love to walk through fire for those who he loves. He needed to be just as strong as you are, to handle what you go through and help you through it.”
That felt right. Axel was that and so much more. I hoped he saw the positive in me, just as I saw these in him.
“As for Kennan, I can’t take credit for everything that happened on Earth. I placed you there, but I don’t get involved in what happens there, it’s not really in my jurisdiction. I had no idea the tangled web he would weave, that your family would become.”
That was a good analogy. One of my cousins was my best friend, and the other two were my mortal enemies. It was like my life should have belonged to a soap opera, or a Shakespearean play.
“He’s really gone?” I asked.
“He is,” she said.
“Is he resting here?” I asked. I couldn’t suppress the urge to look around for him.
“No, the souls like his don’t get the peace of the spirit world. They are rebirthed into the world, they are reincarnated until their souls are healed and they earn the right to enter the spirit world at their next passing.”
“So I killed him, for him to be born again, and possibly still evil?” I asked, feeling a little jaded by that.
“Yes, he could continue in his ways, or he could be someone completely new, who brings world peace.”
“Please for the love of everything holy, please don’t make him a member of my family again. I cut that branch off of the family tree, and I don’t need it growing back.”
She laughed at that.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she said with a wink.
Seriously, if he gets born into my family again, I will shit bricks. I will not stop complaining until Venia gets annoyed enough to do something about one of us. Hopefully it would be him.
“What about the rest of that side of the family? What happens?” I asked.
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