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There was so much magic, even spread thin through all of us that it took several minutes to finish. Lucan seemed to whither under our effort, his face aging in front of us and his body slumping pathetically. At the end of his magic, he knelt on the ground a broken version of the once powerful king.
“I should have killed you the moment I laid eyes on you,” he spat at me, still resonating hatred even from his mortal body.
I stayed silent, not believing there was anything I could add to the end of Lucan’s life. I stepped away, unable to look at the man who had taken so much from me. I turned my back on him, desperate to get away from him when I felt the pull, the tug at my own magic.
“In life or death, I will haunt you Eden! You have stolen what is rightfully mine and I will not let you get away with it!” Lucan shouted, standing to his feet. He pulled harder at his own magic and I realized I was the one who told him how to get it back.
I felt myself take an unwilling step backward as he pulled with greater force to regain his once incredible power source. I turned to face him, not afraid of him taking all of his magic back, but finding him obnoxious all the same.
He clutched for his magic more forcefully and I doubled over in the effort to keep what did not actually belong to me. Avalon took a step forward, ready to end the man before he could hurt anyone else, but Kiran beat him to it. He picked up the sword that his father hurtled into his own chest and waved it violently through the air. He plunged it deep into the king’s heart, releasing any reclaimed magic and ending the life of tyranny.
Now lifeless, Lucan slumped over the sword. Kiran stood up from his father and I ran to him. I threw myself into his arms, the tears escaping both from sorrow of the day and empathy for all of Kiran’s unspoken emotions. He held me to him, his arms wrapping around me as a lifeline to reality. We held each other tightly for a long time, the plaza silently filling with the Immortal kingdom that had unwillingly become part of the end to their monarchy.
“I love you,” I whispered finally, proud of Kiran, proud of our people.
“I love you too,” he whispered back, burying his face in my hair.
We turned from each other to face our people; I decided some sort of explanation was in order. But when our faces greeted the kingdom they fell in unison to their knee in a reverent bow I did not believe we deserved.
I blushed from their respect, feeling undeserving and childlike. Even the Resistance joined in the act of veneration, even if the smirks marking some of their faces could be felt from here. Avalon was the only one to remain standing, he bounced on his heels nervously, and when my eyes fell on him he sprinted forward to pick me up and spin me around.
We laughed together, this moment we shared surreal and hard to believe. I could feel his elation, his pride in our efforts. We accomplished together what no other had been able to. We took the baton that had been passed from our grandfather to our parents to us and we finished the race. We rescued the kingdom from the death and disease that had plagued our people for centuries.
Work still needed to be done. The grief of the day still needed to be mourned. There were still prejudices to overcome, convictions to be changed, but we had eternity to work on it. And we held eternity to offer to our people.
Avalon set me down, but held my hand. Kiran took my other hand and we stood before our people as the new order. We would not rule with an iron fist, we would not reestablish the monarchy, but we held the respect and reverence of a people that needed leadership and guidance. One day we could walk away from this responsibility. One day our people wouldn’t need us anymore. But not until they shared our immortality. Not until our word Immortal possessed its true definition again.
“Eden?” Kiran bent down to speak softly in my ear.
“Yes?” I asked, suddenly wishing we were alone. I had the strongest urge to wrap myself around his dirty, battered body and never let go.
“Will you marry me?” Kiran asked sincerely, his fingers twisting the emerald engagement ring around my ring finger.
“Any day but May first,” I smiled up at him and then jumped back into his arms. My lips finding his and the rest of our kingdom disappeared and we entered a world of our own.
Epilogue
I sucked in a breath, my dress pressed against my rib cage in a suffocating effort to minimize my waist, while the billowy skirt flowed around me. I laid my hands on my stomach, releasing magic to ease the pain. This dress, my wedding dress, had been carefully designed and skillfully made. There were moments over the past months when I thought I would die with the anticipation of putting it on, but now, at the end of the night, I simply could not wait to rip it off.
Or have it ripped off….
My fingers traced the lines of the delicate lace that wrapped around in a sweetheart corset and then moved up to hold the onyx necklace that had become a symbol of Kiran’s unfailing love for me. I spotted him across the dance floor, laughing with Avalon, Jericho and Sebastian. I watched them for a second and enjoyed the moment to myself.
The wedding had taken place in the Citadel, a conscious choice we made to erase the years of tyranny from our history and reestablish this sacred Immortal town in happiness. Gabriel had officiated, dressed in his usual priestly garb, but this one had been pressed and starched and his head freshly shaved. His fiery orange eyes had glowed with hope at our marriage, and in pride at our union. Kiran stood at the front of the church with all the men that had become confidants and close friends, Sebastian his best man, Talbott, Jonathan Summer, Titus and even Jericho. Avalon walked me down the aisle, and gave me away to the only man he claimed to trust me with. Aunt Syl held my bouquet while I said my vows and Lilly straightened my train. Amelia, Seraphina and Kate Summer who had become a dear friend over the last few months stood next to them and when I met Kiran’s shining turquoise eyes at the altar, I knew all was right in our small world.
The whole kingdom had gathered to celebrate with us, and now at our reception where we danced happily into the early hours of the mourning, I could look out at my people and feel nothing but happiness.
Nerves and future fears played at the edges of my consciousness, I had no idea how to lead a kingdom; I had no idea what I was doing. But when I lifted my eyes to my husband again, his gaze was there to meet me. Everything else melted away.
I knew there were hardships ahead of us, difficult times and uncertainties. But from this night forward I would share everything with him, with my husband, with the greatest man I ever knew. The magic was free now, our kingdom was free. We had a bright, long future to look forward to.
He left his friends and walked across the dance floor to me. My breath caught in my throat as I admired him in his elegant, sleek tux. I suddenly wondered if he was as uncomfortable as I was.
And as anxious to have his clothes ripped off….
He pushed through folds of white, silk organza and fought against my bustled train, but eventually, he pulled me into his arms and held me to him. My head rested against his beating heart, my arms encircled his waist and I breathed in deeply of true love and happiness. This is why Amory died; this is why he gave up his life. He saw Kiran and me as the future, and when he passed his magic on to me, it was with the hope that Kiran and I would lead his kingdom away from oppression and tyranny with Avalon’s help, and the help of everyone else we had come to trust along the way.
“Well, Mrs. Kendrick, are you happy?” he asked, whispering into the summer sky.
“More so than anyone deserves to be,” I admitted. Even now the haunting feeling that everything around me would crumble and disappear plagued me.
“No, Love, if anyone deserves happiness, it’s you. You deserve all the happiness in this world,” he breathed, filling me with warmth.
“Then it’s a good thing I got you to marry me!” I laughed.
“And why is that?” Kiran asked, his voice light, but his eyes intense with a love that moved my soul.
“Because my happiness starts with you,” I confessed, unwilling to ever leave his arms again.
“And ends?” Kiran smiled.
“Not until the end of eternity,” I promised.
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