Prophecy Fulfilled: Prime Prophecy Series Book 3

by Tamar Sloan

  Alexis narrows her eyes at me. “I beg your pardon.”

  “You heard me, Alexis. I don’t want to see or hear from you ever again.” Alexis’ mouth opens in shock and it gives me a burst of satisfaction. I point my finger at her. “You made sure we were never close, deliberately pushed me away whenever you could. You probably wanted this all along.” I turn and start to walk away. “Stay away from me. Whatever held us together is dead.”

  I head for the trees behind the Precept Rock, their calm comfort calling me. The severing of the connection should feel good. I’d hoped it would make me feel lighter.

  But instead the loss seems to have lodged in my chest. It hasn’t freed me like I thought it would. I almost turn around, wondering what Alexis thinks of the word I just threw at her. The melody seems to pulse in my head, tugging at my body. But now isn’t the time for the connection to the Glade to power up. I need to get away from the woman who has tried to sabotage everything good in my life.

  Deep amongst the trees I stop. The broad trunks surround me, reminding me that I’m not alone. I move to the closest one, resting my forehead against it. With my hand on the life growing inside me, I take a deep breath. It’s shakier than I would have liked, but any tears that were thinking of spilling retreat. We have so much to deal with right now, I can no longer afford my mother any more energy.

  I turn and rest my back against the solid wood. The melody seems to have quietened, maybe slowed. I have no idea what that means, but I simply focus on it, allowing its soothing chords to work their magic. The raw edges of pain slowly quieten.

  Although Orin arrives not long later, by the time he’s here I’ve shut it away. I’ve reached a place where Alexis can’t hurt me anymore, and I tell myself that I’ll learn to be at peace with that. I meet him at the edge of the Glade, not surprised that he knew where I was.

  His face is pale, his green eyes shadowed with anguish at the destruction that greeted him. I pull him in. “I’m so sorry, Orin.”

  He holds me tight, giving as well as receiving the comfort we both need. “It has begun, hasn’t it?”

  I swallow as we separate, gazes drawn to the devastation that Alexis has wreaked. I think of the Prophecy started so many lifetimes ago, of Alexis and Avery and their love and their loss, of Noah failing to change. “I think this started a long time ago.”

  Orin falls silent and I can feel him contemplating my words.

  At least the place is empty. Alexis and her workers have left, probably to celebrate what they achieved here today. It won’t be long before she has a glass of champagne in her hand.

  It’s only then I realize Orin won’t be able to have his ceremony. The Glade is no longer a private cove for supernatural beings. “Oh no, Orin. How will you be crowned?”

  To my surprise, Orin smiles. “Ah, sister. The Glade is far more than just a clearing.”

  I wait, but Orin doesn’t offer any more than his enigmatic statement. I don’t bother asking, knowing he’s unlikely to elaborate. It looks like I’ll have to wait and find out.

  Instead, I use our few minutes alone to see if I can learn something else. “So, what exactly does the sovereign get to do?”

  Orin tilts his head. “Basically everything you do now, but more.”

  “So calming animals so we can help them.”

  He nods. “From the smallest to the largest. But still more than that.”

  I think of the four Weres who tried to kill me and how I’d subdued them. I turn to him in shock. “It’s mastery of all animals, isn’t it?”

  I try to imagine what that will mean for Orin. An ability to command any animal.

  “When we have to.” Orin’s eyes narrow as he looks at me, seeming to give thought to his next words. “But it’s even more than that. Fae are a conduit, a connection, between the earth and anyone willing to hear what she has to say.”

  “That’s a big responsibility.”

  “Yes, it is. Too many people don’t listen anymore. “

  Like Alexis.

  I look back at the road that now leads to the Glade. “He tried really hard, didn’t he?”

  Orin sighs. “Yes, he did. He achieved a lot of good too.” Orin turns to me again, this time his eyes calm pools of green. “But I think he realized it was his legacy that would have the greatest impact.”

  I open my mouth to ask what Orin means by that, this time going to insist if he tries to sidestep an explanation, but two more trucks pull up beside ours. Noah and the others are here.

  We greet them, joining our devastation with theirs. Beth has taken hold of Adam’s arm like she needs the support. Adam looks like he wants to return the favor and raze whoever did this with his bare hands. Mitch and Tara are silent, both curled protectively around their unborn child.

  Noah takes me in his arms, but I don’t need the contact to feel what this is doing to him. It feels like a part of his own soul has been battered. I place a feather light kiss on his chin. “We’ll stop this.”

  He nods; a short, sharp movement. “Yes. We will.”

  More cars arrive, and we all watch as three people climb out. Of varying heights and ages, they all have one thing in common—the length of their flowing long hair. As they approach, I see their next common feature. Green tilted eyes smile at Orin and then turn to me.

  The melody swells and despite the destruction around us, I feel myself smiling. These are my people.

  The first to step forward is a grey haired woman. “Welcome, Eden.”

  I hide my surprise that this woman knows my name. She introduces herself as Dawn, one of the five Fae Elders. The next is a short man, probably in his twenties, who says his name is River. Coral is the last one, flame orange hair framing her bubbly face. The same connection I feel to Orin ties me to these people.

  They clasp Orin, murmuring their condolences. I’m not surprised when they call him Elder.

  They all step back, faces expectant. I look to Orin. It seems we’re ready to start his crowning.

  Orin smiles his enigmatic smile and leads us into the trees. Noah takes my hand as we follow, his eyebrows raised. I shrug, just as clueless about what is going to happen. It’s more of a novel feeling for him than me. I’ve spent the last year and a half discovering there are layers to our existence that most will never know about.

  Orin stops once we’re deep in the forest. Little sun filters through the dense canopy of pine above us, and the scent of resin is strong. Everything feels subdued and solemn. Orin and the others spread out, and I stand there, unsure of what I’m supposed to do. The Phelans seem to hold back, remaining at the rear where they can watch without obstructing whatever is happening.

  I stand beside a particularly large pine, grasping Noah’s hand tightly. Excitement and awe are beginning to bloom in my stomach. The melody is growing so powerful that it seems to be a live being within me, the thrumming pulsing so strong it connects straight to my heart. I look around, wondering how much the others can feel.

  The Elders each glance at me and then at Orin. He nods and they fan out, each standing beside a tree of their own. I watch with bated breath, wondering what will happen next.

  They all close their eyes and tip their faces up to the canopy and silence descends. I want to ask Noah if he can feel it, maybe even through our connection. I doubt he can hear the overwhelming beauty that the melody has become, but there’s a sense of something accumulating, something coming.

  I don’t speak, knowing this is the time for silence. Instead I grasp his hand and move closer to him. Can he feel how right this is? It’s returning something that I didn’t realize had been missing. A powerful sense of hope is dawning within this space.

  It’s Noah’s intake of breath that is the first thing to alert me. I follow his gaze and see that something is moving in the canopy above. If I could, I’d narrow my eyes to focus. But my whole face is open in wonder, wide with astonishment.

  Small specks of glowing gold filter down. Within seconds they gain momentum,
more of them appearing, rushing down to us. They trickle through the trees, flow down the trunks. When the thrumming seems to be a pulsating power beneath my feet, I look down. More flecks of fragile beauty, nothing more than particles of glow, are flowing below us.

  Very soon, the same shimmery particles that flew away when my father died are cascading down the trees as more rush over the ground. They come together, swirling and dancing, and begin to coalesce together. I watch, eyes too scared to blink, as they start to form a circle. Flying and flowing, they move around us, creating a ring of light. Each of us, Orin, the Elders, myself and Noah, are encased in the magical halo.

  The golden specks divide, and at five points around the circle they spear off. I watch as a star is created by their shimmering glow, with Orin and the three Elders all standing at a point.

  It’s then that I realize something—I’m standing at the peak of the star, Noah and I are the apex of this shimmering symbol. I gasp. The same symbol that is stamped behind my ear, that Noah has imprinted on his chest. It would have to be the same symbol each of the Elders have on their body too.

  But why are we at the peak?

  I feel Noah register it too and our hands tighten around each other. This is beautiful and profound and deeply mysterious.

  The Elders lift their arms, faces defined by a glorious smile. It’s the release the beautiful shimmer around us is looking for, and I feel the change. The intent to find their home.

  The glorious motes seem to expand for a moment, like a breath being sucked in. I glance at Orin, knowing this is his moment.

  But as the particles contract, as they begin to funnel, I step back in disbelief. The tree behind me becomes my spine as they flow toward me.

  All of a sudden, I’m encased in glistening gold. The pieces that I now realize are far more than just my father, but the essence of generations of Fae, swirl around me like a maelstrom.

  Noah releases my hand but I know I’m not alone. The melody, the very soul of the Fae, is surrounding me in its love. I can feel the Elders, the Phelans, my brother, the precious life growing within me, and my soulmate beside me. I can feel the trees and the life within and around them. I know if I tried hard enough, I could stretch this connection as far and wide as I want.

  But instead, I raise my arms up, willing to accept this gift. Like a suit of gold, the particles come to rest on me, kissing me with their warmth. I draw in a breath when they sink down, dissolving into my skin.

  Silence reigns as I realize it’s finished.

  I hold a hand up, unsure how it can look so normal. Turning to Noah, I try to find answers. Noah’s face tells me whatever just happened was as fantastical and magical as it felt. His family behind him hold the same wide-eyed awe.

  What just happened?

  One by one, the Elders kneel. I watch in shock as Orin follows suit. I don’t know what to say as they stay there, heads bowed. Do I kneel too?

  Orin looks up at me, that calm smile of his starting in his eyes and blossoming over his face. “Elders of the Fae, I present to you, Eden. Our Queen.”

  Part VI

  Noah

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  When my mind starts working again and I’ve torn my gaze from the girl who just did the ultimate mind-blowing stunt, I turn to find the Fae have gone. Melded back into the forest, it’s like they were never here. Without a word, my parents, Mitch and Tara head back to the Glade, probably needing to process what they just saw, but also realizing we need time to talk.

  I turn back to Eden. “So…ah, wow.”

  Her smile is just what I was looking for. She glances down at herself, lifting an arm and turning it one way then the other. There’s no sign of the glowing specks that had covered her. She looks around to find what I’ve already realized—we’re alone.

  She frowns. “They left?”

  I shrug. “It seems Fae aren’t big on pomp and ceremony.”

  “Did Orin say what I thought he said?”

  I nod.

  Eden was just crowned Queen of the Fae.

  “But I’m a Changeling. I’m half human.”

  “And I was the Were who didn’t change like I was supposed to at sixteen. I think the Prophecy doesn’t care too much about blood lines.”

  That moment when Avery leant over her and touched her mark and his, must’ve been when he made the decision. Orin knew it too, Mr. I-Only-Give-Half-Answers had decided not to share that little nugget of news.

  I’m so caught up in wonder at what I’ve just seen, unsuccessfully wrapping my head around what this could mean, that I don’t hear them straight away.

  At first it’s only small animals, squirrels, voles, even a skunk. They materialize from the trees, coming forward. Eden kneels down, face alight with delight as she reaches her hands out. Noses brush her fingertips, heads stroke her hands. Their message conveyed, they move away. The birds are next, a massive osprey, a tiny humming bird and everything in between, they all swoop and flutter by her shoulders, their wings kissing her skin.

  One by one, then by the dozens, they come to pay homage to their queen. From bugs to bears, they all come, touch their new monarch, their connection to the human world, and leave. I can’t help my smile when I see a wolverine approach. He looks at me, and I’d swear his eyes widen with surprise. I nod, thanking him for letting me return to his queen’s side.

  My heart swells as I see the joy on Eden’s face. No wonder it was such a struggle for her to accept she was one of us, because she never was. I can’t believe we didn’t see it—Eden was never meant to be assimilated by Weres. She was something that was meant to expand us.

  I’m almost wondering if I should have left like the Fae Elders when Eden’s hand reaches out. Like a fish on a line, I don’t have a choice. I’ll always come when this girl calls. I step forward, taking it, and she pulls me closer.

  She pulls me into the circle of diversity that has been created, one hand holding mine, the other gripping the wolf pendant. The smallest are left now, butterflies raining their soft blessings, even some dragonflies flitting in spurts. I look down to find a lady beetle has crawled across our joined hands, now a brilliant red spot on my skin.

  I look up at Eden and all I can feel is wonder.

  Her smile is brilliant. “You’re part of this now too.”

  They disperse as quietly as they came, blending back to their world. We stay kneeling amongst the pine needles. I blink. “Okay, so that was definitely a bigger wow.”

  Eden leans her head onto my shoulder. “Understatement.”

  I nudge her just a little. “So, I’m pretty sure a queen outranks an Alpha.”

  She raises her head, her look unimpressed. “We didn’t notice who outranked who when I was a Changeling.”

  I stand, holding my hand out to her. “So, this changes things.”

  Eden gives me ‘tell me about it’ look. “The question is, how?”

  She grabs my hand so I can haul her up, her other hand reaching out to the tree to steady her. I grin, because it seems my mate is already beginning to lose her center of balance.

  But the grin fades when I see what that single touch has sparked. Three words appear across the trunk, silver and shimmery, like they’ve been branded.

  Eden jerks her hand away and it disappears. We look at each other and then back at the tree. She raises her hand and slowly reaches out.

  United we conquer.

  Wide-eyed, Eden turns to the adjacent tree. The moment she rests her hand on it, just above her fingertips the three words flash.

  United we conquer.

  Running to the next one she tries it again. And just like the last, the words appear. She goes wider, this time finding an aspen further afield. I feel her excitement and curiosity—she’s wondering whether it is just the trees that were somehow part of the ceremony.

  But the words blaze again. United we conquer.

  Eden comes back and stands before me, her smile radiant. I’m not even going to bother with the wow
this time. There are only so many times you can say it before it becomes redundant.

  I pull up a smile which probably matches hers. “Looks like the Queen of the Fae may be part of the Prophecy, huh?”

  I lean down and kiss my girl, the one who has just learned her true potential.

  The Prime Prophecy has just upped the ante again.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The next day, Eden and I are sitting in the only place that can do everything that’s happened justice. The sun is just peering over the treetops as we drop onto the thinking chair. Caesar curls up by her feet, Stash beside mine. We have a big day ahead of us—more phone calls to make and more money to raise. The sense that the grains of time are piling up on us is weighing everyone down.

  Eden sighs, her head dropping onto my shoulder. I curl my arm around her as one of her hands comes to rest on my chest, right over the wolf tattoo, the other wrapping around her wolf pendant.

  “I’m sorry, Eden.”

  She looks up, surprised and confused. “For what?”

  “For trying to make you one of us. I should have realized that you weren’t meant to be absorbed...” I brush back her hair. “You’ll make us more, just like you made me more.”

  Eden leans into my hand, eyes closed. When she opens them, the emotion in their forest depths sucks the breath right out of me. “Noah.” Her hand comes up to cup my face. “I’ve never belonged in the way I do with you. With Weres. I think this whole Fae Queen thing shows us that maybe Were and Fae are meant to be a ‘we,’ just like we are.”

  My lips brush hers, loving the feel of her, glorying in the emotion and sensation. How the hell did I get so lucky?

  As I pull back, all I’m thinking is that yes, we’ve lost the Glade, yes, the hurdles have grown into insurmountable mountains, but it feels like we’re building something. Forging connections that we never thought possible.

  Surely that’s got to count for something.