Horizon

by Christie Rich

  When their lips touched sparks flew, literally. The elements swirled around them until they were veiled into a kaleidoscope of colors.

  Happiness enveloped me as I stared at the reunited lovers. This was right. This was good. My connection to Zach was completely gone. I’d never been happier to lose something in my life.

  Heath pressed his long frame to my back then wound his arms around me. I soaked up his energy, my heart racing from his touch. “You’ve done a good thing here.”

  I lifted my hand to his cheek, hardly believing I could touch him again. “I sure hope so,” I said. “We’ll see. I still don’t trust her.”

  “Maybe not, but you trust him.”

  I did.

  I turned around and smiled at the man I loved. “Not as much as I trust you.”

  A smile inched up his face. “I know.”

  Time for talking was over. I pulled his head to mine, brushing his lips with mine. My heart raced with the connection and I couldn’t catch my breath. His arms came around me stronger. His hands caressed my back while he stared at me then without warning he cradled my neck, merging our lips in a violent embrace.

  His kisses had always been fierce, but this one melted my heart. He belonged to me now, and I to him. More cheers rose from the crowd, which made me laugh. He pulled away and smiled at me.

  Something secretive lay within his pirate’s smile. “You knew, didn’t you?”

  He shrugged. “Our first night together, I felt her with us.”

  I swallowed, almost embarrassed. Who wanted someone else tagging along when they made love? She sure had a lot of explaining to do. I shoved that thought aside, preferring to remember the time I’d shared with Heath. I let my thoughts wander, sending images of the two of us to him.

  His smile stretched broader until he showed me that luscious dimple. I still wanted to lick it. He laughed and yanked me up against him. “You’re a little strange,” he said. “But I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

  I chuckled, grateful my connection to him was still solid. “Good thing, too, because you are going to have me for a very, very, very long time.”

  He frowned, yet a spark of hope lit his tawny eyes. “What do you mean?”

  A secretive smile crept up my lips. It was good to have him asking that for a change. I tried a mental link with everyone, but the ability was gone. But he’d heard me before.

  “What’s wrong, Rayla?” he asked, sudden concern clouding his smoky eyes.

  I shook my head. “Can you hear my thoughts?” I asked mentally.

  He frowned. “Only when you send them to me, it seems.”

  His voice erupted in my mind. “Can you hear mine?”

  I nodded. I sent a telegraphic call to Jett, who turned and approached us.

  “You heard me?” I asked.

  “Of course, my lady. What is it you require of me?”

  I gave him a trite smile. “Nothing. I was just testing out a theory.”

  What had happened? What else didn’t work? I backed away from Heath, but still kept our hands intertwined.

  As I scanned the area, I noticed the same bewildered look on most of the people. The others were speaking softly to those around them.

  “What is it?” Heath asked.

  “It’s different. Everything is different.”

  Tabitha came closer. “Of course it is. You wanted change and you got it.”

  “Are you telling me there is no more bond?”

  “When you merged the realms, you reset the power. There will only be a bond if you desire it to be so.”

  Merged the realms? Was that what I had done? She waited for me to speak. “So Faeresia is a blank slate?”

  She nodded.

  “But you remember how it was, don’t you?”

  She nodded again.

  For the first time I realized what Faine had faced when she came to the realms. It was a little more daunting now that I faced making the decisions.

  “Where do you think we are?” I asked, a little skeptical that the whole place had been rewritten.

  “It is yours to name,” said Tabitha.

  Mine? “I don’t know what to call it. I don’t know what to do next,” I said honestly.

  Faine walked up to me, Zach trailing behind her. His smile melted my heart. I was so happy for him and strangely sad at the same time. He meant a lot to me and always would.

  She brushed her disheveled dark hair away from her face and took a deep breath. “We shall help you.” She gazed around. “We all will.”

  “All?” I frowned. “What about Valen’s followers?”

  Suddenly a deep voice boomed, “Choose.”

  One by one people disappeared from the crowd as if plucked by a starship. So many were leaving. I wanted to stop them, to plead my case to them, but it was no use. They were lost to me.

  “They’ve gone with him,” said Tabitha. “The only people that remain are loyal to you.”

  “Which are how many?”

  Tabitha stretched forth her hand and the forest melted away. We stood on a mountainside overlooking a large valley filled with people. I’d never seen such a sight.

  “How many?” I asked again.

  “A few million,” she said.

  “How many went with him?”

  “About a quarter of Faeresians,” she said. “There’s no telling how many Order members follow him. Those will have to be sorted out later.” Her cool finger brushed my arm. “Different rules apply to them. They are human.”

  I nodded. “What about the Elementals in the mortal realm?”

  “You will have to search them out, but it appears you have plenty here to help you with the task.”

  “How will I convince them to join us?”

  “Persuasion has always worked better than compulsion, my child. Something your adversary never understood.”

  I swallowed; thinking about him still made me nauseous. “Where do you think Valen is?” I asked.

  She tilted her head to the side. “It doesn’t matter. He will find you when he is ready to challenge you again.”

  We had a lot to do to prepare for that day, but more importantly we had a lot of work to do to get these people ready for eternity. I shook my head. This was just so much to think about.

  I reminded myself that Rome was not built in a day, yet I was hoping to get things settled here pretty quickly. We needed a place to house the fae before anything else. We needed more than just a house, we needed a home. If my abilities worked like I hoped they would, it wouldn’t be too difficult to come up with something. The thing was I didn’t want to recreate what Valen had built. I wanted something new…something amazing.

  With millions of people in total, we’d have to have multiple cities or not. I wasn’t sure of anything, but I wanted to keep people together.

  I leaned in toward Tabitha, which brought a few raised eyebrows. They were right.

  No secrets.

  I shrugged then pulled back.

  “Can they all hear me?” I asked Tabitha.

  “Of course. You are their leader. They will always be able to hear you.”

  I swallowed then addressed the crowd. “We’re going to have to work together if we have any chance of overcoming our enemy. Things will change, have changed already.” I totally wasn’t good at speeches. My silence grew until someone in the crowd grumbled about my inexperience. “Yes,” I said. “I don’t know what I’m doing. Chances are neither do you anymore.”

  Heath brushed my arm with delicate fingers. “Just tell us.”

  “I’ve made a bargain for your lives.”

  A loud chorus of murmurs kept me from continuing. Jett bellowed out a command for silence. They listened to him. At least some things had not changed.

  “You have a choice,” I said. “If you follow me, it will not be easy. What you’ve seen happen to this land is because of my choices, but I don’t want to be the only one to choose. I want something new. I want a place where we can work togeth
er as a nation of people toward a common goal.”

  “Which is?” someone shouted.

  “Your ability to progress,” I said. “And to have children.”

  Jaws dropped and eyes bulged. No sound could be heard above the whisper of the wind through the evergreens.

  I smiled. I had them now. “The truth is I love you—all of you. I want you to be happy, but I can’t force you to do anything.” I curled my fists at my sides. “I wouldn’t if I could. You have to want this too. If you don’t, you might as well go join Valen.”

  Heath narrowed his eyes at me knowingly. “What happens if we don’t succeed?”

  I couldn’t quite meet his worried stare. I glanced at Luke instead, who wore his sun god smile. I smiled back and said, “I join you in eternity.”

  Heath grabbed my shoulders. “You can’t risk something like that. You have no idea what is out there beyond this world.”

  “Neither will you if you agree,” I said.

  Taylor frowned. “What?”

  “You must all agree for this to work. The angel told me you have too much knowledge to be allowed into the system again, so I asked him to remove your memories. The only thing any of us will have left is what we need to perform our duties. Your previous life here will be wiped out.”

  When Taylor flinched my heart constricted. “I know some of you will be giving up fond memories along with your eternal knowledge, but what will you have left when this world has fulfilled its use?” I glanced around, meeting the gaze of every person I could. “What will you have besides memories?”

  Taylor moved through the crowd until he stood directly in front of me. He stared down at me with tears in his eyes. I swallowed past the golf ball in my throat. I truly did ache for his loss.

  He cleared his throat as if it was hard for him to speak. “If I have the slightest chance of meeting up with Lily again, it will be worth it. If our love is true I will find her. If not I will have lost my pain. I am with you.”

  “As am I,” said Heath before Taylor even finished. I grinned.

  We’d have more time together than I could even imagine. The thought made my heart race. I just hoped I’d remember how much I loved him when the shift happened.

  Next came a vow from Luke and Jett, Finn and Cassie. Zach and Faine approached. Zach took my hand and brought it to his lips.

  He gave me a secretive smile. “When I’m wrong I admit it.” He glanced over at Faine and she nodded. “We are with you too. They may be able to take our memories, but love cannot be erased.”

  Tabitha ambled forward, parting the people who now circled me. Somehow, with each step the wildness slipped from her eyes and her skin took on a pale pink glow.

  I gave her a questioning glance and she smiled at me. “I have served my purpose,” she said. “I must soon leave.”

  “But where will you go?” I asked, my heart filling with sadness at the thought of losing her. She was going to let me paint her and tell me stories. My eyes filled with tears and my heart ached for the memories I would never have.

  “I have never been part of the fae, child. I am of another land, another people.”

  “Hy-Brasil?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Do not be sad for me. I go back to my home, to those I love. However, if you ever have a need for us, you shall find us.” She reached out and touched my cheek. Her voice lowered and her eyes grew intense. “Remember.” A flicker of power shot inside me.

  I blinked a few times, not sure what that was then nodded at her. My throat thickened with emotion and pretty soon the tears streamed down my cheeks. “I’ll miss you,” I said.

  She sighed. “I’ll not be far away. This vessel was merely temporary, and I must release it to the life that it was meant for.”

  Vessel? I’d almost forgotten about the girl Tabitha had merged with.

  Oh my goodness, Creed. I’d completely forgotten about him. He’d been king of the entire world before he was cursed, or so I thought.

  Tabitha smiled, her dove gray eyes shifting to a light blue. She faded more with every second. I didn’t want her to go. I wanted to keep her, to have her here to advise me.

  She shook her head. “Hy-Brasil is not meant for your world. I must return, but so must those who are not part of our world leave.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Braesal is no more; therefore, Hy-Brasil is no more. We wait for a new master.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She patted my hand. “I know, Rayla. When it is time, you will. Until then, trust your companions. Remember what you know to be true in your heart: to be trustworthy one must be trusted.”

  I nodded. How could I forget? Each person here was trusting me.

  I gazed out over the sea of people, recognizing more of them. Mom was there, absent Theran, thank heaven. Grace stood by her, smiling at me as if she was the proudest parent alive. One day I would tell her how much she meant to me. I just hoped I remembered who she was when things got truly settled. John held Sarah in his strong arms and Jenny stood tall beside him, radiating her own strength. Cassie’s mom was even there, with her arm around Natalie. Sam had gone on without her and could not be brought back, but like Taylor and Lily, if their love was meant to be they would find each other again in eternity. Gibbit was there too. He shoved his tattered beanie onto his bald head and pulled the band of white hair through the cap. Then he tipped his chin, turned and walked away. I hoped he’d come back some day. He was part of us, if he wanted to be. I had a feeling it would take a lot of convincing to get him to own up to it though.

  Seeing so many people I loved around me filled my heart with joy so bright I wouldn’t have been surprised if my skin rivaled the sun. Then I remembered who we were missing. Where was Travis?

  My happiness tumbled into a pit of disappointment. I looked at Uncle John again, but he didn’t seem too upset.

  Just then a man stepped closer, weaving through the crowd. His blond hair might as well have been a flag waving for all to see.

  My hand shot up to cover my smile. We did it. We got him.

  I glanced back at Tabitha, but she was gone. A girl stood in her place, bewilderment clouding her delicate features.

  “Carissa?” a man said in the crowd.

  Creed pushed past the line in the front and stopped. He stared at her, recognition flickering in his eyes. A grin split his mouth before he ran for her.

  Her eyes widened and she looked like she would bolt. He caught her before she could. She struggled against him, but only for a moment. After a few seconds of staring into his eyes, she relaxed and smiled at him. He pulled her into a tender embrace, rubbing his hands along her spine. I looked away when he kissed her.

  Braesal and Carissa reunited after thousands of years.

  This moment wouldn’t last. We’d have to work through the details and hope they’d stick when the real change happened. I still didn’t know when that would be, but I had to believe we’d be given a fair shot. Who knew what power would remain and what we would have to relearn?

  One thing was for certain. I was going to enjoy what time I had while I had it.

  I grabbed Heath’s hand and pulled him down the hill toward my family and our future. He gave me a grin and caught me around the waist. As he lifted me into his arms, I squealed with joy. He raced forward with me in his arms, where I always wanted to be, and would fight until I had no more breath to stay.

  I didn’t know how much time I would have with him, to love him. The only thing I was sure of was that forever would never be long enough.

  Epilogue

  It took quite some time for us to figure out housing arrangements. Some people wanted separate dwellings with their own little yards and others wanted a shared unit like the Crystal Castle.

  We ended up creating both. So far we had enough room for everyone. Heath and I had chosen a quiet cottage in the woods with plenty of room to roam. The lords had balked, saying the leader of the fae nation should have a real home w
hich really meant a palace.

  I’d had enough of those, thanks.

  Besides, no matter how thick walls were, there was only so much privacy afforded those who lived in a community home. I’d rather not have my people tracking our comings and goings.

  I lay on my bed, thoughts of the future swirling in my mind. I hoped I made the right choices. I wouldn’t know until this world was no longer needed, which according to the angel should be a very long time.

  So far it seemed like we would keep most of our memories. The trouble was, I had no idea if we already lost some. The most important thing was we all remembered Valen and what he’d done. I hoped those memories would stay, but I really had no timeline for anything.

  Heath plopped on the bed beside me, pushing a ripe strawberry against my lips. I smiled at him and took the entire thing into my mouth and chewed.

  He chuckled. “You and that mouth.”

  I feigned offense. “What about us?”

  He quirked a brow. “I’m not complaining, Rayla. It is simply hard to think of anything else when you are near me.”

  I laughed and he rewarded me with a flash of his dimple. Speaking of. I shot to my knees and straddled him faster than he could get away.

  He cringed. “Do you have to?”

  I pressed my lips together, trying to be serious. “You bet. You’ve dodged it long enough.”

  His chest rose sharply on a long sigh. “Go ahead then.”

  I leaned over, our faces an inch apart. “Smile,” I said.

  “No.”

  “Smile,” I said again.

  He chuckled.

  “Smile. For me.”

  When he did, I stuck my tongue right against that little divot. He tensed while I giggled. Then I slid my tongue to his earlobe.

  He let out a sigh that sent my hair fluttering around us. That was more like it.

  I pressed myself against him and he groaned. I loved this power I had over him.

  The minute I thought it, he flipped me over and straddled me. “You do not have power over me.”

  Shock claimed my face. “I didn’t send you that thought.”