by D. D. Miers
“What of Ronen? And Darius?”
Aedan pointed across the field. My heart twisted at the sight of the two collapsed in a lifeless heap. It was quite possible they’d been just as innocent, once upon a time, and had merely found themselves captured in a web they couldn’t escape. Though they’d caused me much pain, I would never again hate them for what they’d done.
I stepped over a few scattered bodies, toward a crop of blonde hair that shifted in the gentle breeze. With the darkness having fled Caitrín, I could see why my brother had fallen for her. Perhaps I couldn’t hear the lilt of her laugh or the deepest of her thoughts, but I could see the lines at her cheeks from where she had often smiled and could almost imagine my brother pressing a soft kiss there.
He would have been so happy to have seen an end come to that which he’d tried to fight so tirelessly against. Amidst the scattered dead, I stood, taking a moment to simply breathe in the crisp air that somehow smelled sweeter and fresher than ever before. Perhaps it was simply a moment of content before I glanced back to the city, which had certainly faced its own share of tragedy. Who knew how many countless had died with Inorah’s center.
“We can’t leave them all here.”
“No, but we can reuse the same cavern they’d been held in. We can seal it this time.”
My slow nod drew my attention to the hideout’s gate, from which several people strode out with gawking drops of their jaws. One was the man I’d choked out with ivy who had miraculously survived.
“You…” The man choked out the words. “Have you truly done it? You drove the darkness away?”
Aedan’s arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders. “She did.”
Never had I felt such pride well in my chest. Toward us, the others ran, their words a jumble of apologies and explanations that stacked so swiftly atop one another I couldn’t distinguish them apart.
I held up my hand, grateful they quieted at my less-than-hearty suggestion. “Will you all help us place these bodies back in the tomb they’d come from?”
“Of course.” The man, it seemed, had become their spokesperson.
Without complaint, they began to carry off the dead with the respect and care they deserved. They may have brought destruction with their own hands, but they hadn’t chosen such a path. I’d been so captivated in being certain Killion was carried off gently I’d barely noticed Aedan pulling my attentions to himself.
“Let me look at that.”
He gently prodded at my shoulder, bringing back the sharp pain I’d somehow ignored. “I’ll be fine,” I said, but we both knew it was a lie.
He hadn’t asked this time, or prefaced what he was doing, not until I felt the flood of warmth push out from the flats of his palms. My shoulder felt wrapped within his strength, and slowly what was a dull, insistent agony faded into no more than the hurt of a mere scratch.
“Thank you,” I murmured, my words silenced by the gentle catch of his lips against mine.
“No,” he grinned, “thank you, Sloane.”
“What of the secret sect now? This hideout? What will become of it?”
Aedan shrugged uncertainly. “I hope soon there will be no need for a sect that was, in the beginning, for the equality and acceptance of Fae and humans working and living side by side. Though, this place holds far too many dark memories. Perhaps it should be boarded and never used again.”
I couldn’t deny his logic, and I kind of agreed. It seemed somehow a terrible idea to try to resurrect anything in the place where it all began.
“Perhaps it should act as a shrine,” I suggested, “for those who died in their search for peace.”
Aedan smiled, drawing forth a playful nudge from me as I reached for Eshe.
He shored the woman up by her shoulders as we carried her inside. The place was already teeming with those who had survived, all doing their part to be certain we cared for the dead the best we possibly could. I heard the hushed whispers as we passed, and saw their gazes settle upon Aedan and me with curiosity. I would have been curious, too, had I believed someone a vicious monster, only to find they were the only reason the world had survived.
Deep within the dark, musty tomb, we settled Eshe. Over the smooth stone of her necklace, I crossed her hands. In death, she looked innocent and kind, far from the Fae woman who’d doomed us to a life of darkness.
“She was so full of life, once.” An old woman’s voice had me spinning around to where she stood beneath curls of bright white. Her faded eyes held sadness within them, yet hope danced there, too.
“You knew her?”
“It was a curse, gone terribly wrong. I’d warned her, I’d told her not to do it, but she wouldn’t have any of it. She was strong, like you.” The woman’s sad smile left my heart sinking, but I needed to know more.
“What happened to her?”
“She’d been cursed. She’d loved one of the Dark Fae once, and he’d loved her, too, in his own way. But she’d begun to learn of their plans, of their ideas to spread their ideals across the world. She convinced him to curse her, to her own demise. God knows how she did so, but once it was complete, she took her own life, believing that his curse would only awaken her in our time of need. She would have been our champion, had her heart of stone not been stolen from her.”
“The runes.” My head spun with her explanation, but I still nodded my thanks as she inclined her head in return.
“So it would seem. All along, I never knew it had been taken. I believed when we found the runes, they’d be stopped, and she could finally rest. Now, thanks to you, she can.”
The woman brushed at my cheek, much like a grandmother to her granddaughter. I masked my discomfort and smiled, grateful to have new allies who seemed to prefer life to death.
“What might we do to protect us all now?” I asked, having the sense of mind to believe this woman knew far more than I could ever dream of.
“We shall seal this tomb. Upon the door, we might cast a protective spell that will ensure they all remain.”
I glanced across the stacks of bodies that were far more than they had been the first time I’d stepped foot in the room. “My brother is in here,” I said, my voice drifting into nothingness.
“He will be a protector. Not to keep those from coming in, but to keep any residuals of Eshe’s curse from getting out. He will forever be a protector of life and light.”
“Will you help us?” My bright smile was enough for the kind woman to wrap my hand in her own and pull us back out of the cavern that teemed with those settling in the dead. Just outside the door, we waited, until word reached us that the last had been placed within. Somewhere in there, my brother laid, finally peaceful in his afterlife.
“I love you, Killion,” I whispered as a couple of Fae stepped forth and shook the cavern’s walls with the strength of their magic. Rocks soon tumbled down from above, sealing the doorway in a heap of tonnage no hands could move alone. Upon my shoulder, I felt the squeeze of Aedan’s hand, leaving me grateful for his continued presence, and his care. Without him, I never would have survived.
The old woman stepped forward, her hands dancing in a swirl of patterns across the jagged rocks. Before my very eyes, her chanted words smoothed the jagged surface flat, into a shiny, pearled onyx. It was stunning already, and if I had any guess at it, completely impenetrable.
Still, her voice rang out in a song that lifted my heart from the sheer beauty of it, since I understood not a word. To a crescendo, her notes soared, and before I’d had a moment to realize what was happening, she took hold of my hand, and pressed my palm flat to the center of the vast wall of stone.
From beneath my fingers, light echoed outward, curling into a swirl of intricate patterns etched straight into the solid surface. It glowed dimly, the sight of it stunning as it reached the far edges of the stone. Finally, she allowed me to pull my hand away. It was then the glowing faded, leaving behind only the carved etchings that reminded me of Killion’s doodles that often
graced the edges of his art.
“It’s…beautiful,” I breathed, unable to capture much more of my thoughts that danced behind a wall of gratitude. I would worry over Killion no longer.
“And now,” the woman answered, “our dead will rest, and Eshe will not haunt our dreams, nor threaten our bright blue skies.”
Not ever again, I hoped.
30
For so many years, I’d found myself a tenant of the forest, moving from one place to the next to avoid the attention of the Dark Fae who had taken the life of my father, my brother, and so many countless others who had once resided in our small village. Never, through all the time I’d lived in the wood’s encampment, had I believed I’d see the confines of a city again, much less live within one.
More than simply the darkness had changed since that fateful day I’d restored the source of Eshe’s strength to her and banished the curse that had given rise to so much destruction. Sonola itself had brightened, but more so in that the City of Darkness was no longer.
Renamed now merely the City of Light, it was the place Aedan and I call home. Much of it was still in shambles, aged by time and the wrack of death that had spread with the shockwave of Eshe’s curse. Yet, where there had been only darkness, light now shone bright.
The people of the city would still take some time to welcome us wholly, given generations of prejudice that had them hating those different from their own. For now, though, Aedan and I were heralded as pioneers and leaders who demanded respect, even if they disagreed with our methods or choices. It wasn’t a role I wanted to keep for long, but until we could be certain we found the right minds to take over care of the city, I would relinquish none of it. As for Aedan, those feelings I’d felt from the beginning had only magnified. They had taught me that love knew no prejudice or race. It only knew the heart of who it wanted, and my heart wanted my Fae, who fiercely reciprocated those feelings.
I’d come a long way from the girl who simply wanted to return home with her catch of a twenty-pound bird.
“Sloane…” Aedan’s nudge had me gazing happily into the catch of his warm eyes. “They’re here.”
I spun, my heart swelling at the sight. I’d sent word weeks prior, hoping the encampment had remained at the river’s edge. Then, I’d hoped they’d accept my invitation to travel along roads that were now clear and safe into the heart of the city.
“Sloane!” It was Freda, with her bright smile and joyful disposition, who charged toward me, capturing me in a hug that nearly sent me off my feet. “I thought I’d never see you again! I thought you’d died!”
I couldn’t help but smile into the thick of her hair as I hugged her back. “I told you I’d be back.”
“Well…” She pulled back and punched my arm, quite softly. “You didn’t come back!”
Laughter spilled from my lips. “No, perhaps not. But I’m safe and sound.”
“You know,” Jeremy’s voice drifted over the top of the girl’s head. “I would have been pretty pissed if you’d gone off and killed yourself.”
“Did anyone ask your opinion?” I teased, drawing the group into a bright laugh as a single figure stepped forward, with guilt written across his face.
“Leander…” He’d been out looking for Killion when I’d left for good. “It’s—”
“I’m so sorry, Sloane. I never should have let Killion—”
“Leander, hush.” I left Freda behind and hurriedly pulled the man into a tight embrace. “Killion made his choice. It wasn’t your fault, and the only thing that could have come from you going after him would have been your death, too.”
“Killion was a hero,” Aedan said, drawing a smile upon my face.
“He’s right,” I added. “I don’t blame you, Leander, not one bit.”
I could feel his shoulders relax under the lift of my words. Yet, when I moved back to Aedan’s side and let him take hold of my hand, there was no mistaking the looks of confusion and wariness in my friends’ eyes.
Brightly, I laughed. “I’ve a very long tale to share with you all. Anyone hungry?”
Jeremy was the first to brighten like a star. “Starved.”
It was all the response I needed, and I strode down the street with Aedan at my side and my friends at my heels.
Finally, I was home.
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About the Author
D.D. Miers is an award-winning author, ardent book lover, coffee enthusiast, and die-hard romance fan. When she's not writing, she can be found snuggling on the couch with a good book in hand, planning a Harry Potter themed party, or dancing very badly to music. She currently resides in beautiful Southern California with her wonderful husband, a crazy toddler, and the many different characters in her head.
https://www.ddmiers.com/
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Also by D.D. Miers
Dark Summoner, The Relic Keeper Book One
Slayer in Lace, Book Zero in the Lace Revolver Chronicles Exclusively in the ‘Sirens & Scales’ Boxed Set.
Alana Creed - Timejumper, Exclusively in the ‘Heroines & Hellions’ Boxed Set.
Gretel, Witch Hunter - Exclusively in the ‘Once Upon A Twisted Time’ Boxed Set.
Coming in 2018
Wicked, the Isa Fae Collection
Dark Illusions & Dark Secrets, The Relic Keeper Books Two & Three
Thirst, Kresova Vampire Harems: Aurora - Book One
Fae Kissed, Court of Midnight - Book One
Siren Fated, The Elemental Descendants - Book One