by Diana Nixon
“Welcome back,” I said, smiling humorless.
“Oh, crap, I killed our beloved Lord.”
“Ha, that’s a great wish!” Someone said, coughing. We all turned to the right and saw Will, trying to stand up.
“Oh, God, you are alive!” I exclaimed, running to him and wrapping both hands around his neck.
“Wow, easier there, Sweetheart. You don’t want to finish the asshole’s work, do you? What the hell were you thinking making me go with you?” He turned to Evan.
“Sorry, man. I didn’t know what I was doing,” Evan said, shaking his head. “But I’m glad to see you breathing.”
“Well, thanks for nothing,” Will muttered. Then he looked at me and frowned. “How did you do that?”
I looked at Elizabeth and she nodded, giving me silent permission to tell everyone everything. And so I did.
“So I was right about my feelings,” Will said. “After the dream that Evan sent me a few days ago, I knew that I would be able to feel my mother’s energy, if only I were around it again. Only, I never expected to feel it radiating from you. Where is she now?”
“I don’t know. You two are not allowed to see each other. It’s too dangerous.”
“So I will never see her again?”
“No one knows that for sure,” Elizabeth said.
“And you look too damn good for a dead lady,” William said to her.
She smiled. “All thanks to you, young man.”
“Good to see you again.” William smiled.
“Likewise.”
“Wait a second,” I said, looking at Elizabeth. “You knew Will would survive, didn’t you?”
She nodded. “Maribel let you posses her powers long enough to help Evan kill the Lords. Six of them died, but she and I both knew that her powers would never be able to kill her own son, because since the moment he was born, they have been protecting him.”
I smiled at Will again. “And here I thought I would never forgive myself for killing you.”
Elizabeth spoke again, “Sorry, Eileen. I couldn’t tell you the truth, because the other Lords would feel you protecting William, and we couldn’t risk our plan.”
“Only what is now and here matters,” I said, turning my head to Evan. He didn’t participate in our conversation and I knew why.
Christian came and helped me to my feet. “Well done, Baby,” he said, hugging me.
“Thanks. I always knew that it would be hard to break us,” I said, giving him a kiss.
“Where’s Tara?” Evan asked; his face as pale as a sheet. God only knows how much I wanted to take my words back and say that Tara was okay, but I couldn’t.
“She’s still in the church,” Elizabeth said.
Wordlessly, Evan rose to his feet and headed for the door.
“Evan, wait!” She called after him.
“Not now!” He snapped, slamming the door behind him.
And just like that we were back to the usual hell we called our lives, full of pain and regrets…
Epilogue
Amanda
I was staring at my reflection in the mirror, hating the black outfit I was wearing. No more tears were left in my eyes, they all were gone after crying non-stop for three days in a row. No one let us go back to the church to see Tara again, not even Evan was allowed to see her. They said it was better to remember her the way she used to be: always smiling, mysterious, and beautiful.
I didn’t see her die. No one did, except for Eileen. And she refused to talk about the moment. After we got back from The Great Hall, she locked herself in the bathroom and didn’t come out for the rest of the day. Not even Christian could make her open the door.
She kept blaming herself for Tara’s death. She said if she had not been so lost and unfocused she would have never tripped and Tara wouldn’t have to run to help her get back to her feet. She said she would never be able to wash away the blood she could still see on her hands. No matter how much we tried to tell her that it wasn’t her fault, nothing worked. And now, we all had to say our final goodbyes to Tara.
Even though she wasn’t a magician, we decided to bury her with the help of magic, which meant turning her body into light and creating one more star to shine in the night sky.
It was also decided to mastermind Martin, changing his memory and making him forget everything about Tara, the wedding day, and us. I couldn’t imagine the poor thing living with all those memories for the rest of his life. My father said that Will could do the same to the rest of us, but we refused to forget Tara, no matter how painful the realization of losing her was…
The Keepers of Dever decided that it was too risky to stay in the Cumbrian Mountains, because not all of those humans that were invited to the wedding were found and Will couldn’t mastermind everyone. So the chances that we would be disclosed were too high. That’s why my father has made a decision to move Dever to Lake Tahoe, that is in the Nevada, United States.
To everyone’s surprise, Evan let his mother stay in his house in Paris. He was still not ready to talk to her. He said he needed more time to get used to the idea of seeing her alive again.
As for my own life, it left much to be desired. Lucas and I didn’t have a chance to talk, because after his grandmother’s funeral, he decided to spend some time in France. I don’t know why, but I had that weird feeling that he knew about Evan and me, and damn my Fairey intuition, it never lied.
I hadn’t seen Evan for three days. I didn’t even try to see him, I thought he needed some time to be alone. After everything that had happened, I knew he was broken. He didn’t block me, so I knew that he missed me, though he himself didn’t try to see me either.
That’s why tonight I was a little afraid of seeing him; I didn’t know how to act in his presence anymore.
Someone knocked at my door. I swallowed hard and went to open it.
“Hey,” Christian said, standing at the threshold. “Ready to go?”
I shook my head, feeling fresh tears pooling my eyes.
Ho nodded wordlessly, took me by the hand and we left.
The first nights of March were always chilly, but surprisingly enough, this night was uncharacteristically warm and silent, as if even the air could feel how much we all needed this very moment of peace and quiet.
Christian and I went through the gates and came to the lake, illuminated with dozens lily-shaped candles, swimming on its surface.
Everyone was there: students, teachers, Keepers. Evan’s brother, Kevin was standing with Elena, sobbing quietly next to him. I didn’t doubt his sincere feelings for the girl, but I bet Tara’s death was a shock for him. After all, he had always been crazy about her.
Eileen was standing with her father, Frederick and my parents. Her face was unreadable. She wasn’t crying, she was simply staring at nothing in particular, thinking about something that not even I managed to read. William and Melanie were standing near her right side.
But the only person I actually cared about, was Evan. He was standing alone, with his hands in his pocket, and the breeze of wind playing with his hair. I didn’t dare go over to him. But then, he turned around, and smiled slightly at me.
“Go,” Christian said in a whisper. “He needs you now.”
I hesitated, then took a few steps closer to Evan, and he took my hand in his and kissed my forehead, saying, “Thanks.”
“For what?” I asked, surprised.
“For your patience, for not giving up on me, for everything.”
I smiled up at him. “You are always welcome.”
I didn’t know if we could make it work, but I truly hoped we could, because deep down inside of me, I knew I would never be able to live without him again.
A few moments later, we heard someone’s footsteps and looked in the direction of the gates leading to the lake. One of the Keepers came over to my father and said something I couldn’t hear.
“What do you mean it’s gone?” Dad asked, staring at him in confusion.
Eva
n and I shared a glance and came closer to my family. “What is it?” I asked.
“Tara’s body is gone,” my mother replied.
“What?” Eileen, Evan and I asked in unison.
“Who was the last person to see Tara?” Christian asked.
“Marion,” Eileen said, looking at us with worry filling her eyes. We looked at those present on the shore, but Marion was nowhere around.
“She was there when Tara-”
“Yes, Evan. I saw her, wrapping Tara’s body in a white, shining blanket.”
“Did you say shining?” Frederick asked.
“Yes, why?”
“The blankets used to symbolize death are simply white. The shining means that… Marion froze Tara. The question is, what for?”
To be continued…
About the author
Diana Nixon is a poet and the author of paranormal and contemporary romances. She was born in Minsk, Belarus, where she currently lives and works on her books.
In 2008 Diana graduated from Belorussian State University. She has a Master of Law degree and speaks several foreign languages, including English, Polish and Spanish.
Visit author’s website:
http://www.diananixon.blogspot.com/
More books by Diana Nixon:
Fantasy:
Love Lines (Love Lines, # 1)
Songs of the Wind (Love Lines, # 2)
From Scratch (Love Lines, # 2.5)
Diamond Sky (Love Lines, # 3)
The Souls of Rain
(Heavens Trilogy, # 1)
The Prisoners of Dreams
(Heavens Trilogy, # 1.5)
Contemporary romances:
Hate at First Sight
Love Undone
Checkmate