‘You thought it would be easier?’ he asked. There was shock and disappointment in his tone. He took several steps closer to her and grabbed hold of her arms. ‘I thought we were a team, Sloane.’ He looked down into her eyes, her own devastation reflected in his. ‘I thought you trusted me to make these decisions together. Did you really believe you could just disappear out of my life without saying goodbye?’
Sloane shook her head, tears returning unbidden. ‘I have to do this,’ she said. ‘This is hard enough for me. I didn’t want to burden you with it too.’
‘But it’s not your decision alone,’ another voice said.
Sloane’s eyes dropped from looking into Rhyn’s, and she peered past him to find that Esther, Rowe and Jack were standing in front of the rift.
Rowe took a step towards Sloane before she spoke again. ‘You never asked us what we wanted,’ she said softly. ‘You never considered that perhaps we don’t wish to live in this world.’
Sloane shook her head, her eyes wide with confusion. ‘What are you saying?’ she asked.
Rowe closed the short distance between them and clasped Sloane’s hands in her own. ‘I’m saying that Jack and I don’t belong here,’ she said, her words strong and calm. ‘This world is beautiful, and the people here are kind. But they’re not our people.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Sloane said. Her body felt frozen to the spot, and she was trying to comprehend Rowe’s words. It was like a thick and heavy cloud had spread through her mind, and she was struggling to think through that haze.
‘I’m saying that this place isn’t my home and it’s not Jack’s home. I’ve always felt out of place here.’
Sloane had thought Rowe was happy in Ellysia and didn’t want to believe the things her sister was saying. She had planned to leave Rowe behind in a world where she knew she would be protected and cared for. Sloane didn’t trust the humans to look after her.
‘Please don’t do this,’ Sloane murmured.
‘You know how the Unfaih feel about humans, even after everything we’ve been through together,’ Rowe said. ‘Jack can’t stay here and neither can I. But we can have a life together on Aeris.’
She whispered the last bit, and it was enough to break Sloane entirely. She wrapped Rowe up in her arms, not wanting to ever let her go. Her mind didn’t want to accept her sister’s words, but her heart told her that staying on Aeris was what Rowe truly wanted. All Sloane had ever tried to do was to take care of her sister and make her happy. Maybe it was time she let Rowe make those decisions for herself.
‘What will I do without you?’ Sloane whispered into Rowe’s hair. She had always felt like the two of them were one person, but Rowe was the best part of Sloane. She felt like she’d be a shadow without her twin.
Rowe pulled back and stared into her sister’s identical green eyes.
‘You’ll go on adventures,’ Rowe said, laughing despite the tears gathering in her eyes. ‘You will fight strange beasts, and you will explore the hidden treasures of this world. You will be happy. And you will let yourself be happy, because what is the point in all of this if you can’t be?’
‘And what about you?’ Sloane asked.
‘I’ll be happy too,’ Rowe replied, with a smile. ‘You’re a part of my heart Sloane, and it doesn’t matter that we’ll be worlds apart. I’m always going to feel you in here,’ she said, tapping on her chest.
‘Me too,’ Sloane said, with a sad smile.
Jack walked over and shook Rhyn’s hand before he turned and pulled Sloane into a hug.
‘Look after her,’ Sloane told him. He hugged her tighter, and she could feel him nodding.
‘I will,’ he replied, as he pulled back. ‘I have a feeling you’d find a way back to Aeris and send a hrul after me if I didn’t.’
Sloane let out a small laugh through her tears.
Jack stepped back and placed his arm around Rowe’s shoulders. She looked up at him, and there was so much love in her sister’s eyes that Sloane was surprised she hadn’t seen how much the pair cared for each other before.
Esther approached and hugged the two of them before she moved to stand beside Sloane.
‘You’re not going with them?’ Sloane asked.
Esther shook her head and took Sloane’s hand. ‘We both belong here,’ she replied.
Sloane's heart warmed to know that Esther would still be with her, but she also saddened at the knowledge that Rowe wouldn't have her either. She nodded though and turned her attention back to Rowe.
Sloane reached out and dropped the Oblivion Stone into Rowe’s hand. ‘Do you need me to tell you how to do this?’ she asked.
Rowe smiled and gave a small shake of her head. ‘Jack’s already explained all I need to know.’ She wavered there for a moment, as if she were reconsidering her decision, but Rowe then gave Sloane one last hug before she pulled back.
‘I love you,’ Rowe said.
‘I love you too,’ Sloane choked out. She watched as Rowe and Jack walked hand-in-hand over to the rift and stepped through it to the other side.
Tears streamed freely down Sloane’s cheeks as she saw them standing on the other side. She wanted to cry out for them to stop. She was desperate to close her eyes and pretend it wasn’t happening. But deep in her heart, she knew they were making the right decision.
Rowe lifted one hand towards the rift and stretched her other out behind her, just like Sloane had done before. For a while it didn’t look like anything was happening, but then the rift slowly started to close, and sparks began to appear on Rowe’s other hand as she transferred the energy into a new rift.
Inch by inch the rift became smaller until all they could see was Rowe’s face. Her eyes were shut as she focused on closing the rift. But just before it winked out of existence she opened them and smiled brightly. And then she was gone.
Epilogue
Sloane twisted her hands nervously as she stared down at her sparkling silver evening gown. She had spent most of the afternoon getting ready, but there were only a few more moments until she’d be walking through the large doors before her and into the great hall.
‘This is stupid,’ Sloane said, shifting the glare she was directing at the door to her sister. ‘Esther, why did I agree to this?’
Esther lifted her hands in defence. ‘It’s been a year, Sloane. You really need to start calling me Lora now. And it’s not my fault you wanted to enter the choosing ceremony.’
Sloane’s scowl grew deeper. ‘I do call you Lora,’ she replied, before huffing out a breath. ‘You know I sometimes slip when I’m not thinking about it.’
Her sister was smiling brightly at her, but Sloane waved an irritated hand in the direction of the great hall.
‘As for the choosing ceremony, I didn’t exactly have a choice,’ she said. ‘I don’t even understand why Rhyn wants us to go through with this. We’re already together. Why does he need to test that?’
‘You’re just worried about the other women that will be there,’ Lora replied.
Sloane shot a look at her sister that was so deadly Lora recoiled slightly. She was right though. Sloane was worried about the other women. The choosing ceremony was a tradition; one that involved inviting women from across the land to present themselves to see if they would be a perfect match with the aspirant. According to that tradition, anyone who thought they might be a match was free to join the ceremony, which meant Sloane wasn’t the only woman vying for Rhyn’s heart.
On top of all that, Rhyn didn’t even have a say when it came to deciding whether or not they were a match. The whole thing was determined by the glow of the choosing orb. Sloane shook her head. She swore she was never going to get used to some of the Unfaih’s ways.
‘What if we’re not a match?’ Sloane murmured. ‘What if the orb turns golden when another woman stands next to it with Rhyn? What if it doesn’t even turn silver for us?’
Sloane didn’t need anyone or anything to tell her that Rhyn and her were right for each
other. But she was scared the golden glow that signalled a perfect match wouldn’t appear on the orb, and all the other Unfaih would see.
She really just wanted the night to be over. She had been excited ahead of Kai’s choosing ceremony. But now that Sloane herself was involved, she was terrified.
‘You need to stop worrying,’ Lora said.
‘And why did Rhyn choose tonight of all nights?’ Sloane continued. It had been exactly one year since Rowe had disappeared from her life forever. She had wanted to spend the day in mourning, not dressing up and trying to convince an orb that she was worthy of Rhyn.
Lora simply smiled. ‘It’s nice to see you nervous for once. I guess you really do like him.’
Sloane rolled her eyes. There was no way she would be going through this torment if she didn’t like him.
The ceremonial tune Sloane had been waiting to hear began on the other side of the large doors, and she froze.
‘That’s your signal,’ Lora said, giving Sloane a shove through the entrance to the great hall before she could reconsider the whole thing.
Every eye in the great hall turned to look at Sloane as she stumbled into the vast room and attempted to regain her footing. She wanted to curse Lora but kept her mouth closed and slowly started to make her way through the parted crowd.
The hall was just as beautiful as it had been for Kai’s choosing, with glowing stones twinkling from the walls and frozen wreaths of crystals and winterberries hanging from the ceiling. Sloane couldn’t fully admire the beauty of the hall though. She was too busy trying not to panic.
She noticed some encouraging looks coming from the crowd as she continued towards the dais. Emha was the first of her friends that she spotted. Despite helping Sloane get ready all afternoon, the young girl’s eyes lit up with excitement the moment she saw her. Orelle gave Sloane a warm and hopeful smile, while Allirie and Lorian were standing together and both gave her knowing grins. She tried to smile at them all in return, but she felt sure her expression came out as more of a grimace.
She was incredibly nervous, but all her worries drifted away the moment she saw Rhyn standing on the dais with the orb before him. He looked incredibly handsome in his deep navy suit. He was beaming at her in a way that made her heart tremor and her toes tingle. The whole room seemed to disappear around them as she looked into his eyes, and suddenly the ceremony didn’t seem like such a bad idea after all.
As Sloane came to a stop at the bottom of the dais, she glanced around in surprise. No other women were standing with her, and there were no women following her into the room in matching silver dresses. She was the only one standing there waiting to step up to the orb, and she didn’t understand why.
The music fell silent, and Sloane looked back up at Rhyn. He was still beaming at her so widely that she could feel his joy in her heart. He walked forwards until he was standing beside the orb, which remained a cloudy white colour while he stood alone next to it. Sloane started fidgeting at her dress as she watched him.
‘I would like to ask the first lady to approach,’ Rhyn announced.
Instead of waiting beside the orb though, Rhyn walked down the steps to meet Sloane. He held out his arm for her to take and she smiled up at him gratefully.
‘First? I’m the only one,’ she whispered to him, as they turned from the room of Unfaih who watched them and started up the stairs. ‘What happened to the others?’ She had seen enough new faces in the village during the week to know that other women had travelled to the castellum.
‘It appears they all like a good love story,’ he replied.
‘But they came all this way…’
‘And there will be other ceremonies in the coming week. Tonight is for us.’
He was grinning down at her and Sloane found herself smiling back at him in response. She couldn’t believe he’d somehow convinced all those women not to try and match with him, but her heart warmed at the fact that he had.
‘Ready?’ he whispered, as they approached the orb.
She hadn’t shifted her gaze from him while they walked, and as she looked into his eyes, she felt a renewed sense of confidence in their relationship. As they came to stand beside the orb, Sloane kept her eyes locked onto Rhyn’s. She no longer felt nervous and she no longer cared what colour the orb turned. She didn’t need any more confirmation they were meant to be together.
She saw the light from the orb beginning to reflect on Rhyn’s face. She watched for his reaction, waiting for him to see the truth that she already knew.
When his face was finally basked in a golden glow, a cheer erupted throughout the room, and Rhyn turned to Sloane with pure joy in his eyes. He lifted her up into his arms and spun her around before pulling her in for a heart-stopping kiss.
When he finally let her go, neither of them could stop smiling. The music had started again, and Sloane suddenly felt like celebrating. She felt like she could walk on air and it was the man beside her that made her feel so complete.
‘Should we dance?’ she asked as the Unfaih began to take to the dance floor.
‘And have you stomp all over my feet?’ he asked. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘But—’
Before she could object, Rhyn took her by the hand and led her from the great hall.
‘Where are we going?’ Sloane asked as he pulled her down one corridor after another until they arrived outside.
‘Rhyn? What’s going on?’ Sloane asked as he tugged her hand, taking her across the courtyard towards the castellum wall. She frowned as they approached the gates and Lora and Kai stepped into view.
‘What are you both doing out here…’ Sloane’s voice trailed off as two more figures appeared from where they were hidden behind the wall.
Sloane dropped Rhyn’s hand and raced across the short distance that separated them. Her dress slowed her down a little, but it didn’t stop her from running as fast as she could before barrelling into both Jack and Rowe, who stood there with happy smiles on their faces.
Sloane could barely speak there was so much shock and adrenaline pumping through her body.
‘What?’ she stuttered. ‘How?’
She shook her head and stood back from the two of them, looking her sister over with wonder in her eyes. Sloane gasped when her gaze settled on Rowe’s belly.
She punched Jack in the shoulder. ‘You knocked my sister up?’ she screamed.
The rest of them started laughing, while Jack rubbed his shoulder and blushed.
‘I believe you’re meant to say congratulations,’ he grumbled.
Sloane gathered them both up in another hug. ‘Congratulations,’ she said, with a laugh. ‘I’m really going to be an aunt?’ she asked, looking at Rowe.
Her sister’s face was fuller than she remembered, and her skin had tanned since they’d parted ways. But there was no mistaking the happiness in her eyes.
‘You’re going to be an aunt,’ Rowe replied with a smile.
Sloane had thought her heart was going to burst with happiness earlier in the night, but now it felt like it was already exploding.
‘How did this happen?’ she asked.
‘Well, Sloane,’ Jack started. ‘When a man and a women—’
‘You know what I mean,’ she growled, cutting him off. ‘How are you here?’
‘We closed the rift, but I made Rhyn promise we could return if I could reopen it,’ Rowe said. ‘He was happy to agree, and told us to come back in exactly one year’s time.’
‘Isn’t that dangerous?’ Sloane asked, a flicker of unease in her gut. ‘Does anyone else know about this?’
‘None of the humans,’ Rowe said. ‘Rhyn’s father has granted us one night here. He has sent warriors to guard the rift.’
Sloane tried not to let the twinge of disappointment diminish the happiness she’d been feeling. But she was already scared about saying goodbye to both of them all over again.
‘Well, you better come inside and make the most of it then,’ Sloane said with
a smile.
She took Rowe by the hand and led her back towards the castellum. As they walked, she caught sight of Rhyn staring at her.
‘Thank you,’ she mouthed to him.
He simply nodded in reply.
They danced and talked all night as they celebrated their reunion. Rowe told Sloane of all the changes that had happened in the human settlement. She spoke about the new town that had been built and of the thousands of people who had come to live on Aeris. Jack had been working as Denton's right-hand man for several months, while Rowe was helping to establish a school. It sounded like life on Aeris was busy, but that the community there was starting to flourish. It wasn't hard for Sloane to see how happy Rowe and Jack were to be living there
Not much had changed in Ellysia, though the year had been one of many adjustments for Sloane as she continued to adapt to her new life. She confided in Rowe about how her relationship with Lora had blossomed and how close her and Rhyn had become.
So much had happened in a year, but now that they were all together again it felt like no time had passed at all. The night didn’t last forever though. Morning eventually came, as morning always does, and they had to say their farewells.
‘It’s never going to be easy saying goodbye to you,’ Sloane said as she stood by the rift with Rowe.
‘It’s not goodbye,’ Rowe replied. ‘It never was, and it never is.’
‘Are you saying you’re going to be back?’ Sloane asked.
‘I can’t have my son or daughter growing up and never knowing their aunty Lora and aunty Sloane now can I?’
Sloane smiled brightly and gave her sister a warm hug. She took Rhyn’s hand, and the two of them stood together and watched as Jack and Rowe disappeared back to their own world.
‘She’ll be back,’ Sloane said when the rift had disappeared from sight once more. She didn’t know if she had spoken the words to comfort herself or because she truly believed that her sister would return.
‘And what should we do in the meantime?’ Rhyn asked, pulling Sloane into his arms and staring down into her eyes.
The Rift War Page 34