by Lynette Noni
“Again,” Alex said slowly, “I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
“You’re also hopeless at hiding when you’re anxious about something, so spit it out.”
She bit her lip, but even with his invitation, she didn’t know how to ask. Mostly because she was afraid of the answer.
When she remained silent, Xira uttered a loud—if entertained—sigh and said, “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
Narrowing her eyes, Alex said, “Excuse me?”
He didn’t respond to her question. Instead, he recited the words of their bonding, “‘Heart I give you, soul to share, strength and mind, both here and there. Forever and always, vaeliana.’” He dropped his nose until they were as close as his size would allow and said, “Of course I’m coming back to Medora with you, Alex. That you even feared I might not is absurd.”
Alex’s nose began to sting but she fought back the prickle of tears. “You have a life here, though,” she whispered. “You’re literally the Lord of the Sky Kingdom, the ruler of your race.”
“And I will be back in Medora, too, for those who make the journey with me.”
Jolting, Alex said, “Others are coming?”
Holding her gaze, he said, “Draekora was home for many of us, and for a very long time. Despite the tragedy that occurred there, I’m not the only one with a reason or a desire to return. And besides,” he added, “once your Meyarins are free again, they will benefit from our reinstating Mahna ess L’randae. They surely have to be down to their final reserves of Z’ao by now, if not having depleted them entirely.”
Mahna ess L’randae, Alex recalled, was the twice-yearly Giving of Life ceremony where the draekons wept tears for the Meyarins. Those tears—the Z’ao—were a foundational source of power for Meya, not just because they could be refined into Myrox and then ground into dust that created the colourful myraes fire, but also because they powered the wards around the city—wards that kept certain places free from Valispath access, and wards that had kept the waterfalled valley itself hidden from the rest of Medora ever since Aven’s banishment, keeping him away as well.
At least until Alex had let him back in.
“They are,” she confirmed, remembering Kyia telling her that there was very little myraes left in modern-day Meya. That, plus Aven had used Lady Mystique to pull Xira into the future just so he could have access to a draekon—and its tears—and have the upper hand in the coming battle.
Thankfully, that plan had been thwarted. Even if Aven had still, technically, come out on top in the aftermath.
“I can’t believe you’re coming back with me,” Alex whispered, humbled that he’d make such a drastic life change just for her. Especially after what happened to his mother back in Draekora.
“I can’t believe you thought I wouldn’t,” he returned. But then he said, “I won’t be leaving exactly when you do tonight—I still have some loose ends to tie up here, the same ones that kept me from travelling straight to your side when I felt our bond snap back into place upon your return from the past. But it shouldn’t take much longer before I can make the journey through the abrassa along with those of my kin who wish to call Medora home.”
“Take your time,” Alex told him earnestly. “And I mean that—I don’t want you anywhere near Aven as long as he has Vae’varka in his possession.” She looked down and added, “He’ll remember everything now, so he’ll know how much you mean to me. You need to stay far away from him until all this is over.”
She just hoped that she would still be around when that time came. Because if Aven succeeded in killing her, Xira would be a casualty, as well.
Quietly, she said, “Now that we’re back in the same time stream, even if all this works out in the end, eventually there will come a day when—”
“I know, Alex,” he interrupted, just as quietly. “But I have lived a long life, and when your mortal years are done, I’ll be ready to take my final journey beyond the stars.”
Alex marvelled at his ability to make death sound so poetic.
“Speaking of stars,” she said, not quite up to continuing their increasingly morbid conversation, “they’re starting to come out. Which means…”
“You need to get back to the palace,” Xira finished for her. “And you need to go home.”
She nodded and slowly stood to her feet.
Moving closer to him, she rested her hands on his muzzle and whispered, “I miss you already.”
“We’ll be together again soon,” he told her softly. “Forever and always.”
Pressing a kiss to his smooth, black scales, she repeated mentally, Forever and always, Xira. Both here and there.
And with those words, she stepped back and summoned a doorway, meeting his brilliant cerulean eyes one final time before leaving the Sky Kingdom and its ruler behind.
While Alex knew she needed to bathe and dress for the feast, when she stepped through the doorway directly to her room, she didn’t stay for long, having something else she needed to do first.
Hurrying into the common room, she took in how quiet it was and made the presumption that her friends must be sequestered in their rooms, undergoing their preparations for the evening. Or that was her hope as she approached the door on the far wall and rapped her knuckles against it, opening it after a call came for her to enter.
“Alex?” Bear asked as she stepped into his room. “You okay?”
She glanced around the space, finding it almost identical to her private suite, and empty save for her friend who was straightening his outfit, a cleaned version of what he’d been wearing for their daily challenges.
“That’s what I came here to ask you,” she said, moving to his bed and patting the blanket beside her. She offered a self-deprecating grin and added, “I’ve been meaning to talk with you all week. ‘Better late than never’ seems a bit pathetic right now.”
Bear chuckled softly as he sat with her. “Yeah, it’s appalling that it’s taken you this long to come for a D-and-M, given how much free time you’ve had.”
She smiled at his sarcasm, her mouth stretching wider when he elbowed her gently in the ribs to bring his point home. But then she sobered.
“I have something to tell you, and I’m not sure how you’re going to take it.”
Bear’s expression turned wary.
Alex went on, “It’s just… You seem to be doing well. Better. At least on the outside.”
His eyes shadowed and he looked away. “It’s not easy. But I’m trying, for Dad’s sake. And I haven’t been without help.”
“Declan?”
Bear nodded. “He’s been—he understands. What it’s like, I mean. Having lost his own dad only a few years ago.” His throat bobbed. “He’s really been there for me through all this. But it hasn’t just been him. Jordan and Dix, Kaiden and you. Everyone.”
Alex shook her head. “I haven’t done anything.”
“You’ve done everything, Alex,” Bear corrected her firmly. “You and the others, you’re the reason I have the strength to keep fighting.”
‘… no matter what, he needs to keep fighting.’
Alex swallowed as William’s words came to her. Then swallowed again as she considered how to share their exchange from within the Gate of Lost Souls.
Reaching for Bear’s hand and holding on tight, she took a deep breath and repeated, this time in a whisper, “I have something to tell you.” And then she kept whispering, explaining how she had ventured into the Gate in the hope of seeing Niyx, only to end up seeing William as well. How she carried the words he wished his son to hear, his final offering passed on through Alex.
“He’s so proud of you, Bear, and he loves you very, very much,” Alex choked out to finish.
Bear’s eyes were lined with tears but they didn’t fall. Instead, he pulled Alex into his arms and rasped out, “Thank you for telling me. That—That helps so much. Knowing that wherever he is, he’s okay.”
‘I’m free now, kitten. That means I�
��m better than okay.’
Though they were Niyx’s words, Alex knew they also applied to William, which is why she said, “He’s better than okay, Bear. I promise.”
Bear’s arms only tightened around her, but a knock at his door had them pulling apart, just as Jordan and D.C. entered the room. Like Bear, both were already dressed for the night in fresh versions of what they’d been wearing all week for the Gate tasks.
Their expressions froze as they saw Alex with Bear, and they looked as if they were about to retreat again, but Bear waved them in, telling them in a husky voice to join them.
“Is, uh, everything okay?” D.C. asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, Jordan doing the same beside her.
Bear exchanged a tender, hopeful look with Alex and repeated her words, “Better than okay.”
Her throat closed, but she pushed through it and returned his look, as well as his soft smile.
“Did we interrupt?” Jordan asked. “We can come back if—”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Bear assured him. “We were just… having a moment of closure.” He kept his eyes on Jordan as he quietly promised, “I’ll tell you about it later, mate.”
And Alex knew he would. Because while Jordan was handling William’s death better than expected, he, too, would feel better knowing Bear’s dad was at peace.
“I’ll hold you to that,” Jordan said, clearly curious. “It’ll give me something to look forward to while I resist the urge to stab these immortal fools with my butter knife tonight.”
“Just your butter knife?” D.C. asked. “I was thinking of something with more of a sharper edge. Serrated, even.”
“I was hoping Alex might lose it and unleash A’enara on them all,” Bear cut in, to which Alex just grinned and shook her head, even though it wasn’t hard for her to imagine that happening. “Maybe even burn a few things with those magical flames, leave some lasting damage.”
Jordan snorted. “What we did in the city wasn’t enough for you?”
Alex’s humour fled as she turned sharp eyes on them both. “What did you do?”
Bear’s eyes were bright, the sight easing something deep inside her, as he said, “Let’s just say there’s some graffiti that they might have a little trouble removing.”
“Vardaesia won’t be forgetting us any time soon,” Jordan added smugly.
“Serves them all right,” D.C. said, crossing her arms. “For everything they’ve put us through this week. For wasting our time like they have.”
Turning serious, Alex said, “How do you guys really feel about going home tonight? Without the Tia Aurans, I mean?”
“It’s like Bear said earlier today—if they made us work so hard only to deny us their help in the end, then we’re better off without them,” Jordan answered. “And given everything, we’d never know if they were just going to up and leave us in the middle of a battle, anyway. If you can’t trust your allies, who can you trust?”
“It’s still a blow,” D.C. acknowledged. “But we’re resourceful. We’ll figure something else out.”
“Together,” Bear said. “Always together.”
Alex smiled at them all, feeling lighter than should have been possible considering everything they were soon to face. And when she left them to go and prepare for dinner, she did so knowing they were right—they would find another way. Together.
With that knowledge, as she walked towards her private suite, there was a soft smile on her face, one that slowly faded when she saw that the common room was no longer vacant.
Her footsteps were heavy as she approached Declan, who stood from the couch as she neared, his face guarded as if preparing for a blow.
But Alex didn’t hit him. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close.
He froze, but then slowly returned her embrace.
“You’re not expendable, Declan Stirling. Not now, not ever. You hear me?” she said into his ear.
When he nodded, she pulled back again.
And that was when she hit him, slapping her hand to his shoulder—hard.
“Good. So don’t ever pull another stunt like you did today,” she ordered with a glare. She pointed to the room where she’d just left her friends and said, “They need you,”—she pointed towards Kaiden’s closed door—“he needs you,”—she pointed to herself—“and I need you. So noble sacrifice or not, never again. Is that understood?”
He raised his hands. “Don’t worry. Kaid has already ripped me a new one. Consider the message delivered, loud and clear.”
Alex eyed him carefully to gauge his truth, then repeated, “Never again, Declan.”
His face softened. “Never again, Alex.”
And with that, she drew him in for another hug, before finally letting him go and venturing into her room to ready herself for their final meal in Vardaesia.
The feast was just as trying as Alex knew it would be. Worse, perhaps, because she and her friends were put on display like dancing monkeys, with what felt like the entire population of Vardaesia wanting to engage them in conversation. Since they’d had a whole week to do so, Alex couldn’t fathom why they’d chosen to wait until the final night, when she was desperate to leave. As Kaiden had said earlier, they’d been away from home for long enough. Not to mention, they were returning empty-handed, and without anyone having been told they were venturing to Tia Auras in the first place. There were some long conversations still to be had tonight, after an even longer week of trials. The last thing she wanted or needed was to be stuck at an otherworldly dinner party that seemed to have no end in sight.
As the hours continued to pass, it took everything within Alex not to lash out at the revellers and demand that they hurry up and finish celebrating so she and her friends could finally depart. While Bear had joked earlier about her drawing A’enara, she was a fraction away from doing just that. And she wasn’t alone, for she saw Jordan’s hand fisted tightly around his butter knife, and D.C. speared everyone who approached with a hellfire look that Alex hadn’t seen since her early days at the academy.
“Easy,” Kaiden said into her ear for the millionth time that evening, yet again sensing her restlessness. “It’s getting late— they have to be done with us soon.”
She gritted her teeth but somehow managed to paste a polite smile on her face when yet another immortal came up to their table and offered congratulations on a “truly exciting” week. Earlier that evening, Alex’s friends had decided it was best they speak on her behalf after she’d snapped at one of the first Tia Aurans who had treated them like celebrities, so she happily allowed Declan to divert the newest immortal’s attention and sweep him up in conversation.
“I swear, if we’re not out of here in another hour, I’m going to call Xira to come and rain fiery hell on this place,” Alex grumbled to Kaiden, not even caring if the nearby immortal ears were able to hear her.
Seated along rectangular tables that had been set up in the throne room of the Vardaesian palace in the style of a banqueting hall, there had to be hundreds of immortals in attendance for the feast. At the very top of the room sat Saefii, Calivere and Tayros, relaxed and visibly enjoying the festivities. Then again, it wasn’t their world that was threatened by darkness. There was no reason why they shouldn’t be having a grand old time.
Attempting to shake aside her bitterness, Alex cast her gaze across the room and over the rest of the assembled Tia Aurans who were eating and drinking the mountains of unidentifiable but delicious items laid out along the tables. Her gaze snagged on one particular group of immortals who were given a wide berth by the others, showing that they were either really important—or really not. And since Alex recognised them, she knew they fit into the latter category. But she would have gladly chosen to sit with any of them over the crowd of pretentious, fawning Tia Aurans.
“Look,” Alex said to Kaiden, pointing surreptitiously towards the group and resolutely ignoring the desire to wince at the sensation that swept through her as she did so. “It�
��s our helpers.”
They were all there—Sorin, Latania, Enka, Kantor, Anais and Zaylin. Raife and Aes Orsa were with them as well, speaking quietly to Zaylin, the three of them set slightly apart from the others in the group.
Sensing Alex’s gaze, Zaylin looked up and caught her eyes. Neither of them had seen each other since the final task that morning, when Alex had refused to kill the immortal woman. Looking over at her now, Alex wasn’t able to read the expression on her face. But she was able to interpret the slight upward jerk of her chin as a summons.
Knowing that anywhere was better than the heavily trafficked table she’d been seated at for hours, Alex turned to her friends and, for the benefit of the immortals listening, said, “I’m going to stretch my legs. Back soon.”
Kaiden quirked a brow, having watched the byplay between Alex and Zaylin, but said nothing other than, “I’ll save you some cake.”
Admittedly, the otherworldly equivalent of cake was truly food of the gods, so Alex readily accepted his offer, even if she hadn’t felt like eating much else during the feast. Angry at the Tia Aurans as she was, her feelings didn’t extend to snubbing their desserts just for spite. Doing so would only be punishing herself.
With a quiet word of thanks and an even quieter apology for what only he would understand, she took off and made her way through the crowd, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible even if it was mostly a lost cause. But since the desserts arrived just as she wandered off, the Tia Aurans’ attention was thankfully diverted, with only a few calling out greetings, praise and the occasional whispered taunts as she walked by.
She found it interesting that the race was so divided in what they felt for the humans, in what they felt about the battle Medora faced. But regardless of whether they were pro-mortal or anti-mortal, it hardly mattered. The line had been drawn, and Saefii had made it clear that her people would be remaining where they were. So the rare taunts meant nothing to Alex; indeed, they were easier to ignore than the unending adoration.