Roar of the Lion : Celestra Forever After 7

by Addison Moore

  I grab that budding beach ball at the base of my torso. “What the hell. I’m in. My uniform might need a little altering though.”

  Michelle shrugs. “Don’t worry, Skyla. You won’t be the only one knocked up.”

  A collective gasp goes off in our small circle.

  Nat leans in. “Michelle Miller! Who knocked you up?”

  Michelle clucks her tongue. “Who do you think?”

  Lexy squeezes her eyes shut. “The same person who knocked me up.”

  Emily and Bree cackle up a storm because God knows they’ve both been there. The two of them were both knocked up with Drake’s kids at the very same time.

  “Wow,” I say, unsure whether to join in on the laughter. “It looks as if Liam has been a very busy, busy boy. I guess the more Olivers, the merrier.”

  Chloe pretends to gag. “Please. We’ve set the next generation up for a veritable incest fest. Get ready for some serious inbreeding to occur. God knows none of us are getting off this overgrown rock.”

  A spark of light catches my attention in the woods behind us. A pink glow that only seems to grow.

  Gage and Logan come up and nod to the thicket.

  “What’s going on?” Gage doesn’t take his eyes off the glowing aura.

  Logan takes up my hand. “Let’s go have a look.”

  I take up Gage’s hand as well. “Let’s.”

  The three of us head into the woods where that pink hue grows with a rainbow of lavender and blues intermingled. A spray of stars glitters through the forest like a comet, and with each step we take, we feel the world melt to nothing beneath our feet until Ahava materializes around us—and we’ve been fully transported. Not just the three of us, but every last person at Mia’s wedding reception—and judging by the sea of bewildered faces, perhaps every Nephilim in all of existence.

  Ahava glows a steel shade of blue, the water sparkling pale as glass.

  The Falls roar in the background, but I’d swear they were making music. I spot five celestial bodies out in the middle of the lake, my mother and her cohorts, and one extra Sector that I happen to be very, very familiar with.

  Marshall looks our way and heads over, walking on water much to the delight of the women in the crowd.

  “Skyla!” Mom—Lizbeth Landon—cries out as she runs my way with Jaxson in her arms, along with all of the little Olivers and Landons running around her like moons orbiting a planet. Nathan and Barron look particularly thrilled to be here. “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know,” I say, unable to take my eyes off of Marshall.

  Logan leans in. “I think I know. And I think deep down, you do, too.”

  A breath hitches in my throat. I don’t dare think it. But my God, I pray it’s true.

  Gage steps away, his dimples digging in deep as he motions me toward Marshall, and my feet don’t hesitate to head in that direction.

  “Ms. Messenger,” Marshall calls out just as the sky opens up above the lake and the throne room shimmers in the distance. An emerald rainbow spans over three thrones, and I see them—God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and I am filled with the light and love from their glorious presence.

  The baby in my belly does a somersault, and I laugh as I step out onto the water, my feet never sinking to the sand. Instead, I walk over the waves as Marshall links his arm to mine.

  “Gentlemen,” he calls out to Logan and Gage. “I’m afraid your presence is required.”

  A laugh of delight evicts from me.

  “It’s happening,” I whisper to myself.

  Logan and Gage stride this way, looking every bit the handsome men they’ve grown to be. The kings of our people, the kings of my heart. Together, we make our way to my mother, where she and the three with her stand in all of their celestial brilliance. My father steps out from their shadow, and by his side is my sweet daughter, Sage, looking every bit as feisty as she can be.

  My mother nods as she points upwards, and the lake water rises to form a staircase that leads to that throne room in the sky.

  Marshall, Logan, Gage, and I don’t hesitate. We walk up those watery steps until we hit a platform made from a single sheet of sapphire.

  The Son, our Savior, stands and appears before us, his clothes white as lightning, his eyes filled with the epitome of love. He holds three crowns, golden and splendid.

  He hands them to Marshall who places one on each of us.

  “Well done, my good and faithful servants.” The Son cradles my face in His hands, and every good and calming sensation ever known pulses through me as He heals my every disease and forgives my every sin. “Take your rightful place as the leader of your people, as their precious queen. It is on this day, Celestra is given official victory over Countenance, and over the Barricade as well.”

  Logan, Gage, and I fall to our knees and we cry holy, holy holy before leaving our crowns at the feet of Jesus.

  Then as quickly as it happened, the three of us are back on the lake. Music strums through the air as a heavenly choir—more like a heavenly band—starts up with gorgeous music that rivals anything we’ve experienced on Earth.

  Candace rises into the sky about six feet until all eyes are looking her way.

  “I do believe I interrupted a wedding feast,” she trills as if it were the happiest day in existence, or at least one of them. “Carry on!” She lifts her hand, and that three-tiered cake of Mia’s appears. And soon, my sisters, Mia, and Melissa bounce their way over to it and by their sides are Rev and Gabe.

  I glance around at all of the familiar faces that are suddenly caught up in the revelry until I see her.

  “Laken,” I shout, and both she and Wes step out onto the water as they speed our way. “Mother?” I look back into her glowing blue eyes as she touches down next to me. “I don’t need to tell you what happens next, do I?”

  She laughs once again, and I don’t think I can ever get enough of the magic she exudes when doing so.

  Her expression sobers. “Wes and Laken. I present to you the honorable Cooper Flanders.”

  In a flash, Cooper blinks to life before us, fully formed, solid and every bit his glorious former self.

  Laken and Wes dive over him, and it’s tears of joy just as vicious as those of sorrow they shed just over a month ago.

  Mom comes up from behind, wiping tears from her face while witnessing the scene. We’ve all felt Laken’s grief so deeply.

  “Mom, please gather Laken and Wesley’s children,” I ask her. “I think they should see Cooper, too.”

  She nods as she looks past me. “Thank you, Candace. And thank you for everything you’ve done for my daughters.” She sniffs before she takes off, and my mouth falls open because her words both warmed and floored me.

  Candace gives a playful scoff. “Did that woman just claim you as her own?” She wraps an arm around my shoulders. “But then, we’ve known that all along, haven’t we?” Her eyes narrow over my own. “Come now. I believe you want to have a word with me.”

  I nod. “I have a few words I’d like to share with Demetri, too.”

  She leads the way as Marshall, Logan, Gage, and I follow her out past the revelry on the shoreline, past the Falls with their roaring cheers, and into the Elysian Field with its sparkling green lawns. I can feel life pulsing through me like a charge of adrenaline, the living water from the Holy Spirit coursing through my veins.

  “Show yourself,” Marshall shouts to the woods in the distance and out of the shadows comes a man in a dark suit, dark hair, smiling eyes that openly laugh at you—Demetri.

  “Let me have at him.” Gage shifts by my side, and Logan pulls him back.

  “Let’s give Skyla the limelight for a while,” Logan growls at Demetri as he closes in on us. “Then we’ll take him, together.”

  Gage holds out his fist and Logan bumps it with his.

  Candace steps forward with her hair billowing back in golden coils and her white gown flows like water, an effect from the wild wind Dem
etri brings with him.

  Demetri pauses about ten feet away and nods.

  “I understand congratulations are in order.” His brows hike a notch as he looks right at me. “You are a formidable opponent, Skyla.”

  “I was,” I say. “But our war is over. I won. It won’t happen again.”

  His eyes flash my mother’s way. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

  Marshall belts out a dark laugh. “Demetri, your delusions are dangerous and destructive. There is no hope for the two of you reconciling. Accept your fate and be done with it.”

  “So it’s true,” I say as I step in between my mother and Demetri. “You were lovers?” I shake my head as I look into my mother’s glassy eyes. “And this eternal scrimmage—it was because of that love?”

  “Yes.” Demetri’s lips curl. “But no matter what the victory, I will always love your mother, Skyla. Always,” he says it a second time while looking right at her.

  My chest bucks with a silent laugh. “And what about my other mother? What about Lizbeth? Don’t tell me you put on a show for her. I won’t believe you.” I can’t. A part of me knows how much his affection means to her. It would break my heart if it weren’t true.

  “Now, Skyla.” He bows my way. “You of all people should know there’s room in one’s heart to love two people with the same vibrant Eros passion.” He looks to Gage and Logan.

  My heart thumps wildly as I take up Marshall’s hand. “Or in my case—three.”

  Logan steps up by my side and Gage does as well.

  Logan nods to my mother. “So this was all a game?”

  “No game.” My mother’s eyes never leave Demetri’s as they look at one another transfixed. “As of now, Celestra, which consists of all the Factions at the moment, will assist me in the millennial reign. As for Demetri, he and his kind will be akin to civil servants, escorting the dying. You won’t reign with me, Demetri. You’ll be under my heel, my charge.”

  Demetri closes his eyes a moment, and a genuine look of pain flashes over his face.

  Demetri glances my way. “We once had everything—your mother and me. My error was assuming I could be her equal.”

  She nods. “Right before you assumed you could be my superior. I suppose we’ve settled the matter.”

  Demetri sighs as if acquiescing, and perhaps this is as close as we’ll get to seeing him admit defeat.

  “You have most certainly made it clear.” He offers an affable smile to my mother. “Shall we play again?”

  Gage starts to charge at him, and my mother holds a hand up.

  “Nobody touches him,” she hisses it so fast the words cut through the wind like a sword. “He gave you life, Gage Oliver. He is your father and will be respected as such.”

  “What?” I squawk with protest.

  “Yes, Skyla,” she insists. “That’s what I said, and it’s certainly what I meant.”

  I scoff over at the prince of darkness. “Fine,” I spit the word out. “But I want all charges against Tad dropped posthaste.”

  Gage steps in close. “And we don’t want any more bull from you. Not one freaking ounce.” I can tell Gage was going for the saltier versions of those words, but the celestial powers-that-be disabled him from doing so.

  Demetri closes his eyes and gives the slightest hint of a nod.

  Candace squints over at Demetri with a look that gives me the chills. “Go. I want to see you in celebratory form by the lake. I’ll be there in a moment.”

  Demetri sheds a wicked grin as he strides past us, and I can’t help but feel he’s been denied his full comeuppance.

  “Not true, Skyla.” My mother takes my hand. “Not being my mate will be a fate worse than the fires of Hell could bring him.” Her gaze drifts in his direction, and for a moment, that look on her face suggests the same fate has befallen her already. “I’ve given him Lizbeth to comfort him.”

  My mouth opens to protest, but she lifts a hand. “Not now, Skyla. We’ve still some ground to cover,” she says just as my father heads over with my precious Sage by his side. They’re holding hands, and it pleases me to no end that she has a wonderful bond with the most wonderful father I could have ever asked for.

  “Come here, kid.” My father waves me over, and I jump into his arms with a wild embrace.

  I pull back to see Sage standing to the side as if she were ready to bolt. Her dark hair is in two neat French braids, and her white dress is cinched with a glistening gold sash. She holds her father’s dimples and heavenly blue eyes—but that rage… I still don’t recognize it.

  “Sage,” I whisper as I open my arms in hopes she’ll come my way. “I love you so much.”

  “Silence,” she snaps as she looks to Gage. “How could you?”

  “How could I?” Gage steps toward her before dropping to one knee as if he were about to propose. “Because it was right.”

  Logan nods as he draws in near. “Sage, your parents—they’ve never stopped loving one another. And they love you very much, too. Open your heart to them. Demetri had an agenda. It wasn’t the right one. It’s okay. Everything on Earth is fixed now. But it’s not here, not without you making amends to your mother, your father, your brothers.”

  She folds her tiny arms across her chest and pouts. “I don’t like this feeling. I don’t like that I was led astray. I don’t like any of this.”

  I kneel before her. “You don’t have to. It’s okay that we’re not right all of the time. At the end of the day, all that matters is family. We forgive one another of just about everything, and we love one another through this crazy life—and afterlife, too. We love you. I love you fiercely.”

  Sage sniffs hard. “So be it.” Her shoulders jump. “I love you both.” Her brows furrow. “My sincerest apologies, Mother. The truth is, I never stopped loving you. But I didn’t want Father to be alone. I saw the darkness taking him, and I didn’t want him to be ostracized. So I joined him.” She turns to Gage. “I gave you my fierce allegiance. And I was going to despise who you despised, go wherever you went, whether Heaven or Hell.”

  “Sage.” Gage pulls her in close and sobs over his baby girl. “I love you. I love you so much.” He pulls me into their circle and a lavender aura surrounds us, a healing light that fixes all of the wrongs and washes away the pain in a supernatural way that those on Earth wish they could take hold of.

  Candace takes up Logan’s hand.

  “Sector Marshall?” she calls to him. “Take Gage and my granddaughter back to the festivities.”

  “No.” I sniff as I rise to my feet. “Sage may go play with her brothers, but Gage stays for whatever firework spectacular you have next. We three are immovable, inseparable, and our bond will not be sliced and spliced at your whim any longer.”

  She bites down on a devilish smile, her eyes sparkling with delight.

  “So be it.”

  “Come.” Marshall takes Sage by the hand. “Let’s go find the goats.”

  “And baby Jaxson,” Sage sings. “I want to pinch his toes until he squeals.”

  “Sage,” I call out, and just like that, I am fully in mother mode with her—and I love every bit of it.

  Candace takes a breath and motions for me to take her hand.

  “My Logan.” She looks to Logan just as transfixed as she was when she was looking at Demetri. “My love for you is immeasurable, my handsome son, my daughter’s formidable lover.”

  Gage clears his throat, and I shake my head at him.

  Candace laughs. “Yes, Gage, you gave Skyla quite the time underneath the proverbial sheets as well. I suppose it’s fitting you’re here with us. Her heart grafted you onto it when I wasn’t looking. It’s not what I expected. Sometimes, even I can be taken by surprise. And now, here the three of you are—a union, a bond, an inextricable love that none of you will escape.” She nods back to Logan. “Your mission is complete, Logan. I’m welcome to claim you for eternity.”

  “What? No!” I riot out the word so loud all of Ahava quiet
s down a moment.

  Candace shoots me a look. “As I was going to say. But I won’t. As in—you’ll live. Logan, I’m gifting you additional years beyond the handful you were promised.” She cranes her neck in the direction Marshall took off in. “Sector will still have his moment, but you, Logan”—her eyes sweep over to him once again—“you will have the lion’s share.” She looks to Gage. “You will remain on Earth, should you choose to. Enjoy your time. You are most certainly blessed, and all you have lost has been restored.”

  His eyes widen a moment before he glances to Logan and he quickly looks to the ground.

  “Yes.” Candace takes a breath. “You still desire her. Don’t worry. Mortality’s curse will ravage those you love as well.” She nods to Logan and me. “And eternity will be quite pleasant.” She cinches a smile. “Now, let’s get to this party. I hear the guest of honor is missing.”

  “You go ahead,” I tell her. “I need a minute.”

  She touches her fingers to my cheek. “Have the last word, Skyla. You’ve earned it. Well done, my child. Well done.”

  She dissipates before my eyes, and I don’t waste a moment pulling Logan and Gage in close.

  “We did it,” I whisper as if it were a secret.

  “You did it.” Logan lands a kiss to my cheek.

  Gage plants a kiss to my forehead. “My queen.”

  The sharp caw of a raven catches our attention, and we look up to find Holden and Serena circling overhead.

  “Excuse me,” a light voice emanates from behind, and we turn to see my sister in all her sparkling glory, her likeness fully restored once again to be a twin of our mother’s, of mine.

  I don’t hesitate as I run her way and wrap her in a strong embrace that lets her know exactly how I feel.

  “Oh, Rory, I love you.” I pull back and sniff hard.

  “I’m sorry once again for all the trouble I caused.” She shoots a look to Gage. “For enticing you.” She nods to Logan. “For tricking you.” A shy smile plays on her lips as she looks to me. “And for infuriating you.”

  “Forgiven,” I say on all of our behalves. “Rory, you’re a hero.”

  “She’s right,” Logan says. “If it wasn’t for you, things could have worked out a heck of a lot differently for our people.”