“It was theWHO?” Ellabeth shrieked.
I snorted. It sounded more like a bark.
“Imagine my surprise when I saw them outside of her cell in the dungeons. She was whimpering. Hanging from shackles…” Itook a shuddering breath. “Asarah gave Evanae to them,” I said quietly.
I could taste the tension that lined the air. My friends were ready to set this temple on fire.
“The ocean,” I whispered. “Bring me to the ocean.”
Quazar kissed my cheek. Then my temple. Then my hands, careful not to disturb Evanae’s spirit. He pulled me closer. In one moment we were in the wingtower. The next, he snapped his fingers, and we were on the shores of the Ouanaviel Sea.
Chapter 61
Istared out at the Ouanaviel Sea, lost in my grief. Quazar lowered me to my feet. He bent down, unlacing my sandals before taking them off, casting them to the side. The sand warmed my feet and settled between my toes. Quazar removed his own boots, then his socks, standing next to me barefoot.
I stood with him watching the rolling waves of the sea. It wasn’t long before the rest of our friends joined us, also kicking off their shoes. Someone came to stand at my right, holding onto my arm. I turned, thinking it was Ellabeth.
It was Ivyana.
Her emerald eyes were bright jewels, just like Quazar’s. Hers even had the slightest slant to them, just like his.
“What I am to Kazi, she was to you,” she whispered, squeezing my arm. “I’m so sorry, Safah.”
Out of all the things that could uplift my spirit, even in the slightest, somehow this was it. I looked at Ivyana and cracked the smallest smile.
“Kazi?” I whispered.
She nodded her head vigorously. She was vibrant just like my Evanae. The two would have been good friends if they had met.
“I couldn’t say Quazar as a youngling. Only Kazi. It stuck ever since.”
I turned my head, looking up at Quazar. His eyes were still on the ocean waves.
“No.”
I snorted, pressing my lips together.
“Besides, I like when you call me Princeling. Love. Oh, and I’m looking forward to what you’ll call me when I throw your legs around my neck and feast.”
I coughed, choking on nothing but air.
“Safah, are you okay?” Ivyana asked, gently patting my back.
“Yes. Caught a whiff of sand.”
My throat burned with my response. My eyes were beginning to swell shut from crying. I tried to ground myself in reality.
Now that a bit of time had passed, I could feel myself re-entering my body again. I had no Spirit Sphere. And even if I summoned one, I had no access to a Spirit Filing chamber since Asarah made sure the one we had at home had been completely destroyed. I knew the temple wouldn’t let me file Evanae’s spirit.
So I would have to let her go here, knowing her spirit would never make it into the Ellelights.
That all-consuming sorrow began suffocating me again. I let my tears flow as I watched wave after wave roll in and out. The beach was empty. Quiet. We were in a secluded patch that kept us out of view from any creeping eyes. Even if I knew Evanae wouldn’t be filed, properly mourned, and crossed into the eternal realms, I said the prayer anyway.
“To the Infinite who is, was, and will always be, I commend the spirit of Evanae Eliza Anathelle into your hands. For all things, there is a season, a time for all activities in the realms beyond Pasaille. A time arrives for us to be born, and also a time to die. You, Infinite, have made all things beautiful in their time, and placed the Ellelights in the hearts of your angels.”
I choked on the words as sobs broke out of my throat. I wiped at my eyes, trembling. Quazar wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me tightly to his side. His shadows danced along my bare feet and all around my body, as I pushed through the prayer.
“Oh Infinite, let us be wise as the stars, and be taught to number our dawns, to never forget the vapor that is life, and the brevity of our time in the realms. May we remember our dawns are mere sighs, breaths taken in one moment, and the ending gone in the next. All of us angels are shadows, and our coming and goings come to swift endings, though we live for an Age past another Age. Therefore, every wing of hope we contain, lies with you, forever at your feet.”
