Footsteps scuff against the marble.
I feel the warmth of Eira and Balthasar as they stand behind me, but before me…
Five ethereal beings.
I snarl at them as they close in. A gust of wind erupts from me. Keeping them from coming even closer.
No one can touch him. Or look at him.
He’s mine. In this life and the next.
I will die here beside him. One sailing.
“Lena,” a powerful male voice fills my head. Odin’s voice.
“We have a gift for you, child,” Badb speaks next.
Their words bounce around in the emptiness of my mind.
Pain. All I know is pain.
“For your sacrifice,” Morrigan murmurs.
“You chose the right fate. The world over your own suffering. And for that loyalty, we’ll bring them back,” Danu finishes.
A mate’s whispered plea, for their fate is forged by loyalty’s key.
The wind dies.
She waves her hands over the room. Resplendent light floats down from above, landing on their chests.
A golden orb floats down as if carried on a butterfly’s wings and lands on Lachlan’s chest. The golden light seeps into his skin, filling his lungs with breath. His chest rises.
And my falls.
A sob wracks my entire body as his eyes blink open.
“I told ye, I’d find ya again.”
Green, the color of a magical forest of evergreen life, blazes brightly as he stares at me.
A golden thread wraps around his finger and mine, tying us together. Forever.
Mates.
He is my mate.
My friends rise.
Mathilda holds Tane as they share a deep kiss. Tears streaming down both of their faces.
Harald wraps his arms around Mina as they stare into each other’s eyes. Piominko looks on with a weary smile before his gaze swings to Freya and Odr as they stand side by side.
“We could bring all but two back,” Odin’s voice carries across the joy.
My eyes fall on the still bodies of Evander and Luna.
A knowing smile tugs at the Morrigan’s lips. “But do not fret. It was their choice.”
