I’m dying.
I’m dead.
I’m floating away.
I’m leaving my body. I’m leaving her.
I want to go home, but I’m leaving her, drifting endlessly upward into the smoke…
“Come back to me, Ani,” she whispers, rocking me in her arms. “Come back to me.”
Then, like a beacon of light and hope, the sun breaks through the haze. She tilts her face toward the light and closes her eyes, basking in its warmth. Her face fills my vision, beautiful and luminescent.
And suddenly, I remember what she is to me.
My Star.
Stevie…
“I love you, Ansel McCauley,” she whispers.
Her kindness loosens some of the bitterness cemented inside me. It’s slipping away, piece by piece.
Placing a hand on my chest, she repeats her spell, soothing and gentle, calling me home.
Blood of the World, light of the Star
Let body remember the soul and the heart
All is reborn, but first it must die
In shadow he fell, in light he shall rise
Dark Judgment tries again, but this time it’s his spell that’s drowned by the light. Stevie’s magick echoes through my body and up toward my soul, soft tendrils of pure silver reaching for me. They wrap around my limbs, warm and inviting.
A gentle tugging sensation pulls me forward.
I’m no longer floating away, but toward.
Stevie utters her spell once more, then brings her mouth to my ear, her plea soft and sweet. I can finally feel it, warm breath tickling my skin, igniting every one of my senses until I’m aware of absolutely everything about her.
The touch of her wild curls whispering across my cheeks. The scent of her skin, still lingering beneath the sweat and grime. The clarity and purpose in her voice. The homey familiarity of her embrace.
The memory of everything we were to each other. The promise of everything still to come.
All because she didn’t give up on me.
“Come on, Ani,” she says. “Please come back. I know you’re still with us. Please, please come home.”
I’m coming,I try to tell her, but the words won’t form.
“Do you know what Lala told me once?” She brushes her fingers through my hair, her touch as soothing as her voice. The silver tendrils thicken around my body, leading me closer to her. “Lala said true love is a formidable force—that when it sees itself reflected in the heart of another, it will lay bare and burn down anything that stands in the way of that union.”
I see you, Stevie,I try to say.Goddess, you’re all I see right now. And I promise you, nothing will ever get in the way of us again. Just don’t let me go…
“I know it’s scary, Ani,” she says. “I know it. But you have to try. Feel that love—remember it. Not just what you and I share, but the brotherhood. Friendship. Your family—we’re all here, waiting for you.”
I feel it! All of it!
