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"Heal them," I prayed, and when I opened my eyes, she was looking at me, her chin trembling. “Can you hear them now?” I asked. Because I could.
The infected, beaten, confused, and panicking were crying for help. The war was over, but the pain of the battle wasn't.
Eir nodded with tears in her eyes. “I can.”
I stepped back in wonder as her sunken cheeks and eyes filled out, and her skin returned to its rosy state. Her hair changed from dull and thin to full and silky, and her eyes shone bright.
A dull green glow appeared at her throat and spread throughout her body. And it kept getting brighter until I had to shield my eyes.
“I can hear them,” she whispered. “All of them. They’re praying for help.”
"Then go," I told her, and her light vanished.
She was on me in the next second, kissing me deeply, and I held her tighter than I ever had. The Goddess had given us a few years together in her alternate reality, and now Natalie had given us a future.
We found each other again because of this war, and with its end, I vowed I wouldn't let go of her again. Yes, I’d fallen in love with a goddess, and though it wouldn't be easy, I knew what I was getting into. We could be together—we just needed to find a way to make it work—and we would.
When our lips parted, she stepped off the roof, and her hand slowly slipped out of mine as she floated away.
"Find our daughter," she said, and I nodded.
She rose over the city, and I closed my eyes when she released her power. It washed over me, a sense of calm and warmth, a sense of being whole, healed, at peace, and I sighed.
All the weeping stopped, the city went silent, and the truth set in that the war was over. But what would happen now?
* * *
Natalie
Tedara reached out and took my arm. Her hand was large, covering my arm from my wrist to my shoulder, and the portal exploded. A pulse sent Cedric flying back, although it did nothing to Lucian, Rumir, and the Goddess, who were freed from Cedric's hold.
I was dying, the last of my strength slipping away until Tedara stepped out of the portal. I looked at her through the haze as she bent down beside me. She was unlike any being I'd ever seen.
She looked massive, bigger than any of the gods, but she started to shrink, becoming closer to the Goddess in size.
Her skin was like the Goddess’s but without stars. Her long hair was red, and my vision started to clear. Her sclera, which should be white, were black, her pupils were red, and tiny red symbols were carved into her skin beneath her eyes. They ran down her cheek like tears, and she smiled.
“You’re a rare soul indeed," she said, and I felt a surge through my body. “Thank you.”
I was a dying woman being brought back to life, and she pulled me to my feet. My broken bones healed, my discolored skin cleared, and she held her hand over my chest. Although she didn't touch me, she somehow managed to remove the gem from my body.
I looked up at her in adoration because how could I not? She was stunning! And the difference between her and the other gods was obvious, even though she'd adjusted her size.
"What have you done?" Cedric shouted.
For a second, I'd forgotten all about him. He was clawing at his body and face because, like me, his body had reverted to its normal state. Although Tedara had taken the gem, I still had chaos, but Cedric's was gone. I didn't sense it in him anymore.
As the sky cleared, I saw the gem dissolve in Tedara’s palm, sinking into her body.
She closed her eyes, and a red mist escaped her lips. The pulse released from the portal came rushing back over the mountains, and Tedara absorbed it. The symbols on her face glowed as she picked Cedric up with her energy.
Zeus and Heldon entered the cave, and outside, dragons started vanishing in bursts of red light. Zeus looked at me questioningly, but he didn't dare speak. Tedara was already free. What was done, was done.
Even with all my training, I knew Cedric was stronger. In order to end this, I’d have to release Tedara. And to do that, I'd need all the strength I could get. Cedric was a simpleton who couldn’t allow himself to be outshone, so I did precisely that, pushing him to the edge.
Tedara and I stood side by side as Cedric floated towards her.
“I trusted you,” Tedara said. "I trusted you to help me, but you believed that if I was released, I'd take revenge." She looked at me and winked. "Zeus, you can unclench your ass. I'm not going to hurt anyone other than Cedric."
