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Its screaming only grew louder. I saw a few bodies on the ground, of both fae and bears, and ached for them. Our people were picking them up, though—taking them away.
Mud and blood might be able save them, and I hoped like hell it would work.
We all watched in grim, horrified awe as the goddess’s army slowly ended the monster we couldn’t kill ourselves.
When the creature’s screams finally died down, and a terrible silence filled the air, one of the bears threw its head back and roared in victory.
Another followed.
And another.
Soon the sabertooths were roaring with them—and then the hellhounds, and the dragons, and the basilisks, and the phoenixes.
Vevol itself trembled with the strength of our victory. Not herself any longer, not with the goddess now gone.
“We owe her a funeral,”I said to Teris, when the roaring died down and he landed in the tree beside me.
He pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly to his chest.“It’ll be the biggest funeral our world has ever seen.”
My eyes stung.“She deserves to be remembered.”
“She saved so damn many lives that no one could ever forget her, Nai. She lives on—and she does it through us. Through you.”He squeezed me tighter, and I nodded against his chest. I was shaking a little, I realized.
Witnessing death was still really rough for me, and honestly, I hoped it always would be.
That monster had wanted to kill us, but it had still been a living creature.
Rain continued to pour down on us as Teris held me, and as I held him. And though our minds weren’t melded together, I’d never felt closer to him.
I slowly released that faint hold I had on the bears, and felt their calm victory as they headed off to do whatever the hell they wanted to. They had played their part perfectly, and deserved all the freedom in the world.
When I finally pulled out of the hug, Teris brushed a kiss to my forehead before sliding me onto his back and slinking through the trees. He landed smoothly on the ground a few minutes later, and then carried me to the group of sopping wet people gathered together outside the Stronghold. The ex-humans were coming out of the building together in a thick chain, filling in a large group.
I waited for someone to speak up.
For Lian to take charge, or Fovea to declare victory. But when I looked at both of them, they were staring at me and Teris. He had his arm draped over my shoulders, tucking me up close to him.
My throat swelled.
Teris’s voice touched my mind gently.“Your army won the war, Nai. I told you, you’re a Queen.”
My eyes stung as water slipped into them, dripping from my forehead and my drenched hair.
“The goddess used the last of her magic to create an army to protect us. In her dying moments, she didn’t worry about herself—she worried about us. The same way she did when she was alive. She may not be here to listen, but we owe her a funeral anyway,” I said to the people.
“Not a funeral,” Fovea called out, her voice clear and rich. “A celebration.”
Murmurs of approval rolled through the crowd.
“We need time to clear out the forest of the creature’s remains,” one of the unseelie council guys reminded us.
Fovea replied smoothly, “You have three days. When the moon rises, three days from now, we will celebrate both the life of the goddess, and the new life our sister brings into the world soon.” She gestured toward January, who smiled in response.
“Summer will plan it, when she gets back,” North said.
And since she was the one who could see the future, no one dared protest.
“There won’t be any abductions during this one, right?” Nev asked Fovea, shooting her a wicked smirk.
