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The look on my father’s face as I burst through the door with the sound of steel and muffled voice echoing through my memories. The fear and the longing of the family I’d lost. Tears ran down my face as I remembered, remembered everything. As everything opened up again, released from its cage. I would not tell him that. It was my cross to bear, my burden. Another rumble shook the walls. More stone falling and tumbling. My mother’s voice, her laugh. The labyrinth garden at the manor. My father’s smile as he chased me through the hedges.
“Serra, please.” The desperation in his voice was clear.
“Now!”
I wanted to go home.
My home with Nona. I didn’t care if it wasn’t where I belonged because this wasn’t home, my home was in Rothnia. My home was small, simple, and cozy.
My home, my life there.
The light that had shown itself went out, burying it under a well of darkness- tamping out the ember. I allowed the darkness inside to embrace me, to hold me in comfort as I struggled with everything.
To comprehend all that had happened.
Eirsen's demeanor shifts as something inside him fractured. His eyes that had once been filled with mischief and amusement, now carried sorrow and dejection- dull and empty. Hesitantly, he extends his hand to me once more, silently pleading for my forgiveness. My own hand is slick with sweat as I take his, unsure of what to expect.
As he pulls me close, his familiar scent washes over me, flooding my senses. It's a scent I'll never forget, one that will stay with me from this day forward. A heady mix of smoke, citrus, and evergreen. Despite everything, I can't help but take a deep breath and savor the smell, letting it ground me in the moment.
In a blur of wind, smoke, and shadow, we disappear from the throne room, leaving behind the chaos and destruction. The air whips at my hair and dress as we hurtle through the darkness. I close my eyes, focusing on the one person holding me against him. The only thing that feels real in this surreal moment. His arms warm and secure as he cradles me against the shadows around us. I feel safe here, cocooned in his protective embrace, but deep down, I know that I can never trust him again.
He had played games; he had playedmeand now there was nothing he could do that would allow my already broken heart to mend. He had done that, he had re-broken what had already been repaired. There were so many other things I wanted answers to, lost in the truth of who I was, not having the chance to ask.
It did not matter now. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until its pushed past my lips. I felt the warmth of the air then. The sounds and scents of home. The cicada’s and cricket’s chirps flutter along in the breeze. The smell of the air, salt, and fresh grass. Familiarity. He had brought me back to Rothnia. He’d done what I’d asked.
A small voice told me he always would, he always had. No matter what I asked of him, he would do it. I felt the pang of guilt in my chest then, at my words and how I had treated him. He was right, he had only done what I had asked of him. But this was my choice, my own fate. It was up to me to decide now what I wanted to do with the answers I received.
The sun was setting on the horizon, casting the world in shadow as it descended. Eirsen’s own shadows faded, shrinking back to where their master pulled them from leaving the two of us standing outside the tiny cottage that I had been raised in, Nona Luna’s cottage. The home that had been my only sanctuary, where the memories of our lives together would live on. The tiny windows with the cracked glass remained dark and the crooked chimney was empty of smoke as I surveyed the building, her presence was gone forever.
I turned to say something to him, but he was nowhere to be seen. My heart sank, Eirsen had vanished, leaving me here alone to scan the lane- hoping to see a black raven in the trees. Gone in a moment, a single breath. My hand reached for the wooden gate, the gate I used to run through into Nona’s arms, the familiar sound of it as it creaked open.
Home.
I was home.
Epilogue
As the black bird rustled its feathers, it watched the dark-haired beauty below. The canopy of trees swayed in the wind, filling the air with the scents of the world, a world that was foreign to him. It was her world and hers alone, something they couldn't share.
Eirsen had been sent to keep an eye on her until the time was right. The Haruspex had demanded it, knowing that Ezra was determined to have her. It was only a matter of time before her location would be discovered by his forces, and they didn't have much time left.
Although she had broken part of the curse by regaining her memories and breaking its hold on her, she refused to acknowledge her power, and she refused to acknowledge him. He had seen the look on her face when her power had appeared. All she had to do was grasp it and hold onto it, but she snuffed it out instead.
The curse still held its chokehold on Inirea and its people, and Astraea-Serrawas all that remained to save it from ruin and from Ezra. The aftermath of his betrayal had left Eirsen bloody and barely alive. It was a miracle the Haruspex had found him at all.
“Your lives are entwined, young man.”The old seer said.“I have seen it. You are her dìonadair, her protector. You two are equals, matched. In life and in power. Infinite.”
Upon his arrival back at the castle, Ezra had been waiting for him. “Where is she, Eirsen?”
As he turned, he came face to face with the Lord of the Dark Fae, seated upon his throne, gazing down upon him. The Prince of Nightmares, with hair as dark as ink flowing down his back, the embodiment of true Darkness and Decay in Inirea.
“I don't have a clue what you're talking about,” Eirsen lied with a feigned air of indifference. The truth was that Ezra was a cruel and ruthless male who wouldn't hesitate to kill you. Eirsen was fully aware of this, but he refused to give in and tell him anything. His attention was caught by the Keepers- eight of them, he counted- standing in their black armor and waiting for their inevitable orders. A fae male in dark armor, as black as the night, stood behind Ezra and the throne, his face concealed by a helm.
“DO NOT LIE TO ME!” Ezra’s voice bounced off the decaying stone walls, magnifying. “She was here! You were to bring her to me! You knew your orders!”
“I will no longer be your puppet!” Eirsen bellowed.
He simmered with rage. For two decades, he had been used and manipulated by Ezra since the day he arrived. It all started when she went missing and he betrayed her people. Every time he failed, he was punished severely, and the anger inside him grew, knowing that the punishment for betrayal was death. But to him, she was everything- the stars, the moon, the world- the very breath he needed to live. She was Life itself, and he was willing to sacrifice everything to save her. Despite her lack of trust in him, he would protect her from harm, for he needed her to survive and help fight this evil.
