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Wetness stains my cheeks and I wipe it away with the back of my hand.
He looks far off into the distance, a deep crease furrowing his brows. “There are so many things I wish I would have said to my family before that trip. If I’d known…”
“You didn’t,” I hurry to add.
His tight smile tells me he understands, but I know it doesn’t change the regret of how his death came so suddenly.
Turning to connect his gaze back with mine, he speaks hesitantly, “But you… You can offer them some peace by telling them the words that they never got to hear.”
“H–how? I’m here, not there.”
The comforting sweet scent of my mother pulls my eyes to her. “You hold the light to break through the darkness that is blocking the path back to the living.” My mother’s hands cup my face gently, a warmth of pride shining in her eyes. “You, my dear daughter, are the soul of salvation. Only you are able to free the souls trapped here.”
With a racing heart, I twist out of her hands and scan all the Fae shifters closing in, until my eyes lock on one who has haunted my dreams. His face is one I’ve grieved every night, knowing nothing I can do will earn his forgiveness. Because I–I killed him. It was my bare hands that sent him here, to be trapped in a prison that balances between life and death. Even though he’s not a chosen, maybe…maybe he, too, can be saved.
Vincent. The one I stole from his mate. The one Draven saved, and I destroyed. I let the tears fall, keeping my gaze on his as I silently mouth, I’m sorry.
Something I never thought I would see flickers behind his eyes, as he brings his one hand to his chest, dipping his head with a single blink. One whispered word leaves his lips loudly enough for my ears to catch it: “Forgiven.”
Before I realize it, my knees slam into the soil and I shatter. Everything inside me rips open, freeing a demon that has been suffocating me every time I close my eyes. It feels like something in my chest cracks, so painfully loud, and I wonder if anyone can hear it. If the world quaked from the force of it.
But finally… Finally, my chest is lighter, and I can breathe a little bit easier.
The tips of my fingers dig into the dirt, hanging my head forward as I slowly pull myself together. Steady breaths flow in and out of my lungs, determination steeling my spine.
With one final exhale, I rise to my feet, looking directly at my mother. “Tell me what I need to do.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Emma
Akernel of light floats above my mother’s palm as her grey eyes meet mine. “I’ve managed to save the last shred of power I can hold to give you the extra boost you will need. Because this could drain all your power…”
“Which would permanently keep me here?” I finish what she couldn’t seem to say.
“Yes,” she chokes out. “You only have one chance to break through the seal.”
We stand in the center of pillars that circle around us. The chosen wait right beyond the stones, full of hope. I can sense the eagerness drifting from them, to go back to their lives and welcome their souls home. It’s the subtle shift of their feet, inching closer, with widened eyes.
Swinging my gaze back to my mother, a seriousness hardens her face. “Light may clear the darkness, it can even restrain it if bright enough, but only his own power will be his undoing.” I tuck that information away as her hand waves to the waiting souls, who are paces closer than mere moments ago, ready for their freedom. They are souls of the chosen who are ready to seek vengeance. An eye for an eye. Blood for blood.
Suddenly, a flash of understanding slams into my mind. I snap my eyes back to my mother’s already-waiting gaze. She seems to know her words finally clicked into place as she silently nods her head with a smile.
“They all hold the power of his shadows.” She cups my cheek with a gentle touch. “You were always meant to be great. I knew it from the first moment you were born, when those big grey eyes latched onto mine. No matter what you might think for everything you have done, I am beyond proud of you.”
“Mother…” A sob works itself free as I realize this is it. This is the goodbye I never got to have. My feet move before I realize it and I crush myself into her arms. “I would be nothing without you.”
Her chest shakes against my cheek. “You are everything and more. I told you once that no matter in this world or the one beyond it, we will be together again. But now is not your time.” She tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “My heart is always with you. I love you, my beautiful daughter.”
“And I love you,” I force through the lump of emotions in my throat.
Her eyes glisten with tears as she turns me to Aunt Lyd, who already has streaks of wetness coating her cheeks. She pulls me in, her hand rubbing my back. “I knew the day I lost you that you were brave, but seeing you now…” She looks over my face, swiping the crystal drops away that fall in an endless flow.
“I’ve never been so blessed to know what it felt like to have a daughter of my own. My only wish was that I could have protected you when you needed me, to watch you grow, but it seems now you are strong enough to hold your own. Embrace who you are, Emma.”
Sniffling, I huff a watery, “I love you, Aunt Lyd.”
A quivering smile as she answers back, “I’ve never stopped loving you, sweet girl.”
