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Well then. Guess I needed a grand entrance, I thought dryly.
After a moment, both birds flew away, and the Ongahri got to their feet.
“Omega, White Queen, Heart of the Ongahri.”
I turned in the direction of that voice.
Mari came forward, a vision in regal crimson as well. Her raven hair was down, falling around her shoulders. She looked like a maiden warrior whose heart was made of steel.
She hugged me to her and kissed my forehead, holding my hands out to look me over. “Thank the gods you are okay.”
What followed was a crushing of bodies and hugs and kisses. Lucius, Fadon, Demos—now pretending he hadn’t seen me just minutes earlier—Ander, Jon, even Phobius, who only touched my arm and smiled down at me.
“So what now?” I asked Fadon as we watched the last of the sun setting. I had a cup of tea in one hand, the other holding Fadon’s.
“Now we wait for the others to collect the cervos and head back to camp.”
Behind us, Servants who had been freed from the two towers in the Basilica walked around the crowd, offering food, aid, cleaning up the incredible mess our battle—and the elementals’ efforts—had accumulated. The Basilica looked as if a gang of forest creatures had chewed at it, both the grounds and the facade. A giant chunk of the west side was missing, and the effect looked as if the whole structure would fall on its side any moment now.
I couldn’t even imagine what the inside looked like. I refused to go in there and see. I never wanted to step inside it again, afraid it would swallow me up and never let me see the sky, never release me.
Fadon took my tea and set it down, then kissed me sweetly. “I have never been so scared. Ongar, not with all the other scares you’ve given me.”
I made a face. “It’s not like I do it on purpose, you know.”
He chuckled and the sound had me wanting him. “I think—”
“Sierra? Sorry for interrupting,” Ander said, coming up to us. He was covered in dirt and I had to smile at this unusual state, Ander always a bit of a peacock, never unkempt. “Someone’s asking for you. Says she’s from Providence?”
I looked at Fadon, questioning, but he only shrugged.
We followed Ander through the throng of people, and I spotted her. Dressed in a multi-colored frock that bellowed out from ample hips, the old seer turned when she saw us coming. Her wrinkling skin looked thin as paper, but her smile had her eyes shining like a young girl’s.
“Grandmother?” I asked, shocked to find the old seer here. Seeing her brought in a flood of memories. Providence, my parents, feasts, and simple days.
“Child.” She curtsied half-heartedly. “A moment?”
I turned to Fadon, who nodded. “I’ll just wait here, Sierra.”
“I’ve watched you grow into a beautiful woman,” she said once we were away from everyone. “I know your heart, how you’ve been a’wantin’ just to live your life. I’ve come to say our interference is over.” Her eyes… what was once a dark blue now changed to a deep amber, almost ocher. Like the leaves in fall.
Autumn.
“Always remember your center.” Her voice, the twin to Esta’s, to Auria’s.
I nodded dumbly, watching her elderly features transform into a young woman with flaming hair. all in the blink of an eye. Quickly, she pulled up her dank shawl, covering that flame, hiding her rich hued skin, smothering that otherworldly glow of all-knowing eyes.
And then she turned and was gone.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” the Supreme said, offering a hand.
I placed mine in his and he held it tightly with both hands, patting mine. “Supreme. I’m glad to hear you are recovered.” For so long I had pictured the leader of the Owl Order as a pompous windbag, like Prius. This man before me, however, was grandfatherly. His white flossy hair that stuck up in all directions told me he was more cerebral than messy. His green eyes were thoughtful, sincere, just like his voice. I liked him.
Beside me were Demos, Mari, and Lucius, whom, I was told, had been badly hurt in the first blast. I was more than happy he was okay and that I hadn’t been there to see him unconscious. Thank the gods for Alpha healing.
We were outside the threshold of the colossal front doors, the morning air chilling, the way it should be this time of year, not freezing to the bone like it had been just yesterday.
He released my hands and looked at the Queen Alpha. “I cannot apologize enough for everything that your people have suffered because of my Order. I can, however, promise that a new day is dawning. I will be retiring and handing over the baton to a new Supreme, one who I will insist is good, who will represent the Owl as it had been intended centuries ago. That I swear to, Your Majesty.”
