Light sparked around her clenched hands. It formed the shape of a familiar glyph, one she understood better than ever. Magic raced across the ether, connecting her with the man whose communication mark had been imprinted long ago on this most precious token.
Silence.
And then, a familiar voice.
“What… Who—”
Vi covered her mouth, tears still falling in rivers down her cheeks. A new dawn broke through her window. With all the strength she could muster, Vi managed to say, “Hello, Taavin.”
Epilogue
Vi stoodon the bow of the greatest vessel ever constructed for the Imperial Armada. She had spent her last month in the North drawing out ideas for the plans, based off theStormfrostand what she had seen in Meru’s fleet.
Of course, an actual shipwright in Solarin had to go through all of her drawings and turn them into usable blueprints. That process had taken nearly four months of convincing him that, yes, there were ways to build ships in the manner she’d drawn. He merely needed to expand his way of thinking and broaden what he considered “possible.” Leveraging her family’s relationship with Erion Le’Dan had ultimately helped expedite the process.
The construction had taken just over a year in a dry dock to the north of Norin.
It had been two agonizingly slow years until she’d christened the ship and they’d set sail. All of the patience she’d learned seemed to have been a casualty of her battle with Raspian. But in the end, the time it took to build was a good thing. There were other matters that had to fall into place.
Diplomacy took time, especially between two continents that had been closed off to each other for centuries.
“Is that it?” Ellene bounced from foot to foot. Vi had expected more of a fight from Sehra when she’d proposed that Ellene come along on this first diplomatic trip. But the moment Vi pointed out that this was the perfect opportunity for Ellene to spend some time studying Lightspinning in the land that invented it, Sehra instantly agreed.
“Yes. Careful, or you’ll fall over the railing.”
“I will not. I’m not that clumsy.”
“You certainly are,” Jayme said dryly. She leaned against the railing to Vi’s left. Her back was to the land that had just come in sight.
“I am not!”
Jayme shot Vi a knowing grin that seemed to sayIt’s just too easy to rile her, isn’t it?
In the seventeen years Vi’s consciousness had floated in Yargen’s primordial stasis, the world had continued. But things were different in this world—different, and in so many ways, better.
There was no Adela terrorizing the seas of the Shattered Isles. After thieving from the Archives, the pirate queen decided to make herself scarce. Which also meant that Jayme was never recruited to act against Vi.
Because of what Vi had mentioned to Elecia, Daniel’s existence was discovered much sooner. Elecia had told Jax, who went East immediately after the end of the war, and multiple times after. He found Daniel and, while he respected the man’s wishes to remain mostly anonymous, he sent word to Aldrik and Vhalla. The royals had kept Daniel’s life private and the man well taken care of.
So while Vi could still sense Jayme had mixed feelings about certain things, especially when it came to the crown’s conquest and Mad King Victor, she didn’t see the precursors of betrayal in the woman’s eyes.
“I’m really glad you’re both here with me,” Vi said tenderly.
“Oh goodness, here she goes again.” Ellene rolled her eyes. “You’re not going to get all sappy on us for the next hour, are you? You’ve been terrible ever since you turned seventeen.”
“No, I haven’t!” She laughed, knowing well her friend was correct. Emotions were lovely and Vi had enjoyed feeling them again over the past two years. Perhaps a little too much, at times. “I’m just glad we could make this voyage together.”
“I’m excited to see what the Crescent Continent holds.” Jayme finally looked over her shoulder at the strip of land growing in size in the distance.
Footsteps approached from behind them. “I think that goes for all of us.”
Jax and Elecia joined them at the bow. Elecia was dressed in finery that befit the Lady of the West. But Vi was still growing accustomed to seeing Jax in formal ceremonial garb.
She had memories of their wedding. Or rather, the Vi who had grown up in this world had those memories. The ceremony had taken place in the Cathedral of the Mother in Norin, and what Vi could picture was a breathtaking affair.
Elecia had grown impatient with Jax about five years ago. He was always stalling their relationship for “no reason.” First it was heading to the East. Next it was setting up a new Golden Guard in the South. Then it was accepting a position to watch over Vi in the North when the first appointee—a man Vi had been too young to remember—retired.
In a way, Vi had now lived the best of both worlds. Her first childhood was full of memories in which she’d grown up with Jax as her surrogate father. But she also had memories of him finally chasing after his happily ever after. Now, she got to see him standing hand-in-hand with the woman he’d loved in every world.
