SLADE
I clutch Auren’s hand tightly, unwilling to let go. Unable.
I’m dizzy with the reality that she’s okay. More than okay. I can’t yet fathom everything that happened, and my cleaved-apart soul is still raw and aching.
But the pair bond sings and her aura twists in a reassuring glow that helps me to breathe.
Though I don’t let go of her hand.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to again.
Together, we walk to the new, bright city in the valley below. It’s sprouted right where the dead city used to be. Now the ruins are gone, and unblemished buildings shine in their place. The white walls are polished and smooth, standing alongside a winding road of moss-soaked cobbles that cushion my every footfall.
The road overlooks the river to our left, and the waters are so full and crystal clear that I can see the colorful pebbles glittering at the river’s floor. Trees line the walkway we tread upon, their branches heavy with fruit and sweet-smelling blossoms.
Auren didn’t just heal the deadlands. She poured pure, vibrant life into it.
I still can’t believe what I saw. The golden sunlight streamed from her and into the earth, stripping away the wrongness and making it reborn.
Just as she was reborn.
Not as many people are still with us. Most of them fled when the land started to crumble, but there are still a few dozen who witnessed what happened.
They followed us here, into this new city, their demeanors shocked and quiet. Everyone keeps turning their heads, taking in the sights. They’re in awe of this place—but they’re in awe of Auren even more.
Who could blame them?
I can’t stop looking at her.
Her clothes have gone gilded, her skin and hair gleaming. She has a glow about her, emanating from even more than the aura that shines from her skin.
She’s radiant.
She’salive.
My hands still shake, the tremors of my despair sneaking through.
To say I was devastated can’t encompass the wreckage I was. With her dead in my arms, I was nothing but ruin and anguish.
To have her here beside me now, real and warm and bright with life…it makes me flounder with both shock and marvel.
Inside my head, I have to keep reassuring myself, have to keep squeezing her hand to feel her squeeze back.
She’s alive.
Auren looks over with excitement that lights up her eyes, and it makes my tremors go still. “It’s beautiful here,” she breathes. “Do you think this is what it looked like before?”
“I don’t know,” I admit, though we both seem to turn to look at the building to our right at the same time. My eyes driftover the golden vines that sprout from its pitched rooftop before trailing down the rest of the way to hang over the eaves. “But I’m fairly certain these at least are new additions.”
Auren laughs, and the sound makes chills raise on my skin. Makes me so fucking thankful to hear it.
“Did you notice the vines themselves sort of look like my ribbons?”
I nod. “And the leaves look a bit like…”
“Feathers,” she finishes with a widening smile.
I lift our joined hands and press a kiss against her skin. “Goldfinch,” I murmur, my heart constricting.
