“I…I can’t believe it…”
“Alright, babe,” Luther says, holding Vikrum up in a bridal carry.“Get us out of here?”
I nod and mentally send Max an image.Hopefully, he cuts open my wrist promptly to make a portal so we can get out of this hellhole.
Before anything changes, we hear a roar from above.The shrill voice from my recent nightmares seems to echo all around us.“You will release me.You will release the Finality.”
“Cauldrons,” I mutter.The trees begin to shake, like a wind is passing through them.Before I can panic even more, lights float from my astral hand into the space between us, widening into a portal.When I spot my body sitting inside the circle, relief fills my soul.
“Hurry!”I say.Luther nods and steps forward, then gently leaps into the portal.He’s almost all the way through when one wooden branch wraps around his ankle.
“Shit!”he says.He tosses my brother’s limp body through to the real world and allows himself to get dragged back.
“No…nonono.”I try in vain to muster up any magic, but all of my energy is being pooled into the portal.
And it’s rapidly closing.At the same time, my astral form is being torn apart, meaning I need to rush back to my body.
“Luther!”
“Go without me!”He shoots the monstrous tree with energy, but it doesn’t give up its grip.“You have your brother!Go on!I’ll just?”
“You’re not staying!I’m not living this life without you!I love you too much, Luther, please!”My soul is being pulled apart, so I follow my instinct.Floating down to Luther, I pull him in for a kiss.
Somehow, someway, he feels my kiss, despite my astral form.It’s always been Luther Westbrook, no one else.He’s the only who’s completed me.
When I pull back, I notice two of Luther’s heads.Huh?
His soul is in the astral plane.There’s one physical head below, and one astral head in my arms.He’s holding me as we hover above his physical body.
With a grin, his soul reaches down into his own flesh, infusing it with magic.I reach in and do the same.With a blinding light, Luther’s limp body flares with energy and flies through the shrinking portal.He’s like a rocket fueled by magic, dragging both of our souls along with us on the journey.
I wake up to a pain in my right palm.I’m lying face up in the grass, and I gaze at the fresh cut on my hand.My left arm, however, is being held by a weight.
Luther!
He coughs and sits up, freeing me.When I sit up, we both wildly touch our chests, ensuring that yes, we’re made of solid mass.I look at him, eyes shining in the firelight.Tears of joy threaten to burst out of me.Before I can say a word, he lunges at me, assaulting my mouth with his.
“I love you, too,” he murmurs against my lips.
“I’m so fucking glad we made it,” I say, relishing his onslaught of kisses.I’m not one for public displays of affection, but for now I’ll make an exception.
“Are you guys back?Like, all of you?”Max asks.
We break apart and gaze up at him and Necia.“Obviously they’re back.”She snickers and points at us.“The way they’re making out?They’ve finally done what they should have done in ninth grade.”
We all laugh, and the pair helps Luther and me stand up.
“Um, excuse me!”
We turn to a pair of bodies on the ground.“Can someone like…please get this person off of me?”
Girish!
The four of us rush over to him and help my brother stand up.He blinks at me while Max helps Girish stand.
Is my nightmare really over?Do I really have my family back?
My heart wants to burst, knowing my brother is in my arms in one piece.“Vikrum?Vikrum, speak to me.”
