The dancing. The laughter. The starlight. The possibility.
She would have loved it all.
Tiernan leads me around the back of one of the largest temples to a small set of stairs concealed from the street. I breathe a sigh of relief, just now realizing I hadn’t trusted that Tiernan wasn’t actually about to thrust me onto some glaring stage.
The top of the steps opens to a cozy balcony, set into the stone recess above the temple. Adira and Sam are already there, spread out on a multitude of brightly colored blankets, a feast of food laid between them.
“Quit stealing all the dumplings,” Adira hisses, slapping Sam’s outstretched hand away from the plate nearest hers.
“You’ve had seven!” he protests. Sam grimaces as she shoves another two into her mouth, and then sticks her tongue out from between her comically ballooned cheeks in taunting.
“I’ve been gone for ten minutes,” Tiernan says, letting go of my arm to plop down between the two, “and half the food is already gone.”
I sit down beside Sam, tucking my legs beneath me.
“You could have at least left me one of the sweet cakes,” Tiernan whines.
Adira shrugs unapologetically. “You should have been faster.”
I bite into a flaky, pyramid shaped pastry filled with spiced meat and crisp peas, nearly moaning at the taste. Sam pours more wine, handing Tiernan and I each a glass. The Hollows glow with excitement and happiness all around us, but it is nothing to the glow of the magic behind my heart.Thisis what I have fought for all my life—a chance for safety, for beauty, for freedom.
A sudden hush falls over the city. Adira squeals in delight, grabbing my arm and dragging me to the edge of the balcony. “It’s happening!” she whispers, as Sam and Tiernan come to stand beside us.
For a moment, everything is still, like the island itself holds its breath.
And then, at once, the beasts of the forest and the ones beneath the earth roar in unison, the sea crashes against the windows, and the morphellia vines begin to flower. Large white petals unfurl to reveal golden centers that bathe the Hollows in their glow. For a moment, it feels like we are in the second star itself—like the moment I fell into Letum, when everything was infinite colors and radiant light.
Gasps sound from the kingdom, wondered breaths of delight echoing from every floor as flowers bloom all over the city. Sirens gathered outside the windows begin to sing, their soft song floating gently through the streets. The melody latches beneath my ribs, a hopeful sonance that blooms in my chest as surely as the flowers themselves. Adira smiles, threading herfingers through mine. Tiernan bumps my shoulder. Sam’s power wraps around us all in a warm shroud.
I don’t know if it’s the song or the morphellia or the magic, but a tight knot releases a wave of contentment I’ve felt only once before. The reprieve that comes with the certainty of knowing—thisis what the agony was for. All of it led me here, to this moment, tucked between my friends.
My whole life I’ve been fighting, and never once felt the sweetness of victory. But it lights my chest now, and it is the most beautiful triumph of all as it isn’t just for me. It’s for everyone. On the island and on the mainland.
Feeling lighter than I have in so long, I let go of Adira’s hand. She gives me an encouraging nod. I don’t know if I’ve earned her faith, but I am grateful all the same. I smile, before stepping to the edge of the balcony.
Into the glow of the morphellia, and the attention of my kingdom.
A creature like yourself, used to the comfort of the shadows…the light must be burning you alive.
Niko’s words once rang so true, but perhaps, it is only because I hadn’t yet found a light meant for me.
This one wraps around me like silk, shimmers in my hair and dances along my skin. My magic rises from behind my heart to greet it, the gleam of possibility both inside me and outside me, bright enough to chase away even the shadow looming behind me.
The eyes of the kingdom turn toward me, waiting for whatever sentiment I’ll bestow upon them. But as words have never been my strength, I simply close my eyes and dredge up my magic, painting it into the space around me.
Careful lines, delicate strokes. I shade with tender care, choosing only the rarest of colors.
And when I let it go, a roar of cheers and awe erupts from the kingdom around me.
I step back to admire my work, breathless and exhausted. My shadow twitches behind me, its hollow hunger swelling so suddenly, I nearly choke. Sam’s brows furrow in concern, and he lurches forward, pulling me into the crook of his arm before I fall over.
But my own exhaustion hardly matters—not when wonder fills the city, as my people begin to understand what I’ve given them.
A child is the first to come forward, as children are the bravest of us all. She sticks one tentative foot over the videntis, and then, with a wild giggle, closes her eyes and leaps. My magic catches her in its womb, suspending her above the chasm. A thousand dreams burst around her at the first touch, and she squeals in delight as she reaches for them. The kingdom watches with bated breath as she swims through a night sky, twirling through celestial dust.
Her sounds of joy echo throughout the city, and my eyes sting with the beauty of it. One by one, the people of Letum follow her into the videntis. No longer a never-ending hole to the sea below, but a magical wonder of stars that holds their wildest imaginings.
I stand with my friends, and watch my kingdom take back what I never meant to steal: their dreams.
