And it will fail.
“We’re not done here,” I say to the Blessing. “You just wait a moment.”
I hold my hand out to the magic, and it responds, leaping around my fingers joyously.
“Who are you talking to?” Ezryn asks gruffly. He and Caspian exchange a look.
Oh, they can’t See it. Shadow-blood could if only he wasn’t so afraid. He purposely weakens himself, keeping the sight locked away. He can’t See. Not like I can. None of them can See the threads of life sparking brightly through their bodies. Or Dayton’s threads, lying limp within him.
I can See all these things and more. Everything is clearer within the Green Flame.
Caspian grabs my shoulder. “Stop this madness, Farron. It is not the way of the world.”
“Not the way of your world,” I say matter-of-factly. “I make the world how I want it to be. It is what was promised.”
A ragged breath tears out of his throat, and his eyes are bright with fear. “Dayton will never forgive you if you do this to him.”
I look away from The Son and lay a kiss upon Dayton’s brow. Peace fills my chest. “What use is forgiveness when I hold his life in my hands?”
Caspian grabs my shoulder and jerks me to look at him. “If you do this, you will not be the same.” His voice lowers to a desperate hiss. “Hewill not be the same.”
I put my hand on Caspian’s and offer him a comforting smile. “That is how it should be. When one is incinerated by the Green Flame, they must be reborn anew.”
Caspian staggers away from me, wide-eyed.
“What’s going on?” Ezryn shouts. “Farron, what are you doing?”
I turn back to Dayton. “The ways of the world do not pertain to me. I follow no law, subscribe to no rule. I answer to one power alone, and it is not death.” A green glow shines around my hands.
I have been in love with Daytonales for as long as the tides have rippled along Summer’s shores, for as long as the harvests have grown in Autumn, for as long as the great icy caverns have stood in Winter and the rivers have cut through Spring. Because I was in love with Dayton before either of us ever existed; our love is eternal. It shone in the cosmos and plummeted to the earth in fragments of the stars.
I chose to become different—to becomemore—because I want to continue loving him through the ages. What a simple thing death is, and how easily it can occur. I have always been a logical man. I will not take chances with those I love.
His thread is gone. But from its frayed edges, I shall create a new one.
My magic seeps into his bones, his blood, his nerves, until I reach the filaments of his life’s thread. A green flame lurks behind my own magic, bursting into those threads, remaking them from the ashes of what they once were. This is not creating a new life from the old, but rebuilding what was once there.
I find the strands of his strength, his goodness, his humor, and weave them with my flame as if I’m braiding a bracelet. His memories, beliefs, and preferences come next. It’s all here, so easy for me to pick up and put back, right where it was. I’m particularly careful as I maneuver his mate bond. It’s a strong power, quickly becoming taut as soon as I grace it with a bit of magic.
Last of all is the thing hovering above his chest. The thing that should have left a while ago, but stayed because it too was grieving. Because it too didn’t believe that I am stronger than Death.
“It’s time to go back,” I tell Summer’s Blessing, the little flitting sunburst over his heart. “It’s okay. He’s ready.”
The bright light flutters back and forth, unsure.
“He’s not dead,” I tell it sternly. “At least, he won’t be in a moment. Come now, I’m ready to finish.”
Though it’s nothing but light, it seems to look at me. It flits over his body, over the green thread shining in his chest. Almost as if it’sexamininghim.
Then, it starts to back up.
“No,” I say. “He’s not dead! He’s the rightful High Ruler of Summer! Get back inside of him!”
The Blessing slowly shakes back and forth.
“I haveremadehim,” I growl. “Get back!”
The sunburst dashes away, but I’m quicker. Green flames erupt from my fingertips, caging the Blessing with my magic.
