She tensed and jerked her head my way. Her face lit up like a thousand stars. Alastair urged her forward, and she broke out into a run. Silver kept charging, and the distance soon vanished.
I jumped to the ground and threw my arms around my dearest, oldest friend. She clutched me. Her body shook with sobs. I was sobbing, too. Nellie ran over and slid her arms around us both. The three of us just stood there like that, holding on to each other. It had been so long since we’d all been in the same place at the same time. We weren’t meant to be apart. We were family, we were blood.
I’d been terrified I would lose them both. So much of my childhood was gone. Life had taken so much from me, but I had not lost them. I squeezed them tighter, understanding just how lucky I was.
I would never take any moment with them for granted.
I pulled back and noticed the blood on Val’s leathers. “Don’t tell me you were fighting out there.”
She smiled. “Of course I was. If you fall, I fall, remember?”
* * *
After many, many tearful reunions, we trudged back up the hill, had more tearful reunions with Gaven and Roisin and the humans of Teine. The gods never attacked the tower, but the humans had heard them calling for them, taunting them to come out. Thankfully, they’d waited, just as I’d asked, inside the dark rooms with my daggers clutched in their hands.
The Mist Guard and I gathered in the Great Hall for one last meeting about this lightforsaken war. Niamh and Alastair wanted to get caught up on what had happened, and I was dying to hear their side of things.
It felt like falling into a familiar routine. Kalen tried to keep control while the Mist Guard bickered. Gaven even joined in, though the sadness in his eyes lingered. It would likely linger for a good long while. When Niamh and Alastair looked around and noted Fenella’s absence, Gaven was the one who explained.
There were more tears. Not so cheerful ones, this time.
It took hours for us to share our tales. And when we were finally finished, we all sat around the table in stunned silence. We had won. The gods were defeated. The human enemy was gone. We would not have to battle any longer. Just thinking it felt surreal. We’d been fighting for so long. It felt as if I’d been part of this war since my birth. Perhaps somewhere inside me, I’d always known there was more to my life than what I’d been told.
Niamh cleared her throat, breaking through the silence. I noticed she and Val were sitting quite close. Val was almost leaning against her. Interesting. Had they finally told each other how they felt?
“So,” Niamh said, “you have the power of…how many, seven? Seven gods. Or whatever you want to call them.”
“That’s right,” I said. “I suppose that makes me immortal now.”
“And you’re…all right?” She cocked a brow.
“I struggled to handle it when I first consumed the essences, but my bond with Kalen was stronger than anything they could do to me. I have control over them now. Their thoughts, their voices, their wants…it’s all gone. I’m all that’s left now.”
Alastair leaned forward, bracing his arms on the table. “What are you going to do with it? Destroy it somehow?”
I sat up a little straighter. “Oh, I’m going to keep it.”
“And that’s not dangerous?” Niamh cast a glance at Kalen, who merely shrugged.
“It’s dangerous. For anyone who goes against me.” I smiled.
Alastair guffawed. “Fuck’s sake, little dove. You are a force to be reckoned with now.”
“And I’ll need to be. For a while, I’m certain this world will live in peace, but there may come a time when I need to put on a show of strength, just to get the point across,” I said.
“And you can see all that?” Val asked eagerly. “With this foresight thing?”
“I can only see what Andromeda knew, and she didn’t see as much as you’d think. The Lamiae didn’t have the power of foresight. That came from the comet, and they could only use it if they went to where it fell.”
“So, you’re going to keep your new powers.” Niamh nodded. “Probably for the best. Just means I’ll plan on never pissing you off.”
A slow smile spread across my face. I leaned forward and winked at her. “Best not hurt my friend, then.”
Val’s face flamed. Nellie coughed. Alastair laughed, as he always did. And as I looked around the table at the faces of those I loved, I knew we would make it, even without a vision to tell us everything would be all right. Because even if another enemy arose from the ashes, we would fight them. Together.
We always did.
Fifty-Four
