I laugh, because that’s so typical of him.
Then my face falls as I say, “I hope we made them proud.” He knows I’m referring to Gaethri, Meela, and Rhydra, our comrades who gave their lives to help, but didn’t live to see it through.
“We did,” Daegan continues to watch me as if I’m going to disappear as soon as the curse breaks. As if I’d leave his side now.
I force myself to rip my eyes away and see what Maethrel is doing, though I still feel Daegan’s eyes on me.
His mouth finally stills, his quiet chants subsiding as he tilts his palms and face to the veil.
Everything is still for a moment, as if time has momentarily frozen, and then brilliant, bright, purple plumes of flames rise to the sky in a powerful burst, exploding against the veil and sending purple veins of magic throughout the deadly layer of haze. For a moment, it shakes me, terrifies me to my core. The entire world seems to be blanketed by veins of glowing purple amongst the dark gray veil that blankets our world.
And then it happens. Small at first, but growing at a steady pace. There’s a hole in the veil directly above us, right where Maethrel’s spell hit. Everything we know is going to change now.
Tears well in my eyes as they remained glued above, my neck craned back.
“Let’s get out of this damn pit so we can see what’s going on in the village,” I suggest.
We walk up the sandy incline hand in hand and get a view of the village that’s now incredibly calm. It’s jarring, considering the bloodshed that was just happening down there.
I feel Daegan’s eyes on me still, and I risk a glance his way.
“We did it,” I whisper with a bit of shock.
He nods.
“We survived together. We did it.” More tears threaten to spill, but I blink them away as I look up again. I see black through the hole in the veil at first, but then… a twinkling star.
I gasp, cupping my hands over my mouth.
And then another star reveals itself. And another.
“Daegan, why aren’t you looking?” I ask him without tearing my gaze from above. “Don’t you want to see the stars?”
“I’d rather spend these moments looking at you.”
Something in his tone makes me shift my gaze to him, eyebrows furrowed.
“Are you okay?”
He hesitates. “No.”
Sorrow touches his eyes, but he doesn’t look away. “What do you mean? We did it. We can live our lives in peace now. Together. Me, you, Raef, and Kezra… we survived.”
When he struggles to answer, I look him over, confused. “You’re fine.”
He takes a deep breath, anguish filling his expression, and my confusion grows. Maethrel has disappeared, and I don’t know where or when that happened, but I notice Kezra’s golden glow still nearby.
“I’m not.”
“Daegan, what are you talking about?” My voice is rising in a panic. I look him over wildly again. “We made it. The elves, what’s left of them, don’t stand a chance now.”
He reaches out, grabbing my hands, looking at me tenderly. My whole body fills with ice as the panic and confusion makes my heart beat violently against my chest.
“Raef was wrong. We’re not doomed. None of us are dying. We made it.” I choke up on the last words, because the look in his eyes is scaring me more than anything has through this entire journey.
He rubs a hand against his chest, looking down for only a flash before he locks eyes with me again.
“I already died.”
