Now
I come backto my body, struggling for breath. Flint is on his knees next to me, cradling my head in his lap.
I remember.
“Casie?” he asks, cautiously. “Are you okay?”
I remember it all. The princess Flint had referred to, all those weeks ago… that wasme. Not Casie, not really. Not the Princess Aisling in my dreams. Butme.
“No.” I croak.
“What hurts?” He’s so concerned.
“Not Casie.”
He blinks in shock.
Never Casie.
But Ember, Princess of the Fae.
Ember, who Flint has called Ash since we were children. Ash because, that’s what’s left after an Ember. That’s who I got to be, with him. Only ever with him. Ash, after Ember’s royal duties were done. Not Princess Ember, not royalty. Just Ash.HisAsh.
Holy.
Fuck.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Epilogue
It’s been a hell of a few days.
Despite years of fervent hoping and praying that Ash would come back to me, I never anticipated how the exact moment would play out. One minute, I’m telling her I love her for the first time in her memory. The next, she’s shaking, her eyes rolledback in her head, and I’m cradling her in my arms wondering if I’m about to lose her for good.
Despite the destruction her power caused as she came back to herself, I remained untouched. I call it luck, but Betsy calls it love. “Just another perk of that soul binding, pumpkin.” And she winked at me. Either way, I survived, largely unscathed, but scared shitless.
She came back to herself, just for a moment, and then passed out.
Betsy arrived, on the run, alerted by the change in the world. For a moment, it felt like time had slowed, each heartbeat taking on seconds of time. The world had paused while Ash’s memories slammed into her body, back into her mind and I have never been more terrified.
Apparently, the pause in time had no effect on Betsy as she barreled through the door before time had righted itself. She had laid one hand on me, one on Ash’s forehead and closed her eyes. I didn’t catch whatever incantation she was muttering under her breath, but it appeared to ease Ash and that was enough for me.
About ten minutes later, Annemarie was rushing in, throwing donuts at me, and was lighting bundles of incense in short order. I have no idea how the mortal woman knew something was wrong, but whatever she did, it appeared to ease Ash.
Casie
Ash
Ember
So,that’s where we are. Or were.
I… woke up. Or as Betsy later explained, the walls in my mind crumbled to dust. And not a moment too soon, apparently, since another few days and my amnesia would have been permanent, my power gone for good. If I understand her correctly, it was my magick’s way of protecting me from the trauma of what she did. Wait, no. WhatIdid. It still gets confusing. After being Casie for so long, it feels weird to think of myself as Ember. Sometimes, it’s easy, and we feel like the same person. Other times, it feels strange like I have someone writing memories that don’t belong to me.
Anyway, forgetting was my power’s solution to the problem. Cut the person off from their memories and give them the time to heal. If they don’t, they remain human and oblivious always, but safe and protected from the horrors that broke their mind and spirit in the first place.
I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but in the last few days, I’ve been experiencing a lot of mental overload very quickly, and it’s better for everyone if I don’t ask too many questions too fast. Or so I’m told.
