IN THE END

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes were the clouds; flaming orange, scattered across the vast sky as if lit on fire, yet, the room was condensed with darkness even with the light streaming through the roof as the Shadeux looked on.

Then, as my gaze drew downwards I saw a full head of hair the color of a starless night sky laying on my chest, only now he had a startling streak of white covering his eyes.

Sairen stilled as he picked up the sound of my newly beating heart, looking up tentatively with bloodshot eyes. "S-Sol?"

I nodded, tasting my own tears on my lips as I smiled, and he crashed into me. He held me so tightly that I wouldn't have been able to escape even if I wanted to. "You were gone— your heart stopped. How?"

"The Goddess. She gave me another chance. A proper chance at life,"

Sairen stayed unmoving, arms wrapped tightly around me as he laid on my chest, and I knew from his silence and the wet spot on my top that he was listening intently to my heart beat, seeing if I were an illusion.

I brushed his hair from his face, tucking his new white streak behind his ear and tilting his face towards me. "Hey, I'm here. I'm okay." I drew his face to mine and rested my forehead against his. "I'm okay."

"I thought I'd lost you forever," he said, running his fingers across every feature of my face, taking me in like a starved man took in food. "I couldn't do forever without you. I barely lasted five minutes."

"You won't have to..." I took his hand in mine, savoring his touch. It was surreal— touching him, speaking to him, being here with him; I didn't want to let him go. Ever again. "Did it hurt? " I asked; I had been gone only for a few minutes, but it was long enough for a soul to severe. "When I died? "

"It felt as if my very being was being torn apart— as if my soul was ripped in half." He squeezed my hand gently. "But it felt... right; like the perfect response for losing you."

"And now? Does it still hurt?"

He shook his head and took our joint hands, resting them on his chest, and I felt his erratically beating heart. "Not at all."

"I ended up giving you that 'grey' streak after all," I pulled the piece into his line of site and he smiled as he took it in.

"We match."

Sairen's lips met mine with such untamed longing, drawing the breath from my lungs. Our mouths clashed, too eager to be gentle as his fingers tangled themselves into my hair and I held on to him, afraid of slipping away again. I was a fool. A fool for thinking that my greatest punishment would be Aldhem, subjected to roaming the fields of the lost as my soul slowly deteriorated over the centuries, in constant pain as my soul mourned the lost of my animhi. But no, my greatest punishment would have been never being able to touch Sairen again, hug him, kiss him.

I inhaled sharply and pulled away, pushing him off of me. I clawed frantically at my back, pulling at my T-shirt as I tried desperately to peel away the sudden burning that ran across my skin.

"Sol? What's wrong? "

"My back!" I cried out, rubbing at the skin for some sort of ease.

Sairen pulled the top off with a swift movement, gasping suddenly at my exposed skin.

"What is it?"

"Your Mark. It's forming,"

I clambered off the bed, running towards the tall mirror at the other side of the room and stared in awe as iridescent black swirls rose from under my skin, tattooing their designs across my back and shoulder blades.

Sairen appeared beside me, his jaw slack in amazement as the likeness of a phoenix imprinted itself on my skin. His fingers were feather like on my back, tracing the growing outline. The last lines formed, glowing faintly as it finished. "That's never happened before,"

"What?"

"A non-Eçalian creature as an animhi. It's never happened before."

The prickling sensation stopped, and I watched as the last bit of brown vanished from my hair, leaving it stark white. Sairen's eyes went wide, matching my own. "Neither has that. You look..."

"Like my father," I never did realize how much I got from him. I had my mother's almond eyes and full lips, but now, with my violet eyes and white hair, I was a spitting image of Daemyn.

"Alluring."

"You are beautiful, Solaure, nothing changes that." Sairen wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his chin softly in the crook of my neck and I sunk back into him. "I still can't believe you're here. Alright."

"I know, neither can I." My entire life I had been under the constant fear of my health deteriorating, of me possibly dying— and I did, and now that I was back? "What do we do know?"

"For now," Sairen began, "we find Lesa, and we kill Achar and stop possible mass extinction. But as for right this moment? Anything you want."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"I—" A soft knocking at the door cut my sentence short and Sairen called for them to enter.

Addie's small frame stepped through, Mr. Bearingtonn still held tightly in her arms. "Siya? Matty wants to see you."

"Where is he?"

"Downstairs. With Kali... " Her gaze flickered up to me and a soft gasp left her lips as her eyes grew wide. "You look like Asirzye. "

I smiled softly, taking in the pure awe on her face. "I do?"

She nodded and hugged Mr. Bearingtonn tightly to her chest. "Are... you feeling better?"

I thought about it; there was no headache, no dull, throbbing pain or nausea. It was weird without that constant pain, but I'd never felt better. "I am."

"Then would you like to see my room now?"

"Sure."

She beamed, running up to me and taking my hand. "It's this way,"

I turned to Sairen before she dragged me completely out the door, noticing that he wasn't following .

"I'll go see what Matt wants," he said, laughing as Addie tugged at my wrist. "They'll be pleasantly surprised to know that you're okay."

I let her lead me the rest of the way with a surprisingly strong grip for such little hands. We came across the only bright colored door in the hall and she pushed open her pink door, her room a stark contrast to the more neutral tones Sairen had going on throughout the house so far.

Her walls were painted a light pink, her furniture white and gold. Little white stars hung from her ceiling and they came alight as she flipped on a switch, casting their shadows across the room, and it reminded me of the nightlight I had as a kid. She led me to her pretty canopy bed, much too big for her little frame, but the dozens of stuffed animals on it took up some of the space.

"Do you like it?" She asked as she plopped down, her feet nowhere next to the ground.

"I love it. It's really pretty." I sat down next to her and took in the rest of the room. There was a golden hanging chair that resembled a birdcage in a corner of the room where the wall was decorated with picture frames, all of Addie at different stages of her life. A lot of them were with Sai, but some were of her with the family and with a woman I didn't recognize, but her uncanny resemblance to Jules told me it was her mother. "Sai did all this himself?"

"Vai. He's the best at everything. He even tells me the best stories and makes the best waffles."

She spoke of him with such adoration in her face that it was clear Sai was the center of her universe. "You love Sai a lot don't you?"

"Mhmm," she hummed. "He's my bestest friend. Mommy's sick all the time so Siya takes care of me..." She trailed off before looking up at me. "I was sad because you were sick. But you're all better now right?"

"I am."

"Then you can stay with us." A blush crawled up Addie's check as she smiled up at me. "You can be Siya's girlfriend!"

I choked on a laugh, "Do you want to know something?"

She nodded and shifted closer so I could whisper in her ears. "Siya and I are married. "

She drew back and her eyes grew wide, her small hands covering her mouth. " Does that mean you kissed?" She whispered the last word and I couldn't help but laugh at the sheer scandal in her voice.

"Don't tell anyone," I whispered back.

"I won't!"

"You won't what?" Sairen asked as he entered, leaning on the door frame.

"Nothing." She said with a mischievous grin on her face. Sai turned to me, raising an eyebrow in question and I just shrugged.

"Then why–" He was pushed aside, almost stumbling as Kali came barreling through the door and straight at me, Matty trailing in behind her.

"Soli!" She wrapped her arms around me, caging me in. Her growing stomach should have made it difficult for us to be too close without squishing the baby, but Kali all but stifled me. "Pir ila De'assami, I'm so glad you're okay! I've been to the temple almost every day to pray. Thank the Seven Heavens that the Goddess answered."

I snickered under my breath, "You have no idea."

"Minion." I let Matty tackle me in a hug, squeezing the breath from my lungs as he picked me up and swung me around. "You look different," he said once I was on my feet again. "I can't quite place it though."

"The hair?"

He shook his head and tousled mine. " That too, but you look healthy. Good."

We spent the rest of the evening on Sairen's balcony, overlooking the ocean below and just talking. Talking about our options now that Lilauae was dead and Achar needing time to rebuild his army. We talked about our losses, about Rae and Aunt-Drea... and mom, about how when the time came that we were finally face to face with Achar that he'd get a crueler death than them both. It was a promise I made to myself.

Jules, Tommy and the twins joined us a while later and they swarmed me with hugs too. I took it all without complain; I'd never pass up on an opportunity to show my family how much I loved them again. Not after everything that happened in the last week.

We sat around the fire pit, watching the suns set and as millions of stars scattered across the dimming sky like diamonds. Addie was snuggled up in Jules' lap, her scolding earlier long forgotten, and I shook my head as Erin and Asli fought for the other spot beside their mother.

A flash of green caught my eye and I was struck with awe as the lights flickered on in the distance, atop Mount Seeres. The furnace fires burned brightly like ghostly torches in the night.

I leaned into Sairen's embrace as he wrapped his arm around me, drawing his coat around my shoulders to shelter me from the cold and brushed a kiss on the hollow beneath my ears. "Meais courvus est meais simáe erst Ile votuà, "

I tilted my head so I could press a kiss on his lips. "Iternum."

"Hey, " Matt called from the couch. " No fornication before marriage."

Addie sat up, her brows pulling down. " What's funi-gate-shion?"

Uncle Tomas tapped Matt on the head. The blow was soft but Matt still rubbed at it and whimpered. " You're going to be a dad, you should learn to hold your tongue."

"I kept it PG!" Matt rolled his eyes at his father, still rubbing his head, and turned to Addie, flicking her nose. "I'll tell you when you can say it, cupcake."

Matt turned back to Sai and I, narrowing his eyes at us. "You've been warned."

" You really shouldn't be talking Matty. Remember that time–" he shot me a death glare and I sent a devious smirk in his direction. " We can funi-gate all we want. We're adults.... And we're married."

"Vows you made when you were ten doesn't count," Matt shuddered. "and don't put that image in my head. It's disturbing ."

"She's not talking about then." Sai said, "We got married."

They seem to realize that he wasn't joking because everyone's demeanor, except Addie's slowly shifted into a more serious tone.

"What do you mean?" Jules asked, sitting straighter.

As I started to explain, it was only now I realized just how in the dark everyone was about my health, mental and physical. Only Kali had known, but only to some extent, then Sairen. I guess I was a better actress than I thought ."The thing is, I was sick. Had been for a really long time and after the day of the eclipse... all that energy I used made it worse. I think he knew that I was dying, that I didn't have much more in me left, so Sai kept a promise he made to me when we were little. He married me for real." I toyed with the chain around my neck that we had used as our marital bond, "The Goddess recognized our union."

"Oh Soli." Jules sighed. "Why didn't you say anything? We knew that you weren't okay, but if we knew—"

"I didn't know how. Sairen only knows because he found me sick. I was planning on telling you guys after he convinced me that it wouldn't be fair to keep it from you, but the days before the eclipse were really hectic and I couldn't find the chance."

"I can't imagine how scary that must've been; on the verge of death. Almost dying."

"Actually... I did. Die." I confessed. "I died. But Asirzye gave me another chance."

"Wait. Wait, wait. You were sick. You two were dating. You got married and you died. " Tommy had been taking in the conversation in silence, allowing everything to sink in, but I guess this was one secret too much . "Is there anything else you want to share? It feels as if I started a book on the last chapter."

"There is; I got my mark..."

"What?"

"What is it?"

"Really? Let me see. "

I had a hard time deciphering who said what, so instead of answering each individual question I turned my back to them and pulled my shirt up, just high enough so they saw my Mark, and there were gasps all around as they took in what Sai said was an unheard of sight.

"A phoenix? " Asli gasped, eyes wide.

I felt Jules beside me, and her soft fingers on my back. " It... makes sense; you're resilient. Powerful."

"Does that mean she gets a Convergence ceremony? " Erin asked, her face still bright as I pulled down my top. "Now that she has her animhi?"

A steady thump of excitement settled in my chest at the thought; I'd always wanted one after seeing Matty's. Though I had been just five at the time, the memory had stayed with me; the sound of the orchestra, the golden robes he donned, the way his skin glowed faintly as the Saint said the scripts, solidifying the convergence of Matt's animhi, body and soul. And just like that day, I remembered another day perfectly; a day a few weeks after my twelfth birthday when I realized my animhi would not claim me.

"Can I? " I asked, my words breathy at the mere prospect of it happening.

"Tommy?" Jules asked, turning to her husband. "Can we do that?"

He shrugged and pushed his glasses up. "I don't see why not. I'll speak to a Saint tomorrow, to see if they can oversee the ceremony." He smiled at me then, the little crow's feet at the corner's of his eyes the only tell that he was much, much older than he looked. "We'll get it done Soli."

My smile was unstoppable now. I was getting my ceremony.

Sleep didn't come as easily as I thought it would have, and when it did, I gasped awake what felt like a few minutes later. I kept seeing their faces every time I closed my eyes, and not their smiling, happy faces, but the ones I couldn't save– the bleeding, pale ones.

Death was such a funny thing; because I knew they were gone, felt it; that twisting, hollow emptiness, yet somehow it slipped my mind sometimes. I found myself wanting to go to Aunt-Drea, to talk to her, to share my excitement, then I would remember that I couldn't. I couldn't call her, I couldn't see her and I couldn't hug her again. I'd never hear her laugh, or her voice, or see her smile. She was just gone– like a scent being caught in the wind, and I think that was when I stopped being sad.

A burning anger replaced my sorrow now, and I crept from the bed, picking up Sai's shirt from the floor and pulling it over my body. I padded silently through the halls until I reached the balcony where we were earlier and relit the fire with a wave of my hand. I sat cross legged before the flames, breathing in steadily, and when I opened my eyes again, they were alight.

"I call to you, soul bound by my word," the words fell from my lips in Eçalian, slick with venom. "Come forth."

The fire danced before me, though not from the cold breeze that blew in from the ocean but from the magic my words held. The flames roared, growing taller until it was large enough for a body to step through– and one did, emerging from the now white flames.

She looked just as how she always did, still regal, hauntingly beautiful with her pale skin and dark hair. The dress she had worn for Aunt-Drea's funeral still covered her, unmoving even with the wind that was ruffling my hair. She had reminded me of a ghost before, and now she was one.

I sent her the same smile she gave me days ago, when the shock that it wasn't my mother before me was setting in. I looked up at her, venom coating my lips like balm, and smiled. "Lilauae."