“And so it begins,” Desmond said. “Except you and I are now on the other side of a battle we thought we'd never see.”
Nathaniel took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
Everything that he had learned, everything that he had taught Prada was now called into question. He could only hope that he had done right. He had taken the tests so many years ago, but this felt like the ultimate test for a witch.
Prada was standing at the doorway to the gangplank, in between two Dramoonian leaders, armed with magic flowing through their bodies. She had her magic working through her fingers, and everyone knew that she was the most powerful one of all. As the gangplank lowered and Thomas saw Prada standing there, he took a step back.
He had seen what damage this girl had done to the school, when she was out of control. Where was Nathaniel? Where was her control?
Prada took a deep breath, looking down upon the crowd that had gathered.
Eliza's Jeffro forces were in the background, and Prada could see beyond them, a mess of confused looking witches. These were those Sienna had raised, opened the portal for.
“Prada,” said Thomas, as she approached. “Are you held hostage?”
She swallowed, wishing Nathaniel was here. But in this moment, she had to stand alone.
These were her people. It didn't matter whether they came from the same planet, the same race. They had the same magic, they had the same power.
She shook her head, drawing up on courage to try and speak.
“Where is Nathaniel?”
“These—” her voice trembled. Everyone was shocked to hear her speak. “These witches want nothing more but recognition from the Jurors. They are like me.”
“You will release Nathaniel and Sienna.” Eliza pushed her way to the front of the crowd. “Or we will attack with such fury…”
We are outnumbered, she heard the Dramoonian leader beside her. Who are they?
They are the dead. Prada turned to him. Sienna raised the dead when you forced her magic.
You can do that, came the response.
I can protect you, Prada responded I can protect you or we will face certain death. We are warrior, but we are not wanting death.
There was silence in her head, and then she moved forward.
“They are witches ,too,” she cried out to the Jurors, who were tensed. “Peace, not war. Warriors, not killers. Dramoon is not what you think.”
She was shaking, terrified. But she kept talking. Prada felt like each step she took, she was getting braver. She was created for this purpose. She knew that now.
She just hoped that she lived through it.
There was the longest silence she had ever known, in which they stared each other down.
All eyes were on Prada before long. She could take all of them down if she wanted – if she was angry enough.
But it was clear she wanted peace.
At last, Thomas took a deep breath. “We are happy to talk, if you are. For the first time, we are happy to recognize Dramoonian forces within the Jurors chambers. We are happy to try and reach an agreement.”
“Only if…” The Dramoonian leader surprised Prada by speaking, slow, thought out basic. “Only if Prada remains with us. She is one of us.”
“I will,” Prada assured them. “But there are conditions”
They watched her, waiting, hoping.
“The three of them go free. And I return to Jeffro…to raise Sienna's Devon, to heal him once and for all.”
“Granted,” came the words, and Prada knew her life was about to change.
Chapter 14
“Is she here?”
“She's here,” Desmond said, barely through Sienna's door. How she had survived this recent fight with magic, he didn't know. But he had the feeling that being reunited with Devon was the thing that got her through, brought her back once again from the brink of death. “She's here and she's going to try, Sienna. But that is a lot of magic she is going to use, and I'm not sure I want you anywhere near it.”
“Maestro,” Sienna gave him a look. “You can't say that anymore.”
“I can't,” Desmond said. “But I have a feeling you'll listen to me, anyways, won't you?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You'll tell me as soon as it's done?”
“Yes, I will,” he promised. “But…there's no one besides you who has ever tried this.”
“I know,” Sienna said. “But Prada can do it. She was put in this galaxy to save people, I know she was. And Nathaniel was put here to guide both of us.”
“And now to be a Prince,” Desmond said. Sienna raised an eyebrow.
“It's odd, isn't it? He'll be coronated next week and the Order will be down one more witch.”
“But gaining so many in their alliance with Dramoon,” Desmond pointed out. “I'm sure they won't enjoy losing Nathaniel's mouth though.”
“His commentary got me through life,” she said, with a smile. “And now his Tiro will get me through the rest of it. Creator-speed.”
“I'll be back soon,” he promised her, heading down the hallway.
Prada and Nathaniel waited at the end of the hall. Without the confines of the Order, Nathaniel seemed more relaxed, his dress now Jeffroian. He would be married to Eliza and coronated soon, everything he had dared to dream for. And Prada, beside him, a full witch, the tests passed with the highest score ever, now stood with her head held higher and her eyes ablaze.
It was a rocky road, but Desmond thought it was the best outcome for everyone.
Now, if they could just make it the best outcome for Sienna as well, it would be a miracle.
Desmond wasn't sure Nature granted miracles much anymore, but he hoped for one, anyways.
“She's all right,” Desmond said. “But her usual impatience is dominant. If we don't tell her within the next 10 minutes...”
“I can do this,” Prada assured Desmond, as if she hadn't spent years not speaking to anyone else. “I've done it since we've last seen each other.”
“You have?” Desmond asked in surprise “On someone so…”
“On animals,” Prada said. “And I waited for portals, I waited for negative signs. So far, though, all is well.”
“Well,” Desmond's mouth twitched as he glanced at Nathaniel. “What a skill.”
“I think she can teach it,” Nathaniel said. “She's trying. But it could be that we've beaten death once and for all.”
“Let's focus on the task at hand,” Desmond said, pointing toward the room where Devon was held.
Prada squared her jaw, switching her focus.
“I need you to stay back ,though,” she said, as she advanced forward. “Just in case something goes wrong.”
“I thought that you did this before?” Nathaniel asked her.
“On birds,” Prada protested, and Desmond's confidence was shattered again.
Nathaniel stayed back at the door, watching his former Tiro as she approached Devon's body on the bed.
“She's doing well?” Desmond asked Nathaniel, who nodded.
“She is. But she's still…she's still reaching out, still second guessing herself. That will go away, I think.”
Desmond smiled, looking at Nathaniel.
“To a point,” he said. “Sometimes they still burst into your school room and eat the breakfast that you cook for yourself when they are still adults.”
Nathaniel smiled. “Point taken,” he said. “But she's going to be all right, I think.”
“She will,” Desmond said. “Nature does not make mistakes.”
“No,” Nathaniel said. “Nature does not.”
Watching Prada was almost memorizing, the way she moved forward, assessing the magic in the air, assessing the life force that was still left. She would have to make sure that she pushed and pulled at exactly the right moment, and she would have to close a portal as quickly as she opened it. She was focused as she put her hands on Devon's mechanically moving chest, closing her eyes.
“Prada!�
�� Nathaniel suddenly said. “There's no danger that you—”
“No,” she said, her eyes still closed. “I'll be fine. I'm strong.”
“Ground yourself,” he said. “Reach out if you need to hep. Channel us.”
“Nathaniel,” she turned to him. “This isn't any scarier than any war we've seen. I'm all right.”
“You are,” he said. When he started training Prada, he had no idea where it would go. But now, he couldn't be more proud.
Prada drew the magic into her palms, reaching from sources that Nathaniel couldn't even try to feel. Prada was so strong, but she had needed to learn to stand alone.
“Oh boy,” Prada said under her breath, as she felt how far gone Devon was. There was very little life force left, and she wasn't sure she would be able to pull it forward.
Different path, came ringing through her ears as she tried and tried again. Everyone has a different path. Devon. Devon. Devon I know your girlfriend.
There was no answer, and she sighed, gritting her teeth.
Of all the things that she had been through, she didn't want this to be the one she failed.
Sienna is alone right now, she tried again.
There was no answer, and she growled, looking up at Nathaniel. He raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Just…patience,” Prada said, and closed her eyes again.
Devon, Prada said. I'm a witch. I'm the witch Sienna was supposed to be. Come back and with the woman she is now.
She felt a stirring of life and she pulled harder.
Devon, she called again. Come back.
She felt a jolt and her eyes flew open.
“Oh,” she said, stumbling back slightly. Nathaniel moved forward.
“It's okay,” Prada said, leaning against the wall. “It's okay. Just wait.”
“I don't see any change,” Nathaniel said and she rolled her eyes.
“Do you know how hard that is? Give him a moment. He was dead, by the way.”
“He was clinically…”
“He was dead,” Prada said, looking him in the eye. “But I don't think death matters anymore.”
As if on cue, Devon took a huge breath, choking on the tube down his throat.
“Can I get some help?” Nathaniel called down the hall to a nurse, half in shock as Devon's vital signs rose. A few nurses rushed in, and Nathaniel stepped back, his jaw open.
“Prada…” he said, as Devon's eyes opened, and there was clarity in them. “Thank you.”
She looked at him like it was obvious
“Of course,” she said.
“Not of course,” he said. “Before this quest…”
“Before this quest I had a dark soul?” she asked. “I would not help others?”
“Before this quest, you were afraid,” he said, softly. “And now, you are not. You are brave. You didn't let fear rule your life and that is what I am the most proud of.”
“Not passing the tests?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “Seeing you speak to someone else, seeing you stand on your own, that is where your challenge was.”
“We each have a different path,” she said softly. “This was mine.”
“I'm going to go and get her,” Desmond said, tapping Nathaniel on the shoulder. “All right?”
“Looks like it,” Desmond said. “I think you've done it, Prada. And maybe one day, you can teach us.”
“I was actually thinking.” Prada brushed her hair out of her eyes. “That I might be able to teach Sienna how to use other people's magic instead of her own. That's what this is, after all, pulling rather than pushing. If it never enters her bod, it would be fine.”
Nathaniel's jaw fell open.
“Really?”
“I don't know for sure,” Prada said. “But I think I could try.”
Nathaniel couldn't believe it. But if anyone could do it, it was Prada.
They had come so far from the Tiro that hated Sienna, that hated the world.
They had to go through a war and pain, death, for Prada to find her place, but she had found it and grown so much.
Sienna coming to the door was the trifecta Supported by Desmond, her eyes lit up when she saw Devon sitting up, without breathing tubes, without monitors The nurses had barely stepped back when Sienna grabbed his hand.
“Devon? Devon, are you all right?”
His voice was raspy, but he managed to get some words out before taking a breath. “Sienna, my love. Are you all right?”
“Oh, Creator!” She collapsed in tears, crawling into the bed beside him.
“Ironic that we spent half our lives pulling them apart,” Desmond said and Nathaniel smiled.
“And now we have our own loves,” he said, as Eliza came to the door. Her hand was on her mouth, and she smiled at Nathaniel.
“So it's true, then?”
“It's true,” Nathaniel snaked an arm around Eliza. “Devon will be at our wedding, as well, I think.”
“This is…” Eliza turned to Prada. “This is all because of you. Thank you.”
“This is because I found my path,” Prada said with a shrug.
Desmond leaned against the wall, watching the scene unfold. After the coronation, he would return to Mariah, to continue to live their private, quiet lives.
When they had been warriors, and serving, he never thought they would all have happily ever afters. The only thing he cursed was being so blind that he couldn't have the happy life earlier. This was the path for all of them, blessed by magic, blessed by love.
“Thank you.” Sienna turned to Prada, tears rolling down her face. “Thank you for doing what I couldn't.”
Prada smiled.
“You were the trailblazer,” she said. “You were the trailblazer for everything here.”
“This is a fairy tale,” Sienna said, looking at all of them as she leaned against Devon. He grasped her hand, pulling her close. Fairy tale was the word she used growing up to describe the romances she didn't yet know were forbidden “It really is. And now you will be a Prince, Nathaniel.”
“That's because Eliza won't marry me without giving me responsibility,” Nathaniel answered. Eliza smacked him in the side and he chuckled. “See? Responsibility to save my skin, even now.”
“I'm quite happy to carry on the way we were,” Eliza said, teasing him, but he kissed the top of her head.
“No,” he said “I think we finally seal the deal and make each other miserable forever.”
“Forever,” Eliza said, looking up at him with a smile.
“Forever,” Nathaniel said.
They may not have walked the traditional path, but they had ended up happy. And as Sienna lay her head on Devon's chest, and Desmond looked on with a smile, Nathaniel finally felt like he had succeeded in life. And now, with death behind them, they had a future in front of them that was guaranteed to be happy.
“We should prepare for the coronation,” Eliza said at last. “Give the lovebirds some space.”
“Anything, my love.” He laughed. “Anything for you. But do I have to wear a crown?”
“Oh, Nathaniel.” She smiled. “You have no idea what you are in for.”
Epilogue
Eliza was Queen of Jeffro and many systems. It was the grandest wedding the planet had ever seen, and Nathaniel knew that it was going to be that way. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed at the front of the grand church.
“I was sort of hoping we could just have a quiet little ceremony with paperwork.” Nathaniel said to Desmond, who he had asked to be his best man.
“With the Queen of Jeffro?” Desmond asked. “That was likely.”
“You could have reassured me,” Nathaniel replied. “It's what Sienna and Devon did three days ago and their wedding was perfect.”
“Have you ever known Sienna to want attention like that?” Desmond asked. “Theirs was perfect for them. And your wedding will be perfect for Eliza.”
“Thank you so much, Desmond,�
� Nathaniel rolled his eyes. But then, the church doors rolled open, and his jaw dropped.
In true Jeffroian fashion, Eliza had on the largest gown that could possibly fit into the church. Her head dress with the crown on top was several feet tall, it felt like. But underneath it all, it was beautiful Eliza, the girl he had fallen in love with.
Walking down the aisle to him was something they had fought over, because she was Queen and he would be the one marrying in. But eventually, she submitted and he was so glad that she did.
Seeing her walk toward him was enough to set his heart aflame.
All he could think about was how many years he had spent wishing, hoping and pushing this moment away at the same time. He should have done this when he was eighteen years old, using his magic on the throne when he first fell in love with her.
He hadn't really thought of the words that he would speak after the marriage. The only thing he really cared about today was marrying the love of his life.
She reached him, outstretching her hand to take his. Sienna as her maid of honor stood to his right side. He winked at her before turning back to his bride, who smiled.
“Are you ready?” she asked, and he grinned.
“What if I said I was not?”
“Too late,” she answered, squeezing her hand.
“I guess I am here then,” he teased her. “Of course, I'm ready, Eliza. I've been ready for ages. It's you we were waiting for.”
“Mm,” she answered. “I may have gotten lazy in my old age.”
“Are you two ready?” the priest asked, used to them bantering between them. Ever since he met with them to start planning their wedding, Eliza and Nathaniel had bantered and teased each other. However, no one could doubt the love between them. They were two peas in a pod, meant for each other.
“Yes, sorry,” Nathaniel answered, giving him a guilty smile. “ Go ahead.”
The priest looked down and then cleared his throat, fulfilling the lines that he had to say.
“Dearly beloved, We have come together in the presence of Creator o witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. The bond and covenant of marriage was established by Creator. The union of husband and wife is intended by Creator for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given each other in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is God's will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord. Therefore marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted by the Creator.”
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