“But why do you even have to say goodbye? Why not stay with me? Come back to the mountain with us,” Skye said.
“These people.” Shiv tilted her forehead down the beach. “They are your family. Not mine. You have a home with them. I don’t.”
“Nonsense. You are my family. Don’t minimize that. And don’t blame them for you not wanting to be in my life.”
“Skye, I have to go, and I don’t want to argue about it.” Shiv sighed. “Okay, here’s what’s really going on. I don’t know what the hell is happening with me. I actually want to erase everything that happened last night from my memory. I mean, what is this shit? I can do this crazy thing in the water, I’m a frickin’ fish. But so what? Big deal.”
She stopped, shaking her head. “I don’t have a clue what I’m supposed to do with this. With who I am. There are too many unanswered questions.”
“Well, first off,” Skye said, “your power is a big deal. I think it’s fantastic. Do you know what I realized when I was floating, waiting for you to find Aiden?”
Shiv shrugged.
“That when our parents died in the river, and we were drowning, going down with the car, I opened the door, but after that, it was always so fuzzy a memory. And we just assumed I saved you. But that was an assumption. And it was wrong. I’m pretty sure it was you that saved me. With your power, even if it wasn’t unleashed. It had to have been you.”
Shiv shrugged again, shying away from taking the credit. “Maybe. We’ll never really know.”
“I know. In my heart. And if you’re worried about Aiden not liking you, I think after you saved him from the depths of the ocean, he’s going to be the first one to line up in the Shiv parade. Behind me, of course. You not only saved my life once, you saved it again when you brought Aiden back to me. What you did will never be forgotten. What runs through your blood makes no difference.”
Skye put her hand on Shiv’s shoulder. “And everything else, what you need to know, we’ll figure it out together.”
“No. Of all the stuff I don’t know, there is one thing I do,” Shiv said. “And that is that I’m not going to figure out who I am around you all. It’s just not going to happen. There’s just…too much going on there.”
“But—”
“You can’t force this one, Skye. You can’t roll out big sister mode and make me stay. I need to leave. You need to go back to the mountain and live your life. Relax, play, have babies with that brute of a husband of yours. Be happy. Live your life, and stop worrying about mine. I will be fine.”
“I’m just supposed to let you leave?”
“Yes.”
“There’s no chance I can convince you to stay, is there?” Skye’s hand reluctantly dropped from Shiv’s shoulder.
“No.”
Skye took a steadying breath. “Okay, I’ll stop. But one request.”
“Shoot, but I can’t promise anything.”
“Don’t erase last night from your memory,” Skye said. “We couldn’t have done this without you. All of this. Saving these people. That was huge, Shiv. And it can be who you are. Just remember that. You always have a choice. You have Malefic blood in you, but so do I. And I managed to choose the good over it. No matter what is running through our veins, we, you and I, we’re made of sterner stuff. We always have been. And we don’t have to let our lineage control us.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” Shiv said, nodding.
Fighting tears, Skye reached out and gripped her into a bear hug. “You know I will always be there for you. Anytime you need me, you call. Money, whatever. I’ll make anything happen. Promise me.”
“I do, I promise. I don’t need anything. But I know you have my back.” Shiv smiled, her eyes twinkling as she pulled back from the hug. “Don’t look so sad, sis. And don’t worry—I’ve been told we’re going to live insanely long lives now, so you’ll be seeing me.”
Skye nodded, unable to answer through her thick throat. She wasn’t quite able to let Shiv loose from her arms.
Shiv grabbed Skye’s wrists and peeled them from her shoulders.
“Okay. I’m letting go. For now.” Skye tried to force her voice bright to cover the heartbreak. It didn’t work. “Be careful. Take care with your body and mind. I really hope you find whatever it is you need to be at peace.”
Shiv’s cheek lifted in a sad smile, and she gave the slightest nod. Then she turned and walked away.
Skye watched her walk down the beach, then disappear inland past a tall row of sea oats. Her lungs tore at her chest and she had to consciously demand her feet to stay still, instead of running after her sister. Time would heal Shiv. She had to believe that.
Wiping her wet cheeks, Skye walked back to Aiden and Charlotte. Charlotte was done healing. Aiden was sitting up, his arms high in the air, stretching the muscles Charlotte had just mended.
Charlotte stood and covered a yawn as Skye approached. “He’s as good as he’s going to get after what must be the ten-thousandth time I cobbled him back together.” She looked down at Aiden. “We’re just lucky I didn’t have to pick at you more. You can be kind of whiny sometimes.”
“I just prefer not to need your services at all,” Aiden said. “You used to be gentler, you know.”
Charlotte glared down at him. “Well, I also prefer not to have to heal you. You know, you could take better care of your body, that would be helpful for all parties. All I’m saying is that four boats blew up, and you’re the only one of us that needs healing.”
Knowing he pricked her pride, Aiden grinned up at her. “Thanks, Char. You’re the best.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Charm won’t get you out of this one.” She yawned again. “And now, thanks to you, I’m exhausted. I’m going to get Triaten to take me back to the plane so I can sleep.”
“We’ll join you in a few,” Aiden said.
“Sounds good.” Charlotte shuffled away through the sand, only getting a few steps before Triaten came to her, pulling the phone from his ear. He beamed as his arm went around her shoulders, and the other hand went to her belly.
“Triaten, before you go,” Skye said. “I have to ask.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“It’s Shiv. Can you get someone to, I don’t know, watch her, or something? Without her knowing? Any way we can do that?”
“Worried about her?”
“She needed to go, to get away from us. I get it, but I don’t like it. When I turned into what I am now, I had you guys. She doesn’t have anyone.” Skye sighed. “She knows I will be at her side when she needs me, but right now, she doesn’t want to be near me. So yea, I am worried.”
Triaten smiled with a nod. “Well, I doubt it will curb your worry, but yes, I think I can arrange something.”
“Good. Thank you.”
“Is a car coming?” Aiden asked, still sitting and stretching.
Triaten pointed upward past the rocky cliffs that lined the back of the cove they were in. “Should be up there on the nearby road pretty soon.”
“Have another one sent,” Aiden said. “I’m going to take a moment with my wife.”
“Sure. See you at the plane,” Triaten said, and he and Charlotte started the climb out to the nearest road.
Aiden used one of his upstretched hands to grab Skye’s wrist and pull her down onto his lap. She fell into him with a low chuckle.
His arms tightened around her, blue eyes shining as he looked down at her, taking in every inch of her face. “You stayed alive.”
“You stayed alive.” Her hand went to his cheek, cradling it.
And then she punched him in the chest. “Even if you had to come back from death to do it. Which I am none too pleased about, by the way. Don’t you ever put me through that again.”
“I don’t plan to.”
“Was this it?” Skye asked. “Is all of this over, at least for now?”
“No guarantees. But yes, I think so. I’m not sure fate could conjure up anything more for us right now
.” He smiled to himself. “But give it time. It’s a slippery world we live in, and not one prone to hammocks and iced tea.”
“So enjoy it while it lasts, is what you’re telling me.”
Aiden’s hand slipped down her body, resting just below her breasts. “It’s a good thing we’ve mastered the art of enjoying the few moments of peace we do get.”
“You get me back home,” Skye smirked, “and I am going to show you just how masterful I am.”
She snuggled her head under Aiden’s chin onto his chest. Rolling waves landed, and spread on the sand in front of them, chasing sandpipers back and forth in a playful dance.
Aiden traced the double scar lines around Skye’s bicep.
“Are you okay with Shiv leaving?” Aiden asked.
“Yes and no. I’m worried. Who knows what Evan has planned for her.”
“It was too much to ask that both Edmund and Evan disappear from our lives all at once, wasn’t it?”
“Are you kidding? Edmund being gone—I’ll take it. As for my father. Well, you didn’t expect life to be so perfect that he would kick it, did you?”
Aiden shrugged. “Maybe. Just a bit.”
Skye smiled against his chest. “I have long since figured out this isn’t a fairy tale we live in. Strike that. You are my fairy tale.” She kissed his chin. “The rest of the world—eeeehhh, not so much.”
“Well, whatever you need with Shiv, I am on board. Even Malefic, she proved herself last night. And she is more than welcome in our home anytime.”
“Impressive. All that took was Shiv saving your life.”
He chuckled. “Yes. You can imagine how difficult it was to utter those words.”
“But I love you for saying it.” Skye’s hand circled mindlessly on his belly. “I did try to get her to stay, to come back with us. But I get why she left. She knows the mountain isn’t the place for her. I’m at least half-Panthenite, and look how tenuous my welcome is there. She’s half Malefic, and hell, we don’t even know what her mother was. So I understand. I wish it were different, but it’s not. I’m just going to have to accept it.”
“True. But I also have a feeling some things are going to change on the mountain.”
“Really? Why?”
“Horace. Edmund. Both gone. Perdition for one, the stars for the other if the universe is just.”
Skye pulled her head up to look Aiden in the face. “Speaking of death. You were gone. Dead. Do you remember anything about it?”
Aiden’s eyes darkened. “No. Not really. Just a soul burning sense that you weren’t there with me. And that would not do.”
Skye smiled. “You’re right. That would not do at all. The only way I plan to make that particular journey, many, many years from now, is by your side.”
Aiden leaned down, drawing Skye’s face to his. His fingers played along her chin and slipped into the thick of her hair as their lips met. He kept her there for an elongated breath, savoring the entireness of the moment, of all they had been through.
When they finally broke, he didn’t move his head away, instead, leaving his breath, his words, to touch her face. “And I by yours.”
~~~
A thousand miles away, Helen stood in the dark, staring at the glowing ebb and flow of the branches. She was entranced by two of the longest threads, slowly turning black as they shriveled toward the base of the tree.
She had overseen the migration of the tree to the new land eons ago, and even then, they had been amongst the longest, most fruitful threads.
And now, nothing. Her hands behind her back, she had been in there for hours, watching their slow descent into oblivion.
Her phone vibrated in her hand, and she whipped it to her ear. “I have been waiting.”
“Then you know,” Triaten said.
“About Horace and Edmund? I do. Where are you now?”
“We made it in from the ocean site. We’re in a car on the way to the plane. Don’t the chips have our location?”
“I have not been downstairs. Do not fret. There has been ample oversight on the attacks in Europe.”
“And?”
“Losses, of course. The majority of it has been handled.” Helen leaned in toward the upside down tree, eyeing movement in a thread she had just noticed.
“Helen?”
Helen stepped back from the wall, straightening, her eyes glued to the particular thread. “Triaten. I would like you to sit by my side.”
“My father just died, Helen, do we have to do this now?”
“I am sorry for your loss, Triaten. Yes, we do need to do this now. You know we do. This is for your father—it was what he always wanted for you. What he planned. What he dreamed. I abide by his wishes.”
Silence echoed over the call.
Helen waited out the silence.
An audible sigh preceded Triaten’s words. “On one condition, Helen. I lead by example. I lead with my feet on the ground. I will not lead behind closed doors.”
“As you wish. The arrangement is acceptable.” Helen pulled the phone from her ear, shutting it off.
Helen clasped the phone in both hands, tapping the back of it with a perfectly manicured fingernail, thinking. Triaten didn’t mention it, the ice moon that appeared last night. It signaled the end of the flame moon phase. They must have missed it somehow, probably in getting back to shore.
She thought momentarily about mentioning it to him, but they would find out soon enough. Best to keep them on their toes for a while longer. It was very possible one or two of the Folotto brothers survived the blast.
Helen slipped the phone into the pocket of her white pants. Finger on her chin, she leaned forward once more to investigate the thread that had caught her off-guard. She hadn’t expected this.
The Malefic side of Skye’s thread had shriveled without Helen even noticing, so focused was she on Horace and Edmund’s. Helen’s eyes tracked to the other side of the trunk. The Panthenite side of Skye’s thread remained unchanged, but the Malefic side was now a dark nub, close to the base of the tree. Fascinating. Not gone completely, but it was better than anyone could have hoped for.
Helen nodded to herself, and left the room. She walked downstairs and entered the parlor. A hush hit the busy room.
Without hesitation, she walked to the center of the parlor, and sat in Edmund’s chair. Her hands wrapped around the wooden tips of the arms, gripping it, making it hers.
Horace gone. Edmund gone.
She swallowed a smile. Restraint in this situation was necessary.
{ Epilogue }
Damen tugged at the donkey. It hee-hawed, then took another step forward on the rocky, narrow path. Damen looked back at it. His daughter, wrists tied together, was picking at the donkey’s mane, wicked smile on her face. Donkey seemed to mind the rope jerking him forward more than the girl that constantly picked at his hair.
The donkey was besting Damen in the patience department. Granted, the donkey had not just spent the last six months trying to control a terror. His daughter had already killed too many at the castle, and he was at the point he didn’t think he could save her. She had been damaged too deeply by his bastard brothers. This was her last chance.
Damen looked down the sheer drop of the cliff to his right, and trudged on. This journey had already gone on too long, and he was seriously considering that the worth wouldn’t match the trouble.
“You. Stop and turn back right now.” The voice came out of nowhere, echoing through the valley.
Damen rolled his eyes. Finally. “Leander?”
The half-breed stepped around the corner of the curve ahead of Damen. He had one metal bucket in his hand. And he looked ready to storm. “You can leave. I don’t care if I know you.” He squinted his eyes at Damen. “Do I know you?”
“No. But I have come for your help. We have mutual acquaintances, Skye and Aiden.”
“You’re a Malefic. What do you know of them?” Leander stopped, his hand going to scratch his scraggly beard. He
leaned out and looked around Damen to the trailing donkey. “It isn’t you, it’s her, isn’t it?”
Taken aback at Leander’s quick assessment of the situation, Damen nodded. “Yes. It is her. We come for your help.”
“Popcorn. Did you bring popcorn?”
“Why, yes.” Damen pointed past his daughter to the two huge sacks hanging off donkey’s backside, grateful he decided against jettisoning the sacks a day ago. “Yes, we did bring popcorn.”
~~~
On the opposite side of the world, the last of the golden fall aspen leaves fell into the water. A smattering of people were gathered at the shore, all attention on the five figures in the water.
Triaten and Charlotte had asked Aiden and Skye to be the denoted keepers, and as such, the four of them were gathered, backs each to a true direction, around the baby boy that Charlotte had birthed three days ago. Rafe stood in the stream between Charlotte and Skye, staring up at bundle, protective from the first moment he sniffed the babe.
Charlotte looked surprisingly well, and thankfully able to stand, after the brutality of the birth.
The baby had come early, and labor had lasted two full days. Triaten called soon after the first pains of labor started, and Aiden and Skye showed up at the ranch, thinking they would hang out and soon be presented with shiny new baby to welcome to the fold.
But as the hours progressed, the tortured screams grew agonizingly loud. Skye joined her friend at that point. Not able to help ease the pain, Skye could at least offer up her hand to get broken, and wipe Charlotte’s head. She didn’t leave Charlotte’s side until the baby breathed his first breath.
Skye had never seen anything so horrific. Or so beautiful.
Aiden, on the opposite end of the spectrum, had no stomach for watching the pain Charlotte was in, and could not stand to be in the room for long stretches at a time. But after Triaten’s sixth angry outburst at Helen and the two midwifes that were handling the birth, Aiden’s job quickly became to get Triaten out of the room and occupied elsewhere. That, and restrain him, which became necessary eight times. Aiden couldn’t blame him, for he couldn’t imagine what he would do if his wife was being ripped apart from the inside.
Flux Flame (A Flame Moon Novel Page 28
