by Cara E Holt
“They are gone. Vanished.” He turns his attention back to us. “We need to get down there, people are injured.”
We had won, but in doing so we had lost many brave fae soldiers. Most are already dead, their eyes empty and staring at the sky. We pass by those and move to help the ones who are still holding on. I’m crouched down beside one soldier when Blaine cries out. He is on his knees holding his father’s body against him. I sift to him and find Alana already there.
“Help me heal him.” She orders us. I kneel beside her and put my hand next to hers above his heart. Leora comes to the other side but stops as she goes to put her hand on him.
“We are too late. His soul has already left his body.”
“We have to try.” Alana begs me with her eyes. Nodding I look to Leora and with a sigh she places her hand next to ours on his chest. I push everything I can into healing him but I feel nothing. Leora is right, we are already too late. Alana stands and throws her arms around Blaine who stands there with silent tears dripping down his face. I place my hand over his father’s eyes and close them. I take his sword and lay it on his chest. Lorcen helps me stand and we silently move on as we look for others to help. Queen Eira has called every healer to the field to help try and save those who can be saved. Drustan hobbles towards us, holding his side. Lorcen rushes to his side and holds up his weight.
“You’re hurt.” I say as I lean down to get a look at his wound.
He scoffs and grins. “It’s nothing. Just a small knife wound.”
I frown at him. “Just stay still and let me heal it.” I place my hand over the injury and pour my healing magic into him, repairing the muscles and skin and closing up the wound. “There. Good as new.” I wipe my brow, I was exhausted.
“You need to rest.” Lorcen tells me firmly.
I shake my head and gesture at the bodies around us. “There are many more I can help yet.” Ignoring his concern I move on and find a soldier lay on the field struggling to breathe. He has a large wound to his abdomen. I kneel beside him and stroke his head.
“Are you an angel?” He murmurs, his breathing shallow.
I smile. “No. I am Tuatha and I’m going to heal you.” I place my hands over his wounds and close my eyes. I am exhausted but I push through it and will my magic to heal him. Satisfied that he will survive I turn to my brother who has been silently stood beside me watching. “Can you help me get him up.”
He nods and puts an arm under the soldiers and lifts him on to his feet. “What you just did Eb’s, that was amazing.” He looks at me in awe. “Seriously, you are amazing.”
I bat away his compliment. “Ah stop it. Can you take him inside to the infirmary. He’s healed but he needs to rest.”
My brother nods and helps the soldier off the field. I take a breath and then I move on to the next soldier and one after another I heal them, as do my sisters. I send the soldier I just healed off to the infirmary and wipe my brow. A body comes up behind mine and wraps a hand around my waist. “Okay love, you have done enough, time for you to get some rest.”
I lean back against his chest and close my eyes. “Is it really all over?”
He turns me so that I am facing him and standing on my tip-toes, I wrap my hands behind his neck. “It really is over.” He kisses my nose. “You were fierce out there you know. I am so proud of you and honoured that I get to call you mine.”
I grin. “I was pretty bad-ass.”
He laughs, his green eyes full of amusement. “Okay, now who’s getting a big head, huh?”
I chuckle. “I need a long soak in a very hot bath.”
“That I can organise.” He drops a quick kiss on my lips and with an arm around my waist we walk slowly back towards the castle. This was a day that would stay in my mind forever and one I hoped I never had to experience again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT.
Four Months later.
“Woohoo!” Lorcen shouts from the crowd. Blushing I collect my scroll from the principal and hurriedly make my down off the stage. I take my seat beside my brother as the names of my fellow graduating students are called out. Somehow I had made it to this day and graduated high school like a normal human. The last four months had not been easy. Blaine had lost his father and a royal state funeral was given to honour his passing. Soon after that Blaine and Alana were soul bound and coronated as king and queen of the seelie court. The seelie court was a little more traditional than the unseelie one and they would not allow a widowed queen to rule. For a long time in both courts there had been one funeral after another as we buried our fallen soldiers. Drustan and Lorcen had found it hard. These were men they had trained and spent a great deal of time with. Despite all that we had suffered, slowly but surely the fae realms were getting back to normal.
As the last student leaves the stage a cheer erupts from all the students and we all stand and throw our graduation caps in the air. We were done, free. My mum and Dad rush over to Scott and I, and hug us. My mum eyes are red with tears.
As she stands in my arms she places a hand on Scott’s cheek. “It doesn’t seem two minutes since you were both in nappies and now look at you. My babies all grown up.”
“Yeah yeah, we know mum.” Scott rolls his eyes smiling.
“Can I muscle in?” Lorcen squeezes in between my mum and dad.
“I’m going to go find Taylor.” Scott announces before rushing off to find his girlfriend and my best friend.
“Hey.” I smile as he comes and pulls me against him. “You okay?”
He nods and flicks the end of my nose with his finger. “I’m proud of you. Despite all we had going on, you graduated.”
“I can’t believe school is over. We are free.”
He grins. “We are and I have a long holiday for you and I planned. Just us and lots of relaxing.”
I groan in delight and dip my head back. “That sounds like heaven. Can we leave right now?”
He chuckles in my ear. “No. We have a graduation party to attend first.”
“Ah yes, we do.” I unwrap myself from around his neck and take his hand. “Come on. Let’s get the thousand of photo’s over and done with that my dad will want to take.”
Five hours later we are sat in my parent’s yard where we have been celebrating graduation. All our close friends were here and it had been a great day. Even my Dad – Az and Kol were here. I look across the garden at were Leora sits beside Kol, she smiles sadly up at him as they talk.
“Is something happening there?” Lorcen asks me, his eyes following were mine are.
I shrug. “I’m not sure. I’m kind of hoping there is. She needs someone to show her what love really is.”
Alana comes up and offers me a fresh drink. “She will never be fully happy until we get her daughter back where she belongs, with all of us.”
I nod as I continue to watch my sister with Kol. “We’ll get her back. I don’t know how but one way or another Rihani is coming home to us.”
“What is it with our family and prophecies?” Alana groans. Our father had learned through a certain Archangel that Lucifer had taken Rihani because of ancient prophecy, that told of a child born of Tuatha and demon blood who would hold the power to unlock the gates of heaven. He had taken her to use her as way into heaven. His plan was to wage a war against the almighty himself. Lucifer had bound my niece’s soul to the underworld, she could not leave. My Father had attempted to taken on Lucifer and bring his grandchild home but had failed. Lucifer was in the end more powerful and my father had been cast out of the underworld and was now forced to live his life in the human world. Kol knew it was futile to try and take her, with her soul bound to the underworld she could die if he somehow did manage to get her out. He has sworn that he would watch over her for us until we could figure out a way to get her out. We had time to work on a plan to get her out. Rihani would not come into her full powers until she awakens at eighteen but the longer she stayed in the underworld and the longer she grew up under the care of Lucifer
the greater the risk that she would fall under his influence and darkness.
Life had fallen into a temporary peaceful existent. The future relations between the seelie and unseelie court were bright and Lorcen and Blaine despite their dislike of each other in the past were now firm friends. Together the two courts were rebuilding the city of everlasting. It would be a place where fae could come and give thanks to their gods, who had thankfully come out from their hidden realm and with them brought real prosperity to the fae lands. Crops were in abundance and the fae birth rate was up and increasing steadily. The lands were healing as the fae folk began to believe and have faith in their gods again. Leora intended splitting her time between both courts. Although my sister had begun to smile again there was haunted look in her eyes one that would not leave until she was reunited with her daughter. I had finally been persuaded by my mate to live in the unseelie realm on the proviso that we spent all holidays with my human family here in the human realm. Scott was off to UCLA after the summer break. Taylor had conveniently also got a place there. At long last I could take a breath and just enjoy a brief sense of peace. I knew it could not last forever but I welcomed it with open arms.
“You ready to head off?” Lorcen asks as he passes his empty glass to Noah.
“Where are you two sneaking off to?” Noah asks us, eyeing us with intrigue.
“We,” Lorcen tells him as he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me into his side, “are finally taking the honeymoon we never got to have.”
Noah grins. “No going making any little Lorcens now.”
I roll my eyes in response. Trust Noah to turn this conversation down a tone. “Not another word from you ginger.” I turn my attention back to my mate. “Will you at least tell me where we are going first?”
Smiling he bobs his had side-to-side as if considering my request. “Okay. I can’t resist you when you give me those big pleading eyes. Our first stop is to our little cabin in the woods. I thought we’d spend a few days there.” He leans in closer to my ear and whispers. “Just you and me and a bed.”
I grin. “Okay let’s go already.” I quickly drop a passionate kiss on his lips and then turn back to Noah. “You take good care of Failinis for me while we are gone. Remember he needs feeding three times a day.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Noah bobs his head and gives me a bored look. “I know. Like that hound would let me forget when it’s feeding time anyway.”
“You want to say a quick goodbye to everyone?” Lorcen asks, as he playfully nuzzles my neck. He seems as inpatient as I to get to our little cabin in the snow.
I look round the room at everyone happy and enjoying themselves and shake my head. “Nah, let’s just the sift out quietly.”
Within seconds we are stood inside our cosy cabin. The fire burns brightly, warming the place. I yelp as Lorcen swings me up into his arms. “What are you doing?”
He winks as he walks us towards the large empty bed. “It’s a human tradition isn’t it to carry your bride to her bed?”
“It’s actually supposed to be over the threshold, but to the bed will do just fine.” I tell him as I wrap my arms around his neck. I lean in and my lips find his and I get lost up the sensations he creates within me. Whilst I had no doubt that we would face evil again in the form of Lucifer at some point in our future. I was here with my mate and we had a long eternal life together and I couldn’t wait to see where our journey would take us.
The End.
My soul belongs to eyes so green,
My love is meant for the one I dream.
Two souls destined right from the start,
To find each other, and beat as one heart.
My love for him is real and true,
The fates bound our souls, and our hearts too.
Beside him I will stand through time,
Strong together, with his hand in mine.
COMING IN 2019 – THE HEXBORN SERIES
To interact with me and find about future book series join me on my facebook page at Cara E Holt.
Acknowledgements
Wow! I can’t believe this story is over. I have loved creating this world and sharing it with you all. Ebony and Lorcen will always hold a very special place in my heart. This story and these characters became such a big part of my life. I have cried tears over them, laughed and loved with them as their stories grew in my mind. Is this really the end you may ask? It is for now. Will we see these characters again? The answer to that is a resounding yes. A few of the characters from this series will cross over into the Hex born series and Rihani has her own story to tell at some point in the future.
I want to say a big thank you to my husband and two boys Jake and Archie who have for the last couple of years put up with me being huddled over a laptop creating this world. Your love and encouragement and belief in me is something I will treasure always. To my facebook followers, thank you so much for supporting this book series and coming along with me for the ride. I love chatting with you on facebook and hope you will stick around to give my next books series a read.
Particular thanks to the following ladies, Sarah Dixon, Alyson Page for reading the first drafts and giving me their honest opinions. A big thank you to Sandra Hardman for her editing skills. My ability to write stories is much stronger than my ability to remember the need for commas. Finally -To my parents, who read to me every night and awoke this passion in me for storytelling.
