The scent of the ocean carried to them on the breeze, the azarna spice that seemed to be used for everything in Djira, and the smouldering of the previous day’s fires. Fia pressed her hands to the cool metal of the railing, breathed in deeply to take it all in.
The smallest sliver of orange flickered on the horizon, and she chanced a look at her friends. At Noor, who smiled down at her. At Maab, who simply nodded. At Runa and Malachai, arms wrapped around each other. At Okwata and Ahrek—Ahrek’s hand on Okwata’s shoulder and Okwata’s hand clasped over his. At Evina, Jax and Rainn—who Fia had no doubt would have all become good friends had they more time to spend together.
At last, she looked up at Alexander, and he wrapped an arm and a wing around her, pulling her close. She felt the thread between them and made a silent wish that she wouldn’t have to feel it dwindle again the way it had when she’d almost lost him the day before. Below them, the city stirred. People had begun to spill out onto the streets to watch the first dawn together.
On the horizon, above where the sun began to rise, the sky seemed to shimmer and the grey gave way to ribbons of colour. The sky spirits. They’d come to watch too. Fia hadn’t seen Lorn amongst them at the steps below the palace; the Makya had made her decision, she’d said as much right before she died.
They stood in silence while the sun rose as if it had been pulled from the underworld by a chariot. Cheers and whistles carried up to them from the city, and Fia couldn’t help the smile that broke across her face. Alexander pressed a kiss against the top of her head, pulling her closer.
Runa laughed. “You did it, Fia.”
“We all did,” Fia said as Runa wiped away a tear, her wings almost orange in the dawn light.
Fia wasn’t ready for the goodbyes. Runa and Mal were staying, and Fia hadn’t been able to hide her relief the night before. They had all offered to help Evina take back her throne, but the queen had reassured them it wasn’t necessary. Told them she’d rather know she had allies she could call upon, friends she could return to. That she would like to return one day soon to try and reach out to her ancestors in Ohinyan, to help them.
Altair had said something about meeting and parting once, when Fia had made her goodbyes after the battle in the south. He’d said it was the way of Ohinyan—that they could not be separated—like life and death or breathing in and breathing out. Already she missed his wisdom, the comfort of his words, the way his great cloak swung around him. But he would be remembered, they all would.
She pressed her hands to the metal railing again, felt the familiar tug of her magic as flowers bloomed at her fingertips, vines wrapped around the metal.
“You still have magic,” Noor said, adding a few flowers of her own to the mix with a smile.
Fia picked one of the lilac flowers and twirled it in her fingers. “Not like before. My flames aren’t blue anymore but there’s more… more balance, now.” It hadn’t been a surprise to her the night before, when she’d summoned a spark in her palm, and an orange flame stared back at her in the dark.
She’d felt it burn out in the aether, that part of her power that had twined with Lorn’s—the part that was heavy—and it hadn’t surprised her that it had consumed the Makya. But what was left—it was as if she could see it now for what it truly was—something to be nurtured. It was as if she could see the lines of power that ran through everything.
Runa and Mal made their goodbyes, pulling Fia from her thoughts.
“We’ll see you down in the city,” Malachai said to Alexander. He reached out a hand to Runa, and together they pushed off the balcony and dove into the city below.
Fia felt Alexander at her side as they watched the angels fly away, watched as they banked together, turning to the sun, every movement in unison, every turn like it was part of a practised dance. She’d worn the wingsuit, eager to fly again. Eager to feel the elation that was pouring from Runa and Malachai.
Beside them, Noor readied her glider. “You never asked me why my coven exiled me,” the witch said, as if she could feel Fia’s gaze on her.
Fia huffed a quiet laugh. “It was none of my business. And besides, they took you back. The past doesn’t matter.” It was the truth. Fia would take her friend’s word over that of her coven leader’s any day.
Noor pulled Fia in for a tight hug. “I am glad our paths collided,” she said softly, an echo of the words she’d said before Fia had returned to Earth.
“Will we see you tonight?” Fia asked. It wouldn’t be right to ask Noor to stay but Fia allowed herself to hope that the witch would be a part of her life now.
Noor smiled, stepped up onto the balcony’s ledge, and winked. “You have a way of growing on people, Fia.” She leapt off the edge, plummeting straight down for a moment before the glider caught a pocket of wind and carried her away on the breeze.
It wasn’t a yes. But Fia smiled as she watched Noor drift away. She’d said she wanted to work on the alliance, to rebuild what was broken. Fia knew she wouldn’t be gone for too long.
A warm hand rested on her shoulder. Maab.
“You’d better not say goodbye to me,” Fia said, studying his face.
Maab looked to the sun. Closed his eyes for a moment as he let the light wash over him. “You brought him back to me, Fia. I will never forget that. And we will see each other again.”
She threw her arms around him and gave him a tight hug, something he’d have never been happy about before, but now, she knew he wouldn’t mind. It was Enne that had brought them together. It was Enne that had first tried to teach her what it truly meant to belong. She finally understood.
He pulled away, grasped Alexander’s forearm and shook it.
“We will speak of Enne often,” Alexander said. Fia knew how much that meant—back on Earth when Sophie died, no one would say her name, it was as if she’d been erased.
But Fia wouldn’t let that happen. Not for Enne, not for Arion or Altair. Not even Erebus. Not for anyone they’d lost. Even when the memories made her breath catch in her throat.
Maab didn’t linger—she knew he’d most likely go down to wait outside Okwata’s lab for the others.
“Our home is yours now,” Okwata said to her, following her gaze.
Ahrek stood beside him, just as he always had. “Guard its secrets well,” the Asharian said with a toothy grin before they followed Maab inside the observatory. It wasn’t a goodbye. Fia preferred it that way.
Evina took Fia’s hands in her own. “People lose hope when they stop looking for it. You gave everyone a reason to look up. Thank you, Fia.”
Rainn and Jax made their goodbyes alongside Evina, and Fia and Alexander watched them disappear inside the observatory.
Fia sucked in a deep breath, turning to face the city once more. To turn her face to the sun. The sky was a burst of orange and pink, soft clouds glowing in the early morning light. One of Alexander’s feathers drifted onto her vines and she picked it up, thinking about that night back in London when a feather had fallen onto her blanket. How something had urged her to follow him, even though she hadn’t truly known he was there. It must have been that thread, pulling her towards him, all that time.
“I wish Sophie was here for this,” she said quietly.
“I know.”
So many times on Earth she’d wanted to tell someone the things she missed the most about Sophie. The way she hummed when she brushed her teeth. The way she only ever wore the same perfume. All the things that made her truly her. That made her real. She promised herself she would tell Sophie’s story often, along with the others. Memories need nurturing, Terah had told her. It was true.
“I meant what I said,” Alexander tightened a strap on her wingsuit. “None of them will be forgotten.”
She opened her hand, letting the feather blow away in the breeze. They watched it fall, and Alexander took her hand and flexed his fingers through hers. Fia had to remind herself that it was real. That he was real. That the phoenix really had brought her back
to Ohinyan—given her another chance.
A bell rang out somewhere below them. Down in the harbour, white sails shone in the morning light and she turned to look at him, his gaze fixed on her. She didn’t want to miss a second with him. She wanted every moment to matter, however big or small, and so much lay ahead of them. After they’d helped in Djira, Alexander had plans for Ohinyan, for Earth. She did too. He’d listened to her ideas after dinner, adding his own to them—to build on them, to grow them.
She put a hand on his chest, felt his heartbeat beneath it. Steady, strong. The magic had changed things. But not this.
He brushed a soft kiss to her lips. “What are you thinking?”
“Of everything it took to get to this moment.”
Something flickered across his face for a moment, and his voice was thicker as he said, “Nothing you do will ever make me fear you.” Words he’d said to her back on Deganis. She knew he meant it; knew he wasn’t going to run from her dark parts. And she wasn’t going to run from his.
Fia broke away from his embrace, a smile breaking across her face. She pushed off the balcony, her wings spread wide. Alexander soared beside her, his bright smile matching her own.
For the first time in months, she felt light, weightless, as she spiralled and flew higher, her head tilted back to the sun. She opened her eyes to look down at the city, and in the golden rays, specks of dust blew lazily by. She smiled.
Alexander’s fingers brushed hers, and he flew around to face her, his hands knotting in her hair. She breathed him in, felt the warmth of his body pressed against hers. His hands found her face and he kissed her, softly, slowly. As if he were savouring every moment.
He pulled back, the sunlight illuminating his wings and making him look every inch the angel he was. With a few beats of his wings he put distance between them, and as she flew closer, he flew back, that bright smile lighting up his face. Fia flew ahead, twisting and turning around him, out over the harbour, over the open ocean, Alexander beside her all the while.
A new beginning stretched out ahead of them, one of infinite possibilities and for the first time in as long as she could remember, she didn’t think about the past, didn’t worry about the future.
Just this, here, with him.
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Read the whole series
The Angel’s Calling: Daughter of the Phoenix Prequel
The Third Sun: Daughter of the Phoenix Book One
The Eternal Dusk: Daughter of the Phoenix Book Two
For a map of the world of Ohinyan and more go to
www.victoriajprice.com
Copyright ©2021 by Victoria J. Price
Editing services provided by Melanie Underwood
Cover illustration by Natalia Sorokina | Instagram: @jwitless_art
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Acknowledgements
The word journey gets thrown around a lot these days, but it’s really the only way to describe what writing this series has been like. It’s been almost ten years since I began feverishly scribbling notes about another world with a dying sun, its angel protectors and a girl from Earth who didn’t belong. These characters will always have a special place in my heart and will always occupy my thoughts in one way or another.
Like every great journey, I had some wonderful people helping me along the way and wouldn’t be writing this without the following:
First and foremost, thank you, wonderful readers. Every bit of feedback, every review, every passing comment, every social media tag is motivation to keep writing, and I am so grateful for every single one of you.
Thank you to all the incredible bloggers and bookstagrammers who have participated in tours, taken photos, written reviews and creative posts, or even just taken the time to mention me in a post.
My awesome writing group, the Word Breathing Bitch Queens, made a year of staying home a whole lot of fun and pulled me through more bad days than I can count. Belle Manuel, Holly Hoffmann and Jozanne Fernandes: thank you doesn’t quite seem to cut it.
Amy Eversley, Chrishel Smith, Kayla Maurais, Brie Tart and Liz Cohen: thank you for the countless hours of chats, feedback, thoughts and reassurance throughout this series—DotP wouldn’t be what it is without each of you.
Thank you to Ana-Maria (@afantaseaofbooks), your support these last few months has motivated me on so many occasions and given me the boost I needed to keep going.
Natalia Sorokina: thank you for three incredible cover illustrations.
Thank you to my editor, Melanie Underwood, who had to endure more em dashes than any one document should ever be allowed to possess.
And finally, thank you to my husband, Ali. You believed in this story and these characters from the start, and always showed such unwavering interest and enthusiasm for them. Thank you for the hours of discussion, the encouragement, for always making time for me no matter how busy you are, for listening to every single word of this manuscript even when you had your own work waiting for you. I can’t tell you enough how much your support means to me and I would not be writing this now without you.
About the author
Victoria lives on England’s breath-taking south coast. She loves fairy tales, myths and legends, and grew up creating stories both in words and pictures. When she's not writing you'll find her exploring with her husband and their two dogs, searching for beautiful hidden places and secret picnic spots.
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The First Dawn (Daughter of the Phoenix Book Three) Page 29
