Ascent: Book 3 of the Scorched Trilogy

by Lizzy Prince

  My mother’s charm necklace had a broken chain from when Cailleach had ripped it from around my neck. I’d tucked away in my pocket, and I thought about it as a talisman to help me get through all of this. I couldn’t focus on the heartbreak and pain caused by greed for power, otherwise I would probably start to cry. Stowing that until later, I kept my focus on Cailleach. With each freed essence. Cailleach grew paler, weaker, her god-like continence turning papery and thin, until all that was left was Cailleach’s own, not inconsequential, magic.

  But it didn’t belong here. Not in this time and place. And with one collective pull, the magic broke free from Cailleach, and the piece of soul that belonged to Áine that had always resided inside of me pulled away to join its other half, fulfilling its purpose of creating balance.

  Cailleach’s mouth was open in a scream, but there was no sound. Now that the magic was gone from inside her, there was nothing else keeping her alive. The arm within my grasp began to disintegrate like a log burned through and turned to ash. When the wind blew over us once more, the rest of her body crumbled to dust and was carried away on the current, nothing more than particles returning to the earth.

  By the time it was done, I was panting, bent over, holding my side as blood soaked into my clothes, sticking them to my skin. Falling to my knees out of relief, or maybe because I was feeling a little lightheaded, I barely had time to comprehend what was happening before Mari was at my side, placing her hands on my cheeks, infusing me with her healing power until the pain subsided from my side.

  “Thank you,” I murmured, and she pressed a kiss to my cheek, getting up to check on the others.

  I looked around the group and saw that everyone appeared staggered and weary but not defeated. By some miracle, we’d managed to make it through everything alive and whole.

  “Is everyone okay?” I asked, making sure my assumption was correct and everyone really was fine.

  There was a chorus of assents, and then there was Theo. “You know it’s been beautiful here, and the people are amazing, except for the psychotic mummified five-thousand-year-old bitch face dust ball over there, but I just want to go home and poop in my own bathroom.”

  “Jesus Theo, what a fucking image,” Lola choked out, but she was already dissolving into laughter, crossing the little circle and wrapping her arms around him and planting a long kiss on his lips. Theo dipped her theatrically, but she didn’t seem to care. In fact, she didn’t seem to notice anyone but him.

  Munro dropped down on his knees by my side, running a hand up my arm. “Annie?”

  I knew he was asking if I was alright too. Just by the questioning lilt in the way he said my name and the trepidatious hope glinting in his eyes.

  “I’m fine. I’m good.” I let my forehead fall to his chest as he wrapped his arms around me, my knees soaking in the cold from the frozen earth beneath me. But I couldn’t feel anything but the warmth of Munro’s body surrounding and comforting me. Confirming what I knew to be the truth. I was good. I was safe. I was loved.

  Chapter 21

  We celebrated Christmas that night in Roark’s apartment. He’d gruffly told us we should stay, and Ryan had gone to pick up Estell so she could join us there. We didn’t have a tree, and no one had gotten presents for anyone. But Mari and Butch cooked up an impromptu feast while Munro and I made cookies. We ate and celebrated, laughing until we were too exhausted to stay awake, which came pretty early in the night. The past few months had been a series of crazy events that had turned our lives upside down. It didn’t feel like I’d stopped moving that entire time and now that Cailleach was gone, I could finally take a deep breath.

  People were passed out in a variety of places around Roark’s living room. Ryan had taken Estell back home and had decided to stay there for the night rather than getting back in the car. Now that things had settled down I was in the kitchen, trying to quietly pick up some of the mess we’d created since I could tell it made Roark’s skin itch. Munro extracted himself from the couch were Theo had fallen asleep, snoring with his mouth open on Munro’s shoulder. Munro stood up letting Theo gently flop down on the cushion.

  “Hey,” he said as he grabbed a few napkins and tossed them into the trash.

  “Hey yourself.” I dried my wet hands on a towel by the sink and turned, leaning back against the counter.

  Munro tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, his eyes searching my face, obviously looking for something. “How are you doing?”

  I thought about my parents, about Munro’s dad, even his mom. All the people who had suffered because of the greed of others. It hurt. It made my heart ache because of the senselessness of it all. But I was okay. I had survived, and I had this new, cobbled together family that fit me. It made sense in my life. But there was one thing I was worried about.

  “Now that this is all over, and we’re all safe, what will you do? Do you want to stay back here? Home?” I couldn’t meet his eyes, because I wasn’t sure what I would do if he said he wanted to stay here.

  Munro nudged my chin up with his finger so that I looked him in the eye. “Annie, home for me has never been a physical place. It’s always been a yearning. Ryan and my gran, they took me in, loved me, and helped raise me, but we were never in one place consistently. Home isn’t a specific place. It’s here.” He picked up my hand and placed it on his heart.

  I could feel the rapid beat of his pulse beneath my fingers, and I leaned into him, letting him wrap me in his strong arms. He murmured into my hair, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine.

  “Let’s go back to Dubuque, graduate, then figure out what we want to do with the rest of our lives.”

  I smiled into his chest and nodded, feeling too relieved and tired for words.

  We’d left to go back home the next morning. It was an emotional farewell because somehow, I hadn’t anticipated that when we left Ireland, everyone would be going back to their respective parts of the country. Mari and Theo were headed back to New York, Butch and Lola back down to Louisiana, and Ryan, Munro and I to Iowa.

  The feelings that hit me when we said goodbye made me think of the summer camps I’d gone to as a kid. I’d spent two weeks with the same people, day in and out, and when we’d left each other, it was hard to know how to behave. Like the everyday world around us couldn’t understand what we’d gone through together. And that was just camp. We’d made popsicle stick birdhouses and swam in a lake. We hadn’t fought an ancient evil and saved the world. I had a feeling the hangover from this trip was going to be epically harsh.

  We did a round robin of hugs, and Lola even got it up for long enough to pretend she didn’t mind me too much. Then I shocked myself and probably a few other people when I hugged Mari goodbye and burst into tears. I wasn’t normally one for the waterworks, but I hated the idea of not seeing her every day.

  “Hey, we have each other’s numbers, and FaceTime. You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” Mari said as she smoothed my hair back.

  I nodded into her shoulder as I sniffed back more tears. “I know. I know.” I squeezed her once more and plastered a smile on my face and looked over at Roark.

  He was talking to Ryan and Munro, but he inclined his head toward me when he saw me looking in his direction. I was surprised when he’d come to the airport with us, but then again, we’d all been together at the Hill of Tara. Maybe he needed help saying goodbye to everyone too. I walked over to stand beside Munro, and he slipped an arm around my waist as if it was second nature to touch me when I was close. It made me smile, but I didn’t want to look like a lovesick fool, so I tried my best to hide my idiotic grin. And failed pretty miserably.

  I waited while they finished up their conversation, and then Ryan and Munro went to say goodbye to everyone else, leaving Roark and I alone. Or at least, as alone as we could be in an international airport. Roark didn’t exactly smile at me, but he wasn’t scowling either. There were still a lot of questions that I had about the massive dude in front of me, but they real
ly weren’t any of my business. Considering we weren’t BFFs, I doubted he’d feel compelled to share all his deep, dark secrets with me. Still, I recognized a kindred spirit when I saw one, and that’s what Roark was. I didn’t know what he’d been through, but there was pain and heartbreak involved.

  Feeling like we’d stared at one another long enough in silence, I caved first. “Thanks for all your help.”

  Roark just kept staring, not willing to give an inch, the dick.

  “Someone reminded me what family means. I had it once, but it wasn’t enough for the other person.”

  My jaw dropped as I looked at him dumbly, not sure if he’d just said what I thought he’d said. Before I could get my shit together enough to respond, he cut back in. “Besides, you had odd numbers. The magic always works better with an even number.”

  He patted my shoulder with enough strength that I stumbled to the side and just gaped at him as he walked away from me. Well shit. The rest of the goodbyes were shouted across gates with waves and lots of promises to talk soon. By the time we got on the plane, I was so exhausted, physically and emotionally, that I fell asleep, snuggled up next to Munro, before we’d even taken off.

  Epilogue

  There was a knock at the front door, but I let Maggie answer it. I was upstairs, finishing getting ready. I had no idea what was going on, but Maggie was all dressed up and had directed me to get insanely hot. It was Valentine’s Day, and the weather outside was only slightly worse than unbearable. There wasn’t any snow on the ground, but it was the kind of cold that froze your nostrils as soon as you stepped outside the warmth of your house.

  Maggie had instructed me to wear a dress and to suck it up when I complained about the cold. But I just couldn’t do it. Instead, I found a pair of black skinny jeans and a black sequined loose fitted shirt that slid off my shoulder. It wasn’t as warm as a sweatshirt but still better than a dress.

  I had mixed feelings about Valentine’s Day. On principle, I hated it because I really did feel like it was a silly made up holiday that marketers and retailers created to sell more flowers and jewelry. It also made a lot of people feel like crap because they didn’t have that special someone in their lives and sometimes it felt like a sneaky shaming from society. Oh, you don’t have anyone to spend Valentine’s with? How sad. Maggie and I had dubbed V-day Vagina Day a few years before, and I was sort of reluctant to give up that moniker over the more traditional Valentine’s. But I was trying not to be a giant stick in the mud about it.

  “I’m almost ready,” I called out to Maggie as the door slowly opened. I was finishing up my eye make-up and almost poked myself in the eye when a low Irish lilt responded instead of the voice of my best friend.

  “You look beautiful.”

  “Hey. Sorry, I thought you were Maggie.” I smiled at him through the mirror, finishing up with a swipe of mascara before I put the cap on and tossed it back in my make-up bag. Turning to face him, my jaw dropped when I noticed he was in a full suit, looking devilishly handsome in the dark blue wool.

  “I wasn’t aware we looked that much alike.”

  Standing in front of him, I ran a hand over his tie. “Well, don’t tell her I said this, but you look much better in a suit.”

  “Women can wear the hell out of suits,” Maggie shouted into the room as she walked past, and Munro and I both chuckled.

  “That’s all on you. I didn’t say a thing,” he quipped as he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.

  “Why are you so dressed up?” I smiled up at him, probably looking like a dopey, love-sick fool. But I didn’t care because what was the point of hiding my emotions. He knew I loved him because I told him all the time. Once I stopped gawking and took in his formal attire I started to feel a little underdressed.

  “Should I change?” I frowned and looked down at my pants.

  “No, you look perfect,” he said as a fingertip trailed over my bare shoulder, his gray eyes tracking the movement like he wanted to trace it with his lips too. The spark between us hummed, and my whole body warmed and tingled.

  “Thanks,” I managed to choke out in a whisper which only made Munro’s smile grow with a smug knowledge.

  “Let’s get going,” he said, grabbing my hand and threading his fingers through mine.

  “And where is it exactly that we’re going?” I pulled my hand away just long enough to put my coat on, but Munro didn’t respond, he just gave me a sly smile.

  “You know I hate surprises. Just in case I’ve never mentioned that about myself before.”

  “Tough,” was all he had to say as Maggie and Sam joined us in the front hall.

  “What are we doing, Maggie?”

  Maggie just smirked at me, and then winked at me, but she wasn’t about to reveal any secrets. With a sigh, I shrugged and let Munro lead me out of the house and down the steps to where Sam’s car was parked. We shuffled into the back seat, letting Maggie sit up front with her boyfriend while Munro held my hand in his, resting it on his leg. There was something about the moment that felt so carefree and exactly like what a teenager should be doing that I was almost giddy with the feeling. Munro must have sensed my emotions because he turned his warm gray eyes on me with a gentle smile.

  “You good?” He squeezed my fingers as he spoke.

  “Yeah, just enjoying being a normal teenager for once.”

  Before I could even get settled in, we were pulling to a stop. In front of Munro’s house.

  “What are we doing here? Did you forget something?” I asked, confused about why we would come here, but Munro just smiled and tugged me out of the car.

  “Maggie, you want to give me a clue? Or is everyone going to continue to ignore my questions?” I huffed.

  “Patience!” Maggie said as she grinned at me, foregoing the front door and walking around to the side of the house. Now I was really confused, but I was sick of getting ignored when I asked what was going on. I kept my mouth shut and just followed along, my hand clasped tightly in Munro’s.

  We wound around the side of the house, turning the corner to get to the backyard, and I stopped, stunned. There were Christmas lights strung up and crisscrossed over the brick patio just off the house and a few tables set up with candles flickering softly in the cold breeze. There were outdoor heaters around the patio to ward off some of the cold, and the air around them shimmered with heat.

  I squeaked out a sound that was pure happiness when I saw Theo and Lola standing by one of the tables underneath a heater, trying to keep warm. I dashed over to throw my arms around them both, practically squeezing the life out of them in my excitement. Somehow after everything that had happened, Lola and I had formed a detente, a friendship of shared experience that meant we understood each other so much better. And of course, I was happy to see Theo, my idiot cousin who always brought joy wherever he went.

  “What are you guys doing here?” I grinned when I finally backed up enough to see their faces and realized they were both in formal wear. Well, Lola was wearing extremely sexy leather pants and a strappy top that looked far too cold for this weather. Whatever, she looked hot enough to keep the chill at bay. Theo was also in a suit and tie.

  “We came for a visit, cuz. We missed your face,” Theo said, trying to mess up my hair, but I ducked under his arm, swatting his hand away.

  “Well, I miss you guys too. I’m so glad you’re here, for whatever this is.” I motioned around Munro’s backyard.

  I turned back to look at Maggie, and then Munro, knowing my face was a picture of shocked happiness. Maggie bumped her hip against mine, and I grabbed her in a giant bear hug.

  “I don’t know how you’re responsible for this, but I feel your meddling all over it.” I laughed.

  She smirked at me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Mmmhmm, well whatever you did or didn’t say or do, happy vagina day, Mags.”

  “Happy vagina day, Annie.” Maggie gave me another squeeze before she bounced off to
Sam and began spinning him around as they danced.

  Munro moved in closer and wrapped me in a hug. I tipped my head back to look up at him. “Did Maggie give you a lecture about something? Or yell at you?”

  Munro just laughed and kissed the tip of my nose. “You know how I made you feel awful about the dance last semester? I wanted to make it up to you.”

  I looked up at him, confused about what he meant. “That was months ago?” I said, my face scrunched up in bemusement.

  “Well, Maggie reminded me that you never really got to have your dance. A few times. And it took us this long to find a time when everyone could get back.” Munro chuckled.

  “And this is a dance?” I asked, looking around the empty patio with skepticism.

  Music turned on, gently falling from speakers hidden somewhere behind me. “It will be.”

  Munro pulled me to the middle of the patio, under the center of all of the twinkling white Christmas lights strung above us and wrapped his arms around me. I slid mine around his neck as we swayed to a slow song. I smiled when I heard the words. It was cover of “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”. Munro gazed down at me, and all I could see was the love that shone down on me as I tightened my grip around his neck.

  “Nice song,” I whispered.

  Munro bent his head until his lips were pressed beneath my ear, making goosebumps tingle over my skin.

  “It seemed fitting.” He pressed a warm kiss on the skin there and at the crook of my neck. I pulled my head back to look up at him.

  “What is all this?”

  “I was an ass the last time you asked me to go to a dance.”

  I frowned at the memory because yeah, he’d been a jerk about it. But he’d surprised me and showed up at the dance, pretty much sweeping me off my feet before the world came crashing down around us.