Scattered Ashes - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,100

and sit beside the water. The ground is covered with the ashes of the Death Walkers from when the star’s power was freed and killed every last one, but the air is still, calm, peaceful.

But the peace crumbles the second my wrist starts to burn. At first, I don’t look at it, not wanting to shatter the calm moment we’re sharing, but the pain becomes too intense, and I have to I tear my eyes from the water to look down at my arm.

My head slants at the sight of the star tattooed on my wrist. I trace my fingers along the angled lines. “What is this?” I ask Alex.

“I’ve never seen that before . . .” he trails off, turning over his wrist.

To our surprise, he has the same mark on his wrist.

He smiles at me. “I think it might be ours.”

Sliding his hand across my cheek, he leans in and kisses me as the sun slips away behind the mountains, and the stars wake up to dust the sky. Still, we keep kissing, taking our time because there’s no more rush, no more worry.

We have all the time in the world.

GEMMA

10 MONTHS LATER . . .

“Okay, I get why you said she’s a bitch,” I say as I hike through the grass toward the castle, “but I didn’t expect her to be so . . . so . . .”

“Short?” Laylen finishes for me, laughing. “What did you think, that faeries have to be tall or something?”

I stick out my tongue at him. “No, but I did expect the Empress of the Faerie Realm to be tall.” I duck underneath a branch and jump over a log. “And what were those little creatures? One of them tried to bite me.”

“Those are sprites,” Aislin explains, shoving vines out of her way. “And those little bastards are mean.”

“Did you know you’ll turn into one if they bite you?” Laylen says, but I can’t tell if he is joking.

“I still can’t believe Aleesa didn’t want to come back with us,” I say, enjoying the sunlight as it kisses my skin

“I’m not,” Laylen says, urging me to the right as the path forks. “She was always a little off, and I think she fits right in with the fey.”

From behind me, I suddenly hear the pitter-patter of tiny footsteps. I whirl around just in time to see a sprite running at an impressive speed for having such tiny legs. With its teeth and wings out, it makes a beeline for my ankle. Panicking, I drop kicked it like a soccer ball, and it flies through the air and lands far back in the trees with a thud.

“Okay, now Gemma’s the mean one,” Aislin says, gaping at me.

“I didn’t want to turn into one of them.” I feel a pang of guilt for kicking the little critter.

Laylen busts up laughing. “You do realize I was kidding about that?”

I shake my head but smile and pick up the pace, leaving the two of them behind. I’m anxious to get back to the castle and my family.

As I break through the Faerie Realm, I take off in a full sprint.

When I decided to go with Laylen and Aislin to get Aleesa, I thought it would be good for me to get some fresh air. But about five minutes after I left, I was already missing Alex and our daughter.

When I reach the castle, I throw open the door. Even though the electricity doesn’t connect us anymore, I can still sense where Alex is and even my daughter as I head straight for the living room.

As I enter the room, I pause in the doorway at the sight of Sophia holding my child in her arms. Even though she turned out not to be so bad once the evil was out of her blood, I struggle sometimes to be around her because it reminds me of the past.

She’s rocking back and forth, trying to get my daughter to sleep while talking to Alex about something.

His eyes find mine, and he smiles in a way that makes my body burn for his touch.

“I’ll be right back,” Sophia says to Alex, and then she sees me and smiles. “Oh, good. You guys made it back okay?”

“Yeah, Aislin and Laylen are coming.” I nod at the window as I walk toward her with my arms out.

“Good. I’m glad everything went well.” She gently places my daughter in my hands then steps back. “I’m going to go make dinner for everyone,” she says then rushes out the doorway.

“Why’s she making dinner?” I ask Alex.

“Because we’re having guests tonight,” Alex says, walking over to me

I smile down at our daughter, and she looks up at me with her violet eyes, making a cooing sound as she tries to smile.

I’ll never get tired of this, of being able to see her and hold her.

“Hello, my beautiful Alana,” I say to her. “Did you miss me while I was gone?”

“She did. We both did.” Alex cups my chin, angles my head back, and kisses me deeply, tangling his tongue with mine.

It’s amazing how much my body burns on its own whenever he touches me.

“I missed you way too much,” he says when our lips part.

“Me, too,” I say, dazedly looking up at him, high from his kiss. “I don’t think I’ll be leaving again for a while.”

“That’s fine by me.” He laces our fingers together then leads me toward the sofa. “You look tired. You should rest.” He sits down and pulls me down with him.

“I’m tired, but it was good to get out and feel like I’m helping try to fix stuff.” I lean back on the sofa, cradling Alana in my arms. “So, who’s coming over for dinner?"

He bites back a grin, and I suddenly realize how excited he is. “You know how we’ve been trying to figure out a way to free your father from the Room of Forbidden?”

I nod. “But I thought it didn’t look very promising.”

“It wasn’t,” he says, “but then I found a loophole. Since your father technically didn’t change the vision of his own free will, he should’ve never been punished for it. I had to go above Dyvinius’s head and persuade enough Foreseers to let him go, but I finally did it.”

I straighten in the chair. “So my dad’s . . . ?” I blink back the tears. “My dad’s free.”

He nods, scooting closer to me. “He’ll be here tonight.”

“But he’s okay, right?”

He nods. “I saw him yesterday when he was freed, and he looked great. I even talked to him for a while, and he’s really happy to see you”—he smiles down at our daughter—“and her.”

I brush my lips across his scruffy cheek. “Thank you.”

“I just want you to be happy, and I know you miss your father.”

“I do miss my father, but I’m happy, Alex. I promise.”

He relaxes back in the chair, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and bringing me with him. “How did things go for you guys?”

I shrug. “Well, Aleesa didn’t want to come home with us, and the Empress threatened Aislin that she was going to collect on her spell soon.”

“We’ll figure out a way to fix it. And besides, Aislin’s so powerful now, I don’t doubt she’ll be able to take Luna down if she needs to, but let’s not talk about that right now. There’s something important I need to ask you,” he says, his voice sounding a little off pitch.

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

He nods nervously, sliding to the edge of the couch. “Everything’s fine.” He sticks his hand into his pocket. “In fact, everything’s perfect.” When he pulls out his hand, his fingers are clasped around a silver object.

“What’s going on?” I ask as he stands to his feet.

With an uneven breath, he opens his hand to show me what he is holding, and I gasp at the sight of the heart-shaped pendant my mom gave me. Only, it’s not secured to a chain, but welded to a silver ring.

“How did you get this?”

He arches a brow at me. “You think two witches scare me?”

I shake my head, staring at the ring in awe. “But why did you put it on the ring?”

“Why do you think?” With his gaze fastened on me, he gets down on one knee. “Gemma Lucas, will you marry me?”

Tears flood my eyes, not just from his question, but because I’m here, breathing, holding our daughter, fully able to experience this beautiful moment. I’m lucky to be alive, and I cherish every moment. But this one, I’ll probably cherish a little bit more than others.

“Yes,” I say through my tears.

Looking almost as happy as he did when our daughter was born, he slips the ring on my finger and then presses his lips to mine.

We kiss, our souls beating as one. Always and forever.