it in the meantime.
“I think she went back to Sherus,” I replied. “He came back too, just now, just like the rest of you.” I could only imagine the joy in her heart over this. From the moment the fae had drawn their first breaths here, Nuriya must’ve zapped herself right back to the glass house.
“Good. That’s really good… And regarding the cults, I think they will die out, eventually,” Ben said. “Of course, I do agree that they need to spend the rest of their lives in jail, but we should also be aware of the fact that we didn’t succeed in catching them all. There are plenty of cultists still out there.”
“But you’re right, they’ll die out,” River replied. “There’s no ritual for them to work toward.”
“And no Hermessi for them to reach out to,” Derek added. “I’m rather certain that this complete undoing of the ritual has thrown the elementals back, as well. They no longer have the five million fae’s energy to feed on.”
I nodded slowly, briefly glancing at Vesta. There was relief in her blue eyes. We both knew it would take a while to make sense of everything and fully recover, but it was going to be okay. As long as we had each other, we’d all push through and find our way back to a certain sense of balance in time.
After the Hermessi’s involvement, I understood that the world would never be the same again. We certainly wouldn’t be, as we were now aware of entities that existed beyond death, beyond our otherwise supernatural existence. There were Reapers and ghouls, the latter already known to us. Then, there was Death herself and the world of the dead, which we knew nothing about—frankly, at this stage in my life, I didn’t want to know anything, anyway. Then there was the Word and its swamp witches. The elementals and the pink waters. Sheesh, there was so much more to the universe than I’d thought.
And so much left to uncover… to explore.
This was as close as we’d get to a happy ending. Just us, being thankful for each breath, for another chance at building bigger, brighter futures. The world was not exactly our oyster anymore, but we were part of it anyway. We just needed to learn how to navigate it without disrupting the natural balance of things.
The last thing I wanted was to meet another Reaper anytime soon.
Harper
As soon as we saw what happened in the sanctuary, Caspian and I took Benedict, Yelena and little Sophia through the Calliope portal straight to Neraka. There, confusion had been quickly replaced by joy and cheers, as the local fae had also been brought back to life. The daemons had burst onto the surface, screaming and howling, thrilled to have survived this.
We found Fiona and Zane quickly, right outside the entrance to Infernis. Night had settled over the land, the moons glowing gleefully in the sky, and stars twinkling and smiling down at us. The Imen were already pouring back out, as well, joined by the Manticores—they’d all been moving through the daemons’ tunnels, looking to evacuate the area.
Many were still coming back, and they would need time to readjust to their lives, but at least they’d made it. They lived, and that was all that mattered.
Fiona burst into tears when she saw us coming, her arms wide open as Benedict and Yelena brought Sophia back to her. “I’m sorry… mom, dad… my sweet little baby… I’m so sorry,” she said, as she held her daughter again.
I could only imagine what was going through her head. She’d thought she would never see Sophia again. She’d braced herself for death, and yet, she was here, holding her baby once more. The universe could seem like a cruel place at times, but, by the stars, it sure knew how to reward us.
Caspian chuckled when Zane moved closer, his red eyes wide and glimmering with fatherly tears. He couldn’t even speak, his big arms wrapped around Fiona and baby Sophia. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his daughter’s forehead. Sophia cooed, drool bubbling in the corner of her pink little mouth.
I was crying, too, though I’d only realized this now, upon hearing my own sniffing. Caspian held me close, while Benedict and Yelena joined Fiona and Zane’s tight hug. Fiona’s cheeks were red with shame as she looked at her parents.
“I’m sorry… I really am,” she said.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” Benedict said.
“Honey, we have to understand