Page 58 of Lyric of Wind
“I don’t need anything.” Raven turned and looked up at Kellen, with Riker standing over his shoulder. “I’ve got everything that I need.”
With that, Danu winked from sight, and Fiona hovered nearby, her puppy running in circles at her feet.
“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I had to leave you like that, but I wasn’t sure I had enough power to heal Raven. Humans are one thing, but it’s a bit over my head when it comes to the Fae and other gods.” A light shone from the depths of the water, a brilliant blue, shimmering and shifting through the gently rolling waves. Fiona beamed. “Ah, look. That’s my favorite thing to see.”
“What is it?” Raven asked, her voice tinted with worry. Kellen tightened his arms around her, never wanting to let her go again.
“It’s a story for another day.” Fiona laughed. “But, welcome to Grace’s Cove. Her waters are enchanted, and she shines in the presence of true love.”
With that, Fiona turned and walked down the beach, the puppy at her feet, toward a man who waited by the cliff wall. They watched in silence as the waves lapped softly on the sand and the sea shone its light, until she reached the man and the three of them winked from sight.
Alone, and finally safe, Kellen helped Raven to her feet.
“So, you’re sticking around, are you?” Raven looked at him as she dug in her jacket pocket.
“You can’t get rid of me if you tried.” Kellen laughed, love warming him.
“I’ll hold you to that.” Raven repeated his words from the moment they first met and flipped the amulet to him. Catching it in mid-air, Kellen grinned, knowing that finally, the Fae could live in peace.
EPILOGUE
Raven
The song started,low and tremulous, rippling across the clouds as the sun broke the horizon and kissed the sky with soft golden light. Hundreds of Alicorns flew, accompanied by the ravens, in perfect formation, as they gathered on the wind to celebrate and honor the life of Alistair, a fallen hero. All the Air Fae now knew that Alistair had rescued their treasured amulet from the clutches of Kellen’s father who had planned to hand it to Domnu. In spite of his best efforts, he hadn’t been able to return it to Kellen before their fateful last flight together.
Raven blinked at the tears that swam in her eyes at the sight. No, she hadn’t known Alistair, but the grief on Kellen’s face was tangible, and the beauty of the ceremony was enough to bring anyone to tears.
Or, perhaps, she’d learned that she was a crier.
Okay, that was a touch far.Raven reached down and stroked Riker’s neck, having grown more confident with flying the Alicorns. Ever since she’d killed Domnu—she still couldn’t refer to that woman as her mother—Raven had found that tears seemed to bubble up at the most inopportune times. Bianca had assured her that it likely came from years of repressing her emotions, but Raven wasn’t quite certain she enjoyed it. She’d cried about a baby Alicorn tripping over its hooves the other day. The Alicorn had been fine, hopping right back up and racing around the field like a dog with the zoomies, butstillRaven had shed a few tears. It was really getting out of hand.
The song grew in force, the melody rising on the wind, and Raven gasped as the riders released a shower of magick, droplets of gold, silver, and copper, until the clouds below them were coated in a shimmering blanket of magick. One by one, the Alicorns flew through the clouds, Alistair’s name at their lips, a promise of memories never forgotten. The magick clung to their skin, coating them in a soft gleam, and once complete, they rose in one joyous formation, racing back to the castle. The ravens turned at the last moment, surrounding Raven with a flurry of acknowledgement, before careening off and returning to earth.
A few stayed with her.
It was something that Raven was still having to come to terms with, this whole daughter of spirits thing, but now as she thought back over her life, she realized just how often the ravens had come to watch over her. She’d always thought they were just birds with keen intelligence who were interested in the childish songs she’d sing by the river. She’d never had much food to share with them, but she’d always shared when she could. Only now, when she looked back, did she realize they’d often brought her gifts more than she’d ever given things to them. Sometimes it had been money, or a small trinket, or even food of their own they’d found. Even on her worst days, she’d never been alone, and Raven now hugged that knowledge to her heart.
Though both her parents were gone, Raven didn’t grieve. How could she? They’d been gone her whole life, so losing them at this stage didn’t much matter to her. Though a part of her was still interested in learning more about her father and his people. It was enough to have had a small understanding that the Fae existed through her life, but to learn about gods that shifted into animal form? Well, that was a whole new thing. Bianca had promised Raven that she would bring her loads of books on the subject matter, and Raven didn’t doubt it.
As the Alicorns touched down at the castle, Raven turned to look at where Kellen sat on his, hugging his steed’s neck, his face ravaged by grief.
A waterfall image popped in her head.
“Good call.” Raven patted Riker’s neck and nudged him toward Kellen.
“Kellen, will you come with me?” Raven asked, Riker already lifting back off the ground. Kellen’s Alicorn followed suit automatically, as Raven had come to learn that Riker held some sort of rank in the Alicorn world.
“Of course, nightbird. Whatever you need.” That was Kellen’s nature, Raven had learned. It didn’t matter if he was dealing with his own personal issues, he was always putting others first. Even when he was the one grieving, he immediately attended to her needs. It just made her love him all that much more.
Love.
Her stomach still twisted at how close she’d come to losing it all, particularly this feeling that now nestled happily in her heart. She’d heard of love through the years, hell, she’d even sung songs about it. But nothing came close to the way she felt when she was with Kellen. It was almost like the first time she’d closed the door to her very own flat, locking it behind her, and realized she could finally rest in safety. Kellen was home now, and with him, she felt safe.
“Where are you taking me?” Kellen asked, but then understanding dawned on his face as Riker flew toward a small forest that hugged the hillside, jagged mountain peaks rising into the air above. “Ah, Riker. My oldest friend. You’re taking me to your favorite place, aren’t you?”
Riker let out a happy hum of excitement, the sound rumbling through his body, and Raven couldn’t wait to finally see this waterfall that Riker loved so dearly. They touched down on a grassy knoll next to a still pool of aquamarine water, and Raven slid to the ground, her mouth falling open in disbelief. Never had she seen something so magickal before, and she’d certainly seen her fair share of magickal things since she’d arrived in the Fae realm. But this? This was beyond anything she could have imagined.
A thick canopy of trees surrounded the pool, with vines of glimmering gold intertwining the branches, creating a canopy of leaves that sparkled in the sunlight like the first mist of morning clinging to a blade of grass. A river tumbled down the mountainside, with every color of the rainbow intermingling in its waters, like the light hitting a mermaid’s scales. The water careened off a sharp cliff, pouring down the side of the mountain in a glorious glittering fall of color, before fading into the pool of pearlescent aquamarine. The sun warmed Raven’s skin, and she wondered if she could entice Kellen in for a swim. Granted, she didn’t know how toactuallyswim, but maybe they could just wade in the water. It was too magickal a place not to dip her toes in, right?