A shock of energy coursed through my being as I went through the Red Guardian, but it didn’t hurt. The instant I landed on the other side, I noticed the ˈlēTHəl had overwhelmed Cyan, and they were forcing him to his knees.
Lifting both arms, I called to the trees of the Wandering Woods and felt the iron swirling through me while I yanked them into the fight. Their vines and branches lunged toward me, molten iron rushing over them and transforming them so they could cross the barrier unharmed. The now sharp and deathly weapons shot toward the monsters, impaling them and wrenching them away from Cyan.
He gasped, staggering to his feet as metallic vines wrapped around another handful of monsters and tore them apart, sending the pieces flying away from him.
Immediately sensing my power, the evil Elves’ heads snapped toward me, eyes feeling with ravenous hunger before they lunged toward me.
The others materialized behind me the next instant, and Aedan ran to my side, eyes glowing light blue. Lifting his hands, he called onto the river behind us and pushed its waters into the Ring of Death. With his command, large waves crashed against the scorched earth, sweeping the incoming group of evil Elves. Their forms rolled within the powerful water, unable to hold on. The river sleeping no more.
Liam’s twin tornadoes formed within the throng of ˈlēTHəl as more ran toward us, ripping them into pieces, and shooting them in different directions.
Cara’s hands fisted in the air, and she brought them down with force, creating flaming whips that slapped the ground, turning into rows of raging blue fire that rushed over the earth directly toward the monsters.
Their screeches split the air when the fire caught onto their dry skin, licking up their legs and torsos—incinerating them.
Bedelia lifted her arms, sending a spell to the sky, and a burst of magic to combat the curse before the black, acidic rain began.
Liam joined her, his wind gusts fighting the black clouds gathered above us and forcing them to break apart with his command. Shea and Eoin backed Aedan and Cara, together forming a powerful offense.
With the others beginning to push the monsters back, I ran toward Cyan, seeing his iron blade arms slice through another evil Elf. The second he saw me, he ran toward me too. I crashed against his chest, and he lifted me off the ground, kissing me desperately.
“I was prepared to give my life so you could survi—”
“Shut up. I love you too.”
That beautiful passion that swirled inside us became alive, flaring in his eyes with my words, and our mouths found each other again. Though briefly, I kissed him deeply, trying to quench the ache inside my heart, the ache that thought I would lose him.
“How are you all doing this?”
“You were right, Cyan. I have powers. The goddess made me her instrument. I was born to endow Aērelis with elemental abilities once more, and you were the one who awoke that gift inside me.”
The whispers of the goddess had told me that, but I decided that was a story we could share later.
“Is your dad dead?”
Cyan swallowed. “He is still alive, but they have almost drained him.”
His attention shifted beyond the throws of battle, and I followed his gaze to see a man tied to something on the floor. Several ˈlēTHəl were drinking his powers, literally… They were drinking his blood. The man looked on the brink of death.
“I was trying to make my way to him when they trapped me.”
Cyan’s pain cut through me.
“How do we save him? How do we kill them?!”
He pointed to a giant monster that stood behind them, watching the battle with a look of rage and contempt on his distorted face. “We have to kill their master. He sires all of them with the curse and his own blood. If he dies, they will all die. Their existence is tied to his.”
Glancing back, I noticed Queen Daetha had arrived at the Wandering Woods with her army, and the Solara Priestesses that never left her side. Dismay filled her expression when she saw I was on the other side of the barrier, horrified eyes landing on me.
“Célest, you have to get back!” she yelled, running toward the barrier in her warrior suit. It was white and gold with the crest on the chest, the one I wore a replica of hers.
My heart warmed with the sight of the woman I had admired for so long, my grandmother. “I can do this, Grandma! The goddess made sure I could. Trust me!”
Her face paled with my words, and her worried eyes jumped between Aedan, Cara, and the others. All manners of shock rushed over her features, realizing they were wielding their own elements and forcing the evil Elves back. The shock was soon replaced by wonder, love, and pride, erasing her fear.
She didn’t understand, she couldn’t possibly, but did as I asked, trusting me.
Renewed determination filled her warrior spirit, and with a firm nod, she lifted her hands to the Red Guardian. The dark spell spilled from her lips, her voice carrying loudly over the wind, but instead of reinforcing the barrier that had protected her kingdom for thousands of years, she tore it down.
Glenna and the other Solara Priestesses rushed forward to our side, joining their sister, Bedelia, in attacking the curse so it couldn’t befall us or our warriors.
Closing my eyes again, I breathed the words the goddess had whispered into my soul, sending a magical breeze toward our army. When I opened my eyes, I found rows upon rows of eyes glowing in different colors, each warrior’s essence reclaiming their ancestors’ abilities as the goddess intended.
Disbelief briefly engulfed them, but then roars of war escaped their mouths like a beautiful, thundering song, and the queen’s army lunged into the fight.
Cyan and I ran toward his father while the darkness in the sky finally broke. The Solara Priestesses had successfully ruptured the curse, and the chill that had once permeated the land was slowly replaced by the warmth of the sun that our kingdom normally enjoyed.
The Aērelis Warriors swiftly met the ˈlēTHəl’s swarm, taking control of the fight.
Once, the evil Elves had overpowered us, taken us by surprise, and drained our magic. Not today. Today we knew exactly what horrors they were capable of, but we were not afraid. We were ready to claim our justice.
The moment we reached the place where his dad was chained, Cyan’s arms lifted, once again turning to iron, and the double spears extended from his hands. He leapt toward the two monsters currently feeding on his father’s blood, impaling one and beheading the other—immediately cutting their feeding.
Behaving like wild animals defending their meal, the rest lunged at us, but I thrust my hands forward, sending a powerful blast of wind toward them, and blowing them off on contact. Their animal-like screeches burst from cracked mouths, while Cyan hurriedly unbound his father’s limbs, carrying him.
With an ear-splitting roar that echoed through the land, the giant who sired them charged toward us and jumped, claws extended.
“Fire…” I whispered, my hands igniting with blue flames, and I sent two blazing streams to the giant—the blaze engulfing him before he could even land.
The monster’s eyes widened as though he couldn’t believe a young faery like me had been the one to successfully attack him. His screams of rage and pain sliced through my ears as he dropped to the already scorched ground. Black tendrils from the curse he wielded shot out of his fingers, curling, and rushing toward me as his last resort.
“Not today, you fucking asshole… Iron.”
His raging form began to solidify, the dark bands joining the party, only to be melted by the heat still capturing him. His roar abruptly died when he became a lumpy metallic blob that rolled on the ground. The evil magic still fighting within it.
“This one is for my father and Cyan’s mom…” My lips quivered with the words, but I sent my next force toward it. “Air.”
A freezing blast hit the heated metal so abruptly that it shattered it into a million pieces, raining all over the Ring of Death. With his destruction, every ˈlēTHəl around us exploded too. One by one, their shards landed all about the ground, brusquely ending the battle.
Yet, I wasn’t done.
“Water.”
A giant wave coursed from the Slumbering River, sloshing over the earth with its implacable force, saturating it, and making the shards sink deeply into the soil, lost to the light of life or dark magic forever. The remains of the poor animals that had once died at their hand also sank into the ground, along with the cracked, dried, and forsaken trees.
“Earth…”
With a smile, I witnessed the burnt land stir and rumble beneath our feet, new soil unearthed from deep within its core.
As the goddess’ magic within my essence reached its apex, lush pink grass began to rush over the land. Plants sprouted all around us, growing into mystical giants with bright green trunks. Fresh yellow moss adorned their branches, and luscious purple foliage that sparkled like amethyst crystals under the sun flourished.
Majestic flower shrubs with bright and colorful buds formed, opening and swaying to a melody only they could hear. Roots slid along the earth to rotate the new, beautiful trees, trunks curving and bending into place.
Mesmerized, we witnessed new life spread to what used to be the Ring of Death, eradicating its heartbreaking sight forever.
The Wandering Woods once again spread before us, the river carving a path through the renewed earth across from it as it extended, reclaiming its course, and finally connecting our kingdom with the rest of the realm.
Any remnants of the loss and pain our land had suffered were erased.
Cyan’s arms suddenly pulled me to him, and I turned around, finding a smile on his lips. Our foreheads pressed together, and I held him so tightly, glad this nightmare was finally over. Together, we walked toward his father, and I found our healers helping him. Bedelia had brought them both from the academy and the palace because with the extent of his injuries, he needed all the help he could get, immediately.
“Thank you for forgiving my son,” the man spoke in a raspy voice, still too weak. “And saving my life.”
I crouched to hold his hand. “There was nothing to forgive. We just needed to be there for him like we were for each other. I’m sorry it took us this long.”
Tears escaped the man, and he kissed my hand. “I knew our goddess hadn’t forgotten about us. I knew we weren’t alone.”
“Shhh. You need to rest,” the healer whispered, sending another flow of healing magic into him to soothe him to sleep. “He’ll be better in a few days. He’s lucky you got to him when you did.”
“Take him to the palace, and make sure he gets the attention he needs,” Queen Daetha ordered, walking toward us with Aedan, Cara, Liam, and the others.
My friends were all a bit banged up, but alive.
The queen’s gaze found me, regret and shame dimming the light in her violet eyes. “Célest, I would like to explain—”
I jumped her, hugging her before she could finish. Astonishment briefly froze her in place, but then her arms wrapped around me fiercely, her love seeping into my being.
“I don’t care,” I assured, looking up at her. “You are my grandmother, and now you, Mom, and I can finally be a family.”
“I’d like that very much,” she whispered, emotion overwhelming her voice, as a few tears escaped her.
Cupping her cheek, I wiped her tears away and smiled. “Wielder of Earth and Florae…” Her eyes glowed a beautiful copper-gold, and she inhaled a sharp breath.
When the light receded, Grandma glanced at me in awe and relief—the goddess power running through her veins once more.
Strong arms pulled me in a different direction when we stepped away, and I chuckled while Aedan squeezed the air out of me.
“Listen, I have a boyfriend. Show some respect.”
My bestie chuckled, kissing my forehead. “That was awesome, C. I always knew you were special, I just had no idea how fucking badass you truly were.”
His attention shifted beyond us, to the powerfully flowing river filled with renewed energy and life, and the lush multicolored landscape that extended into the next territory.
“She is amazing,” Cyan agreed, kissing me, and taking my hand in his just as Cara stood before us.
“So, about our little feud…”
“Of course, you apologize now,” I snorted, crossing both arms over my chest, and bringing laughter out of those around us.
“I mean, I’m not stupid. You are the princess; I definitely need to be your new BFF.” She gave me a pointed look as if it was only logical.
“Fine, but I’m not ready to hug you yet.”
We snickered at that, but then her smile dimmed, and true regret shone in her eyes. “I’m sorry about how awful I was to you,” she sincerely offered. “As horrible as it is to admit, I was jealous of you, Célest. It was stupid, I know that, but I couldn’t help it. It’s not easy when you are expected to be perfect all the time. It didn’t matter what I accomplished; my mother’s expectations could never be reached. I was never what she wanted me to be. No matter how hard I tried… I was never enough.”
The general tensed a few feet away, pain crossing her face when she realized the way she’d made her own daughter feel.
“I wanted to be the one to win the battles,” Cara admitted. “I wanted to have someone who would be there for me no matter what. Who would love me unconditionally just the way I am, without demanding anything from me.”
She glanced at Aedan and shook her head, eyes glistening.
“I realize now I could have had all of that if I’d just stopped focusing on all the wrong things and learned to love myself.” She hastily wiped the wetness from her cheeks, feeling embarrassed. “I’m sorry. Maybe we could have been friends for real, but there was so much pressure on me, that I never gave you the chance.”
My chest ached with her words. I honestly thought Cara hated me, but that wasn’t the case. I never imagined she was fighting a battle of her own, feeling like she wasn’t enough because of how hard her mother was on her. She was just reflecting that on the only outlet she had, me.
“Fine, I’ll hug you once, but that’s where I draw the line,” I huffed and pulled her to me.
Cara welcomed the hug, holding me tightly as tears escaped us both.
When her mother approached us, I pulled back, seeing the general embrace her daughter, tears of her own sliding down her cheek. It was now their time to heal.
“Is my mom okay?” I asked my grandmother, wiping tears away too.
A warm smile curved her lips, and she caressed my pink hair. Her caresses felt so perfect like she had always been with me. “She is still asleep in the palace. She’s worked so hard to keep you safe and sound all these years that I didn’t want to wake her. She needs the rest.”
Part of me wanted answers to so many questions, but I understood why I had to grow up completely cut off from the crown, in hiding. I also remembered how Aedan’s family had been there for us when things got hard, helping with anything we might need. They’d made sure my mom could keep me safe and maintain a seemingly “regular life”.
My grandmother had always been there for us, she’d just done it through them.
“You are your father’s daughter, you know?” she confessed, hugging me to her side as we began to walk into our lands.
Grinning, I shook my head, reaching for Cyan’s hand as we all walked together. “Really?”
Aedan and Liam strolled behind us, flirting a storm with each other.
“Yes. He was as stubborn and loving as you are. Forgiving without restraint. Loyal, and most of all, as brave as you were today. He would have been so proud to see you fighting.”
My heart swelled at her statement, bringing a smile to my face. “Will you tell me about him? Mom shared a few stories with me—how they met and fell in love—but I’d truly love to get to know him through your eyes.”
Happiness shone in the queen’s violet eyes, excited by the request, and she kissed my temple. “It will be my pleasure, granddaughter.”
As we all walked together through our newly healed lands, making our way toward the palace, Grandma’s tales filled my soul with joy. Our new lives would finally begin, free of threats and fear. Free to be our true selves again.
Aērelis, land of the Elemental Faeries, and the most powerful place in all the Fae realm, was reborn.
* * *
The End.