Chapter 79 ALARIC'S RETURN
CHAPTER 079: ALARIC'S RETURN
I wake up three days later.
I'm in the wing. Again. It feels like I live here now.
Luna is asleep in the chair beside my bed. Kieran is on the floor leaning against the wall. I think about the others...
The others.
I remember now.
They're gone.
I sit up fast. Everything hurts.
"Easy " Kieran says, awake away. "You've been out for three days."
"What about the Covenant?"
"Its sealed. Permanently. You did it."
"And the fragments?"
His face looks carefully blank. "They're gone. Released when you used all your power."
"So they're just... Gone?"
"Not gone. Oracle Mira says they went back into the universe. They became part of everything. They still exist. Just differently."
I touch my chest. It feels empty. Hollow.
There's no Alaric. No Cassian. No Zev. No wolf.
Just me.
I'm human now.
"I can't feel them anymore " I say.
"I know."
"Did I make the choice?"
He comes over to the bed and takes my hand. "You saved the world. That's always the choice."
"Even if it cost me everything?"
" then."
Luna wakes up sees me awake and starts crying.
"You idiot " she says, hugging me carefully. "You could have died."
". I didn't."
". You could have."
We hold each other while Kieran watches with eyes.
Sofia comes to examine me later.
"You're completely human now " she says. "No supernatural abilities. No phoenix fire. Nothing special. Just a normal human."
"So I'm normal?"
"Yes. Completely."
It should feel like a win.
It feels like a loss.
The academy is rebuilding.
The Covenants brief appearance caused a lot of damage. Buildings are destroyed wards are. Many people are hurt.
We're alive.
That's what matters.
Corvina finds me a week later.
"The Council wants to honor you " she says. "There's a ceremony. They want to recognize you for saving the world."
"I don't want recognition."
". You're going to get it. Tomorrow. Be ready."
She leaves before I can argue.
Kieran finds me that night on the astronomy tower.
This is my thinking place. Where I count heartbeats. Try to make sense of things.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
"No.. I'm here."
"That's something."
We look at the stars. The seven new constellations shine bright. The Covenant is sealed in fire forever.
"Do you think they can see us?" I ask. "The fragments?"
"I don't know. Maybe."
"I miss them."
"Me too."
He puts his arm around me. We stand there in comfortable silence.
The ceremony is awful.
Hundreds of supernaturals are gathered. People give speeches about heroism and sacrifice. Council members give me medals I don't want.
I. Nod and say the right things.
Inside I'm hollow.
That night I dream.
In the dream four familiar voices speak.
Not together. One at a time.
Alaric speaks first.
His voice is faint but clear.
"Hello beloved."
I spin around. The dream is a space that goes on forever.
"Alaric?"
"Not quite. I'm a memory fragment.. I wanted to say goodbye properly."
"You're really gone aren't you?"
"My consciousness dissolved. Yes.. My love remains. In you. Always in you."
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I had to let you go."
"Don't be. You gave me two hundred years I shouldn't have had. Two hundred years of searching that ended with finding you. That's more than enough."
He touches my face. The feeling is faint but real.
"Remember me beloved.. Don't mourn me. Live. Really live. For both of us."
He fades.
Cassian speaks next.
"Hey firefly."
I'm crying now. "Cassian."
"Just an echo.. I needed to see you one more time." He gives me his grin. It's bright and warm and him. "You did good. Saved everyone. I'm proud of you."
"I miss you."
"I know.. Don't let that make you cold. Keep burning bright okay? Keep hoping."
"I'll try."
"Good enough." Hes fading too. "Love you firefly. In every life. Every death. Every resurrection. Love you."
Hes gone.
Zev speaks third.
"Hello love."
"Zev." I can barely speak through tears.
"Don't cry. This is good. I'm finally at peace." His amber eyes are gentle. "No more nightmares. No more others fears in my head. Just quiet."
"I don't know how to exist without you."
"Yes you do. You're the person I know. You'll figure it out."
"Will I see you again? In dreams?"
"Maybe. I'm part of the unconscious now. Sometimes you might catch glimpses.. Don't look for me. Look forward."
He kisses my forehead.
"Love you Thalira. In waking and dreaming and everything between."
Gone.
The wolf speaks last.
Not words. Just a howl.
It's mournful and beautiful and goodbye.
The sensation of protection. Of loyalty. Of devotion.
Then nothing.
I wake up crying.
Kieran is beside me away. "What's wrong?"
"They visited. In my dream. Said goodbye."
"Were they real? Or just your subconscious?"
"I don't know. Does it matter?"
"No. I guess it doesn't."
He holds me while I cry.
Eventually I fall back asleep.
This time there are no dreams.
Just darkness.
The hollow space where four souls used to live.
Three months pass.
Life at Duskmoor continues. Students study, faculty teach the supernatural world rebuilds.
I teach history now. About the Covenant. About Phoenix Souls. About the price of saving the world.
Kieran teaches combat. Human now but still skilled.
We live in a house near campus. Together. Separate.. Aging.
It should be enough.
Some days it is.
Days I wake up reaching for people who aren't there.
Luna visits often. Her twin bond is still strong despite everything.
"How are you really?" she asks one afternoon.
"Surviving."
"That's not the same as living."
"It's the best I can do now."
She hugs me. "It gets easier. Eventually."
"Does it?"
"No.. You get better at pretending."
I'm in the library when it happens.
Reading about Phoenix mythology. Trying to understand what I was. What I'm not anymore.
A book falls off a shelf.
Not unusual. Old buildings shift.
This book lands open to a specific page.
A passage about soul fragments.
"When a soul shatters the pieces carry memory. They exist in all places simultaneously. Past present future.. Never truly lost."
My hands shake as I read.
Below that in handwriting that isn't there when I blink:
"We're still here beloved. Just differently. Look for us in the stars.. A"
I flip the page. More phantom writing appears:
"Keep burning firefly.. C"
page:
"In every dream.. Z"
Last page:
a paw print.. Fading.
The wolf.
I'm crying again.
This time it's not just grief.
It's also gratitude.
They're gone.
They left pieces behind.
Echoes that will always exist.
In me. In the world. In the spaces between.
Gone but never truly lost.
I close the book carefully.
Whisper to the library:
"I love you. All of you. Thank you for everything."
The air shimmers.
Just, for a moment.
Then settles.
I swear I feel it.
Warmth. Patience. Understanding. Protection.
Not gone.
Just different.
Maybe that's enough.