Chapter 18

It felt like the whole world was celebrating. Well, not everyone, I guess. I’m sure there were plenty of Asha’s cult followers that had slithered off to hide and lick their wounds until this shitstorm of hers blew over. That wasn’t our problem. Not tonight. It would be a problem soon enough. All of her followers would have to be rounded up and handled before they caused trouble, including the morquals. I knew that. But tonight? Tonight, was a time for celebration.

It seemed as if all of Endova had congregated to our little village. The whole forest outside the village was filled with tents, caravans, and lean-tos. Everyone near and far had come once the news spread. They wanted to be near the armies that had beat Asha down. They wanted to congratulate the elementals and mages that had made this happen. They needed to be here to help celebrate their freedom after decades of fear and repression.

The village was filled to capacity. Laughter echoed from the mountains as bursts of magic erupted into the air like fireworks. After so long of hiding their tiny amounts of magic for fear of being discovered, using it freely and without repercussion was as addictive to them as a drug. It was almost overwhelming the amount of magic being used. Everywhere I looked, the colorful bursts of alchemy were followed by hugging and crying, laughing and dancing. Like everyone was on a permanent euphoric high. I’d never been to Woodstock since it had occurred long before my time, but I kind of think the atmosphere at the time would have been very similar to this. All that was missing were the sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll t-shirts. I wondered if Satoga had one I could borrow.

Food and wine flowed freely. I had no idea where it was coming from. Music played underneath the voices and laughter, drifting into the night sky. The stars twinkled so bright and intense, like even they were dancing. Everything was right with the world. Or it should have been. But for some reason, I didn’t feel as celebratory as everyone else around me, and I didn’t get it. I was ecstatic that Asha was annihilated. Thrilled that the prism had brought harmony and magic back to Endova, with the rest of the worlds to follow… hopefully soon. But deep down, something didn’t jive. There was this annoying itch under my skin that refused to be scratched or eased away.

I stood off to the side with Kara, watching the celebrations. I flashed Starke a grin as he glanced my way, one brow raised in question. I shook my head no and shrugged my shoulders. He had already talked me out to the dance floor once. A slow waltz that he had managed to lead me through without me stepping on his toes too much. But he wasn’t talking me into going out there again, not with that crazy romp they were all doing now. That was way too much moving for my two left feet. So, as much as he had resisted leaving me, I’d finally talked him into going to dance with the others and leaving me in peace. I was happy watching from the sidelines as he and Zoe swirled around to the beat. I didn’t mind. Let him have his fun. He deserved it. I knew where his heart lay.

“Starke is such a good dancer,” Kara muttered in my ear, and I nodded in agreement. “I wonder if his talents extend elsewhere?”

I knew she was just yanking my chain, but I pretend scowled at her. “My lips are sealed. You know, one of these days your nosiness is going to get you in serious trouble.”

“Like it hasn’t already.” She laughed. I couldn’t help but join in with her. Laughter seemed to be the high of the moment. “See that Fae with the long gold hair and the red armbands?”

I followed her pointing finger to a handsome, well-muscled dude talking with a bunch of other just as good-looking Fae.

“That’s Finn. He’s a good… dancer as well. We have a dancing date for later.”

I rolled my eyes. “Geez, Kara. You ever hear the saying ‘ignorance is bliss’? I didn’t need to know that, girl. TMI.”

She snorted with laughter. “I really don’t understand half of what you say, but you do make me laugh. Looks like those two will have a… dancing date tonight as well.”

She quirked her brow at Jill and Sash as they flashed past us in a whirlwind of laughter and tingling aura. I grinned as they disappeared back into the crowd, staring intently at each other. I wasn’t an expert on the subject, but there was definitely some mutual crushing happening there. Kara just may be correct.

Kara’s Fae dude caught her eye and smiled at her, motioning her his way.

She caught her breath and smiled just as brilliantly back. “I have to go, Jette. We will talk later.”

“Fine. Have fun, but I don’t need to know the deets tomorrow, just sayin,” I called at her back. Knowing Kara, she would want to fill me in on everything. Gross.

Intent on watching Jill and Sash and all the dancers, I jumped as a voice whispered in my ear. “The celebrations are joyous to behold, yet you appear troubled, Jette girl. Something is on your mind.”

As per usual, Bish appeared from thin air, occupying the empty space on my right. I jumped and cussed a little under my breath. Where the heck had he come from? Just a moment ago, he was nowhere to be seen. And, as per usual, he was right.

“Is it that obvious?” I asked as he materialized by my side.

“Hm.” He nodded. “It has been noticeable since our victory at the tower. Something does not sit well with you.”

I wanted to confide in Bish, but I didn’t know where to start. The whole array of emotions I’d felt from the prism. Seeing my mother’s face and not understanding if she was just a memory or a warning. Not understanding the uncertainty and unease building inside of me.

“Bish, do you believe we did the right thing?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “You do not?”

“When I see all this, yes, I do believe we did the right thing. The darkness that was hanging over Endova has lifted. You’d be an idiot not to feel that. Everything seems… purer? More alive? If that makes any sense.”

He ducked his head as if he completely understood.

“But yet, there’s this… feeling that just won’t let go of me.”

“What feeling? Explain.”

“See, that’s the thing, I don’t think I can explain.” I ran a hand over the back of my neck in frustration. “When we were restarting the prism, my mother appeared to me again. She was all crazy-eyed like she was trying to stop us. Why would she be trying to stop us? We were doing a good thing trying to put an end to Asha. Why would she fight against us restarting the prism without the dark queen? I don’t get it.”

Bish crossed his arms and stared out over the crowd, absorbing my words. “She told you nothing?”

I sighed. “Like always. Just a shouted no, like she was saying don’t do it. And ever since, there’s this weird sense of anxiety hanging over me. And it’s only gotten worse since we got back here to the village. I asked the other elementals and Starke. None of them are experiencing this. I don’t get it. I should be happy, right? Tickled freakin’ pink that we did this, but I’m not. I have this feeling of failure, like I messed this whole thing up. As if I’m missing something. Something that should have been totally obvious. Like I was too stupid to understand my mother’s warnings—or prophecies, whatever the hell they were. It feels like I’m standing on this precipice, and I really don’t know if I should step back to safety or leap into uncertainty. Does that even make sense? Am I really that crazy, Bish?”

He turned to face me, his dark eyes shining bright in the glow of the torches. “You are many things, Jette girl. Stubborn. Argumentative. Annoying. Even stupidly silly at times.”

He ignored my muttered, “Geez, way to make me feel better,” and just continued on.

“But crazy is not one of them. You have faced a lot in a very short time. Things that should have broken you. But you did not break. You stayed true to yourself. You are strong. Smart. You will figure out what is wrong and deal with it. Just like you deal with everything thrown your way. You have grown into a fine person. You do your parents and the elemental name proud.”

A lump formed in my throat at the simple words as my heart doubled in size. Bish dropped a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it tight. “You do me proud.”

I didn’t care how much Bishop hated physical shows of emotion. I pulled him into the biggest bear hug I’d ever given. I hugged him so tight he grunted in pain, but I still kept hanging on. This little old man had been my lifeline these past few years. My rock. My surrogate father. No one had ever meant as much to me as him. Not until I came to Endova. Because of him, I found my family. My friends. My place in the world. I owed him everything.

“I love you too, Bish,” I whispered in his ear and sob-laughed as he patted me awkwardly on the back. It was about the best I would get from him, I knew that, but I’d take it.

We were interrupted as my grandmother’s voice magnified across the village, ringing clear as a bell above the frenzied clamor. “Attention. Attention, everyone.”

I pulled away from Bish, wiping the tears from the corner of my eyes with my sleeve as a hush fell over the village. The hundreds of bodies ceased moving and dancing as the music ground to a halt and all eyes fell on Athena. She stood on the raised platform where the musicians stood, her arms raised in the air. Dressed in her finest, the gold bangles on her arms glowing from the dozens of lit torches surrounding the platform and her hair piled atop her head like some medieval queen, she looked every inch a leader. She waited patiently for everyone’s attention before smiling a thousand-watt smile I’d never witnessed before. It made her appear fifty years younger.

“Welcome. Welcome, everyone. It is an honor to have you all here to help celebrate in our long-awaited victory.”

She punched her fist in the air to emphasize victory, and a roar of approval washed over the crowd. She waited patiently, waving her hands to quiet them down until there was silence again.

“This day has been a long time in the making. Decades, really. And in that span, all of us have faced hard times. Dark times. We have endured much and lost many of those we loved. So many taken by Asha in her endless pursuit of magic. So many sacrifices made protecting our homes and families. So much undeserved suffering and pain.”

The party mood instantly sobered as many of the crowd began nodding in agreement.

“Sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers. Many lost the battle against Asha and her demons. Every loss is mourned here tonight. Every loss felt by all that are still here and all that is Endova. Let’s take a moment to remember those who fell in our hard-fought battle.”

Heads bowed in prayer and reverence. I joined in, memories of my mother and father filling my vision. A hush fell over the crowd for a moment, punctuated by the odd sob and sniffling, before Athena’s soft voice demanded attention once again.

“We grieve for those we lost, that is to be expected. But do not believe for one moment that our losses were in vain. Everything that happened, as much as it cut deep, was predestined. A cog in the wheel to get us to the here and now, you must believe that. It shaped us, helping to move us along to where we needed to be. To this precise moment of time. Asha defeated and gone. Our magic back and whole. And our beloved Endova on its way to recovery.”

A cheer rose up again as my grandmother’s voice fluctuated from sorrowful and deep to uplifting and optimistic. Man, she could work a crowd. I’d never truly noticed before. In my world, she would have given Sunday morning TV’s best evangelists a run for their money.

“Our dreams of being in control of our own destiny have come to fruition. The dark queen is dead. Her minions are either captured or scattered to where they are of no danger. We are free. Thanks to the elementals. Our saviors. Our heroes. Bridjette, Zoalyn, Jill, Sash, all of you deserve our thanks and fidelity, for without you, none of this would have come about.”

“Hear, hear!” people shouted from the clapping crowd, along with the roar of, “Long live the elementals.” It was deafening.

My grandmother beamed out over the crowd, trying to find us. “Come up here. All of you.”

I didn’t want to go, but before I knew what was happening, I was moving along with the crowd as they basically pushed me to the podium where my grandmother waited. Hands reached out to me, slapping my back or squeezing my shoulders. Zoe, already there ahead of me, reached out and helped pull me on stage.

“What the hell is this crap?” I whispered in her ear.

She shrugged. “Don’t know, but if I gotta get up here, so do you. Just play along with it.”

“Long live the elementals.”

The cry came again, along with another round of clapping. I expected any moment for them all to burst into a rousing round of For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow. I shifted uncomfortably as I glanced over at my fellow elementals. None of us looked like we were enjoying ourselves. Well maybe except for Sash. He was smiling and waving like he was some Grand Marshal on parade day. Go figure.

“And thank you, Lady Athena.” This yell came from the front of the crowd. I couldn’t see from who, but I was glad for the change of directive. “We owe you our thanks as well. You helped the elementals carry out their destiny. We are also in debt to you.”

Another roar erupted from the crowd. “Athena! Athena!”

Her name echoed through the village and across the lake. But unlike me, the attention being bestowed upon Athena did not appear to be unwelcome. The attention seemed to bring her alive. Her eyes shone bright as she beamed out over the crowd.

“Thank you all for the love and appreciation, my friends, but all I did was my job. I did nothing that was not expected of me. It was my pleasure and honor as a mage of Endova to help restore the prism. It was my destiny.”

“Starke’s as well. We couldn’t have restarted the prism without his help.”

It wasn’t my intention to say anything. The least attention paid to me the better. But just hearing everyone sing my grandmother’s praise for something that Starke was an integral part of, well, it didn’t sit well. He had helped with the prism. He had kept us safe and then combined his power with Athena’s to start that bad boy up. I knew there were still those who didn’t trust him, even after all he had done. My grandmother included. But he deserved to be up here along with the rest of us. I found him in the crowd easily enough since he stood a good few inches above everyone else besides the ogres.

“Starke, come up here.” I motioned to him to join us. He shook his head. I motioned again, jerking my head like I had a neck cramp. And again, he denied me, leaving me hanging. Thanks, dude.

Athena cleared her throat, pulling attention away from my embarrassment. “Yes, my granddaughter is correct. Forgive me. I got ahead of myself. Prince Starke helped tremendously as well, even though he refuses to join us and take recognition.” She laughed, the crowd laughing along with her. “Without him, none of this would have been possible. So, I thank you, Prince Starke, from the bottom of my heart. And I apologize for doubting you in any way. You have helped us more than we can ever repay you for.”

I glanced over at Athena in shock. Was she actually thanking him and sharing her accolades with Starke? This truly was a new time.

She continued on, “As did all our soldiers and troops. And all of the villagers and city folk. Anyone who defied Asha in any way. Each and every one of you did your part to eradicate the disease that affected our world. Each and every one of you are Endova’s champions.”

The crowd cheered again as if on cue. She waited until it settled down.

“Do we have work ahead of us? Of course we do. There is still much that needs to be done. But fear not. I have a plan. I will be here for you every step of the way. I will not shirk from my responsibility or my duty to our world. You have my word on that.”

My shock escalated to surprise. This little spiel of her was definitely starting to sound more like an acceptance speech as leader of Endova than a pep talk. I thought the clans had final say in that matter. I mean, I knew she had been the unofficial leader for years. Obviously, she was first choice to help lead the new government or administration. Whatever they were going to call it. But I kind of felt she was getting a little ahead of herself in her excitement.

“But enough from me. We have more important things to do. Like drink and be merry. Enjoy your freedom, my people. And remember, from the ashes of our dark and gloomy past will rise a bright and hopeful future.”

A final cheer erupted as she finished off on that little nugget of wisdom. I had to give credit where credit was due. That little speech of hers was on point. Even I forgot my unease and got caught up in the moment. The music started up again as the celebratory vibe of the crowd flowed as easily as the wine. Maybe I was worrying over nothing. Maybe this weirdness I was feeling, this certainty in my gut that something wasn’t right, was just a leftover remnant from so many weeks of worry and stress and knowing that I still had to talk the wolven into helping save another world. Maybe I was experiencing some lower form of PTSD. Who knew with my messed-up neurons?

Athena approached us, her proud gaze accompanying us all. “There you are my own little pack of champions. I’m so proud of you all. You did so well.”

“Not as well as that little speech of yours, Grandmother.”

She smiled at my praise.

“Have you had a chance to speak with Galt yet?”

Her look of pleased surprise turned to puzzlement. “About what, dear?”

Seriously? I blinked at her. “About helping us save Amy and Bixby’s world. Our world saving is far from done, remember?”

“Oh, yes. Yes. Forgive me. With being caught up in the celebrations, I’d totally forgotten. That subject is on the agenda for the clan meeting tomorrow. We will discuss it, along with the appointing of a new governing board.”

“Discuss? There’s nothing to discuss. We need to do this now. I made them a promise and the longer we wait, the more danger that world is in. We saved the prism to help all worlds, right?”

She waved her hands at me. “Of course, of course. It will be taken care of. Now, run along. You young people deserve a night off to relax and enjoy yourselves. Have a glass of wine or two. We will see you all in the morning for the clan meeting. And we will formulate the plan for the other world you speak of, yes?”

She patted me on the back and walked away, leaving me staring after her with more than a little irritation.

“Okay, who the hell was that and what did they do with your grandmother?” Zoe was staring after her with as much disbelief as I was.

“Right? Did restarting the prism fry her brain or something?”

“Maybe she took her own advice and already double dipped into the wine?” Sash answered Jill, wiggling his brows at her. “Care to join me in that? Best advice I’ve heard all night. It is a party after all.”

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes at Jill’s annoying little giggle. Did I really act like that around Starke? If so, someone shoot me now.

“Sounds good to me. Jette? Z? You guys wanna tag along?”

“Uh, thanks but no. I need to talk to Starke about something. You guys go ahead and have fun.”

“Z?”

“Nah, not feeling the wine. Besides, I have something I need to do as well. You two go.”

They didn’t seem to mind being alone as they walked off hand in hand into the crowd, Jill still giggling annoyingly at Sash.

I caught Starke’s gaze, and I pointed to the path on the other side of the village heading toward the lake. I really did want to talk to him, and that would be hard to do in the middle of a celebration. He nodded as if he understood my intent, and I headed off, only to turn to find Zoe on my heels. “Where you going?”

“Wherever you are. I want to get away from this for a bit. Your spooky-ass, nice granny freaked me out some. I need some peace and quiet.”

“You and me both, sister,” I murmured over my shoulder as we pushed our way through the throng of people.

By the time I reached Starke, Bish was standing with him. They both regarded me with curiosity.

“You look like someone peed in your oat grains.”

I rolled my eyes but didn’t bother to correct Starke. He was right, my mood wasn’t the best. I kept heading toward the lake, the lure of the waterfall promising to soothe my rattled nerves. The rest of them fell in step with me.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but the whole point of restarting the prism was to help all worlds, yes? I just asked Athena if she’d spoken to Galt about helping us save Bixby and Amy’s world, and she reacted like she’d totally forgotten about it. They need our help desperately, yet we don’t even have a plan. We need to do something and soon.”

“I realize you wish to help this other world, Jette girl, but hurrying things will not help.” Bish’s calm voice was at odds with my irritation. “We must right our own world before we attempt to help any others. We cannot rush in without a plan. We need to be ready.”

I halted in my tracks and turned around. “Bish, that is a crock of bullshit, and you know it. Athena has done nothing but rush us this whole time. But we have done everything she asked of us. We were in no way ready for that battle at the tower, we all knew that. Yet, we succeeded and managed to restart the prism. No one is ever ‘ready’ for a war, but I promised them help, and I will not go back on that promise.”

“I agree,” Zoe chimed in. “I promised to help my world too. Endova is not the only world who benefits from this.”

“I suggest we speak to Galt ourselves,” Starke said. “He will surely be here for the clan meeting in the morn. We do not wait for Athena to bring it up. We approach him for his help on our own.”

“Agreed.” I glanced at Bishop. “Bish? What do you think?”

His sigh floated on the night’s breeze. “Your grandmother will not be happy with you overstepping her.”

I shrugged. “She’ll get over it. She has her hands full anyway trying to maneuver her way into the head honcho position. Maybe she won’t even notice we’re gone. Besides—”

The heaviness in my chest hit like a sledgehammer, knocking every bit of air from my lungs. Everything around me went dark. Even the stars in the sky blurred and dimmed. I gasped, struggling to breathe, but I couldn’t suck anything in. My lungs burned with fire on every attempt. It felt like I was freakin’ drowning while standing on dry land.

“Jette.” Starke’s cry sounded like he was standing at the far end of a cave and I was somewhere at the bottom. I reached out for him, even as my knees wobbled.

Bridjette. I’m here. Inventient mihi.

My mother’s voice invaded my head, breaking through the cloudiness. A kaleidoscope of pictures erupted from my oxygen-deprived braincells, all bleeding into each other. My mother and I running through the woods. The morquals on our heels. My mother screaming as water rose around her, encasing her like a coffin, cutting off her screams. The waterfall across the lake glowing with the brilliance of a million fireflies, like a portal.

And just like that, it was over. My starving lungs went into overdrive, sucking in air like it was the sweetest of perfume. My nasal wheezing competed with the blood pounding in my ears as I leaned over on my knees, using them for support.

“What is it?” Starke hunched in front of me, his face a mask of worry and concern. His big hands cupped my face as he raised my head. “What happened? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” I wheezed.

“You don’t sound fine. What the hell just happened?” Zoe growled from above me, her hand rubbing my back trying to help me get oxygen.

“I think…” I sucked in air so I could get the next words out. “I just found… my mother.”