Page 283 of Mother of Death and Dawn

As I hover on the edge of nothing and everything, terror clenches me. I think of honey, and music, and the way a million other souls felt connected to me in a home I knew once, long ago.

Caduan turns.

“Are you afraid?” he asks me.

At first I want to tell him that I am. But then I think of the night I asked him if he feared death.I fear only what it may take from me,he told me.

I realize that there is nothing that death can take from me, now. The only thing I need is here.

I have left my mark upon the world.

I have written a new story.

And I have him.

Love is worth creating for. Worth dying for.

“No,” I answer.

Together we turn to the door. Together we will cross it. Together we will conquer the next unknown.

His hand reaches out for me. His lips curl into a sad smile.

“Come home, Aefe,” he murmurs.

I love how he says my name.

I take his hand.

CHAPTERONE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE

TISAANAH

Iwas lying in a field of gold, looking up at a star-scattered sky.

I smelled oranges. I smelled dry, salty air, clean and crisp.

My home. I knew it immediately. My home as I had known it when I was young.

“It’s time to get up, my love.”

There was no question in my mother’s voice. It was clear and strong. I didn’t move for a long moment, just relishing it. Then I stood and turned to her.

I choked back a sob.

The vividness of her face struck me speechless. Her features were strong and solid, no blurring, no shifting. The memory of her locked into place immediately, reclaiming what time had begun to steal from me.

How had I ever questioned what she looked like? She looked likeme.

It had never been my mother’s way to fuss. Her affection was quiet and firm, the grip of a guiding hand rather than a doting caress. But she lifted her chin and surveyed me, a ghost of a smile rolling across her lips, and I felt that smile stronger than any tearful embrace.

“You grew up beautiful, my love.”

I wanted to tell her so much. I wanted to tell her about the Orders, and Reshaye, and Ara. I wanted to tell her about the Alliance and how we had toppled the Threllian empire—toppled it for her, I wanted to say,it was all for you. I wanted to tell her about Max.

Instead I found myself saying, “I’m sorry I left you.”

She gave me a stern stare. “No you are not, nor should you be. You survived.”

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