Page 354 of A Flame of the Phoenix

Faythe giggled. “Maybe she’s a better cuddler.”

He shot her a scowl, which only made her grin wider. She missed Nik so much when they were apart, but it made these moments of reunion so special.

“We should head back if you want to get on the road to Rhyenelle before nightfall,” Nik said, swiping up his sword.

Faythe strolled toward the ruins of the temple and sat on the broken steps. “I’m going to stay a few more minutes. Meet you at the castle?”

Her eyes skimmed over to the twin graves covered in bluedrops. Jakon and Marlowe’s resting place was so beautiful.

Nik cast her an understanding smile with his nod, and she watched him walk away.

The silence of the woods only lingered for a moment.

“You still haven’t told him you can see us?” The sound of Jakon’s voice pricked her nose and eyes.

She turned her head, and the sight of him healed and broke a piece of her. “In his own way…he sees you too,” she whispered.

Faythe didn’t know whether Jakon was truly real or just a desperate figment of her imagination. She didn’t have Aurialis’s essence inside her anymore—the Spirit of Life was gone. But perhaps the essence of Marvellas, the Spirit ofSouls,which she was born with, allowed her to manifest the image of Jakon and Marlowe’s souls here.

Marlowe hooked her arm around Faythe’s, leaning her head on her shoulder. The touch was barely-there—a seed of doubt that this was real. But Faythe cast her doubts away and chose to believe.

It was only here she could pretend they were still with her in flesh, but no matter where she was, they lived in her heart every day.

“Rhiannon has visited a few times over the past year, along with Livia and Samara and their Phoenixes. Rhiannon hasn’t said outright, but I’m sure she thinks I’m selfish for not surrendering Atherius’s egg for her to take to the island. If it hasn’t hatched for me, then I’m only holding it back from finding the rider it was meant for instead,” Faythe relayed.

It ached in her chest to admit that she wanted the hatchling to awaken for her so badly, so she could keep a piece of Atherius, whom she missed dearly.

“You won’t be the last Ashfyre it may choose,” Marlowe said.

Faythe’s mind opened with the hope and yearning she’d harbored before in small kernels. Her hand hovered over her stomach at the beautiful thought of silver-haired Ashfyres. She didn’t know when they would be ready for children, as there was so much she wanted to do with Reylan before then, but a smile bloomed over her face at knowing they had all the time in the world now.

Then, as though the key to that future could feel her joy, Reylan appeared through the trees ahead.

“Off you go then, Phoenix Queen,” Jakon said playfully.

Faythe huffed a laugh, but she fought tears like she did every time she had to leave. She forced herself to stand, and Faythe didn’t look back, too afraid her friends would be gone and the illusion would shatter. Instead she walked to Reylan with their presence still strong behind her.

“Ready to go home?” he said gently, reaching to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Yes,” she said through her tightening throat.

Her hand slipped into his warm, waiting palm. Faythe had learned that the future wasn’t a gift; it was a choice. And now, at last, it was theirs to make.

EPILOGUE TWO

Zaiana sat by Maverick’s grave on the full moon. It had become routine. Every month. She didn’t know why.

She’d buried him under a beautiful willow tree. He probably would have hated it, so it seemed fitting. The pile of rocks that marked the spot he lay under had withstood the near year since she’d arranged them. Not a single one had moved.Stubborn even in the grave, she thought each time she came here.

Zaiana sat in her solemn silence, hugging her knees to her chest, depleted of emotion. “I thought I almost found him last week,” she told Maverick. “But Mordecai remains a snake in the grass.”

Zaiana rested her chin on her knees, watching the glowing orb in the sky. She didn’t miss anyone. Not even Tynan. Because she knew he was living a better life with Izaiah and the others than he would by her side. So she’d made sure he could never find her. She was very good at remaining hidden…

To all but one person.

She didn’t miss Kyleer, because he’d stuck to his own routine of somehow finding her at least once a month despite her efforts to remain untraceable. Zaiana had come to consider it something of a game, trying to elude him every dawn afterthe full moon. When he would find her, it gave her a small distraction from her relentless pursuit of her father.

There had been little whisper of Mordecai, and she was beginning to suspect he’d fled the continent of Ungardia altogether. She just couldn’t bring herself to cross seas yet. And she knew it was the damn stubborn pile of rocks next to her that felt like an anchor against setting sail.

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