Page 33 of The Sapphire Dragon Prince
“You have done so well, my child,” she said, studying him as if she could read all the way into his soul, which I was certain she could. “You showed such bravery in the face of truly terrifying things.”
Misha looked as if he’d waited his entire life for someone to praise him for what he’d endured. His lip wobbled and his eyesturned glassy with tears. “It was so hard,” he said, his voice wavering, “but I couldn’t not do it.”
“And you did well, my sweet,” Mother said, then kissed his forehead. “You did so well. I watched you through the entire encounter with your father, and you were brilliant.”
Misha wept freely with those words, but they weren’t tears of defeat or misery. They were simply his emotions overflowing and the pain he’d carried for so long leaving his body.
“We have the items,” he said, holding up the glass shard that he held in one hand while still holding the small dagger in his other hand. He glanced around and seemed relieved to find our packs had transferred to Mother’s garden along with us. He dashed to the side for his pack, putting the dagger down and taking the purple feather and the golden cherry pit out. “We collected them just as you asked us to.”
“Misha was incredibly brave in all his actions,” I said as my beloved came forward to show the three items to Mother.
“I’ve no doubt,” Mother said. “You were brave and true as well, my son,” she told me with a mischievous smile.
My own smile faltered. “I was brave as I could be without magic.” I sent Misha a cautious, sideways look. “It began to fade almost as soon as we set out.”
Misha went from being excited to present the three items to Mother to crestfallen in an instant. “It’s my fault,” he said, lowering his head. “Azurus lost his powers because of me.”
“Did he?” Mother asked, glancing between the two of us as if we were adorable children who didn’t understand what we were telling her.
“It’s because I didn’t go into heat and we didn’t bond the way we should have when we first met,” Misha explained sheepishly. “I was too broken to go into heat, and I’ve broken my mate as well.” He quickly drew in a breath then rushed on with, “But now you have the three things you asked for and you can completeyour spell to make me whole again. When I’m whole, Azurus will be whole as well. He’ll get his magic back.”
Mother laughed, which was one of the most beautiful sounds known to nature, and stepped forward. She took Misha’s hands in hers as they held the three items we’d fetched for her. “You have done more to heal yourself than I could ever have done for you,” she said.
“Me?” Misha blinked. “I don’t think I did anything.”
Mother smiled and took the items from Misha’s hands, stepping back so she could address both of us. “You set out with intention to make yourself well,” she said. “You spent all day in the fresh air and sunshine, using your body to dig in the dirt and help nature to grow and flourish. There is more magic to be had in working with the earth and letting sunlight infuse you than there is in a single cherry pit.”
She held the golden pit up, and it dissolved into sparkles before our eyes.
“You helped others with their work, spent time with living creatures, and laughed so much while doing it when you sought out the purple feather,” she went on. “Laughter is more magical than any spell or charm imaginable. It is a healing balm that exceeds even the strongest potions made by the cleverest sorcerers. Laughter is magic itself.”
She held up the feather, and it, too, dissolved into sparkles.
“You walked by your mate’s side,” she said, addressing me this time, “talking with him, reassuring him, and sharing your own story, your own vulnerabilities. Talking with those we love, listening to them as well, and sharing from the depths of our souls is all the magic you needed for this quest, my son.”
I sucked in a breath as the sensation of magic washed through me again, like someone had turned on a tap that had been closed off. But it had never been closed off. That kind of magical power, the kind that would have lit a fire or pitched atent without effort, wasn’t what I had needed on the quest. I’d had what I needed within my power all along. I’d had Misha.
“Most importantly of all,” Mother continued, smiling at Misha again, “when dark forces separated you from your love, you looked beyond yourself to help another. It does not matter how great the challenges we face might be, when we see beyond ourselves to help others, we help ourselves.”
“My father, or at least the specter of my father, was still terrifying,” Misha said, swallowing hard. “I don’t know if I could face him again. I don’t know where I found the courage to fight back against him in that moment.”
“You have that courage within you always,” Mother said. “It was given to you a long time ago by someone who loved you more than his own life.”
“Papa,” Misha whispered.
“Yes,” Mother said with a smile. “Though he has moved on to the next life, your Papa is always with you. You may not always feel it, but you will always know his love is there. You were able to stand against the man who has given you so much pain and tell him what you know in your heart. Those wounds may tear open again from time to time, but now you know that you can rise up to defeat that evil and to heal yourself.”
“With Azurus’s help,” Misha insisted. “I don’t think I could have done it without Azurus’s help.”
“I don’t think I could have done half the things I accomplished on our quest without you,” I told Misha in turn, sliding an arm around his waist and pulling him close to me.
“That is what love is,” Mother said, spreading her now empty hands wide. “We cannot fight each other’s demons, but we can lend strength and help through loving each other unconditionally.”
“I do love Azurus,” Misha said, panting and beginning to look visibly pink and dewy. “I know it was because we were fated to betogether before, but now, after this quest, I feel like I know him and love him so much more deeply.”
“And as time goes on that love will grow even more,” Mother said, her smile turning mischievous again. “Especially since I believe Nature to be running its course at the moment.”
I held Misha closer; his sweet scent was growing more powerful by the moment and his body felt like a small furnace against mine.
