Page 147 of Reaper's Ruin
“It’s... well it’s...” she started then blew out a puff of air. “There’s a theory. One most people think is just legend. It’s not just light. It’s the first light. The thing that came before breath, before magic, before death. It’s what the gods used to ignite creation. It’s what burns in the core of stars, and in the hearts of the oldest creatures who no longer walk this world.”
Pip came scurrying out of the bushes and scrambled up my arm, resting on my head. I gave him a scratch. “Pip! Hi, buddy. It’s good to see you again.”
He chirped at me, purring at my scratches, then my attention turned back to Selyse. “So, what does that mean for what happened to me?”
“When a soul moves on, that light of creation returns to the source. But you never moved on. You died—but your light didn’t. It waited. Usually, that light would fade the longer you were here and didn’t go through your door. But for you... it grew.”
Her eyes moved to Rhyker and a smile crossed her face. “Because you didn’t give up. You kept loving. You kept hoping. Youfell in love. After death. Do you know what kind of miracle that is?”
She stood and started pacing, her hands twisting together as she shook her head. “Soulflame is the rarest of magic. The Sylvan scholars call it ‘the breath of the first fire.’ Its light made conscious. It’s what the stars burn with.” She stopped moving, and Pip jumped from my head onto her shoulder. She barely acknowledged the furry little creature. “It’s not just light, its... the essence of life. And you... you wielded it. It’s... it’s incredible. It’s the only thing that makessense.”
She dropped back down on the log and pressed her hands into her hair. “You are Soulflame, Soraya. Pure, raw, light. It’s inside you.”
Rhyker and I exchanged a glance as I struggled to process her words. “So, I basically blasted them with like, celestial light?”
“That’s exactly what you did,” she said, blowing out a long breath. “Wow. Soulflame. It’s real.”
Pip climbed on top of her head and started picking through her hair. She barely noticed the little guy she seemed so stunned.
But not as stunned as me.
“So, I’m a living soul, a storm fae, a princess, and now I’m, what, a fucking star?”
She came out of her trance-like stare. “What? Oh. I... I don’t know. I need to do some research on this. But if what I know is correct, then this light inside you, this Soulflame, it could change everything. Maybe even... rewrite the laws of death itself.”
I sat there, blinking. “So I’m seriously like a fucking celestial supernova? And how did I tap into it? And how can I use this power again if we need it when the Veil Lords come?”
Selyse didn’t answer right away. She looked out toward the tree line, her voice quieter than before. “I don’t know. It’s something I’ve never seen before. I don’t even think my mother or grandmother had ever encountered it. All I know is myth and mystery. No real truths. But I’ll do some research.”
She finally looked back at me and offered a sad, enigmatic smile.
“But one thing’s for certain. This is a rare and special thing inside of you, and I’m going to help you figure it out.”
I tried to let her words comfort me that there was just one more strange thing about me in my afterlife. Why couldn’t I just have not needed to go John Wick and get revenge and gotten my door? Notended up in this bizarre existence with more information my brain couldn’t begin to process?
But then I looked at him, and I knew no matter what, no matter how, I was supposed to be here.Wewere destined to be. Somehow, someway, he was part of my fate, and I couldn’t hate anything that had brought us together.
“Okay, you two really should get moving. As long as you’re gone before they see you, no Reaper or Shadow Watcher can find you.”
“So, what do we do? Just like, live here in Faelora forever in these forms hiding from the Veil Lords? Try to kill Ravenna and get my door?”
“We do whatever we need to do to help you find your peace so you can move on,” Rhyker finally said after a prolonged silence. “You’ll never be safe here. We just have to stick to the plan and figure out what’s trapping you here.”
The moment he said it, we shared a look. An understanding. We both knew exactly what was trapping me here.
Him.
“I’m going to help you as much as I can,” Selyse said, her eyes darting around the peaceful clearing. “But you can’t stay here, though. It’s the first place they’ll look. Your trail will lead them straight to my door.”
“And you’re not in danger?” I asked, suddenly worried we’d brought disaster to the doorstep of the one person who had been so kind to us.
She smiled a crooked, cocky thing. “Reapers? Oh gods no. I’m alive. Reapers can’t touch me. And I’ve got enough tricks up my sleeve to make them hurry off when they inevitably come.”
“But there may be three Reapers coming to you,” Rhyker quickly said. “Our allies. Taelon, Skorn, and Lorien. I told them to meet us here.”
She repeated their names. “Okay. Got it. If those Reapers arrive, I won’t cause them any trouble.”
“When they do, will you do us one favor?” Rhyker asked, and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear there was a sheepish tone in his voice.
