Page 118 of A Conduit of Light
Hetook my hand and slid my conduit ring onto my forefinger. “Ihave kept this safe for you, holding onto hope that you would wear it again.”
Ismiled down at the brilliant emerald, rubbing its surface gently. “I’llremember it like this, then.I’llremember it as something you gave back to me.I’llremember it as my promise to be yours,Rev.Throughwhatever comes next,I’llshine for you, and you’ll be the sky that holds me.”
Ikissed him, both of us smiling, holding each other, no pressing worries of the world able to seep into our embrace, no concerns on the obstacles we would have to face, no fear of the future—the one that would rear its head soon enough.
No, for that moment, there was nothing else in the world but him and me.
ABaronand his companion.
Themost powerful man on the isle loving the most powerful woman.
Epilogue
Karus
Iwovethe clover through the stems, admiring the light pink hue of the tiny petals.Thedelicate nature of its blooms was a contrast to the hardiness of clover.Itgrew in a field of white, pink, and green.Somuch green now covered this place.
Isat, cross-legged in my white, gauzy dress.Somehow,Liahad been able to get the stains of theBlightout from its fibers, somethingI’dnever thought possible, andIwas thankful for it.
Iloved this dress, loved this forest, this lifeIsaw as mine to live, mine to take.
Parvuslay beside me andRaucapaced nearby, sniffing through the field of green, walking the perimeter.Shestill insisted on coming with us, even whenRevichwasn’t around.
Ithad taken a lot of effort on my part to remind him thatIwas a free person with a free will, and ifIwanted to walk in the forest alone,Iwas going to do so.
Atfirst, he came each time.Then, as his duties took precedence, he insistedMoirago with me.Iobliged, soaking in new memories of us walking through the trees together, this time with a better understanding of all she had done for me.
Eventually,Iconvinced him thatIwould be fine alone.Ihad shown him how my powers returned to me, stronger each day, andI, admittedly, used my other powers over him to get whatIwanted.Quietinghis objections with a kiss, a whisper of his name, my teeth over my bottom lip.Thesewere thingsIknew he couldn’t resist—at least not very well, andIwore him down eventually.Iunderstood his fear, butIwould not indulge it.
Thefield of clover was my new favorite, proof thatFelgrencould take back what theBlighthad destroyed.Itlay right in the heart of what once was all death and decay.Theboundaries of theBlightwere still hundreds of acres away from this place.Thefield was a new promise that we could fight what now plaguedViridisand return it to its beauty.
Ifinished the crown of clover and placed it onParvus’shead.Helooked up at me, sniffing the air, his fuzzy, brown-tipped ears flicking, attempting to shake it off.
Ilaughed, patting his graying snout, taking the crown from his head and placing it upon my own.
“Well, you look like a prince to me!”
Hepanted, his giant pink tongue lolling to the side of his mouth, slobber dripping down to his leg, andIrubbed his belly.
Hisears perked suddenly, and his head turned, sniffing the air, pulling himself to his feet.
“Whatis it, boy?Whatdo you see?”
Irose as well, his head meeting my elbow andIstroked it in a reassuring calm.
Hebolted, racing ahead, the field of clover laid out far before us as the first droplets of a spring rain began to fall on my face.
Iraced after him, which was difficult to do.Lumensare fast, not to mention giant, andIsoon realized that by the timeIcaught up to him,Iwas going to be soaked through.
Iturned my head, looking forRauca, butIdidn’t see her flash of white coat anywhere.
“Parvus!”Iyelled across the field, the sound of thunder distant, but a promise of downpour from the graying sky nonetheless.
Isaw his form, far ahead of me before it fell.Itdisappeared, andIstopped in my race to reach him, stunned.
Ipicked up my pace again along with the skirt of my dress, a new ring of mud tracing across the bottom.Iheard his high whimper of pain ahead.
AsIreached the place he had disappeared,Islowed, suddenly aware thatIhad not known this field for long and thatIshould be careful in my assumption of it.
