Page 86 of Panther in the Shadows
"For a little while." Elspeth spins, laughing. The sound is joy itself. "But you freed me. And now look." She gestures at herself. At the water she's made of. At the light that shines through her. "Now I'm part of the ocean. Part of everything. I can visit. Talk to you. Watch over you. But I'm not trapped anymore. Not hurting. Not bound."
She's changed. Transformed. She's become what all of those of the Flynn bloodline become when they die. Part of Stormhaven's magic. Part of the sea itself.
"I can't stay long. Not in this form. It takes energy." Elspeth looks at me, her eyes older and wiser than eight. "Take care of my sister. She's stubborn and reckless and too brave for her own good."
Something catches in my chest. "I will. I promise."
"I know you will." A smile plays across her water-face. "You're good for her. You make her happy. And you're not afraid of her power. That matters."
She turns back to Moira. "Stop hiding, big sister. Gran didn't give you her power so you could waste it behind inn walls. Be what you're meant to be. The island needs you. He needs you." A mischievous grin that's pure child. "And I expect nieces and nephews eventually. Sea witch babies to spoil."
"Elspeth!" But Moira is laughing through tears.
"Love you. Always did. Always will." Elspeth is fading already. The form growing transparent. Dissolving back into water. "Thank you for saving me. Thank you for letting me go."
Then she's gone. Water and morning light on the pool's surface. The memory of laughter carried on the wind.
Moira sits there, tears streaming, but smiling. Really smiling. The grief isn't gone. But the guilt is. The weight she's carried for eighteen years finally lifted.
I settle beside her. Pull her against me. My shadows curl around her automatically. Protective. Possessive. Loving.
"You okay?" I ask.
"Yeah." She leans into me. Fits perfectly against my side. "I think I finally am."
We stay there as the sun rises. Watching the ocean. Feeling the island wake around us. Two people who fought their way through darkness and found light on the other side.
Weeks pass. Life returns to normal, or what passes for normal in Stormhaven.
Moira runs Flynn's Inn, but she no longer hides her magic. When boats struggle in dangerous currents, she helps guide them to safety. When storms corrupt the water, she cleanses it. When children fall and scrape knees, she heals minor injuries with a touch and a smile.
She becomes what Siobhan Flynn always wanted. Stormhaven's sea witch protector. The living embodiment of the bargain made decades ago.
Declan publicly acknowledges her role. Stands in the town square and tells the gathered crowd that the brotherhood owesher a debt. That she saved lives. Freed the dead. Stopped an ancient evil from consuming the island.
The old prejudices don't disappear overnight. Some people still cross themselves when she passes. Still whisper about dark magic and unnatural power. But most smile. Nod. Accept.
The brotherhood respects her territory. No more encroachment. No more testing boundaries. The inn is hers. The Sound is hers, while Grayson keeps watch over the deep. They work in concert now, sea witch and bear protecting Stormhaven's waters. And anyone who threatens the balance answers to both the brotherhood and the woman they've sworn to protect.
My operations continue. The smuggling. The information brokerage. The careful balance of providing services the island needs while keeping the darker elements at bay. I'm fully integrated with the brotherhood now. The tension's gone. The old prejudices about panther shifters faded.
I proved myself in battle. Saved lives. The island accepts me. Finally.
I move into the inn officially. Keep the warehouse for business. But my home is with Moira. My life is with her.
The island gossips, of course. The criminal panther and the sea witch. Stormhaven's most unlikely couple. But when we walk through town together, my hand at the small of her back, her magic humming contentedly against my shadows, people smile. Accept.
We're part of the island's story now. Part of its magic. Part of its future.
Tonight, the inn is closed. No guests. No customers at the bar. Just us in Moira's private quarters. Our quarters now.
The ocean is calm. Waves gentle against the rocks. The moon full and bright through the windows, painting everything silver and shadow.
Moira stands at the window, looking out at the water. I come up behind her. Wrap my arms around her waist. My shadows curl around her automatically. Protective. Possessive. Loving.
"You okay?" I ask.
"More than okay." She turns in my arms. Her eyes find mine. Brown and warm and full of something that still makes my breath catch. "For the first time in my life, I feel complete. Because I'm finally being who I'm supposed to be."
