Page 99 of Fractured Shadows

The journey back to the castle is a blur.

I allow my monsters to shield me as I suffer in my agony. I try to rest, but my dreams are filled with Kai’s face as she plummets to her death, my hand reaching for her.

Too late, always too late.

When we reach the shining black castle, I’m exhausted, mentally and emotionally.

I can’t appreciate the glossy black stone or the feel of warmth that fills me as we enter the castle. Instead, we follow behind Emelyn as her body seems to float of its own accord. She leads us now once more, her spirit recognizing that she’s home.

Down we go, into the castle, until we stand before the king’s resting place.

Without a word, we lift the empty stone lid of the matching sarcophagus and watch as her body moves over and settles inside as if she were always there, as if she is where she belonged all along. Her perfectly preserved body nestles inside the stone the king once lovingly sculpted, awaiting this very point in time.

We hold our breaths, and for a moment, nothing happens.

Then, so suddenly it nearly blinds me, she glows brightly before it fades, the power snapping between her and her love.

The circle is complete.

When they connect, the power is so strong, it sends us all to our knees as it explodes through the room, going through and around us.

I feel it stretch out into the lands, touching phantom fingers to every surface, every creature, and every human. I close my eyes and piggyback on the magic, letting it be my eyes as I ride it through the lands. I can see the magic bringing the trees back to life and unshrouding the sun, giving the animals shelter and sunlight for the first time ever. It wakes the forgotten gargoyles and fixes the temples. The magic fills the monsters and chases off the rot and mist, until they, too, fall to their knees.

When the magic comes to the barrier, I watch with awe as the thorns slowly part before being sucked back into the ground and absorbed.

All the shadows and all the death is replaced with hope.

Magic even flows through the humans.

It touches every living creature and being before settling to rest where it belongs.

When my eyes open, I feel tears dripping down my cheeks.

We did it.

We saved the lands, and we reunited the lost lovers.

Magic is back in our world, and with it, so is the chance to rewrite our past and do better, but all I feel is agony.

Even as I turn to my men, I feel like a shell.

Just like my mother before me.

Just like my sister.

I have completed my quest, but at what cost?

ChapterFifty-Two

The celebrations last for days.

Feasts are held, and monsters flock to the castle to pay their respects, displaying their restored health and magic.

Even those who attacked us come with forgiveness on their lips, something they don’t have to ask for.

The Shadow Lands are gone, blending with the Gilded and the Dead until we are one, and monsters and humans live side by side. I see some fearless humans trekking into the Dead Lands to greet their fate, while some monsters are settling into different homes within our realm.

A question floats through all though, whispers brought to me on magic.

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