From the Embers (The Born in Flames Trilogy) (31 page)

“Thank you,” I said, my lips trembling as all that we had been through, all that he had sacrificed for me, surfaced in my mind.

I felt him nod against my neck, and then he stepped back, clearing his throat again. His eyes were a little glossy, but he turned back to the sun before I could say anything.

“We will be seeing each other very soon. I have seen it.” He was smirking now.

My curiosity spiked. “What have you seen?” I asked, trying not to sound eager.

He laughed. “Once again we meet on this road.”

“And you are now going to tell me that you can’t tell me anything more,” I said, staring at the ground with a smile.

“Quite the contrary, Progeny.” My head shot up to him. “Block your mind from him for me.”

I shut Fenn out.

“I was actually going to tell you that I will be seeing you at your wedding this spring.” He leaned in and whispered, “But my gift to you is the knowledge of what you now carry in your belly.”

His hand briefly touched my lower abdomen, and then he stepped back, his smile as wide as ever. I was in too much shock to say anything. That is how he left me, smirking the whole way, I’m sure, back to Pyre Island.

On my way back to my room, I kept my thoughts shielded from Fenn because I wanted to wait and tell him when the time was right. When things around us were happy again. It was the hardest secret I had ever kept in my life.

I couldn’t help but feel excited as my hands found my belly and squeezed lovingly. A life…inside of me. A life that Fenn and I created together. My heart skipped a few times as the future suddenly became clear. Instead of going to find Fenn, I decided to head back to Lexi and tell her that the wedding would be in the spring.

“We have to start planning right away!” she shouted as we both jumped up and down in excitement. She pulled me into a tight hug. “You will truly be my sister then.”

I really wanted to tell her that she would not only become a sister but an aunt too, but I refrained because I knew how hard it was for her to keep secrets. I couldn’t risk Fenn finding out just yet.

We started planning that night after I spoke to Fenn about the wedding. The four of us, including Brohm, hashed out every detail until our eyes began to cross. That’s when I decided to leave the rest of the particulars in the hands of Kaede’s wife. I told her I wanted it just like the party they threw for Lexi and me on the night of our arrival. She was more than happy to oblige.

In the days that followed, Kaede finally returned and, despite his lack of a solution, was overjoyed to find out about the planning of our union. He insisted that the advisory room be turned into a space where everyone could come together to plan the wedding of the century. It started to feel a little overwhelming.

While they planned and plotted, I snuck outside each day and spent time working on a feasible solution to repairing the rift. Something had to be done. I hated that Kaede’s army remained there, day and night.

Finally, it hit me. I managed to snag Kaede away from everyone and told him my plan. “That’s brilliant!” he said. He left that night to ensure that the other realm would agree.

It took no time for the other side to agree to our solution. They stood back and watched as every Archion Mage gathered together to help build what would be the most powerful enchantment ever known using the Stone of Immortality as the anchor.

The idea came to me when I thought about returning to the Chasm after the wedding. It would be the best place for us to raise our baby. I thought about everything it was and all the barriers used to protect the Stone that had started it all.

The enchantment was a success and was strong enough to keep the two sides separate as long as the altar that harnessed the power of the Stone of Immortality remained intact. Two Celestians and two Imperials were placed around the altar to ensure that no harm would come to it. They would switch off every day with other Celestians and Imperials to maintain protection.

“It’s weird that we can see the other side,” Fenn said as we stood back, watching the humans take our pictures through the enchantment.

“It’s definitely going to take some time to adjust,” I agreed.

“My father says that he went before something called the United Nations?” Adam mentioned.

“Yeah?” Fenn said, laughing. “A bunch of world leaders who come together to make decisions. How did he swing that?” he asked, looking at me.

I shrugged. “I’m just glad he did because I don’t think leaving the rift open would have been a good idea.”

“I second that,” Adam said.

Everything felt like it was finally falling into place.

“AURORA,” ASTRAL CALLED AFTER WE returned to Orient Island.

“Yes?”

He motioned with his head for me to follow. He took me out to the pavilion. I started to get a little nervous because this seemed to be where people took me when they wanted to tell me they were leaving.

He stopped in front of the pond and patted the seat next to him. I sat down, staring ahead at nothing in particular.

“Now that things are beginning to settle, I wanted to talk to you about something,” he said, his hands tucked neatly in his lap.

“Shoot,” I said, squinting underneath the sun. Since the day of the New Dawn, the sky had remained cloudless and fully appreciated.

“I am going back to the Hall.”

My heart lurched to a stop. “What?”

He tugged on his beard. “I was meant to guide you through all of this, but my place as an Ancient has always been in the Hall. That is where I work best. Now that The Fates are back in power and things are back to how they should be, they have called upon me. I can’t ignore them this time.”

He watched me, waiting for my reaction.

I didn’t know what to say or think or feel. I felt my mouth open and then close. I felt my words reach to protest and then change to acceptance. Fenn was in my mind.

I suddenly felt like that little girl again. “I don’t want you to go.” It was all I could manage without breaking down into another fit of tears. He was the last thing I wanted taken from me.

He lowered himself to one knee and took my hands in his. “No matter what, I will always be with you, Little Flame.” A blue tear slipped down his cheek.

I knew a smile would help him, but I couldn’t manage one. I sniffed, feeling my pit of sorrow grow deeper. “I know.” I cupped his face in my hands and kissed his forehead, feeling myself break just a little more. “When do you leave?”

“Now.” His lips trembled with a crooked smile.

“Will I see you again?”

His face scrunched in pain this time. “I’m not sure, but I will always hope so.”

I looked off to the side, finding the waterfall a good anchor. I couldn’t change this. I had to accept it. I had to say goodbye. I chanted this twice before I felt him tug on my hand.

I threw my arms around him. “I love you, Astral.”

He hugged me back, squeezing me as hard as he could, and then he was gone.

I don’t know how I made it back to my room, but eventually I ended up there. Fenn was waiting for me. His arms opened the moment I slid the door aside, and I fell into them, burying my sore eyes in his neck.

“It will all be okay,” he whispered into my hair. I could feel the tightness in his throat reflecting my own. “This is all a part of growing up.”

“Growing up sucks,” I muttered out and then laughed at myself as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

“There’s that sound I’ve been looking for,” he said as he looked at me and then softly kissed me, taking his time to explore my lips. I let my hands dive into his messy hair and pulled him closer, needing to feel him, to feel alive.

“We can get through anything, can’t we?” I said.

“I’ve always thought so,” he answered, his hand running up and down my back.

“You are all of me.”

“You stole the words right from my brain.”

We laughed, because I did.

“I love you, Fenn,” I said.

“I love you too, Rory.”

We watched the sun dip down behind the Lyceum and felt a sense of ease that we had been waiting to feel since the day Zordon died.

Through all of my worries, all of the pain and doubt and sacrifices, I had finally found the meaning behind it all as the sun disappeared, leaving nothing but a blanket of stars sparkling across the sky. I reached for my belly and thought that in the end, life could come from death and hope from despair.

But most importantly, it takes a lifetime to learn how to live, and I had only just begun.

Chapter 28

The Wedding

BELLS RANG IN THE GOLDEN enchanted air, and the scent of spring swirled all around us. Flower petals floated in the breeze, spelled by Akari to wrap around the guests as they arrived and took their seats in the pavilion.

Today was the day I would fully bind myself to the one who had stolen my heart so many years ago.

“Are you ready?” Lexi asked from beside me as she fluffed up the bottom of my dress. She was dressed in a form-fitting gown that hugged her every feature in a classic shape. We had settled on sage green as the color of her dress since it offset my hair so well. Her hair, decorated with baby flowers, fell in spiraling ringlets past her shoulders.

I took another look in the mirror. My heart fluttered wildly as panic clouded my judgment. The dress Masami created for me was white and covered in pearls and crystals. It belled out at the waist, trailing behind me. I had the dress fitted to make my small bump a little less obvious underneath the layers of tulle and silk. I opted to not wear a veil. I couldn’t stand having it in my hair.

“Breathe, Anela,” Mily soothed as she finished pinning up the last bit of my hair. It was a mass of curls and wispy strands with baby’s breath tucked in all around. I found the choice of flowers fitting for the wonderful secret I harbored.

I sucked in a deep breath. “I’m trying,” I managed to say. “You look beautiful.” Masami had made Mily a formal, business-like, gray dress suit.

Lexi snapped her fingers in my face, forcing me to make eye contact. “It’s not like anything bad is going to happen.” She giggled to herself. “You guys were meant for this.”

This made me smile. That we were.

Mily slid my shoes on to my feet. “How much longer?” I asked right as a knock sounded on the door.

Myrdinn poked his head in. “Five minutes,” he said before quickly disappearing again. I tried to take calming breaths while Lexi giggled beside me.

“Come on.” Her smile was encouraging.

Lexi came up behind me, lifting my dress off the floor. We headed down the long hallway of Kaede’s Lyceum. “Relax. Enjoy this. Revel in the fact that you are about to marry my brother…and gain a kickass sister in the meantime.”

I laughed a little. She yanked my dress enough to stop me from moving forward. I turned around to find her playfully glaring at me.

Myrdinn waited by the entrance, his eyes smiling when he saw me. He wore a nice formal black suit. “Little Flame.” His arms opened, his voice full of pride. He spun me around, giving me a once over. “You are stunning.”

“Thanks, Dad.” I avoided his eyes as a smile picked up the corners of my mouth. My cheeks reddened, something that hadn’t happened in quite some time. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” He squeezed my shoulders reassuringly, chuckling to himself.

The bells and music quieted, replaced by the soft sounds of a string quartet. Fenn had written a song for me to walk down the aisle. When Akari had offered oriental music, he insisted that it would be more personal and heartfelt if I came to him at the pace of his own music. It was one of his many romantic gestures on that day that made me fall more and more in love with him.

I tried to send him my thoughts on how beautiful the song was, but he was blocking me. He had insisted that we follow tradition and spend the night completely apart. I laughed to myself, filled with love and happiness.

When the doors swung open, my heart skipped and thudded to a stop. Amidst the filtering rays of sunlight, Fenn stood wearing a simple black tux and a smile on his face. He sucked in a breath after taking all of me in, tears swarming in his eyes.

My father guided me forward as we walked to the rhythm of the song. I tightly gripped his arm, praying I wouldn’t trip. As I moved closer to Fenn, my worries vanished. Every step I took brought me one step closer to the happiness I knew was right around the corner.

When we reached him, Myrdinn stopped. I took in a deep breath and looked at him, waiting for him to hand me off, but something in his face told me he knew something I didn’t. I felt my face crease in question.

My mother stood up, in her human form, from one of the chairs in the front row. I had been so focused on Fenn that I hadn’t even noticed her mahogany hair spilling down to her knees.

“Mom?” A rush of emotions pressed behind my eyes.

My father moved aside so she could kiss my cheek. Her hands were warm on my skin. “I love you, Little Flame. We will talk.” Her eyes told me that everything was okay as she handed me back to my father.

I didn’t know what to do. My dad kissed my cheek and placed my hand in Fenn’s who guided me up to the altar where I noticed Zane standing behind him.

My mouth fell open. This was why he kept his best man a secret!

Fenn’s mischievous grin stretched from ear to ear.
“You knew?”
I said to him in my mind.

“Of course.” He was still grinning and then turned to face Astral who began the ceremony. His voice boomed out with power and pride as he read off the words Fenn had written. He was dressed in sparkling blue formal robes that highlighted the color of his glowing eyes.

A few times he had to pause to swallow back the emotion that surfaced in his voice. As I tried to send him thoughts of love and courage, he looked at me with such fatherly tenderness.

And when the words “I do” were finally spoken, Fenn bent me over and planted the largest, happiest kiss on my mouth. My face was beet red, but my heart was utterly content. As cheers erupted all around us, I couldn’t help but think of Iliana. I sent her thanks in my mind for never giving up on me and for giving me everything in return.

We hurried down the aisle and out to the pavilion where we immediately began our first dance. I specifically instructed this progression of events because I didn’t want to wait a minute more to tell Fenn the news.

Fenn spun and then dipped me. “I wanted your mother and Zane to be a surprise as my gift to you.” He kissed my neck, sending pleasured chills throughout my body, and then he slowly pulled me back up, his blue eyes piercing mine.

“You think you’re so crafty.” My head shook as a giggle escaped my lips.

He swirled us around for a moment and then slowed to sway back and forth. “Because I am crafty.” He spun me around again and pulled me back into him.

Adrenaline pumped as my moment approached. “You’re not the only crafty one.”

His brows scrunched in their cute manner.

I sent him thoughts of what I felt moving inside of my belly, and his mouth fell open. “You’re pregnant!” His voice was a notch higher than usual, and his face brightened with excitement.

I couldn’t contain it any longer. I nodded fervently.

He lifted me up into the air, spinning me in circles while laughing. “She’s pregnant!” he shouted out to our friends and family. “I’m gonna be a father!”

He set me down, and his hands quickly found my belly, tracing smooth circles of love. “Our baby.” He sounded in awe as he pressed his face against it, whispering sweet words. He looked up at me. Before I could say anything, he planted a kiss on my lips, sealing what would be our perfect future.

His tears fell. “I love you so much.”

I wiped them from his face as my own fell. “I love you too,” I said back, barely able to contain the overwhelming emotions pumping through me.

“How did you manage to hide it?” he asked, feeling the slight bump of my stomach.

I shrugged, laughing now. “Baggy clothes?”

“All those times I called you a piglet and you were carrying our child.” He pulled me closer, hugging the breath out of me. “You never cease to amaze me, Rory Jay.” I felt his lips brush along my hair.

When he pulled back, my father’s hand politely tapped my shoulder to cut in for his dance. Gwenevere took Fenn’s hand, guiding him away from me. Her excited voice carried over the music as they both rejoiced over the news of the baby.

“My daughter is having a baby,” Myrdinn said as he whisked me around the floor, his lavender eyes never before looking so full of life and love. “I’m finally going to be a grandfather.”

“That you are,” I said, tucking my head into his shoulder.

He chuckled heartily. “A brightness to all of the darkness we have suffered for so long. Do you know what this will do for our people?” He looked down at me.

“Hopefully it will inspire them.”

When the dance finished, my mother rushed out and threw her arms around me. “Oh, how I’ve missed you,” she said as we both started crying. She smelled of cinnamon and pears.

I pulled back to search her eyes. “Are you happy?” It was the only thing I cared about, knowing that she had been robbed of her life and forced to watch from above.

“I am now.” She turned back to my father who wrapped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her into him, kissing the top of her head. They exchanged looks and then looked back at me, both beaming. “We were going to wait until after the wedding to tell you, but The Fates are allowing our return.” By the end, her words had curbed up a few notches.

I didn’t know what to say. “Really?!?” I was trying not to break down into a pile of weeping thankfulness. She nodded and I cried a little harder, pulling her back into a hug. “Wait, you said ‘our return.’”

She turned and looked towards Zane who was talking to Mily, Lexi, Fenn, Gabe, and Gwen. His eyes connected with mine, and we both smiled, knowing that everything had finally come full circle. He was getting the second chance he so deserved.

“Excuse me,” I said as I made my way over to them. I threw my arms around him. He started laughing as he squeezed me. “You’re making me an uncle, I hear,” he said into my hair.

“And you’re allowed to return,” I said back. “I’m so happy!” Happy was an understatement and yet the only words perfect enough to relate my feelings.

He let me go. “Me too.” His eyes were misted over. “I can’t believe they are allowing this. After Iliana said no, I thought that was it.”

“Why do you think they changed their minds?” Fenn asked as he threw an affectionate arm over Zane’s shoulder.

He shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell not going to question it.”

Fenn slapped him on the back and then pulled him back into a hug. “This day couldn’t get any better. I have my wife, my child, my brother, mother, and sister…what more could I ask for?”

“A healthy and successful birth,” Gwen said, opening her arms to me. Her cream-colored gown was knee-length and flowing at the waist. She tucked her hair up into a neat bun with the flowers from her arrival tucked inside.

I walked into her arms and allowed her to feel my forgiveness. “I’m so proud of you, my daughter.”

I looked over her shoulder at Fenn, exchanging thoughts of how much we loved each other and how lucky we felt to have our families together and safe. It was the very thing we had waited for our entire lives.

“You have made us all so proud, Anela,” Mily said, clutching a silken handkerchief in her hands.

I left Gwen to hug her and felt her dabbing at her eyes when I told her how much I loved her and how happy I was that she had decided to stay and be a part of our lives.

My parents came up to us and waited for me to let go. My father cleared his throat and then said, “We wanted to thank you for taking such wonderful care of our daughter when we couldn’t.”

My mother reached out and squeezed Mily’s arms. “You did what I could not. I am eternally grateful that Aurora had you as an influence in her life.” Something that I didn’t yet understand passed between them as they embraced each other, actualizing a dream I thought would never come true.

“I did what any mother would do,” Mily admitted bashfully, still dabbing at the corners of her eyes.

My father touched her arm. “We are forever in your debt.” He smiled kindly at her and offered to take her to get a drink so they could talk further. My mother smiled at me and then kissed my cheek before following after them.

“So what do you think it will be?” Zane asked, rubbing my belly.

“A boy—” Fenn starts to say.

“A girl—” I finished right after him. We looked at each other.

“Definitely a boy,” Fenn continued.

I laughed. “She’s going to be kickass like her mommy.” I aimed my words at my tummy, ignoring Fenn’s raised brow.

Zane chuckled and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Shall we start the betting then?”

Lexi stepped out of Brohm’s arms. “I’ll wager a year’s worth of Unicorn tears that it’s a girl.” The fierceness in her eyes meant business.

We all laughed.

“I’m in,” Zane said challengingly. “I go with boy. Brohm?”

Brohm looked put on the spot. “Uh—” He flicked his gaze between Lexi and me and then back at Lexi who had her hands on her hips, eyebrows lifted in wait. He caved, tugging at his beard. “I go with girl.”

Zane snorted. “Push-over.”

“What do you know?” Lexi shot off.

I looked at Fenn, feeling totally and completely alive.

He pulled me away from them and back to the dance floor. When we were far enough away from everyone else, he dipped me again and kissed my lips. “So a girl, huh?”