Page 59 of Dragons Of Shadow and Sea

"Don't--" Lord Rook warns.

Purple energy crackles in my palms. My bracer glows.

I place my hands on the two spheres, and a brilliant light bursts forth. I'm blinded, magic surging through me in a cloud.

And then I'm in a meadow. Above me is a bright blue sky, lit by a brilliant sun. Lush green grass and fresh blossoms wave in a gentle breeze.

And standing there, dressed in all white, looking like they haven't aged a day, are a man and a woman.

My voice cracks, and my heart breaks wide open.

"Mom," I whisper. "Dad."

Chapter

Fourteen

EMBER

My parents' faces light up, and it's like this hole in my heart that I'd been ignoring for half of my life just...heals.

And I know full well that there's another hole waiting to open up right behind it. One full of grief, but there's something clean about that pain. I used to be full of rage and resentment and this deeply buried sort of misery. It was the sort of hurt that only made itself worse every time I thought about it.

My parents are gone, all right. But they didn't abandon me. They loved me. Fuck. They love me still. There's no way they could be smiling at me the way they are if they didn't.

And this time...

This time I get to say goodbye.

For a minute, all I can do is drink them in. They really do look exactly the way I remember them. Everyone always said that I was a clone of my mom, with her dark hair and dark eyes. I'm realizing now that my pale complexion comes from my dad, though.

A flash of intuition somewhere in the back of my mind whispers to me that that's not all I got from my father, but I'm too busy looking at him to listen. His usually neat, black hair is a little shaggier than I remember, his eyes a little more tired behind his glasses. Some of his features are bit sharper, too, evoking something--someone...

It doesn't matter. These are my parents here. The ones I lost so long ago.

Every cell in my body screams at me to run to them and fold myself into their arms like I'm a little girl again. A staticky energy keeps me back, though. There's a barrier between us--a line they've crossed but that I cannot.

The sun dims by a fraction, and for a second, I get a flashing glimpse of the creepy orb room where I know, intellectually, at least, I'm still standing. I push my cloudy thoughts away, and the sun shines brighter

None of this real. It's all an illusion, but that doesn't matter. My parents' souls are with me, and that makes it real in my heart.

"Sweetie." My mom clasps her hands together under her chin, like she's trying to stop herself from reaching for me, too.

My dad puts his arm around her, and my chest aches, but in the best possible way. After he disappeared, my mom was lost. I hate that they're gone, but knowing they're together heals some of the hurt inside.

"Hey there, pumpkin," my dad says.

I laugh, unable to stop myself. "Hey."

"Look at you." My mom's eyes gleam with unshed tears.

I'm getting a bit misty myself, but I refuse to let my vision blur. This time with their spirits can't last, and there's no way I'm missing a moment of it.

"You've grown up," my dad observes.

"Into such a beautiful young woman." Mom's mouth wobbles. "I only wish we had been there to see it."

"It's okay," I promise, even though it's not. Those tears I was holding back threaten to spill over. "I missed you both so much."

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