Page 94 of A Rising Hope

But I didn’t want to ascend, I wanted to live. To age. To love.

I turned back to the four of them.

“I—”

“It’s okay, go, Finnleah. Live for us,” Railin encouraged, and I hesitantly nodded.

“Will I see you ever again?” I asked.

“No. Now that you’ve reached this point in your ascension, our purpose is served,” Petra explained.

“I wish I had more time. I still have so much to learn, to understand.”

“Oh, our dear child, but youdohave more time. To learn, to understand. To live.” Ocsanna nudged me, a gentle, loving smile on her face.

“So it is goodbye then,” I mumbled, embracing each one of them, heart weighing heavy in my chest. Unmeasurable gratitude and sorrow mixed together; joy, happiness, and yet sadness and mourning all perfectly intertwined into a beautiful tapestry.

“When you see him,” Diamara whispered into my ear as I hugged her last, “tell him I am always proud of him.” She huggedme tighter. “Lead our people with the light you carry. No amount of magic will ever outshine your true self.” She let go, taking a step back, and I couldn’t help but notice the silver streak of a tear as she whispered her goodbyes.

The azure waters shimmered more, the suns above me growing larger.

I glanced feverishly at the four women quickly disappearing around me.

“Thank you!” I shouted in my wake. “Thank you for giving me time.”

Death and I reappeared back into the shapeless white space. No end or beginning in sight.

“Ready?” she asked me, curiously.

“Is one ever ready to be a god?” I shrugged, shaking the chill from my skin as all the information, all the plans, settled in my thoughts. Of what was to come. Of what I was, of what I was to do.

“One can try.” Death smiled. She moved her hands, and a new veil appeared—one that would lead me back to the mortal world.

She reached for the shimmering fabric. I took a step forward, pausing on the threshold as I glanced back, brows furrowed.

“Can I ask you why?” I met her piercing gaze. “Why accept their bargain to give my soul more time? You receive no benefit from it.”

Death stayed silent, as if she was considering whether to grant me an answer or not. She snapped her fingers twice. In the blink of an eye, her figure changed. At first to a young girl, one that I had met on the island only days before. But then a moment later, she changed once more into an older version of the same girl.

“You . . . ” I gasped, realizing why her face was so familiar. “That day . . . my visions . . . the Desolate Desert . . . the paintingwas of you?” I gaped at her, shocked. “Youare Lady Dynaya?Youare the runaway goddess? You are the one whose powers we have?”

She nodded, amused at my surprise.

“You ask me why I granted their bargain. Because time is something I wish I had.” Her eyes met mine. “Time to live, to see my children grow into adults, to see my husband and I grow old together. I wished for more than anything to have the time I had lost.”

A second realization hit me then.

“You wrotethebook?”

“Yes.” Death chuckled at the memory. “I wrote lullabies to all my children to remember me by.”

“They were lullabies . . . ” I rubbed the side of my head. “But why would my vision point me to those?” I questioned, more so to myself.

“You were seeking a book of spells, and your visions showed you one.” At my confused look, she explained, “Motherly words spoken to their children are the strongest spells and magic one could do. They will linger through generations, and depending on the words, can be the biggest curses or the strongest benediction one could ever find.”

And just when I thought I couldn’t gain any more revelations, my body and mind exhausted to beyond its limits, I had understood one more thing.

I knew exactly what I must do with the Queen.

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