Page 55 of The Illuminated
“Because I had some business to attend to,” she replied curtly, but her eyes were glassy with hurt. “Speaking of—safe travels, Áine. We’ll be awaiting your return.”
“Safe travels?” Lucius uttered. “Where do you think you’re going? What is all of this?” He looked between the two of us erratically.
“What on earth makes you think I’ll come back here to the two of you? No offense,” I said, raising a brow at Katherine and ignoring Lucius’s deranged rant.
“Because Lucius is right. Neither of you can be killed in this way. Not permanently. It would create a power vacuum that could put the entire world in jeopardy. Right now, you’re both somewhere in between life and death, still retaining the power you were given,” she said, gesturing to me, “and the power you took,” she finished, pointing to Lucius.
“That would’ve been good to know when I spent weeks thinking I was going to have topermanentlydie for this,” I muttered.
Katherine shrugged. “It all had to happen as it did. And you never asked me.”
I rolled my eyes for the millionth time. This family was truly something else. I wasn’t sure I was ready to believe that Lucius had to accompany me back to life, but that was a problem for another day in limbo.
“Well, bye,” I said. The wind whistled through the tall evergreens, and the grass tickled my feet. It was like a scene from a fairytale. Spending eternity here wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Just not with Lucius. And not without Daelon.
Lucius stepped forward angrily, but Katherine moved her hand through the air, twisting his shoulder back at an unnatural angle.
“Ow!” He glared at her. “Why did thathurt?”
“You and I are going to have a long chat,” she said, sending him down to his knees as he cried out in the pain he supposedly couldn’t feel anymore.
It was refreshing to see him hurt.
But it was time for me to finally learn the truth.
I stood in a windy desert, and the sand was as white as snow. The sky above was a swirl of purples and pinks, the sun a bright red orb.
“I don’t know what I’m doing!” I screamed after some aimless wandering, trekking through the tall dunes as my white dress billowed out around me. Apparently costume changes were a fun side effect of astral travel. I knew I was heading in the right direction, but I wasn’t sure how. It was just inside me, like a bird’s internal map that led them south for the winter.
I wished Daelon was here.
“Need company?”
I stopped, full-body shivers running across every inch of my skin.
“Mom?” I asked, turning. “Mom?” I laughed, and it quickly turned into a sob.
Momma Celeste and Momma Jane were dressed in white like me, glowing and vibrant. Celeste’s light blond hair was long and straight, and Jane’s wavy dark locks fell around her shoulders.
I ran to them, and they wrapped their arms around me as we all cried. They smelled exactly like I remembered, a soothing mixture of lavender soap, springtime, and warmth.
“How are you here?” I squeaked, staring at them intently as if they would fade away at any moment.
“Thehowis elusive. But thewhyis because you needed us to be,” Jane said.
“I don’t even care how,” I said as Celeste wiped the tears from my cheeks. “I’m just so happy to see you again.” The last time I’d seen them was when Daelon accidentally killed me for a couple minutes, and they’d stood with the rest of the coven and performed a sacred ritual to give me strength. I’d never really known howrealit had been, but now that I was dead myself and doing just fine… anything seemed possible.
“You’re so beautiful,” Celeste said, running her hand through a lock of my hair.
“We are so very proud of you,” Jane added. “You are everything we knew you would be and more. Everyone is rooting for you. You have the whole Universe on your side.”
I beamed. “Are you at least happy? Wherever you came from?”
They both smiled. “Don’t you worry about us. We’re just sad we had to leave you so soon.”
“Now, let’s get you to the Akashic Records.”
They offered me their hands, and we stood in a circle as the sand formed a cyclone all around us.
