Page 136 of Dreams and Dragon Wings
But I do.
His familiar warmth floods through me. His familiar touch holds me steady.
In silence, I sit beside my oldest friend, aside from Aurelia and my godmothers, and just soak up his strength as the tears I have fought against for so long finally fall.
« He never blamed you, you know. Nor did I. »
Those words steal the very air from my lungs. The sight of the pond blurs further as more tears mist my vision.
« We are both so very proud of you, Benevolence. Proud of the man you have become. »
I don’t need to ask to know who it is we are speaking of.
It can only be my father.
« He loved you then. He loves you still. That is why he sacrificed himself. »
Bowing my head, I tremble, trying to not sob like a little boy as the Aether answers the question that has troubled my heart for the past twelve years. I fail miserably.
But I know here, at least, I can cry to my heart’s content without fear of judgment.
My father still loves me. Despite my mistakes. Despite my foolhardiness.
That must mean he is here. That I will see him soon.
The thought is a bittersweet one.
“Is it over then?” I ask, my voice little more than a whisper.
The Aether’s hold on me tightens.
« It is. »
“The curse is truly broken?”
« It is. »
My heart swells at the confirmation of what I already suspected when I first awoke from my nightmare prison. Aureliawasthe key all along.
Curses are meant to be broken,Velda has always been fond of saying.
And our love finally broke ours.
I sit in silence for a time, basking in this knowledge until the memory of my uncle’s laughter mocking me in the tunnel of glass bubbles to the forefront of my thoughts.
I have to ask: “Is Malice truly dead?”
« Yes. A piece of him lingered on inside you—a fragment he never meant to place when the original curse was laid. But that is the trouble when one gives into evil. They lose themselves along the way. »
After a beat of silence, the Aether finishes, « When he died, the piece awoke and tried to corrupt your heart. But the fragment is there no longer. »
A hint of sorrow accompanies those words. I sense that even after all Malice did—even after all he no doubt still wished to do—the Aether mourns him. Because there was always some small hope my uncle might repent of his dark ways and comeback to the light. And now that hope is gone, buried with him within the Vale.
Thoughts of the Vale draw my thoughts back to my queen.
Quieter still, I ask, “Is Aurelia somewhere safe?”
« She is. »
