Page 114 of Dreams and Dragon Wings
What I originally mistook as my reflection, I now realize isn’t me at all. The differences are subtle—her hair is longer, the shape of her mouth is slightly different.
My heart skips a beat as she twirls in the purple gown I wore to dinner with Malice and spins straight into the arms of the tall, brown-skinned, green-eyed elf waiting for her.
Tears prick at the corners of my eyes.
My parents. I’m looking at my parents.
Mesmerized, I settle myself at the pool’s edge and watch as Liora, Queen of the Fae, and whoever my father was cavort together.
« I am the God of your mother and father. »
My nameless father wields a thread of Earth to weave into existence a lily that he tucks behind my mother’s ear. She smiles at him, happiness shining in her blue eyes.
The vision fades.
“No, please,” I beg, leaning closer to the still waters, desperate to see more. “Might I see them again?”
Instead, He shows me others. An endless line of people—Jewels, elves, dragons—all stretching back to the very beginning of time. I know without being told that I am looking at my own bloodline.
I marvel at the fact that I have dragons for ancestors despite the animosity between our peoples. For a moment, I wonder what Bene might think of that before I remind myself that I am refusing to think about Bene until I figure out how I feel about him and all of…this.
Both this business with my gift and the realization that none of it was ever truly a dream. Bene did hold me in his lap. He did kiss away my tears.
« I am the God of their mothers and fathers, »the Aether whispers, bringing me back to the moment.
The vision within the pool shifts again. Now I see a babe swaddled in blankets being carried through the night by a sling of Air, escorted by a trio of pixies. I recognize the pixies at once.
Brisa, Glorana, and Velda.
I know again without having to be told that the babe is me.
I swallow hard as my entire life flickers before my eyes in rapid succession. Every triumph. Every failure. Mama. Papa. My first meeting with Bene. Every letter. Every stolen moment. Finishing school. Selina Danbury. My failed engagement. The ball. Friedemar.
My breath quickens as I relive it all over again. Blinking rapidly, I fight against my welling tears. I understand what the Great Weaver is trying to show me.
All the little moments in my life where He had a hand. He was with me from the very beginning, even when I was a mere baby. Even when I was delivered to the doorstep of Mira and GilesWeaver. My meeting Bene. My being discovered by Friedemar at the ball. And all the moments in between.
None of them were coincidence.
All of it was according to His plan.
« IamYour God. »
A sob catches in my throat. Bowing my head, I scrub my hands against my eyes, trying not to cry, to not shatter into a million pieces now when I most need to be strong.
The Aether wraps around me—a warm presence once more. A quiet friend. Always there. Just as He always has been.
Even when I thought I was most alone.
« Do you believe in me? »
That question reverberates through my soul, searching for the truth. But He already knows it. He already sees my heart. I nod all the same as my tears fall free. I can no longer stop them; they roll down my cheeks in cleansing rivulets.
« Do you trust in me? »
I nod again, choking out a soft, “I do.” The sight of the pool completely blurs before me, but I no longer need to see its surface to understand completely what the Great Weaver wishes to show me next:
The way forward.
