Page 163 of Of Serpents and Ruins
Heavy footsteps thudded on the rock island. The pressure in my back eased as something lifted Kine and me as easily as if we weighed nothing.
Arjax, with Lorna holding on to his waist to ground him, set us all on the stone. "Well done, little cousins." He looked me up and down, grunting. "Some of us will need to be fixed up."
"Your arm and side—" I indicated where the wounds had been. There were dark scar marks there, like black lightning. But they were no longer open.
"All better," Arjax said with a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Weariness hung over him and Lorna. "Let’s get back to the ship. We'll celebrate, heal, and rest. Not necessarily in that order."
Buttercup bellowed and snorted from the cliff’s edge. I waved to her, my body sagging. Candy, Hord, and Cahji ran up beside her along with the other remaining survivors. Candy helped Tile to his feet. The older flame-haired man leaned against her weakly.
"You scared me there, baby blue," Lorna said, striking Kine lightly on the shoulder. "Thought you were going to dive in." She gave him a fierce look.
He smiled weakly, raking his hand through his filthy azure curls. "It was a thought." Gaze soft, he looked at me. "Someone didn’t know when to let go."
I smiled at him. Wanted to say that family never let go. But when I opened my mouth to speak, the words failed.
He winked at me as if he understood, much of his old pizazz back.
"I'm glad you're my brother." I managed to say around the knot of emotion. "Our parents would be so proud of you."
"And you, Bug."
I ducked my head, then turned to Brandt.
He was half kneeling on the cracked stone, his muscular forearm braced on his knee. Somehow, even in all the sweat and oils and ash of this place, his red-and-black hair retained much of its spike and body. The kohl around his eyes was smeared, making his eyes even more intense as he looked at me. He breathed heavily. But life sparked in his eyes.
His lips curved in that crooked smile, his gaze hungry but living. "You brash seer," he murmured.
I stepped in front of him, sliding my palms along his squared jaw and high cheekbones. His skin was warm under my touch. The hard planes of his face softened, his predatory gaze now tender as he stared up at me.
Those eyes of his—so beautiful. So expressive. They promised forever. They vowed his best. They swore love. They were everything I had ever searched for. And they were now focused entirely on me.
It would have been so easy to just believe that I had known how Auntie Runa’s prophecy ended. It had been easy to believe. Yet here we now stood, the prophecy fulfilled. And it had ended in death. Not the deaths I anticipated. But death.
My eyelids slid shut as I leaned against him. The pain that coursed throughout my body sharpened my breath.
Brandt took my left hand in his and kissed each knuckle, his breaths whisper-light against my skin. Then he gently folded my fingers against my palm.
Yes—yes, I could heal. I clenched my fingers tight. The energy from the shifter ring pulsed through me. Itchy healing energy poured through me, the cuts and scrapes stitching together.
He did the same, the bloody wounds healing swiftly though they still left behind their angry streaks and ashy marks. Standing, he pulled me close.
A small moan escaped my lips as I collapsed in his arms.
"You’re safe, Stella," he whispered, his hand cupping the back of my head. "You’re safe."
Tears filled my eyes. Happy ones this time. "We both are."
BRANDT
It was remarkable how swiftly things could change in little more than a breath. The Gola Resh and Babadon had perished, their magic undone.
None of the Kairos Faction survived. That at least simplified things. Elias’s betrayal—despite his efforts to resolve it in the end—would still send shockwaves throughout the kingdom. At least I didn’t have to think of how to handle executing justice in this matter now.
The men and women who had come to our defense—the warriors, the arcanists, the crew—all those who fell would be honored and celebrated. Those who survived would be rewarded. We had a kingdom to rebuild.
Together we made our way down the long path out to the black sand beach. The remaining crew welcomed us aboard.
Already, the change was apparent. The purple cast had left the sky, leaving it as blue as the sea itself. The black cracks that burrowed their tendrils into the earth and stone had vanished without a trace. Even the air itself smelled better—crisper, cleaner.
