Page 113 of The Gilded Ones

My heart swells so, I’m afraid it’s going to burst. That these goddesses, these beings, should claim me as their own – it’s almost more than I can take in.

“What now?” I whisper, still in awe.

“Now?” This answer comes from Etzli. Her dark eyes peer into my own. “Now, our One Kingdom, Otera, is in turmoil and many are in pain.”

“We will help them,” Hui Li says. “We will rebuild the One Kingdom to what once it was: a place where all can exist in harmony, in peace… We will ensure that it thrives once more.”

“And you will help us, Deka,” Beda says. “You will help us rebuild this world.”

“It will be my honour,” I say, bowing.

Later, as the goddesses reunite with their children – the alaki, the deathshrieks, and even the jatu – I look at all the people here in the temple celebrating their return. There’s Adwapa, happy tears flowing from her one remaining eye – she lost the other one during the battle, but I have no doubt it’ll grow back soon enough. Beside her is Asha, who is also injured, although it’s only a gash on her cheek. She’s beaming from ear to ear.

Her smile grows when she and Adwapa spot the group of midnight-dark warriors now entering the temple. Just as Adwapa predicted, the Nibari have made the journey up the mountain. They have come to see their gods. They quickly join others in circling the goddesses, but White Hands keeps them firmly at bay.

She’s already back to being the Gilded Ones’ general. I grin when I see how happy she looks. I’ve never seen White Hands’s smile so genuinely.

Belcalis is standing in the corner, watching everything with an almost stunned expression. She looks up when I walk over. “I can’t believe this, Deka,” she says, her voice trembling with awe. “I still can’t believe all this.”

“I do,” I say to her. “The world is changing now. We’re going to make it change – make it better. We’re going to make sure that what happened to us never happens to anyone else again.”

She nods. Then she gestures at someone behind me.

Britta, standing there with tears in her eyes.

“Britta!” I gasp, hugging her.

“Oh, Deka,” she cries. “Ye saved me. Made that deathshriek help me.”

She nods at Katya, who is surrounded by other deathshrieks.

“Ye know, it looks strangely familiar,” she muses. “I mean she. She looks strangely familiar.”

I laugh. “She does, doesn’t she?” There’s so much I have to tell Britta, so much she needs to know.

She holds out her hand to me. “Sisters?” she whispers.

I squeeze it. “Sisters,” I agree.

She smiles, nods her chin. “I think there’s someone waiting for you.”

I turn to find Keita at the edge of the room, holding his injured arm. To my relief, the other uruni are with him – Li, Acalan, Kweku, they’re all there. They grin when I walk over.

“I guess we survived,” Li says happily.

I nod, my eyes flitting to Keita. “I guess so.”

“What happens now?”

This quiet question comes from Acalan. More than anyone, he’ll have trouble adjusting to this new change in circumstances.

But he’ll adjust. All of the recruits will.

“I don’t know,” I say truthfully, “but I expect we will move forward together.”

“Thank you for protecting us,” he says.

“If you hadn’t told the deathshrieks not to hurt us, I don’t know what would have happened,” Kweku adds.

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