Page 71 of Redemption

“Well, I’m positive we’re losing her,” Kyros huffs in exasperation as we reach the main hallway.

“Losing her?” My heart jolts, before he points in the distance as Liv flings open the door to the main entrance. It closes behind her just as she rushes towards the steps, refusing to wait for us. “Damn she’s fast.”

Kyros shakes his head and barrels forward, clearly over listening to my nonsense.

“Fine, I didn’t want to talk to you either,” I call out to him as I launch into a sprint.

He reaches the front door first and he flings them open, just as Olivia dissipates away. A few of the guards turn our way, their brows furrowed as they watch us. Troops are further down the path towards the hill, and they stare at the spot Olivia was just moments before.

“It’s mate stuff.” I wave dismissively, and the guardians on either side of the door avert their gazes as if they only just realized they were staring.

“Where do you think she went?” Kyros asks once we get out of earshot. We take the steps two at a time, doing our best not to let the panic show.

“I’d probably guess the god’s residence … or where it used to be,” I say, frowning as I avoid calling it home.

We shift into a jog as we make our way to the break in the wards and dissipate mid-stride, right back to the place I was hoping to avoid for at least a few more days.

Our bodies reform at the top of the crater, and I focus on the cool sense of relief that washes over me at seeing Liv right in front of me and do my best to suppress the ache in my chest the sight of the destruction evokes. The loss of this house echoed through to my soul, but I meant what I said before. Homes will come and go, but Liv is my forever.

“Is this a good idea?” Kyros asks, grimacing at the wreckage in front of us.

“She just snapped out of this, it can’t be good for her to be back here,”Kyros projects to me, and I nod in agreement.

“Angel,” I breathe, reaching out to clasp her shoulder. But I pause, my fingers mere inches from her as she lifts her hands up towards the pit of destruction. As white light floods her palms, I let my hand fall back to my side.

I step closer, needing to see her face as the light grows brighter. Her eyes are closed with a serene smile on her lips as though she’s replaying every single one of the memories we had in this home.

“Quick, think of all the moments you had with her, all your favorite things about the house and touch her shoulder. I think I know what she’s doing.”I send the thought to Kyros and immediately close my eyes, wanting to help her in this as much as I can.

I send the projection to Max and Mateo, telling them to send their memories through the soul bond and straight to Liv, hoping that will be enough. I put everything I have into letting them flow through her, sending my hope and power to aid her too.

The light grows brighter and brighter through my eyelids, but I keep them shut, not wanting to look too soon. I can’t risk ruining this for her. I keep the flame of hope burning in my chest, letting it surge into my mate and empower her to keep pushing. The ground shakes beneath us, and I tighten my grip, making sure she stays steady. Groans and crashes echo around as the wind shifts and I can only imagine the house is unearthed. Heat sears against my skin, but I push the discomfort away, not wanting to do anything to break her concentration.

Olivia inhales a staggered breath as the light slowly fades, the absence of it sending a cool chill to caress my skin as the heat is sapped from the air.

Slowly, I peel my eyes open, my lips popping open at the sight before me.

“I hope everything’s the same,” she says, her sea-green eyes alight with joy as her grin widens.

I share a look with Kyros over my shoulder, both of us just as astonished that this actually worked. We really shouldn’t be surprised anymore though; Olivia has always had a knack for making miracles happen.

“You rebuilt the house,” I murmur, needing to hear it out loud to truly believe it, as if the fully formed house and path in front of us wasn’t enough of a clue. I blink up at the manor, debating if I need to pinch myself to see if this is real. I swear, I’m going to be really upset if this ends up just being a dream.

“How did you...?” Kyros asks, his question trailing off.

“I trusted myself.” She grins at both of us. “The shadows seem to follow what I need from them with barely a thought, so I thought it was worth a try to do the same with my other powers. I just poured my will into my power, asking it to rebuild our home.”

“Incredible,” Kyros murmurs, looking between our mate and the house like he isn’t sure which one he should be staring at right now.

“She really is,” I agree, and clasp Olivia’s hand before tugging her to me.

She laughs as I spin her, her hair fluttering around her as pure joy and excitement radiates from within her. This is my mate, wild, glowing, and magnificent.

“I do have to thank you for the idea. It was a thought in the back of my mind before, but it wasn’t until you mentioned all of my amazing feats that I really believed that I could do this.” Her smile grows wider as she steps back, admiring the miracle she brought to life.

Kyros takes her other hand, the three of us staring in wonder at the place that grew to mean so much to us. We were all feeling the weight of its absence, like it grew to mean more to us over the last few months than we ever could have imagined. The aged brick seems to glimmer like a beacon of hope, a reminder that all is not lost.

“He won’t win,” Olivia declares, steel hardening her voice as she stares back at the beauty her powers were able to create. “He did this on purpose, tried to shake us, to make us doubt ourselves, but I refuse to let him have that power over us.”

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