Chapter 22:
We walked slowly down the next set of stairs, startled when Malady and others- Gareth, Almira, and Tarquin- appeared in front of us. She said she would pray for us. The others were a little doubtful that it would help, but I reminded them that all of my magic comes from prayer, and that erased their doubts.
The four of them began praying, a ball of Source forming between them, and I felt reenergized. Like I would be able to keep up any spells my companions would need for eternity.
With nods all around, we pressed on to the next room.
Where we came face to face with Dallis and Lucian. The latter greeted Ifan almost warmly, though the Wolf wanted nothing to do with him or his words.
Dallis removed her mask, revealing she was actually Fane's daughter. Dallis had been real, at one point, but she'd stumbled her way into the imposter's tomb. She'd lost her life, and the Eternal had taken her place.
She'd found Lucian, and they'd found they agreed on many things, including their future of Rivellon. Which was that they wanted to purge the world of Source, to repair the tear in the veil between Rivellon and the Void. But, in all the stories I'd read, all the games I'd seen played on YouTube while working away at home, that kind of thing never ended well. You couldn't fix a boulder-sized issue with a piece of tape- which is what that would be. The voidwoken would still be here, would be able to tear other holes in the veil for the others like them to come and go from.
Then, it was revealed that the voidwoken were in fact Eternals that had been cast into the Void by the Seven. Something that rocked Fane to his core.
And all they needed, to make their dream of the future possible, was our Source. That was all. The rest of it had been gathered. Which didn't seem possible. They couldn't have killed everyone with Source... right? That would be... So many, dead. How could anyone justify that?
When we refused, the fight started.
And it went downhill, fast. The cloaked figure turned out to be Braccus Rex, and he was an unstoppable force all on his own. Between him and the literal Divine in the room, our party was pinned down. Quite literally, in some cases. Fane and Beast were on the ground, their opponents' blades raised for those final strikes. Dallis had Lohse locked in a paralysis spell. Rex had Sebille and the Red Prince charmed. Ifan was fighting Lucian, and it looked like a losing battle.
We were going to die here.
A whisper of a thought wove through my mind, and the hunger that had been suppressed burst forth, filling my whole body. My mouth moved on its own, my voice so quiet, I almost couldn't hear it.
Suddenly, everything seemed to freeze- our enemies stiffened, before going limp and collapsing to the ground all at once. My friends got to their feet, confused about what had happened. Looking around, one by one, their eyes fell on me. On the tears that ran down my face, the horror in my expression.
I'd done this. I'd done this, for them.
Before anyone could make a sound or a move, I approached the throne and sat. My eyes shut as the power filled me. I already knew what I wanted to do, and it was a simple matter, with all the Source in the world gathered here. As I breathed out, the Source raced away, spreading all over the globe, filling every person. Everyone was a Sourcerer, now. Just as Ifan and I had discussed.
Slowly, I got up and walked around everyone, who'd gathered in front of me, and went to Malady. She teleported us out of the tomb, back to the cliff we'd wound up on when we'd first gotten to Arx.
Eir stood there, motioning for me to follow her. Wordlessly, I did. No one followed. She led me all the way to the little girl and her cat, and I let out a breath of relief, wiping my face dry. Kneeling in front of her, I cupped her cheeks, murmuring a quiet prayer for the demon to leave her. For the demon to be exorcised. My hands warmed, and I envisioned that heat spreading throughout her body, chasing away the demon. Expelling it.
Just as I felt the absence of the demon, she opened her eyes, and hugged me, crying. She and the cat both thanked me, and I gave them some coin, hoping they would be safe. I also told them that if they found themselves in Driftwood, that they should come find me.
"You have paid your price." Eir murmured, reaching out and touching my cheek, once they were gone.
"What was the price for reviving Ifan?" I asked, too numb to really worry about the answer.
"It was to bring about dragons again." A soft smile, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "Which, if you recall, you've done."
I nodded slowly.
"Eira."
"I know." I swallowed hard. "But I couldn't let everyone die." My eyes watered again. "I just couldn't."
She wrapped her arms around me, holding me tightly. "It's okay. It needed to happen. I'm just sorry it was you who had to do it. I'm so sorry."
"It... it feels like a part of me is gone." I buried my face in her shoulder, crying. "I understand Horcruxes now. That's what it feels like- a piece of my soul was ripped from me."
A small piece of me wondered if I was being dramatic, but... I'd never hurt anyone, until I'd smacked Alexandar. The thought of killing anything made me nauseous. A larger part, however, knew that this was a traumatic event- I'd had to weigh my loved ones lives against the lives of our enemies, and I'd chosen. I'd chosen to do it, but that didn't mean I wasn't suffering. That I wouldn't continue to suffer over this.
She released me, touching just under my eye, and disappeared.
...
Somehow, some way, the Lady Vengeance had been remade, thanks to the release of Source. Which didn't make sense to me, but I wasn't an expert in Source.
The others were milling about on the top deck of the ship, their eyes finding me the moment I stepped up from below. They'd been walking on eggshells around me, giving me the space I needed. It had been two days since the last time I'd spoken to anyone, and I figured it was time.
"Ifan." I murmured as I approached.
He stiffened, his hands flexing at his sides. "Yeah?"
I stepped up beside him, looking out at the water. "How are you doing? You once cared about Lucian."
"He made his bed." A hand settled on my lower back. "How are you?"
"I don't know." Shaking my head, I leaned against his side, my head on his shoulder. "I don't know. But what I do know is that I shouldn't lock myself away. That won't help anyone."
"Eira." A light kiss against the top of my head. "I'm sorry."
"I've been thinking about it- unable to think about anything else, really- and I realized... I'm not. I'm not sorry. It came down to you all and them. And I chose you all. I would do it again. Rhalic may have meant the spells as a punishment or a curse, but they were a blessing in disguise." I turned, facing him, fisting my hands in his shirt. "I love you, and I would kill for you again. I would do it. For you."
"Love..." He sighed, leaning down for a kiss. Deep and passionate. "I love you. And I am grateful you would go so far for me."
...
I was mixing herbs for another potion, when there was a cracking sound in the living room.
"Did you break something?" I called out.
Iris, the ex-possessed little girl, spoke up. "No, I swear! That egg on the table is cracking."
I immediately jumped up, almost running into Ifan as he stepped into the house.
"What-"
"Move!" I ordered, darting around him.
Getting there just in time for the shell to shatter, the little bird inside chirping noisily. Its eyes landed on me first, as I knelt in front of it, and it chittered happily that I was its momma. Guess we had two kids, now.
Grinning up at the Wolf, I laughed. "It hatched! Look at the little baby! So cute!"
Both he and Iris laughed at my enthusiasm.
We'd officially adopted Iris, taking in her cat as well, a few months after everything had been said and done.
Now, a year or so later, we were living in a house that Ifan and people from town had built right beside the cottage. I wanted to keep it, for when our friends visited, and he didn't argue.
I cooed at the bird, petting its fluffy baby feathers. "What a pretty bird. Pretty bird."
"Your pot is about to boil over." Ifan warned, amused.
"Oh, no!" Leaping to my feet, I raced back to my shop room, quickly getting things under control again.
Everything had been going well. Ifan came and went from helping the elves rebuild their forest- I went sometimes, to help bless the land and make it more fertile for the trees- and Iris was making friends in town. As for my shop, Arhu had reached out- in Lord Kemm's place- and renewed the agreement that I would provide potions for them. He'd visited a few times, coming himself to get a shipment here and there. He was a decent fellow, had a lot of stories to tell.
All of a sudden, I felt dizzy, and I fell off my stool. Ifan poked his head in, no doubt to say some witty remark about me dropping things, but the words died on his lips as he rushed to help me up.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know. I just..." I blinked to clear my vision. "Dizzy."
Eir walked in behind him, a secretive smile on her face. My stomach flipped. As I lowered my eyes to it, my hand moving to cover it protectively, I realized that if I had been paying any sort of attention, I would have realized it sooner.
"Ifan..." I murmured, rubbing my stomach. "Oh, my gods."
"What? What's wrong?"
I looked up at him, eyes wide. "I'm... I'm pregnant."
Confusion, surprise, joy- everything flitted across his face quickly, before settling on awe.
"You're..." He kissed me fiercely, it slowly turning tender and loving. "I don't deserve you."
I chuckled. "I could say the same to you."
"I love you. So much."
"I love you, too." I smiled, content. "I love you, too."