A/N: Okay, POV switch coming up (gee, I wonder why, ha ha.) We're in the home stretch now, everyone, and the big climax is just about here. Thanks so much to all of you for your continued support, kind words, and wonderful reviews. The inspiration you give continues to keep me going.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or stories from The Southern Vampire series. I can only hope that Ms. Harris does not mind me taking them out to play with.

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My name is Sookie Stackhouse. I'm from a little backwater town in Louisiana. I worked as a waitress in the local watering hole. I'm somewhere around twenty-eight years old, though time has become a sketchy concept as of late. I'm a good Southern girl who likes to think of herself as a modern day Scarlett O'Hara. I am in love with a vampire, but I am not one. I am a human... I am a fae... I am a telepath...

...I am a child of the Divine.

What exactly does that mean? I'm no philosopher, hierologist, or professor of religious studies. I'm sure they could all write a huge thesis, or sit and talk for endless hours about mythology and symbolism, fate and destiny, universal cycles and states of existence. They would sound terribly wise and scholarly, spouting theory after theory about what I am and what it all means.

Eric would probably be the leader of that debate – a modern day Plato engaging the great minds of our time in his own version of the Symposium. Eric has always been the master of logic; searching for, and often finding, concrete explanations for the seemingly illogical. For him, there are always answers. I used to get mad when he wouldn't tell me what they were.

Existing as nothing more than your own consciousness changes you a hell of a lot. Apparently it was seven years, but for me it felt much longer... like decades, maybe even centuries. I had no real sense of time... no awareness of the physical world. At first I thought I was dead and in heaven... or maybe purgatory. Those places might exist, I really don't know. If they do, I'm sure they're nothing like any human or supe would be capable of comprehending, much less of putting into words.

I certainly can't put into words what it's like to live inside a magickal blood bond. No word of the day calendar is going to help me with that. I could tell you to imagine having none of your senses... no sight, no smell, no touch... but until you've experienced it, there's no way you can. For those who exist in a physical realm, all experiences revolve around our senses. Even those with a 'sixth sense,' who might feel the unseen energies of the universe, can't know what it is like to be a part of that energy and nothing else.

I can't remember which philosopher said 'I think, therefore I am,' but boy was he right, at least in simplified terms.

It's a weird feeling to just... know things. I have a vague recollection of hearing voices while inside the bond. Well, I didn't really hear them, not in the traditional sense, anyway. I suppose the closest comparison I have would be the way I hear with my telepathy, but that's not entirely accurate, either. When I first entered the bond, my consciousness was like a tiny puff of cloud. Over time I grew, rolling slowly like fog, spreading out in every direction over an infinite space. There were other clouds, too, and as I spread they would join me, and we swirled and danced together. They spoke to me. They told me secrets.

Don't expect me to answer all the mysteries of life, though. I don't know any of those, and really, they're not for any of us to know. That's the territory of the gods, and I am not one. Being a child of the Divine does not make you the Divine. Even Eric isn't that arrogant.

Don't expect me to have all the answers about myself, either. All the things I learned, the secrets told to me, none of it is concrete. I have no specific recollections of any facts or plans or destinies. I have feelings... impressions, like doors being unlocked somewhere inside. Some people might call it intuition, but it's much more than that. I don't think my word of the day calendar will help me here, either.

I would like to say that being back in physical form, in my body, is a wonderful relief... but it isn't. It feels clunky and awkward and actually rather irritating. These are sensations I haven't known in what feels like lifetimes, from my perspective. Every flex of muscle, the feeling of a stray hair tickling my forehead, even the tiny itch on my foot... it is all so... distracting. Every creak of the room rings loudly in my ears. The taste of my saliva seems as strong as a bitter lemon on my tongue. My nose twitches at the musty odor hanging in the air. Everything around me is assaulting my senses, making me want to dive back inside the purity and sanctity of the bond.

But then...

"Sookie..."

...I hear his husky, ragged whisper. My Viking. His voice slips across my eardrums like a caressing breeze. It is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard, and I want to listen for eternity.

...I open my eyes, and his are the first sight I behold. My Vampire. Those glistening and perfect pools of blue gaze down at me, brilliantly shining with strength and tenderness. It is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen, and I want to look upon them for eternity.

...I inhale his scent as the last of the mist fades. My Bonded. The aroma of musky earth and crisp, clean woods, float into me like a breath of the freshest air. It is the most beautiful scent I have ever experienced, and I want to bask in it for eternity.

...I taste his lips as they pause, just a whisper against mine. My Love. There is no comparison on earth to the delicate sweetness that dances across my tongue. It is the most beautiful flavor I have ever known, and I want to taste it for eternity.

...I shiver with the power of his kiss, as he finally captures my mouth fully with his. My Soulmate. His lips are like silk, smooth and flawless, pressed tenderly upon mine, speaking of devotion and love in a way no words ever could. It is the most beautiful kiss I have ever known, and I want to feel it for eternity.

"Eric..." I barely manage to whisper, my fingertips playing with the soft golden locks that spill around his face.

The smile on his lips silently tells me of his relief, his thumbs brushing softly over my cheeks. "Welcome home, Dear One."

There was so much to say, and yet, nothing needed to be said. Eric had always been a man of few words when it comes to emotion, but the things he did, the expressions in his eyes and on his face... they'd always spoken straight to my soul. Words often do more harm than good, or at the very least, are hollow by comparison to what we experienced so fully within the bond, and within each others' silence. We both would have been more than content to lie in silence, here in each others' arms, forever.

But, we both knew that couldn't happen. Like all the peaceful moments Eric and I share, this one would be fleeting. If we wanted more moments in our future, we had to face down the destiny we'd been ignoring and fighting for so long. There was no way for us to know what would become of us after, but there was certainty in what would happen if we continued to run, and I was determined we would not be parted again.

I lightly traced a fingertip across Eric's brow, and he pressed his cheek to my palm, softly kissing there. "How much time do you think we have?" I asked him.

"Not long," he replied, his eyes never leaving mine. He took my hand from his cheek, kissing each fingertip.

I sighed softly, "It would be so much easier if I could believe we would simply defeat evil and live happily ever after, like in the movies."

"Evil is relative, Sookie. You know this better than most."

Eric was right, of course. Many people in this world saw him as the personification of evil, but in my world, he was an absolute good. Niall... Apate... the forces of destruction and chaos... none of them were evil. They were merely the other half of a whole, just as Eric is to me. We all like to believe we operate from a place of righteousness... but there is no right or wrong when it comes to the universal whole. Both are necessary. Both must exist. The real goal of it all, in the end, is balance. Left unchecked, one side might eventually dominate the other, and the consequences of that... I can't even fathom. The gods... the universe... seem to have a way of delivering a cosmic kick anytime the threat of this scenario becomes a bit too close. When this happens, the cycle comes round again, and eventually begins anew.

"What do you think we will become, Eric?"

His voice was low and gentle. "I do not know, Sookie."

"Does it frighten you?"

Eric smiled, "No, Dear One."

"Everything will change," I replied, searching his eyes.

He bent down to me, placing another tender kiss upon my lips, and then whispering against them, "Not everything."

I grinned up at my Viking, flicking my tongue out teasingly at his lower lip. The sparkle in his eyes and low rumbling in his chest reminded my body of other sensations long missing from my existence. "You're right," I purred. "Some things will never change."

"Soon enough, lover," he said in that voice, sending a rush of heat running through me as he leered down at me.

I whimpered a little, my lower lip jutting out in a pout. "Couldn't we just..."

I delighted at the roar of his laughter. "Business first. Play after," he grinned.

"Fine, fine," I huffed in mock indignation. "Let's get this whole 'will of the gods' thing over with, then," I snickered.

Eric smirked that classic smirk. "I am certain they will reward you for the temporary sacrifice of your insatiable libido, lover."

"Oh, I'm not the only one who will be reaping those rewards, Viking."

Eric grinned, and before I realized he'd moved, I found myself being devoured in a gloriously passionate kiss. I felt his hunger surging through the bond, and I realized that as much as I'd missed his touch, it must have been far worse for him through these last seven years. I pressed my lips deeply to his, returning every ounce of love and desire, allowing ourselves this last moment of bliss.

As our kiss lingered, I felt the familiar flickers of power in my body, reaching out toward the center of the bond. I was vaguely aware that there was a new energy, flowing from Eric, spiraling and twining with mine. I had become so used to living with nothing but my own mind, that the forces that once unleashed with fury from within me, were now as easy to control as my own limbs. I set my mind to the singular thought of our destination, knowing Eric was doing the same. All my other senses remained focused on our ravenous kiss.

"Ahem."

I felt Eric wave his hand in annoyance at the person attempting to interrupt our make out session, and I couldn't help but giggle. Eric grumbled as my laughter broke our kiss, and the soft sand shifted slightly beneath me as we turned our heads to the source of the disturbance. The brilliant emerald green glow of the oasis danced across the desert sky, just as I remembered.

"Sookie, sex in the sand isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's incredibly uncomfortable when it gets into the wrong crevices," Pam quipped, grinning down at both of us.

They were all here, as I knew they would be. Pam, Bill, Amelia, Tray, Victor... Sam. Everyone who'd been here that night so many years ago. My gaze swept over each of them, taking in the subtle changes in those who'd aged, and the genuine smile never leaving my lips.

Far in the distance, at the top of a dune, stood a large, shadowy figure keeping watch, and I knew from the two, small bright green glows who it was. My enemy... my friend... my protector... Avel. Khonsu, I suddenly thought. His real name. I'd never heard it before, but in that moment, when his eyes stared into mine from so far away, I realized that knowledge was his gift to me... and for me alone.

As my gaze returned to the group around us, I vowed to myself that, someday, I would find a way to repay every one of them for all they had sacrificed... all they had given. Given to me, to Eric... to us. They were here to give again, to lay down their lives if need be. They did so freely, willingly, and with no regret.

My name is Sookie Stackhouse. I am a human. I am a fae. I am a telepath.

...and I am truly blessed.

TBC