3 Song Suggestions!

Queue: This Is What It Takes by Shawn Mendes

MARE

It was difficult seeing him like that. So broken and ripped apart from the diamond glass. It took many hours and a few tears, but we were finally able to remove it all. Davidson said that when he found us there was not a shard that pierced my skin. Not one burn. And I have a suspicion as to why.

He promised he would save me.

We place him on the bed I was on when I woke up. It's dark now and the drapes are drawn. The broken lamp was taken away and replaced by Alex's lavender candles. The aroma still brings me comfort. Jon had to leave, but now I go through the steps he described. I place a palm on his bare chest, his tattered shirt now gone.

Alex has stepped out of the room to run warm water, now nearly fully recovered. Finding out I had died was scary enough. I don't want Maven to wake up with our blood stained on his body.

I close my eyes and concentrate.

Think of it as your own ability, Jon said. And focus on your own strength. Think back to what you felt that morning.

All I ever wanted was to protect my family. And it is that will that landed me where I am now. I would give my life a thousand times if it meant they were safe.

And then I feel a tug, an energy flowing through my own blood, concentrated at the surface of my palm. And like releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding, I let go.

The strength that I felt just a few seconds ago leaves my body quicker than I anticipated. It feels as if I just called up a storm.

I open my eyes and look down at Maven's corpse. I gasp as I realize it is no longer a corpse.

His skin, once paler than snow, now displays a silver tint in his cheeks. I begin to feel a slow steady thump beneath my fingers.

He's alive.

I watch as the holes, cuts, and scrapes in his flesh begin to gradually seal. His chest rising and falling with every new breath. Tears prick at my eyes at the prospect. Maven is alive.

I have so many questions that only he can answer. But I can wait. The tired feeling increases and I fight the urge to sleep.

Alex returns with a large bowl of water, towels, and fresh clothes.

"How long do you think it will be before he wakes up?" I ask more to myself.

"It took you three days after we dug you up. But...I don't know."

She leaves shortly after that, still tired from what happened. I know the feeling.

I do my best to clean him, wiping away the dried blood. Both mine and his. I can understand how they believe it was a sword that killed me. The best way I can picture is the person drove the sword through my back and further into Maven. A larger wound in the middle of his torso finally seals.

Once his upper half is clean I go over to close the bedroom door, so I can finish the rest. Once he's clean I don't have it in me to dump the water much less put him in clean clothes. So I settle for throwing the comforter over him and I lie down beside him.

As I place my head on his shoulder I realize, this is the first time we've truly slept together. Out of all the other times were together we could never allow ourselves to sleep. I had to leave right after.

But being with him, even when he's like this and I...look like I do, is still nice.

I wonder how he'll react. I look like me, but with a few modifications. This child really is special. It should scare me, all the things he is capable of, all the things I've seen, and he's not even born yet. But I'm not scared of him, I'm scared for him.

If he can bring people back from the dead, even if there are limits, so many will come for him. A war has ended and in its wake countless are dead. One whisper of his ability's existence and they will come for him, hurt him to get what they want. And that is not an option.

All these thoughts leave a chill down my spine and I move closer to Maven's warmth. I watch his chest rise and fall, but only when I feel the strong beat of his heart under my hand do I allow myself to relax. Pulling the blanket around us, I close my eyes in a surprisingly peaceful sleep.

Queue: Hello (Cover) by the Glee Cast

MAVEN

I sense the flame of the candles go out, but I can't find the strength to open my eyes. But I can feel a familiar comforting warmth beside me.

This isn't real, it's too good to be real. It's just another torture.

But soon my consciousness slips back down before I can question it further.

Another eternity passes before I fully wake. And that's when I realize I'm awake. My eyes snap open and I intake a large breath.

How is this possible?

I try to think back to the last thing I remember. But I stop short. It's dark in…wherever I am, though I'm fairly certain it's a bedroom. Another thing I discover is I'm very much naked underneath the blankets. But before I can panic a weight on my shoulder stops me in my tracks. It's only been a few months but I know the feel of her body anywhere. I can also tell she's asleep.

Not wanting to wake her, I move my other arm and realize I'm not wearing my bracelet. Though strangely, it doesn't concern me too much, so I feel around in the open air until the back of my hand hits something hard. I come to the conclusion that it's a nightstand and slowly move my hand across the surface until I find what I'm looking for. It takes some effort to put it on my wrist with just one hand, but once it is I don't hesitate to flick my wrist.

A small white flame erupts in my palm and light illuminates the room. To my right, I notice the nightstand my hand had bumped into. A neat pile of clothes sits by three candles. With little effort, I direct the flame into the candles and more light is granted into the room.

Although I don't want to, I carefully slip out of the bed, and quickly but quietly pull on the clothes. Once they're on, I hesitate to pull the other bracelet on.

The lighting is dim but I can make Mare out clearly enough. This shouldn't be possible, not after what I saw. As I watched her die in my arms. And then worse.

But looking at her now, each breath is a miracle. Or a dream. But it's not a dream because even though it's been a while I know what that feels like. This and what happened in Whitefire was all too real.

I may not know where we are but I know Mare would never put herself in a vulnerable position if she didn't feel safe.

I sit on the edge of the bed, taking her outstretched hand in mine, "What happened to us?" I whisper.

Then a beam of light flows into the room, momentarily blinding me. But once I blink I see her clearly. For a moment I flash back to that morning when my life ended. But no, I don't recognize the girl that stands in the doorway.

"I think I can help," she says.

ALEX

We left the door open to the bedroom, both of us wanting to keep an eye on Mare. Although we had separate reasons.

I lead Maven down the hall to a bench. When I first came here I was a bit uncomfortable with the new surroundings. But with everything that's happened I've been too distracted to be scared. And I suppose I should be scared to be alone with Maven but I'm not. When I'm around anyone other than few people, the anxiety sets in. Strangers put me on edge, but I guess spending time in Mare's head has something to do with it.

Once we sit I hold out my hand, "Alex," I say.

He takes it after a moment of hesitation and I feel ridiculous.

"Don't take it the wrong way, but I won't make fools of both of us by introducing myself."

I can't help but smirk.

"You said you could help clear things up," he says.

"Yes, um," I shift my hair behind my ear. "Well, I guess I should start by telling you who I am."

"I know who you are."

"You do? Did Mare…"

"No, but it was something I suspected for a long while now."

"Huh, you really are smart."

"Why, what did you here?"

"Nothing more than what anyone else has heard."

"Hmm, well I have few questions for you, Alex."

"Then ask away."

"What happened? How are we here? How are we-"

"Alive?"

He nods.

And so I tell him. At least in the way, I heard Jon describe it. About his son. And I even note the way his shoulders relax in knowing that he lives. Then I tell him how Mare was forced to choose and he looks down at his feet.

I've never even been in the same city as him, and yet I know him like Mare knows him.

When I finish, Maven doesn't speak for a while, but I catch him eyeing my pendant.

"You wear silent stone." He says. I reach down and twirl it in my hand. "Why?"

"It's a choice I made a long time ago, for multiple reasons."

And none of them I can change. He doesn't press the subject.

"I have one more question for you, Alex. Something I need to know."

His tone becomes tense to mimic his body. Whatever it is, he's at war of whether or not he truly wants to know.

"Did you…? Are Mare's feelings for me natural?"

I know what he's trying to say.

"You mean did I make her love you?"

"Yes."

The window at the end of the hall tells me we're a few minutes to sunrise. "Not directly. Not in the way your thinking. Mare was brought to me because she knew that she couldn't face you and convince you to go along with the plan given the condition she was in, mentally and emotionally. We started out small. I didn't touch her emotions so much as I erased the physical tells. Whatever fear she felt would no longer be displayed. Things went smoothly until one day, Mare came to me. Something had happened with Cal. And she asked me to take away her love for him."

"You can do that?"

"I can do a lot of things your mother couldn't even imagine. But it's not like I'm going to. After I took the love away, I took away her fear of you too. But I never touched her hatred for you. "

"So how…?"

"It happened in its own way. I was able to take away her love for Cal, but even that had its consequences. It left a void in her heart. And Mare began to feel hollow. Empty. But once her love for Cal was out of the way, she drifted towards the only other person she had similar feelings for."

"Me.

"Her love for you is pure, Maven. It may not have come about in the traditional way. But it is real."

"Thank you, Alex."

"It's no trouble," and I mean it.

"I have another question, actually it's more of a request, but you don't have to if you don't want to. I want to do right by Mare. She chose me over her family. I chose her over a crown. The worst part is it was the most difficult decision I've ever made. Even now I feel the tug. I want that cursed throne just as much as I want Mare."

"You want me to help you."

"I need you help me."

"I know Mare's mind, she knows you. In a way, we've already met. I was going to offer the same thing but you beat me to it."

"Thank you again, Alex."

"Stop thanking me, Maven. Your family sleeps down the hall. Go be with them when they wake up. We'll talk later."

Then a thought occurs to me.

"Maven," he stops from standing and sits back down. "If you don't mind telling me...who was it that killed you?"

A crinkle forms between his eyebrows, trying to remember. His lips part and then he looks to me. "It happened so quickly. She came out of the shadows."

Queue: From Now On from the Greatest Showman Soundtrack.

MARE

I hear the rustle of the curtains before I see the stream of morning light. Acting quickly I pull the sheets over my head before I can be blinded by the light. But then I remember where I am and I sit up too fast and my head spins.

I put my hand over my eyes and use the other to keep myself propped up.

I moan a little, nausea I felt a few weeks ago, now returning. I guess it has something to do with the child's ability or pregnancy symptoms or perhaps both. Either way, it sucks.

The mattress shifts and I fight the urge to throw up.

"Mare," Maven whispers.

His hand runs smoothly down my arm and it falls from my eyes but still, I can't find it in me to look at him. My eyes remain closed.

"Your awake," is all I can manage.

"So are you," I could almost hear his smile.

His hand drifts back up to my hair. "Mare, look at me. It's okay, I promise."

The light still hurts my eyes, but as I blink I begin to adjust. He sits in front of me, a gold rim of sunlight surrounding him. I bring my hand up to his neck. If only to assure myself this is real.

"You're alive," I breathe. There is no evidence of what he's been through this past week. His body once torn and shredded by the diamond glass, now healed to perfection. Looking at him, he's the same old Maven.

But I know that I don't look like me. His fingers remain intertwined in my hair and I look down at them.

For years, the ends of my hair were faded. Not even the most skilled of healers could do anything for them. For no one can heal what is already dead. At least that's what I thought a week ago. Now my once dirty river brown hair is bright and soft to the touch, with no faded ends in sight. My hands once rough and callous are now smooth, with nails as perfect as someone who's never worked a day in their life. Maven's pulse beats strongly under my hand. But of course, it brings me to focus on my neck and collarbone. For months, I allowed the scars from the sounder and Maven's brand to remain. Both painful and ugly in every way. Two things I thought I would never be used to. Now I'll never know if I would have.

Maven's hand moves to my collarbone, his thumb roaming over the smooth skin. His brand now gone along with my scars.

But his hand does not stay, instead, it drifts upwards and to the corner of my eye. The greatest change of all.

I remember seeing them for the first time. It was the first thing I noticed.

"Jon said I will learn to control their appearance one day." I look down. "Whatever that means."

Gently, he tilts my chin up so I have to look at him. "Your eyes are beautiful, Mare, just like you."

The corner of my mouth twitches and I see Maven's do the same.

"I don't look like myself, Maven."

"Do you feel like yourself?"

"I'm still tired, but yes-"

He takes my face in his hands "That's all that matters to me. I want you for you, Mare. Whatever that means, whatever you want it to mean. I will do everything in my power to remain at your side. A friend, a father, a partner, anything you want."

"All I want is you to stay by me. With me."

He presses his forehead against mine. "Then you'll have it. From now on. That's a promise. And I never break a promise."

ANALYSIS

Okay, so I've got so many great guesses of who killed Mare. And some of them are right. Although I won't say the name I will go through an elimination process with you.

Iris: Nope, she was all the way in the Rift.

Anabel: Was at the Rift also, but she does know who did it.

Ptolemus: He was very much dead before Mare and Maven died.

Davidson: Not him either.

Jon: Although it is possible, I'm going to have to say no to that as well.

Volo Samos: He is dead and was at the Rift.

Alex: Very interesting, but no.

Farley: This was actually a really good guess because it does make sense. I mean there could be a scenario in which she follows Mare to Maven's room, sees them together and kills them. But I'm going to have to say no. She didn't do it.

But what we can pick up from this chapter is the killer was female. But as for her name. I'm going to leave that for the sequel. Sorry. ;)

As for other things in this chapter.

Take note that Mare woke during the day. Maven wakes during the night. There is meaning in that. There are also other things in Maven's POV that you should look back on. There are certain terms and phrases he uses.

Can we just take a moment for Alex and Maven talking? I have so much planned for those two.

Also, I had so many songs to choose from for this chapter but This is What it Takes by Shawn Mendes was brought to my attention by Pretzel41. So Thank You! Your amazing and this song is amazing.

I chose the song Hello because it talks about a guy who wants to express his feelings to this girl, but doesn't. And if you noticed Mare told Maven that she loves him, but not once does Maven say the same to Mare. And there is a reason for this.

Speaking of songs. I recently fell in love with a movie musical movie called The Greatest Showman. If you haven't seen it, I encourage you too. I love it. And I thought this song best-suited Maven. And it's so enthusiastic and positive. And it foreshadows the future they have together.

Also, this will be the last ANALYSIS until Chapter 50. Speaking of which. When I was writing Chapter 30 I realize there was another problem with my outline. Originally we get the POV of the killer. And that was a whole chapter in itself. But I decided to take that out, just to mess you guy because I love you so much. ;)

So the story is actually 49 Chapters, but Chapter 50 will be a QA. So any questions you have will be answered then.

Also, I have a question. Some of you have commented that you like Alex as a character. If you do or don't that fine, but I was wondering why. Like I said I have plans for her.

hehe.