607 An Honor
pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1
He was twisted and tangled in a mess of severed vines. He was slumped forward, unmoving as he floated through the air.
“Go…” Lily whispered, pulling away from Solana.
She didn’t need any more prompting. Solana rushed to him, ripping and tearing at the vines wrapped around his body.
“I was bringing him to you,” the Dark Queen smiled. “There was no reason to cut off all my vines…. Doing so made it difficult for me to control the strength in them… I never intended to hurt the boy. I just wanted to facilitate a family reunion.”
Lily growled at the Dark Queen. But she only smiled in response.
When Solana finally removed the last of the vines, she found that Caleb was still breathing, and his heart was still beating. But it was slow. There were bloody injuries all over his body. It seemed clear that the vines had punctured him repeatedly as he was dragged down from the portal.
“What about Ashleigh?” Solana asked quietly. Holding Caleb close as she moved back to Lily’s side.
“She made it through,” Lily whispered. “I felt it when she moved out of the portal. But the explosion is still moving. It will destroy the gate at any moment. How are we going to get him back out there?”
“We can’t,” Solana shook her head.
She lifted her eyes to the Dark Queen. The look she received was amusement, while her own eyes reflected anger, resentment, and rage.
“Oops…” The Dark Queen smiled. “I guess I just ended your family line, didn’t I?”
Solana snarled, letting go of Caleb and handing him off to Lily. She focused her attention entirely on the Dark Queen.
She pulled her heavy sword out again and extended it before her.
The Dark Queen smiled.
“Soon enough, the ley lines will claim us all,” she rasped. “There is no victory for you in killing me.”
Solana growled.
“Victory?” she asked. “There has been no victory for more than one thousand years… do you think I care about victory?”
Solana dashed forward, plunging her sword into the Dark Queen’s tangled mess of roots and vines. A gurgled, gasping sound came from the wooden mask.
“This is all because of you….” Solana whispered through angrily clenched teeth. “The wolves, my Queen’s death, my lover’s death… and now my family line… all because of you!”
She moved the sword, drawing another pained groan from the Dark Queen.
“Time moves differently here,” she continued. “Maybe we’ll be here another thousand years before the bubble collapses. Maybe ten minutes… either way… I could use my energy to slow your death and ensure that every last moment is filled with agony!”
The Dark Queen released another gurgled gasp as the sword was turned in her belly, and Solana pushed just a touch of her power into the wound. The pain spread to each of the Queen’s tendrils, shooting back in at her until a scream was wrenched from her lips.
“Solana,” a firm but calm voice called from behind her.
Solana looked back to see Lian standing near Lily and Caleb.
“Don’t waste your energy. I will need it to save your great son.”
Solana’s eyes widened. She swallowed and turned back to the Dark Queen, who panted and swayed in pain.
She ripped the sword out as the Dark Queen screamed, and then Solana raised it high above her head and drove it back down into the Dark Queen’s body.
Solana let go of the sword. The Dark Queen didn’t move. She knew that the creature still lived, just as her own Queen remained alive in some way.
The mounds were the Queen’s final step to death. The tree that sprang from their bodies dispersed their power back into the world while the rest of them was pulled down into the ley line to be absorbed and renewed.
The Dark Queen would only die when the ley line took her, but for now, she would at least stay still until the bubble broke.
“How do you intend to save him?” Solana asked as she approached Lian.
Lian was already hunched over Caleb, using her power to heal his wounds.
“Even if you heal him, how can we get him out of here? The bubble will fall soon, and the ley lines will consume us all.”
Lian looked up at Solana with a gentle smile.
“The ley line is a part of this world with or without the fae,” she said. “There are natural gateways. Small openings that do not upset the balance of power or draw attention. They are all over the world. Only opening for short amounts of time. He must find one and leave through it while it is open.”
Solana furrowed her brow.
“But, how will he survive the ley line until he finds one of them? How will he even find one?”
“The bubble will fall on its own soon,” Lian said. “But, if we decide to tear it down now and share our remaining energy to build a much smaller bubble. Just around him. He will survive.”
Solana looked at Lily.
Lily sat with Caleb’s head in her lap, stroking his hair gently. She looked up at Solana and smiled.
“I’m dying either way,” she said. “If I can help him find his way back to Ashleigh before I do that, I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Solana licked her lips. She looked down at Caleb and knelt beside him.
“You better find her,” she whispered. “Don’t you dare give up, it’s not who we are.”
Solana stood back up and turned to Lian.
“Let’s do it.”
Lian nodded. She finished healing the last of his wounds and then stood up, signaling to Lily to do the same.
The last three remaining fae looked at each other as they stood surrounding Caleb. They smiled.
“The two of you must focus your energy on him. On protecting him. I will tear down the bubble and give him the rest of my power.”
Lily and Solana both nodded.
“Solana, I am sure you remember, but Lily, you should know,” Lian said. “This will not be a comfortable or painless process. We will use ourselves as his shield. It will be agonizing.”
Lily swallowed and nodded.
Solana nodded and looked at Lily. She reached her hand out. Lily took it with a smile. Then they both joined hands with Lian and prepared to begin.
A soft white film of light spread over Caleb’s body as Lily and Solana focused their will on him. They poured their power into shielding him.
Lian closed her eyes and began tearing down the bubble that protected them from the ley line’s power.
Lily gasped as the scream of the Dark Queen echoed in the darkness. Her long reign was finally ended.
Solana squeezed her hand.
“Focus,” she whispered.
Lily nodded.
It was only a moment later that the fire spread across her body. Lily screamed at the pain, but she didn’t falter. It felt like sharp molten claws dug at her flesh, tearing and scraping.
“A little longer!” Lian cried out.
Lily clenched her teeth and focused on Caleb, making sure that he made it back to Ashleigh.
And then, it all stopped.
Lily opened her eyes. Around them, the blue was gone, replaced by gold, yellows, and reds. The fire on her skin had faded, but as she looked around, she saw it everywhere.
“He is… safe…” Lian whispered weakly.
Lily looked down at Caleb. He was entirely circled by the soft white light of their combined power.
“It has been an honor….” Lian whispered, her voice echoing softly.
Lily looked up just as Lian faded into a soft blue mist and floated up into the reds and golds of the ley line.
“Farewell, my friend….” Solana whispered, watching the mist rising and joining into the ley line.
Solana and Lily look into each other’s eyes. They smiled.
Lily could feel it coming. Soon, she too would join the ley line. Which meant that this was her last chance.
She took a deep breath.
“I have always loved you, Sol, never stopped,” Lily whispered, smiling as tears fell from her eyes.
Solana’s expression softened.
“As have I,” she smiled.
“I should have gone with you,” Lily whispered through tears. “I should have left Loki to Geri and just gone with you.”
Solana pulled Lily to her, hugging her.
“Then find me again, and stay with me,” Solana whispered into her ear. “In the next life.”
“I will…” Lily replied.
Solana grinned.
“I won’t make it easy for you this time.”
Lily smiled, the tears glistening in her eyes. She pulled back to look into Solana’s eyes.
“I won’t stop trying… I won’t give you up again.”
“Keep your word,” Solana whispered as she leaned forward to softly touch their lips.
Their kiss was brief, only a moment between them. But it was enough to carry them back into the ley line.