The Valley of Kings and a Queen

Chapter 43

The next thing I know the heavenly light shatters, and I am thrown back onto the embankment. Grey, Aiden, Olivier, and Henri are all bent over surrounding me as I grip Finley's hand even tighter not wanting to ever let go of him. His hand begins to warm underneath my grasp. Finley's eyes flutter open, and he lets out a deep breath.

"I thought you were dead," I cry out tears streaming down my face as I brush Finley's hair out of his face.

"I was," he laughs lowly.

I bend down over him pressing my lips against his ever so softly. I run my hand down his face and shoulder gently, fearful that I have imagined everything – a final wicked trick the gods might have played on me before they were completely banished.

"Then, how'd you come back?" I ask, confused by all that just happened.

"You," he responds meekly, "I don't know how you did it, but I was dead. Then, you came. You fought for me to come back. You were talking to her" as in Isis, "and you convinced her somehow." He says brushing my hair out of my face and tucking it ever so gently behind my ears.

Love has never been conquered, even by death. I think of Cleopatra's words. Of her magical saving grace. The amulet no longer broken but restored silently hanging in between my breasts. Though its usual hum was gone as though the magic hidden within had all been used up.

"Oh man thank you for coming back," Grey says pushing me out of the way to hug Finley tightly. I can't help but laugh to myself. The rest of the gents come to his side and help him up. We sit against the riverfront silent for a few minutes staring up at the night sky. The moonlight shimmering over the river. The stars twinkling back at us as though the gods and goddess were watching over us from the otherworld.

"So, do you guys feel any different?" Grey asks, breaking the silence between us.

"Not particularly," Aiden says.

"Do you think we will begin to feel differently soon?" I ask trying to make sense of it all.

"Who knows, but the gods sure didn't take away my handsome good looks," Grey says staring at his reflection in the water. His devilish smirk written across his face. I had to give it to him, he was still unbelievably beautiful despite facing death only moments ago.

"Not yet, but maybe they will," I tease.

"So, you admit, I am quite beautiful," he counters haughtily.

"If you think that's the case, then why do you always seem to need our confirmation," Finley retorts shoving him in the arm. He manages to laugh. A smile breaking forth across his face as though he didn't just come back from the afterlife. He holds my hand in his as though it's always been this way between us. Maybe it has, but it just told all this time to come to the realization of the truth.

"Well, I still am in need of their additional knowledge for my classes, I prefer not needing to study," Henri laughs out.

"Yeah I hope our basketball season isn't doomed," Aiden says wondrously.

"How am I supposed to explain this to our parents," Olivier says looking at me and gesturing to his tattered clothes and my own gown that has been slit in places. We're all covered in grim and have cuts over our garments and flesh.

"Tell 'em we got into a brawl, but we won," I say casually not even trying to calm Olivier's anxious thoughts. I could care less what they make of this. And I wish he did not care too but worry comes more naturally to some people than others. Though I think our parents should just be lucky we survived even though they had no idea we were so close to death's door.

We sit there again in a still silence until Grey finally pulls out a silver flash and takes a swig from it then passes it down the line of gents. Leave to Grey to carry a drink into battle.

We all just sit there along the embankment passing the flask between us, taking swigs, and laughing through our buzz. As though we were just a couple teenagers that left our secondary school dance solely to get a little sloshed under the moonlight.