The Dark Between Dreams | ✔️

Chapter 50 🔻 What Came Before

I let my fingers, tingling and stark white with spread scars, entangle with Vale's as we both gazed at the heavens.

"Oh my god, Skye," the hollow beside me whispered. "It's beautiful."

I tore my gaze away from the sky and met her eyes, and saw the stars reflected in their watering depths. I smiled, about to lean into her.

"Yer alive!" came the voice of Orville. Not a second later, both Vale and I were lifted in his arms as the man hugged us tight. Aluki shrieked with delight and chased after the crows that alighted around us. The hollows of After hesitantly came out of hiding. But eventually, a cheering crowd gathered around.

But our laughter was short-lived. A piece of our family was missing. In solemn silence, we all watched ashes rise into the air. Vale lifted her mask from her belt and traced the stitched scowl. Her mask missed its smiling counterpart.

"Webb should be here," she said. "Couldn't have done all this without him."

Grief welled in my throat. I leaned into her, both of us staring at her mask.

"Sorry, didn't catch that," someone called out from the crowd. My heart skipped a beat, and Vale and I spun around to see Webb shove his way to us, grinning weakly. "Missed you, dumbasses."

A relieved breath left my body. A grin spread across my face. I threw myself at the exhausted hollow who, despite being nearly cut apart, hugged me back.

"Webby!" Vale cried as our trio reunited. "You're okay! You found us!"

"Yeah, I do that."

Webb and Vale nuzzled into each other. "You guys really did it, huh? Look at that," said Webb as he marveled at the whole sun. The sunlight made his face rosier than usual.

A slender figure stepped before us. Reynard stared down solemnly at the three of us. "You..." he uttered, pointing a shaking finger right at me. "All of After owes the three of you a debt."

The former right hand of the king clasped a hand over his heart and bowed low to us.

The shrouded acolights made their way to the forefront of the cheering ghosts. Their white-haired leader bowed at my feet while I held onto Crow's spear. "The Prince's champion has saved us all," she said. "We are freed from the darkness." The rest of the acolights joined Reynard and dipped their heads in respect.

I tightened my hold on Crow's spear with my scarred hand. White Light still flared in their pupils. The ghosts that haunted After's underground weren't free. They were still forever anchored-doomed to eventually fade. Red luxlight coiled beneath my skin, and I glanced at the sun. As if he knew my intentions, Albrecht sent a chain of lightning across the sky. I stepped after the acolights. "Wait. Come here. All of you."

"What are you doing?" Vale asked. A slowly healing Webb clung to her.

"I want to try something." I nodded to the sun above. He'd given me strange lux-powers that I had yet to understand. I could wake the sleeping dead. What else could I do? "Give me your hand," I said to the acolight leader.

The old woman raised a wispy brow at me, but she obliged, and I held onto her shaking, gnarled hand. Then I took a deep breath. When I was ready, I exhaled. Fire flooded my veins. The woman's eyes widened as my luxlight spread down my arms and into her hand. And in those wide eyes, I saw the Light recede from her pupils. Veins glowed white hot beneath her skin as I absorbed her Light into myself. The other anchored souls of After let out a collective gasp. They all laid their hands upon their leader's shoulders, and I took their afflictions from them in branching, webbing veins of Light, too.