Towers [BOOK ONE]

Epilogue

For three days we waited, dreading Ash's return. But he never came. He had vanished, like a single star missing from the sky, and nothing but rumor remained of him. Perhaps he'd run out of stolen magic and fallen to his death. Or perhaps he'd gone away, seeking a new land, a place where he could begin again without the ghosts of his past haunting him. It didn't matter now.

The fight was finally over.

Many things changed in the weeks that followed, but at last, I didn't have to fear the future. We'd lost many things, but hope wasn't one of them. It had taken courage, pain, and half a year to accomplish what we'd set out to do. It was done now. The towers were finally no more.

The kingdom welcomed Melody with open arms, and though the thought of taking her mother's place was sombering, she accepted. Her coronation was to be held in the autumn, the fire season, but everyone already called her Queen. It was a beautiful thing, seeing the blue and gold colors of the kingdom replaced with Melody's red and silver. It's a new age, I thought. The evil of the old is slowly being washed away.

As for us? Melody offered Jasper and I places at court—even extending the gesture to Lily and Channing—but as much as I'd come to love this land and all its wonders, it was time for us to go home.

And so, at long last, the six of us stood in the courtyard, cloaked in robes of silver and scarlet and wearing circlets at our brows. Dessa was free. Caleb was alive. Lily and Channing were safe. And Jasper... I smiled up at him, and he grinned back. Jasper, I'd come to realize, was a puzzle that I was ready to spend the rest of my life figuring out.

Melody hugged me. "I know you said no escort, but I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you on this one thing in particular. It's only ten soldiers. The bravest, most loyal men in the kingdom. They're coming with you and you'll be safe and you're not going to complain."

I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling. "If you insist."

"They'll get you to the coast. From there you can find a ship and sail back to the High North." She released me and wiped her eyes. "Ah. I told myself I wasn't going to cry."

I hugged her one last time. "I'm going to miss you." I looked her in the eye. "You'll make a wonderful Queen."

"Just remember to visit every once in a while, all right?"

I nodded. "We all will. That's a promise."

We said our last goodbyes. My heart yearned to stay there forever, but I knew it was time to go. Our quest was over.

Our company of sixteen mounted the white horses that stood waiting for us. I took a deep breath. There was something beautiful about that moment—a sense of adventure that brimmed with hope and magic.

The captain of our escort looked to me. "Are you ready, milady?"

It was deep spring. The whole world was alive. I looked over my shoulder at the castle for the final time, and a joyous, hopeful song flamed within me.

"Yes," I said. "Let's go home."

Far, far away, beyond mountains and oceans, at the very corner of the world, something stirred. The ground trembled, and the sun went black. Life shriveled away. A darkness as old as time was awakening, opening its eyes and rising once more.

Its name was Death.

And the sky itself burned. It burned with fire, and hatred, and just a trace of red magic...

Bird's story will continue in Book Two
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