*Isla*
Maddox runs to me looking just as worn out as me and Poppy are. We’ve dragged Antony over a mile along the beach back to the city, praying that someone would see us and help. Hot sun beats down on us as I watch my mate close in, his eyes narrowed and mouth parted in surprise.
“Is he–”
“He’s dead,” I say quickly, the words tasting like pure acid on my tongue. Maddox pauses, his eyes meeting mine.
‘Are you going to save him?’ he asks through our bond so only I can hear his question. It’s a hard one, if I’m being completely honest. Do I give this man another chance? This man, my own cousin, who has done nothing but lie to us?
‘I’m going to try to,’ I tell him, not sure if I can. Not sure if anything can. How long do we have?
Maddox nods and steps forward, his large frame partially blocking the unforgiving sun.
“The falls,” I choke out to everyone, gathering my reeling thoughts as I stumble down the street. “We have to get him to the falls, right now.”
It’s not far from the falls, but the journey so far has been excruciatingly slow. My powers are weak enough to be useless at this point. I’ve tried to heal him, which I explain to Maddox as he lifts Antony’s limp body over his shoulder. Nothing happened. He hadn’t even twitched as my magic, healing tears seeped into his skin and his mouth.
Maddox doesn’t question my wish to save what was left of Antony’s life. I don’t question it, either. Antony is family. Antony is mated to my best, dearest friend. He’s the father of her newborn twins.
And maybe, deep down, I understand why he did what he did and kept all of this a secret from us. He was protecting his legacy. He was protecting his kingdom. He was protecting his mate, even if it meant he broke their bond and lost his own life.
Was it too late to save him?
I follow Maddox wordlessly as he moves Antony forward, the sand giving way to rolling emerald grasses and palm trees. The castle towers behind us, pristine and whole. I try not to wrap my head around what this means–what magic the wizard used to totally change our reality in order to bend us to his will.
“The warriors,” I eventually say, swallowing thickly. Maddox glances at me over his shoulder, his dark green eyes flaming with understanding and the same confusion I’m feeling.
“Just fine. All of them are accounted for.”
“I don’t understand–”
“None of them remember anything. No one does. Not the storm, not the destruction.”
I blink, looking back at a withdrawn Poppy who is sniffling as she walks behind us, her eyes downcast.
“The birth of the twins,” I begin as we start walking through the palms. “Are they still–are they–” I try to get a handle on what I’m trying to say.
“They’re still around, if that’s what you mean. Mary remembers everything. She’s with them now, at the castle,” Maddox says, looking over his shoulder again, this time at Poppy. “They’re just fine.”
Poppy only nods her head, tears streaming down her beautiful face. I want to reach out to her and take her in my arms. I want to tell her it’ll be okay, that Antony will be all right, but I don’t know if that’s true.
Could returning the wizards necklace have caused the powers of the falls to go away? Is all of this in vain?
“Elijah,” Maddox says as his Beta runs into view. I sigh with relief as Emery appears alongside him. Thank the Goddess they’re all right. Emery looks like whatever she’s seen has humbled her. I don’t blame her. What happened over the last day has me questioning everything.
“He’s dead,” Elijah says matter-of-factly, looking a little bit pleased.
“We’re going to the falls,” I bite out, seconds away from snarling at the man as I pass him by and continue following Maddox to the falls.
We reach the edge of the glistening pool twenty minutes later. A strange feeling creeps through me as I pause at the edge. Maddox takes a step toward the water, but I stop him, my hand on his chest. I look up into his eyes, reaching up to run my fingertips over the dark stubble growing along his jaw. “I love you,” I whisper.
“I love you, too,” he says, leaning into my touch for a moment before taking a step into the water until it’s up to his knees. I follow him, catching Antony as Maddox lays him in the water.
“Poppy,” I say, looking up at my solemn friend as she watches us, trembling, “it’s going to be all right.” I extend my hand to her, but she doesn’t move.
“Would he want this?” she asks, finally meeting my gaze.
“I think he would want a chance to fix what has happened,” I answer, swallowing hard.
Maddox walks out of the water and gently urges Poppy forward with a hand on the small of her back. She takes a careful step, then another, until she’s nearly as deep as I am. It’s not until she looks down at her mate that she takes a deep breath.
I guide them both deeper until we can feel the spray of the falls behind us. I glance up at the shore where Maddox, Elijah, and Emery are waiting, their eyes locked on me as I take a shattered breath.
“We have to submerge him,” I tell Poppy, meeting her eyes. “In the falls. It won’t hurt.”
“He’s already dead,” she sniffs, a hint of her larger than life personality peeking through her grief. “So he won’t feel a thing.”
“Okay,” I smile, the tension in my chest lifting a bit as I notice the color returning to her cheeks. “If you don’t want to do this I… I understand. We can stop. We can bury him–”
“I want him to know our children,” she whispers sadly. “He hasn’t even had a chance to hold them yet.”
My heart squeezes in my chest.
That’s all the permission I need to move us further under the spray, and soon I feel the pressure of the falls along my back. The water is cold enough to sting, but I quickly go numb to the sensation as I close my eyes. I hear Poppy gasp, then nothing as the roaring of the falls drowns out the rest of the world, and it’s just the three of us and whatever Goddess given powers remain in the place.
Seconds tick by but feel like hours. I feel my own powers clawing to the surface, spreading a fiery warmth over my chilled, wet skin. Something hot and tight settles in my chest, something like panic making my body go rigid. I realize my body is reacting to a long lost memory of this place. Of me, small and helpless, being submerged in the falls in order to save my life.
“I can hardly breathe,” Poppy gasps, her grip on Antony loosening.
“Just a little–a little longer,” I say, gritting my teeth as Antony is dragged deeper. Light fans out from where I’m gripping him under his armpits, spreading over the water and mingling with the silver spray of the falls. Suddenly the light shoots out in every direction, practically blinding us, but quickly fades.
Antony twitches once, then twice, then bucks and fights against my grip.
“Pull him out!” I cry, pushing him toward Poppy with all of my strength as the water beats down on us. Poppy cries out, but her voice is stolen by the roar of the falls as I fight against the pressure of the water beating down over my head as I fight, and fight, and fight my way out.
Hot sun greets me, instantly drying the cool water coating my cheeks and nose. I blink rapidly as splashing and shouts catch my attention, and I choke on a grateful sob as Antony spits water from his mouth and stumbles in the shallow pool, right into Poppy’s open arms.
I hear Emery’s voice lifted in a question but don’t catch her words. I look toward Maddox, who is standing on the edge of the pool with his hands tucked into his pockets. He smiles at me, and I smile back before feeling like every ounce of my energy is pulled from my body, and I collapse.
* * *
I open my eyes to sunlight drifting through a window with soft white curtains billowing in a warm, tropical breeze. Baby-blue wallpaper comes into focus as I blink, sitting up a little straighter in the huge bed with soft white sheets and a cream colored comforter.
“Slowly,” Maddox warns as I rub my eyes. “You’ve been out for two days.”
“Two days,” I croak, my throat as dry as sandpaper as I try to swallow. Maddox comes to my side, dressed in a white button down short sleeved shirt and emerald green shorts that brush against his thighs, several inches above his knees. I squint at him, smiling. “I’ve never seen you dressed in shorts like that before,” I smile.
Maddox playfully narrows his eyes at me as he hands me a glass of water and sits on the edge of the bed while I drink it.
“I was tired of sand getting everywhere,” he says, running his hand over my leg over the sheets. “Plus, it’s hot as hell.”
“You look tan,” I reply, leaning back against the pillows.
“I haven’t had much to do while you were asleep, so I went down to the beach and walked around looking for any traces of… what happened. No one remembers a thing, except for us.”
He pauses, smiling down at me. “But we don’t need to talk about that now.”
“Is Antony… is he all right?”
“Yes, he’s fine.”
“And Poppy and the babies?”
“Yes. Everyone is fine. They changed the boy's name to Asher, by the way.”
“Probably for the best,” I sigh, feeling more than fatigued even after two days of what sounded like being knocked out cold. “Have you heard from–from anyone at the castle? Isaac–”
“He’s okay too. Misses us deeply, from what Trinity said.”
I close my eyes for a moment, fighting back tears.
“This was really bad, Maddox.”
“I know.”
“I want to go home now,” I whisper, and I feel his fingertips brush over my cheek.
“Tomorrow,” he whispers. “There’s someone you need to speak to, first.”
I must have fallen asleep again, because when I wake up, it is dark, and Maddox is asleep beside me. His arms are roped around me, clutching me to his chest. I snuggle against him, sighing with relief that the dream I’d had was only that, a dream.
I am surprised by the lessening of tension in my body that I’d become used to over the last few months. I’ve always felt like something is just around the corner, something bad, something that will threaten everything.
But now, in my mate’s arms, all I feel is… peace. Finally.