Niam
The ceremony had ended just as quickly as it had begun, and damn did my man look fine in his outfit.
Sure, the amazing pair of pants he tried to wear, which showed EVERYTHING, those were fine too, but my man’s dick was for my eyes only.
I didn’t believe Xari even knew his dick was on display.
He was likely too busy looking at his ass.
Which, I really got. He had a fine ass and those pants showed just how fine it truly was.
But the dick on show was a big no-no. Leah had texted me and warned me Xari was up to no good, but it wasn’t a surprise really.
I’d seen him try on different options over the last month.
My favorite had been the deep purple ones he wore today.
I bet it was Leah who’d steered him towards it once the skin tight suit was discarded.
My mother and father had once again tried to weasel their way in, but we had amazing guards, who, by now, knew to make them disappear.
I hadn’t spoken to them after we got our thrones.
They’d tried on numerous occasions, but each was thwarted before they’d even come close to me.
I wasn’t over what they’d put me through when I grew up.
Not to mention my father on the day of my banishment.
I guess I never would get over it completely.
How someone could blame their child for how they were born, that would always be a mystery to me.
Willow and Nujik were the closest thing to parents for all of us, even Xari who had his parents’ love and understanding from the start. Tino and Altair, too. We were one big mismatched family, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
“Ready?” Xari grinned. We’d just showered, thoroughly, and were now dressed.
It was the day after our ceremony and Xari had planned our first destination.
Now that we could create portals like it was the easiest thing in the world, I had no idea where we were headed.
But I trusted Xari. Wherever he led our portal to would be amazing.
I matched his grin. “Always.”
He created the portal with our hands clasped. The doorlike portal came together before our eyes and we stepped through it together.
The air around us held the distinct smell of fall. I breathed in deeply and sighed. It was my favorite scent in the world. I smiled over at Xari who watched me closely. “We’re on Sutiner, right?”
He smiled tentatively. “Is that okay?”
“Of course!” I hadn’t told him just how badly I wanted to see Jerry and Betty again. Maybe we could visit them while here.
He breathed out in relief. “Good. I was afraid it was too lame. But I knew you wanted closure.”
“Closure?”
“Yeah.” He pointed to our right. The portal had led us to a forest and I could see a road through the trees in the direction he was pointing at eagerly.
“So… that way?” I laughed.
We walked the few steps it took to escape the forest and that was when I realized where we were. “Jerry,” I said, feeling my excitement grow.
He just chuckled and walked down the road with me, both of us looking around the empty road as we neared the station.
It seemed like a lifetime ago I’d been here, and on some level, I guess it was.
I wasn’t the same man I’d been then. When I’d walked my first steps on Sutiner, I’d wished to one day get a job doing art, paintings more specifically, or my sketches, but paintings were my dream.
I’d been all about surviving this world without magic.
I was now one of the leaders in the council of mages, painting as a hobby, which I actually preferred.
My art was my escape from reality when the responsibility of our job got the better of me.
I even had my own room just for painting.
It had been a gift from the others and had a huge window facing our backyard which was a forest with the mountains in the back.
“You’re smiling,” Xari teased. “Guess that means I did good, then.”
I wasn’t about to tell him I was looking forward to painting again, since he seemed so proud of himself. “So good. Thank you for taking me back here.”
“Anything for you, baby.”
The station came into view and I had to stop myself from skipping the rest of the way. I really hoped Jerry still worked there, and I felt like I might break inside if I’d missed my opportunity to say goodbye for good.
“Looks like it’s open,” Xari said as we entered the parking lot. “Want to go in alone first?”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I don’t want to ruin this for you, and I respect it if you want to talk to him alone.”
“But why would I do that?”
“I don’t know!” he sounded exasperated. “My mom told me to give you some privacy so I’m trying to do that!”
I laughed. Of course, Leah had meddled. Even after telling her several times that I liked having Xari glued to my side, she still feared her son could be too much in the end.
Like I’d ever grow tired of having my sexy man next to me.
But I loved that she worried. It just meant she wanted us to stay together forever.
It was hard to explain to them that the whole soulmatch thing made the thought of not being with him unbearable.
But they’d never truly understand, and we all got that.
“I want you next to me always,” I said, pecking his cheek before entering.
Jerry was reading the newspaper and seemed deep in thought as we stepped closer to the counter. I suddenly got all nervous.
I cleared my throat and when Jerry’s eyes met mine, all my worries faded away. His smile was instant and before I even had time to say hi, he moved around the counter and had me in a big bear hug.
“You came back!”
I laughed. “I promised I would.” I smiled widely.
He chuckled. “You never know. You could’ve found a new job somewhere and then all of a sudden ten years would’ve gone by. I actually believed it wouldn’t be less than five years until there was a chance I’d see you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I thought you’d see the world, then come back maybe needing your job back.
I’ve been looking forward to hearing about your adventures while we eat our sandwiches at lunch.
” I had to fight the tears that tried to escape.
If I didn’t have another calling in my life, then the life Jerry was painting sounded perfect.
A part of me wished a simple life was in the cards for me, but I also knew it wouldn’t be enough in the end.
I needed to feel more needed, wanted. I loved being one of the leaders, not because of the power, but because I could feel important for once.
The mages were depending on all of us to make our world a better place, and that would always be something I was proud to give them, to work hard for every day.
But still, the simple life would’ve been amazing too.
“That sounds perfect,” I said, wanting him to know that I would’ve liked that future too. “But I actually got a job.”
“You did?” He finally let me go and gave Xari a kind smile. “Both of you?”
I nodded. “We got offered a job in Belu for five years, and after that we’ll travel a bit more.
” Belu was a country far from this one, they even spoke another language, and since most of that country was desert, Jerry would know I most likely couldn’t be reached by phone.
It was my first thought when I had to tell him I’d gotten a job.
I also knew I wouldn’t be able to just visit whenever I wanted. But every five years? That I could do.
“You’ll be gone for five years?”
I nodded. “And then we’ll visit again.”
Jerry touched his neck nervously. “I fear my mom might not be here in five years.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t thought about Betty being that old. She seemed so young.
“Why?” Xari asked for me.
Jerry sighed. “She got cancer.” I gasped. Now I had to see her.
“I’m so sorry, Jerry. Can you take us to her? I want to see her, especially if it’ll be the last time I have the chance.”
“Sure. She’ll love seeing you again. She’s working, not even cancer can stop her,” he smiled, but it was forced now.
“Thank you.”
He stopped just before he opened the door. “You know what? Let me bring her back here and then we can all eat lunch outside. I finally got around to building those tables outside which you told me would be perfect. And you were right. I see customers using them every day.”
“I’m glad! Told you they were needed, especially since so many people buy Betty’s amazing sandwiches.”
He laughed. “Yes, you definitely did.”
Xari took my hand in his. “We’ll sit outside at the new tables and wait then.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be back in ten.” Then Jerry held the door for us and hurried to his car. Xari led me to the newly built tables with matching benches. They truly were perfect.
We sat down and as soon as Jerry’s car had left the parking lot, Xari said, “You’re going to try healing her, aren’t you?”
“Of course. If I can.” It had been my first thought when I heard she was sick. I wasn’t a true healer, but I could still help. I wanted to help Betty. If it hadn’t been for her, I never would’ve met Jerry, and would most likely have been eaten by mama bears.
Since being a healer was a skill you could be trained in, I’d started doing it with Altair.
He could heal everything with his ability as easily as breathing.
I had to rely on my magic and knowledge like other healers.
The others had wanted to learn too, but none of them could master it.
It was a rare skill to obtain, which was why there were so few healers around.
“There hasn’t been a thing yet that you haven’t been able to heal, baby. And I’ll hold your hand while you do it. Do you think hugging her or holding her hand will be enough?”
I frowned. Normally when I healed, I touched the affected area or over it.
But it would be hard to touch her body exactly where the cancer was without it being weird.
“I’ll try.” I also had my locket with me, another perk we’d learned reading more of the old books.
Altair had given us one each with his healing magic inside.
The one wearing it was protected from being hurt or sick.
I hoped it could heal her slowly over time, if my healing attempt failed.
Grethe had been an amazing healer and even though I was as good now as she had been, at least according to Nujik, that still didn’t mean I could cure cancer in one quick healing session. One the patient didn’t even know about.
“I um, I have a thing I want to do before we leave here. Just know I have everything under control, so don’t worry.”
“Because that doesn’t sound worrisome at all,” I said, rolling my eyes. But I trusted Xari, so whatever he had planned would somehow work out.
Jerry’s car came into view fifteen minutes later, and then Betty hurried out and over to us. My powers were already seeking out what I needed to fix before she’d even reached us. Xari steered Jerry inside so he wouldn’t see the light from my healing, giving me some privacy with Betty.
“Oh, Niam! You look so much better! So vibrant!” She gave me a big hug and instead of sinking into it, I hurried to use my healing magic as I embraced her.
She sighed as I let my healing erase everything that was hurting her, mending together the parts of her the cancer had already ruined.
It was so easy healing her, maybe because she didn’t have magic that needed to be taken into account too.
When I’d healed other mages as I trained, I also had to lend them some of my magic so they could heal better, making me weaker as I healed.
But with Betty I just had to heal. I hoped she wouldn’t question why it felt so good hugging me, but as the last of my healing eased off, I saw the tears in her eyes and then her soft nod.
Like she understood but wouldn’t say anything.
I smiled back, then took off my locket and placed it around her neck.
“I want you to wear this every day, it’s supposed to protect you against bad vibes,” I said, knowing it sounded silly as hell. But I very well couldn’t explain what it truly did.
“Thank you, dear. I’ll cherish it forever.” She held the locket in one hand and looked it over. “It feels like a warm hug in a locket.” She grinned.