Epilogue #5
His eyes close briefly. Relief moves through the bond. The students begin whispering. Then Eli raises both hands. "Arcana is getting a baby."
Laughter spreads. Even Thorne smiles. My mother stands beside me. Valerius beside her. Our hands joined over the life we made. I look at them. At Professor Vale. At Eli and Luc. At Thorne. At the students filling the stairs. Nine months ago, the courtyard was covered in ash. Everyone was kneeling.
Now no one kneels. The Eternal Flame burns at our level.
The sky above us is open. The academy is scarred, so are we.
Some towers remain unfinished. Some names are missing from every room.
Some nights, I still wake screaming. Sometimes Valerius does too.
Sometimes the bond fills with pain neither of us can name, and we simply hold each other until it passes.
Healing didn't arrive like magic. It came like rebuilding stone.
One piece at a time, sometimes uneven and exhausting but shared.
A bell rings from the grand hall. Not the old branch bell.
A new one. Calling everyone to the same table.
Students begin moving down the staircase.
Eli and Luc argue about who will teach the baby magic first.
Professor Vale tells them neither will be allowed within ten feet of the nursery.
My mother immediately begins discussing names.
Thorne insists the child must have a proper education.
Valerius looks overwhelmed. I have never loved him more. The crowd slowly leaves.
Before Thorne follows, I catch his hand. "Thank you."
He looks at me. "For what?"
"For staying." I say.
His expression softens. "Someone had to supervise you."
I smile through the tears gathering again. "I love you too."
Thorne looks horrified. Professor Vale laughs from the stairs. He clears his throat. "Do not become sentimental."
"It's too late." I say. He squeezes my hand once. Then leaves.
My mother kisses my cheek. Eli hugs me again. Luc bows his head. Professor Vale promises to see me tomorrow. One by one, they go. Not disappearing. Not dying. Simply leaving the room with every expectation of seeing us again. Perhaps that is the kindest goodbye.
Valerius and I remain beside the Flame. The sun has lowered beyond the broken towers. Stars begin appearing through the open ceiling. Real stars, not Aurelia's dead sky. Our sky.
Valerius stands behind me with both arms around my waist. His hands rest over our child. His heartbeat moves through my chest. Mine through his. Between them, the faint third rhythm waits.
"You know," he says, "if she has your magic, the academy may not survive."
"If she has your personality, the world may not survive." I counter argue.
"She'll have your stubbornness." He says.
"Your arrogance." I add.
"Your recklessness." He adds.
"Your inability to follow instructions." I laugh.
He kisses the side of my head. "I hope she has your eyes."
"I hope she has your heart." I admit.
His arms tighten. "My heart is yours." The Flame flickers. I turn in his arms.
Ten months ago, we stood here as strangers chosen by a force we didn't understand. We went from enemies to partners to lovers to weapons to survivors... Now something else, something ordinary and impossible... A family.
"Are you afraid?" I ask.
"Yes." The answer comes without hesitation.
"So am I." I say.
"Good." He nods.
I raise a brow. "Why is that good?"
"Because we won't mistake certainty for being right." Valerius answers.
I smile. "Thorne has been talking to you."
"He is unbearable." He rolls his eyes, I feel it through the bond.
"You love him." I lean into Valerius.
"I tolerate him with unusual commitment." He holds me tighter.
Below us, Arcana gathers for supper. The academy is no longer the place where I failed to belong.
It's home, not because the Flame accepted me, not because my magic returned, not because I became powerful enough to force the world to see me...
because we changed it, because the people inside it chose one another when every old law demanded they separate.
I rest my head against Valerius's chest. Our child moves. Only a flutter.
Valerius freezes. "Did you feel that?"
I laugh. "Yes."
His eyes widen. The boy who faced Ancient Masters without kneeling looks completely terrified. "She moved."
"I know." I nod.
"Is that supposed to happen?" He asks.
"Eventually." I say.
"What does it mean?" I turn and look up at him. He looks confused.
"That she moved." I laugh.
"Should we get Vale?" He says concerned.
"No." I shake my head.
"Thorne?" He asks.
"Absolutely not." I shake my head harder.
He lowers himself until his mouth is near my stomach. "Hello." My heart breaks open. His voice is softer than I have ever heard it. "I'm your father." Tears fill my eyes. The child moves again. Valerius looks up at me in wonder. "She heard me."
"She probably sensed your panic."
He ignores me. His hand remains over her. "I don't know what I'm doing," he whispers.
I sink down beside him and press a soft kiss on his lips. "Neither do I." He looks at me. I take his hand. "We'll learn."
"Together?" His eyes fill with water.
I smile. "Always."