Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sierra
The sky was a majestic map of colors from a sunset that many of us hadn’t seen in months. I had just arrived back from being with Esta, Demos having arrived to get me. He had appeared out of that silver sea, a beacon of gold and blue and white, his smile radiant, his eyes relieved at seeing me whole.
“Don’t forget,” Esta had said with that secret smile before we faded away, “a touchstone.”
And then I was at the gates of the Basilica, where it seemed the whole of the Ongahri were. All sound had stopped as each face took in my appearance: long crimson gown like a beating heart, white hair piled on top of my head, a crown of starlight and moonshine. A white owl at my feet. The owl flew up, and I automatically raised my arm. The owl’s talons bit into my forearm, his weight defying my arm muscles, enough to keep my arm upright.
The Ongahri, as one, dropped to a knee, heads tilted, throats exposed. A gasp went around when a shiny crow, whose feathers shone a blue sheen, flew down from above. I raise my other arm, and the crow perched upon it.
Well then. Guess I needed a grand entrance, I thought dryly.
After a moment, both birds flew away, and the Ongahri got to their feet.
“Omega, White Queen, Heart of the Ongahri.”
I turned in the direction of that voice.
Mari came forward, a vision in regal crimson as well. Her raven hair was down, falling around her shoulders. She looked like a maiden warrior whose heart was made of steel.
She hugged me to her and kissed my forehead, holding my hands out to look me over. “Thank the gods you are okay.”
What followed was a crushing of bodies and hugs and kisses. Lucius, Fadon, Demos—now pretending he hadn’t seen me just minutes earlier—Ander, Jon, even Phobius, who only touched my arm and smiled down at me.
“So what now?” I asked Fadon as we watched the last of the sun setting. I had a cup of tea in one hand, the other holding Fadon’s.
“Now we wait for the others to collect the cervos and head back to camp.”
Behind us, Servants who had been freed from the two towers in the Basilica walked around the crowd, offering food, aid, cleaning up the incredible mess our battle—and the elementals’ efforts—had accumulated. The Basilica looked as if a gang of forest creatures had chewed at it, both the grounds and the facade. A giant chunk of the west side was missing, and the effect looked as if the whole structure would fall on its side any moment now.
I couldn’t even imagine what the inside looked like. I refused to go in there and see. I never wanted to step inside it again, afraid it would swallow me up and never let me see the sky, never release me.
Fadon took my tea and set it down, then kissed me sweetly. “I have never been so scared. Ongar, not with all the other scares you’ve given me.”
I made a face. “It’s not like I do it on purpose, you know.”
He chuckled and the sound had me wanting him. “I think—”
“Sierra? Sorry for interrupting,” Ander said, coming up to us. He was covered in dirt and I had to smile at this unusual state, Ander always a bit of a peacock, never unkempt. “Someone’s asking for you. Says she’s from Providence?”
I looked at Fadon, questioning, but he only shrugged.
We followed Ander through the throng of people, and I spotted her. Dressed in a multi-colored frock that bellowed out from ample hips, the old seer turned when she saw us coming. Her wrinkling skin looked thin as paper, but her smile had her eyes shining like a young girl’s.
“Grandmother?” I asked, shocked to find the old seer here. Seeing her brought in a flood of memories. Providence, my parents, feasts, and simple days.
“Child.” She curtsied half-heartedly. “A moment?”
I turned to Fadon, who nodded. “I’ll just wait here, Sierra.”
“I’ve watched you grow into a beautiful woman,” she said once we were away from everyone. “I know your heart, how you’ve been a’wantin’ just to live your life. I’ve come to say our interference is over.” Her eyes… what was once a dark blue now changed to a deep amber, almost ocher. Like the leaves in fall.
Autumn.
“Always remember your center.” Her voice, the twin to Esta’s, to Auria’s.
I nodded dumbly, watching her elderly features transform into a young woman with flaming hair. all in the blink of an eye. Quickly, she pulled up her dank shawl, covering that flame, hiding her rich hued skin, smothering that otherworldly glow of all-knowing eyes.
And then she turned and was gone.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” the Supreme said, offering a hand.
I placed mine in his and he held it tightly with both hands, patting mine. “Supreme. I’m glad to hear you are recovered.” For so long I had pictured the leader of the Owl Order as a pompous windbag, like Prius. This man before me, however, was grandfatherly. His white flossy hair that stuck up in all directions told me he was more cerebral than messy. His green eyes were thoughtful, sincere, just like his voice. I liked him.
Beside me were Demos, Mari, and Lucius, whom, I was told, had been badly hurt in the first blast. I was more than happy he was okay and that I hadn’t been there to see him unconscious. Thank the gods for Alpha healing.
We were outside the threshold of the colossal front doors, the morning air chilling, the way it should be this time of year, not freezing to the bone like it had been just yesterday.
He released my hands and looked at the Queen Alpha. “I cannot apologize enough for everything that your people have suffered because of my Order. I can, however, promise that a new day is dawning. I will be retiring and handing over the baton to a new Supreme, one who I will insist is good, who will represent the Owl as it had been intended centuries ago. That I swear to, Your Majesty.”
Mari looked every bit a queen as she met the Supreme’s eyes unflinchingly. “As soon as you learn the name of this Supreme,” she said with hauteur, “I want word as soon as possible. I cannot rest the blame fully on your shoulders,” she glanced at Demos, who had been the one to shed light on what had transpired within the Owl’s doors, “but you will share some of it. Never again will the Ongahri trust you completely. But the Fealty Agreement has met its end.”
“I understand, Queen Alpha,” the Supreme answered soberly.
“But we will keep communication open, especially if things here will change,” Lucius couldn’t help but add in.
I noticed the Supreme look between them, a silver brow raised, forehead wrinkled in thought. Was he noticing the resemblance of shared blood between them? Probably.
“I will keep you abreast, most certainly.” The Supreme then glanced at Demos. “Son, you saved my life and those of the other Servants. I wish you would reconsider your service here.”
As far as the Owl knew, it was Cael who had brought such destruction to their Basilica. Not us. Not the elementals. And Mari and Lucius, Demos as well, had no intention of changing that perception.
Demos looked at me, a rare smile forming at the corners of his mouth. “My heart and vows are elsewhere, Holy Father.”
“I see. And,” the Supreme laughed heartily, “if I were young, I’d do the same.” He winked at me, and I found myself smiling back at him.
Lady Lordes handed me a cup of tea as I watched Lucius and Mari stroll down a narrow lane outside the camp. They had been speaking a lot more, privately, their heads nodding, hands gesticulating, planning, I assumed.
“It’s good to see them collaborating,” Lady Lordes said, watching on as well. “It’s been many years in coming.”
I looked at her. Did she know?
She smiled. “Of course, time will tell, but for now, it is good.”
Yes, she knew.
And it was good. Everything was good. Finally. There were a lot of things to see to, like the Ongahri party who had delivered that evil weapon to the Basilica, which Phobius and Demos had privately told me they thought an elemental had had a hand in convincing them—possibly the old woman seer?
We’d never know.
Fadon and Lucius had questioned the party, and they all had seemed dazed, all their answers vague and head scratching. Especially when it came to how the weapon had just disappeared after several attempts to destroy the Order. “It was as if a giant hand of air lifted it to sea!” someone had said, one of the witnesses outside the gates that day.
Only a few, myself included, knew it had been Liriel, that elemental of sea and wind, who had taken it away, thank the gods.
“Are you sure you won’t stay with us before your journey?” Mari asked. We were standing in the clearing at Syrus Crossing, where House Trajan would part from our party. From there, the Ongahri would travel to their respective lands, our adventure at an end, but with a promise to attend the twenty-year Ongahri Consortium, making it this year instead of next. Lucius had decreed its location would be held in Odessia, in the summer. Everyone agreed.
Fadon hugged his sister. “We’ll visit soon.” He pulled away and eyed Jon, who stood at Mari’s side, a smile on his handsome face. “Well, Captain. Think you can handle a Trajan army full time?”
“I’ll manage, Fadon. For now.” Jon winked at me.
“Does this mean I’ll need to find another captain soon, Jon?” Mari crossed her arms, her eyes like black jewels gleaming with mirth.
We all knew Jon would be joining us at some point, just not right now.
“Lady Dega,” Lordes said, getting my attention. I pulled away from the group and stepped into Lady Lordes’ embrace. She smelled like peaches and summer evenings.
“Promise you’ll write?” she asked.
“I will.” I smiled at her. Out of all the seers, the Sisters of the Old Ways, it was she I trusted most. “I promise.”
“Good. Many blessings upon you, Child of the Morn,” she said, kissing my forehead.
I blinked.
“Ready to go?” Demos wrapped an arm around me, and I looked up at him.
“More than ready.”
We said our final goodbyes, Mari and I both a little weepy, Fadon humbled and quiet. My mates and I watched in silence as House Trajan headed north.
Odessia was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Waterfalls, deep, vivid green foliage, and brightly colored flora. So many species of animal and insect. Spectacular sunsets that painted the skies in dreamy vibrant color. And as much as I did love it here, it wasn’t home. Home was Ordelpho, and in a few months we would be going back, once the Consortium was over and Lucius felt it was time to pass the reins over to a new leader here in this tropical land.
We had been here for several weeks when my estrus made an appearance. By then we had been living in a large home that had been erected only weeks before our arrival. It was airy and roomy, built into the trees, with terraces that looked out onto the wild landscape.
Demos, Lucius, and Fadon each had their own rooms, all of which wrapped around a central space, like a circle. Every night, I’d sleep in one or the other, my mates sharing me. So far it had all worked out. But when that familiar, intense heat came upon me, that central space in the center of our dwelling turned into my personal nest.
The four of us holed ourselves indoors for the duration, my two true Alphas lost to the rut, Demos lost just as much. And me, wanting them with a frenzy, always hungry for them, always waiting for one of them to appear in my nest, their scents all around me, on me, inside me.
For the first time in my life, I had everything I’d ever wanted. So much love, so much hope, and so much to look forward to.
As Demos would say, “By the Wind,” I was one lucky woman.