Chapter 26
FROM OUT OF THE ASHES HE RISES
We meet everyone in a large outdoor dining area with rows upon rows of long wooden tables the length of two or three fae cottages.
The table tops look to be cut from one continuous slab of trunk.
Fae and miniature winged creatures of different colours sit around chatting animatedly, the winged ones perched on shoulders and fluttering between tables.
There’s a denser canopy over this area, vines woven tight, shielding diners from the elements above.
Everything within the Willow appears to be separated by some form of nature, a deliberate partition, much like the vines the fae used to keep Melek imprisoned between the kelpies.
A large grassy field where children are running after a ball joins onto this one. The atmosphere is jubilant.
Dotted next to the odd fae are small groups of humans, which shouldn’t surprise me. Nevertheless, it does. How many of them have brown eyes? It hurts my heart to think of my brother, knowing I won’t find him here.
Find me in your heart where we are equals. The words are a drum as I pass by brown eyes of differing hues—more than I’ve seen since leaving the lightning factory.
As we walk, I take in the beauty of the low-hanging vines, peach flowers blooming overhead, and above that, small sections where a brilliant, unobstructed blue sky shines through. Utterly surreal. This forest. The beauty. The colour.
Sera leads us towards a table in the middle, where I see Sunny sitting and eating a large bowl of what looks like ice cream. He gobbles a particularly big bite, his eyes larger than his stomach. Full-cheeked, he looks up, spotting us, and instantly jumps up from his chair.
Alight with wonder, he shouts at the top of his lungs, after a strained gulp, “Mama. Papa!” His scruffy dark brown hair, which I refuse to cut because it looks too much like Melek’s, drops in falling waves, and he brushes it out of his eyes as he bolts for us, weaving past fae and humans.
My husband crouches down beside me, still firmly grasping my hand, and our son flies into his arms at breakneck speeds.
Melek’s happiness runs deep. “I missed you, son.”
Sunny pulls back. “You can talk again?”
I brush the hair out of our wild child’s face. “Yes. I fixed him.” I snicker.
Melek gives me a just wait until later glare. With my body newly healed, the thought of him remarking me has desire solidifying my veins. It’s still infuriating, the way my body reacts so quickly to him.
Releasing me from his hold for a second, he swings Sunny onto his shoulders—our son’s favourite way to travel—and we walk over to the table together, hand in hand.
My mind is mush at how perfect this moment is.
I keep my mouth shut in case I jinx it. Some fae give us curious smiles as we pass, but mostly, no one pays us any mind.
“Finally,” Ren mutters through a mouthful of fruit. The glint of silver and gold rings catches my attention. “He was two bites away from running back to the cottage, and I was afraid for his tiny eyes.”
“Oh, Renfir.” Sera takes the seat beside him, giving his shoulder a playful tap. Melek, Sunny, and I sit opposite them.
Ren passes Sunny’s food over to him, and he shares a bite with Melek and me.
The strange, fruity taste leaves a delicious, sweetly sour flavour on my tongue.
I’m about to ask how I can get some of the peculiar food when a group of fae appear, depositing more ceramic bowls on our table, as well as an assorted plate of freshly cooked breads.
“Whenever you’re hungry, just sit down. Our chefs will bring the daily offerings to your table.”
“That’s all?” Pitchers of crystalline lemon water follow.
“That’s all. Everyone has their job in the Willow. We are equal. We all play our part. We have wise men and women who help guide our community. Ultimately, we are responsible for each and every living being under this canopy. We are family.”
His words hit some unknown yearning force inside of me. They are a family. They are in this together. It’s not creature-eat-creature. Weakest versus the strongest. Here, they simply care because it’s the easier option.
This is it, Nix. You were right. It pains me to think how he would have delighted in this beautiful world. Mam too. We would’ve thrived instead of spending our lives working to die.
Looking past Ren, rows upon rows of people mingle happily together.
A blue-shaded woman with teal hair gestures spiritedly towards a human man with mid-length, sun-kissed brunette hair.
There’s a moment where my eyes dart away, just an instant before I’m drawn back to watch as he grins at her story, a white scar prominent on his left cheek…
With that simple noticing, everything inside me goes cold, that mark on his skin flashing to the brother I lost over a decade ago.
I rub my eyes, unsure of their truthfulness.
When I look again, I find a set of shimmering browns taking me in.
Surprise. It settles in my bones. That face looking back at me is the sole reason I’m here.
Fight. My lifeline. Pain etched into every crevice of age highlights weather-worn skin.
Surely, many humans share this colour, especially in this place.
My mind tries to trick me out of what I’m seeing again.
What I don’t expect is this man with those soul-destroying irises and scarred cheek to stand on top of the table he’s eating at. A human man wearing simple forest green pants, a matching vest, and a cream blouse. He’s clean—way too clean for the person I remember.
Involuntarily, my body rises of its own accord, like a beacon finding its safe harbour amidst the onslaught of anguish over the last twelve years.
His hair, so different in length, throws me, but then he smiles the most welcoming smile. One of home. My home. My family. Scar striking on his left cheek, I gasp. Knowing. Seeing. Understanding.
My heart can’t find purchase.
People are talking to me. Little hands pull my dress. All I can see is him.
And he says the words. The ones that destroyed me. The ones that kept me standing. The sweetest sound known to man. The sweetest poetry that filled our family with so much love.
“And if you should ever forget.” He projects his voice, walking in a straight line towards my table.
Though we have at least two separating us, he scales one at a time, the fae happily making way for him, like this sort of outburst is a daily occurrence in this land, admissions of love ostentatiously given instead of hidden away.
“Find me in your heart where we are equals.”
He is on the last table before ours. I feel the comforting presence of a solid, broad body behind mine, rubbing away the pesky liquid that trails down my cheeks and whispering soothingly into my ear. “I’ve got you.” My husband knows what I need before I can express it.
And truthfully, I’m glad someone does, because I’m seeing the craziest shit in the known universe. A truth that shouldn’t be. I’m seeing a ghost who is handing me everything I’ve wanted. I must be dead. DOA in Melek’s arms in the tunnel. It is the only explanation.
Ren and Sera part for him—my brother—ascending our table.
I can’t rupture our connection in case he disappears as quickly as he reappeared.
He plonks himself in front of me, whispering in the clearest, most tranquil vibrato from memories long past when he would hold me late at night, wishing for more.
“Where our souls will meet in eternity.”
I hiccup my tears back, whipping them away angrily, the assault ruining my clear vision of him.
Regardless, this can’t be real. I open and close my eyes, just to be sure.
The man kneeling on the table in front of me smiles as brightly as the stars themselves, his own tears glistening—an angel brought back to life.
“How are you going, kiddo?” Realising I’m stuck, unable to move, he pushes aside the plates in front of me, sliding his body down until his feet are dangling off the end, close enough for me to see him—my Nix.
His age is now beginning to show white flecks in his hair and tiny creases, smile lines around his mouth, and at the edges where his lashes meet.
That hits me like a sledgehammer. He’s fucking happy.
I lift my hand towards him, and before I drop it back to my side, Nix takes it in his, tugging me forward so he can place it on his chest.
I hiccup again, smiling obnoxiously.
“You’ve got something of mine, and I think it’s high time you gave it back, sister.”
A chuckle overflows from my lips. This is absurd. This display. Him. My life. “What?”
“My strength. My fight. My conviction. Take your pick.” His irreverent grin takes me out at the knees, but my bodyguard is here to lift me up.
A fresh wave of tears bursts through me, and a soft push at my back forces me into my brother’s arms. Damn Melek.
Nix catches me, wrapping me in a warm embrace.
Throwing my arms around him, I raggedly huff into his ear. “I thought you were dead.”
“It takes a lot more than a night without food to kill a Phoenix.”
Gripping his shoulders, I pull back, looking at my very much alive older brother. “You’re such an idiot.”
“I’m your idiot, and you love me, Storm.
” A distressed sound escapes at his use of my name for the first time in twelve years.
I never thought I’d hear his voice again.
How’s he here in front of— “Argh.” A vigorous kick nearly takes me out from the inside, and I fold over, clutching my stomach.
A heated palm graces the centre of my back, steadying me.
Nix’s brown eyes flicker down to my very rounded middle. He leans in closely, for my ears only. “I really hope that baby belongs to the crazy-eyed lumberjack standing behind you.”
I take a deep, steadying breath, holding onto his shoulder for support. “Yeah. That’s my husband. And mate, it would appear.”
“You’re telling me that human guy with hollow eyes is fae?” We continue our hushed conversation.
“He’s a quarter fae.” Inclining his head to the side, Nix asks another question just for me. Though I’m sure the fae can probably hear, regardless of our conversation level. “So, does that mean the angry-looking guy’s doppelg?nger clutching your dress is my nephew?”
“Yes. That’s right.” I run my hand over the head of a very confused-looking Sunny. My tunnel vision finally allows me to see past the apparition that has come to life before me.
“This is Sunny.” Smiling down at my son, I give him a slight nod towards his uncle. “Sunny, this is my brother.”
The epitome of his name, my boy lights up. “You have a brother. I’m going to be a brother.”
“You’re going to be a big brother to your baby sister, just like Phoenix is a big brother to me.”
Forgetting his apprehension, because my son has never had a shy bone in his body, he jolts forward and declares, “You are the Phoenix from Mama’s stories!”
Nix doesn’t need a hint. Our mam loved to tell us stories, especially about his namesake.
“That’s me, kid.” He puts out his hand, and Sunny shakes it vigorously. From behind, I hear a throat clearing. As if I could forget my husband.
I step over the long bench seat with a hand from the man in question. “Nix, this is my husband, Melek.”
Nix assesses the man who has an entire head on him. Probably wondering if he can take him in a fight if push comes to shove. “Thanks for keeping her safe.”
Melek squeezes my hand tightly. “I try.”
Shaking his head, a grin forms, probably seeing the same no-nonsense man I’m used to when it comes to my safety. “I bet,” Nix replies. Great. They already have something in common.
A lush, luring voice comes from behind Nix. “I’m Seraphina.”
He’s quick to turn towards the voice, pushing off the table and extending his arm towards the glowing, iridescent pink fae. “I know exactly who you are, Seraphina.”
“You do?” She looks aghast, and I notice Ren shaking his tawny braids from side to side as we witness Sera put her moves on my long-lost, not-so-dead brother.
“Of course. Everyone knows of the best healer in all of Willow.”
Pulling me into his side, resting his hand on his baby, Melek checks in. “Are you okay? That was a lot. I was almost ready to take him out until I remembered how you described Nix to Sunny one time.” Not surprising. The commander probably had microphones hidden around the house to keep tabs on me.
“I don’t know,” I respond, leaning into him further.
We’re silent, contemplative, as we watch the interactions before us.
If I had never been taken to wed a Halo keeper, I would’ve spent my life climbing up and down rods, collecting strikes until I ended up in an early grave.
My heart belonged to Mam and Nix back then.
Now, three new people have taken up residence within. Sunny, the baby, and Melek.
I hate him, yet I love him so ravenously it gives me whiplash. I’ve lived a life of lies. Our relationship was built on them. All we have ever known is a messy kind of love, a tangle of voracious thorny crawlers, and I have no idea where he begins and I end.
Just like the poem says, love is our common denominator. Our guiding light. I only hope it’s enough to keep us together because I can’t imagine this life without him now.
My brother plops down next to my son, already sharing secrets with him, the small boy giggling, his whole body shaking. Nix seeks me out, finding me in awe. And without warning, Sera’s words pop into my head. “Leave Sunny with Phoenix.”