Chapter 41 #2
Veridus cleared his throat. “I saw Maelis. The first time I met her in a dream, she was a little girl and didn’t recognize me. I went to Theo and with the help of Syllaca we managed to get me into a state of trance so I could visit Maelis again. It worked.”
I swayed on my feet and nearly fell over.
Shock and hope collided in my chest, my breath coming out in little huffs.
Caelan rushed over to steady me and guided me to a chair nearby.
“Tell me everything, how is she? Did she talk to you?” I asked.
Veridus motioned everyone to sit down.
“She wanted me to tell you she was well and she was sorry for hurting you and lying to you. She has been trying to get back here but is somehow stuck. The Fates have been trying to figure out what to do with her because apparently Mae messed up their plans, which has never happened before.”
A laugh tore out of me.
Sudden, almost too loud.
I couldn’t stop it.
Relief crashed over me like a wave, tangled up with disbelief and something close to joy. It sounded wild, a little too close to hysterical, but it was real.
That sounded like her. Like the woman I’d come to know over the past year.
“I told her I would feed you all the information she could give me, and we’d try and figure out where to go from here,” Veridus finished.
I blew out a breath and looked at my friends. They were shocked, their eyes round and their skin pale.
“I can’t believe she is not—gone… I was so sure there was no way to get her back. I am sorry, Theo, for not believing you., Lythandra said, tears running down her face.
I got up to hug her and was just as thankful for the comfort as she was.
“We have work to do, people. Let’s get Maelis home.”
* * *
Maelis
When I awoke from my now dreamless sleep, I wondered if I had truly seen Veridus.
But as I came to, I felt the little note folded between my fingers and excitement ran through my body like an electric shock.
With shaking fingers, I slowly opened the letter, already crying when I recognized Theo’s strong handwriting.
“My dearest Mae,
I hardly know where to begin. The thought that this letter might actually reach you…
it leaves me undone. My mind stumbles over words, and nothing I write feels enough.
I miss you. So deeply that it aches. There isn’t an hour that passes without your smile lighting up my thoughts.
Lately, I keep thinking of that tale, the one about the sailor and the starfish.
How he left it behind when he returned to his old life.
And when he turned back, the island, and the starfish, were gone.
I fear I’ve done the same. I let doubt cloud my heart.
I let myself believe you had betrayed me.
And in that moment, perhaps I left you behind, on that island of ours, built from trust and quiet moments and things we never dared to say aloud.
But I see now that I cannot go back to the life I knew before you.
There’s no version of this world in which you are not part of it.
If you’ve vanished into the sea, then I will swim until I find you again.
I still feel you, even now. Somewhere, out there.
And I will keep reaching for you, across every tide, through every storm, until you’re beside me once more.
I’ve lived a hundred lifetimes of logic. You’re the first irrational thought I’ve ever wanted to keep.
To the moments we feel lost, and the ones where we’re found. May we always find our way back home. Sela ti’oré ana.
Yours always, Theo.”
I was full on crying again now, re-reading his letter over and over again. He loved me. And although I was still stuck in this place with no idea of how I was going to get out, I felt hopeful for the first time in eons.
* * *
Theo
The days dragged on and we didn’t make any significant progress.
It wasn’t for lack of trying; everyone had been spending hours upon hours in the library or talking to people who might have an idea of how to help.
Word had spread about our efforts to bring Maelis back and a string of Gods and other creatures came to the temple to offer their services.
Maelis had saved us all and the people felt like they owed her their thanks. We had many leads, but nothing substantial. After another long day of turning pages and taking notes, I plopped onto one of the sofas next to Lydia. She placed her hand on my thigh and gave me an encouraging squeeze.
“We will find a way, Theo.” I leaned my head back and stared at the ceiling. It drove me mad to have all this knowledge at my fingertips, but not being any closer to finding a loophole in this whole damned mess.
“She must be so lonely,” I murmured, the words barely more than a breath. “She must’ve thought I forgot her.”
Lydia shook her head firmly. “You tried everything. If anyone should feel guilty, it’s us. We thought you’d gone mad.”
I let out a soft chuckle, hollow at the edges. “To be fair, I think I did go a little mad.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “I guess what scares me most is the thought that maybe… she hates me for not saving her. For a while, I actually believed she was staying away on purpose. That she didn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”
Lydia stood, pulling her coat from the back of a chair and wrapping it around her shoulders.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, not unkindly. “It’s the Fates keeping her away, not her will. She loves you. Never doubt that. If Maelis had any choice in the matter, she’d already be here.”
She paused at the door and looked back at me. “I’m going to retire for the night. But I’ll be back first thing in the morning. Try and get some sleep, my boy.”
I murmured a goodnight, watching her leave before turning back to my book.
But I couldn’t focus.
My eyes skimmed the same line over and over, the words blurring.
If she had any choice in the matter, she would be back.
Lydia’s voice echoed in my mind, over and over again.
And then, something clicked.
I shot to my feet, heart suddenly racing.
In a few strides, I crossed the library and ran my hand along the rows of worn leather spines in the philosophy section, fingertips brushing titles I knew by heart.
No sleep tonight. Not until I was sure.
It was going to be a long night.
* * *
When Caelan and Lydia came back the next morning, I was still awake.
Not just awake.
I was wired.
Jittery, eyes bloodshot, mind racing faster than it probably should’ve been.
“I think I know how to get her back!” I practically shouted the moment they stepped into the library.
Lydia dropped her bag on the floor and rushed over. “Tell me everything.”
I exhaled, trying to slow down, but it all came tumbling out anyway.
“Something you said last night, it wouldn’t leave me alone.
About how Maelis had no choice, how the Fates were the ones keeping her away.
It stuck in my head and just… spun there.
Everything came back to that old question: who actually decides where our lives go?
Is it us? Or is it them? Free will versus Fate, philosophers have been beating that dead horse for centuries.
But the thing is, there’s never been a clear answer, because maybe there isn’t one.
“But somewhere between all the theories, I found something that makes sense. Something that feels true. I think the Fates lost their grip on her. They told her they made a mistake, and they admitted it. And I think of her sacrifice, the way she gave herself up without hesitation, without calculation… It shook something fundamental. It created a ripple so powerful, it knocked her out of their reach. She didn’t just die.
She broke the script. And now? They won’t send her back, because they can’t.
She’s outside the lines. Untouchable by the very forces that were supposed to control her. ”
I was out of breath when I stopped talking. My hands were shaking a little.
Maybe from the adrenaline.
I looked between them, bracing myself for the worst.
For Lydia to tell me I’d finally snapped completely and should probably be sedated.
But she didn’t.
Instead, her eyes scanned my messy scrawl of notes, and then, slowly, she smiled.
Not out of pity. Not out of amusement. But because she believed me.
“Let’s call Veridus and Syllaca,” she said. “Maelis needs to hear this. She needs to face the Fates.”
A few hours later, the library was full.
Veridus, Syllaca, Caelan, Lydia, even the Abbot, who’d avoided me like the plague for months. Guess news of a crack in the cosmic order will bring even the most skeptical priests running.
I presented everything.
The whole theory.
The mistakes.
The sacrifice.
The idea that Mae wasn’t bound by the same rules anymore, that she might be able to come home if she knew.
We decided Veridus would go back.
Deliver the message.
Syllaca was already prepping the trance. The rest of us debated what she needed to hear most, what words might guide her back to herself.
When Veridus was finally ready to go under, the others cleared out.
I stayed.
Of course I did.
There was no way in hell I was sleeping now, but I knew it’d take time before he’d be deep enough to reach her. So I left for a bit.
Went back to the Lodge.
Showered. Ate something.
Tried to calm the storm inside my head.
When the message came through from Syllaca, he’s under, I practically ran back.
My heart was pounding.
I was going to bring her home.
And then I was going to marry the fuck out of her.
* * *
Maelis
This time I wasn’t confused when I heard the quiet hum in my chest. My heart rate picked up speed, and my hands grew clammy from excitement.
I closed my eyes and willed myself to sleep, only to wake up a short while later outside the Veilstead.
The sun was shining, and I could see smoke rising from the chimney, but I knew this was just another illusion.
Veridus stepped out of thin air and I instantly slung my arms around him.