“A mother’s love has no bounds and is endless sacrifice and infinite love. Your son will show you that. Kaif has lost enough, and so has Kyan. I want peace, Marabella. And this is how I find it. This is my sacrifice to bear because I won’t allow you to pay the price for my mistakes. Dominic was my mistake; I didn’t just take his life. I ruined Kyan’s by not bringing him back. And by doing so, I almost ruined yours. I won’t make that mistake twice, not when I can fix it,” Kat says, turning to look at Eziah, who just stands there looking defeated. His shoulders drop and he hangs his head.
“This is what will give me peace, give Kyan back his father and Dominic back his life. A small price to pay. It started with the Moon Goddess, and now it ends with her,” Kat says, and Marabella tries to get to her feet. Her mother’s magic slips out and I pull her against me.
One of Kat’s eyes turns black, the other gold, black, and gold tendrils sliver across her arms and face as she opens her arms, and I am blinded with light.
The noise echoes through the sky louder than a crack of lightning, louder than a bomb when she smashes the stones against one another. An explosion of power erupts out of her, and the ground shakes violently. Marabella screams, and Eziah falls to his knees when the ruins begin to crack, the ground shaking.
I blink, shielding my eyes around the light to find the shadows standing around Kat flickering. All the ghosts from the Octavian bloodline stand around her, and she opens her fingers. The stones turn to dust, falling to the ground as they slip through her fingers only to be swept away by the wind.
Kat closes her eyes and sighs before turning to the coffin and holding the sides. Marabella crawls forward on her hands and knees, as the last gigantic rock crumples to the ground and turns to dust. It is carried away with the breeze, along with the Octavian’s ghosts, their whispers carry on the surrounding breeze. Finally set free, the curse is broken. I can feel it in every cell of my body. Marabella gets to her feet just as Kat leans over the coffin, peering in.
“Thank you,” she whispers to Dominic.
“No, Kat. Thank you,” says a deep velvety voice, so clear and so smooth. A voice I haven’t heard since the last time I saw the man alive. Kat flickers, her body shuddering.
“The realm is calling me back to clean up, but I suspect you guys can handle the rest,” Kat says, facing us. She smiles just as the man himself sits up behind her. Kat vanishes, and Dominic groans. We all just blink and stare at the man. He blinks and cracks his neck.
“You… Kyan…” Marabella murmurs, yet I can feel her urge to touch him. Like she can’t believe what she is seeing is real. Mara is afraid this is one of her dreams. But then, she throws herself in his arms, hugging him tightly and nearly falling into the coffin with him.
“You have no idea how long I have waited to hold you, my girl,” Dominic murmurs, his arms wrapping around her as he hugs her. His movements are slow and sluggish, but his mind is sharp as a tack and his speech is clear as a bell. Marabella steps back, wiping her tears, and Dominic looks around for Kyan.
“Where is he?” Dominic asks. He tries to get out of the coffin, yet his legs don’t want to cooperate, so he tumbles out. I step forward, gripping his arm before he hits the ground. I help set him on the ground. Dominic sucks in a breath, looking around with a sigh.
“Just gotta give me a minute. The body doesn’t want to work just yet,” Dominic says, and Marabella and I look at Eziah.
Eziah stares at Dominic like he is seeing a ghost before feeling our eyes watching him. He looks at us, and Mara stares at her brother expectantly. “What?” he says, looking between us and then looking down at Dominic.
“Nope, no way, man. I am not making out with Kyan’s father,” Eziah says, and Mara bats her lashes at him.
“Nope, sorry, Daddy Dom, I don’t swing that way,” Eziah says, shaking his head.
“Please? You can’t expect him to walk back like that?” Mara pleads with her twin.
“I’m good, Mara. I just need a few minutes,” Dominic says, his voice stunning me again. However, Mara folds her arms across her chest, pops her hip, and purses her lips. Eziah growls and rolls his eyes before he sighs, giving into his sister.
“Fine, and don’t even think about slipping in the tongue,” Eziah warns, grabbing Dominic’s head between his hands. Eziah scrunches his face up before pecking Dominic’s lips so quickly that I almost miss it.
“Ah yuck,” he says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Dominic chuckles but gets more color about himself and shakes his head.
“That wasn’t necessary, but thanks. I think because you’re a lousy kisser,” Dominic says, holding his hand out.
“I wasn’t even trying,” Eziah snaps at him, looking offended that his kiss has been judged. Mara grabs Dominic’s hands and I step forward, gripping his elbow and helping him stand on his feet.
“Now, where is that son of mine?” Dominic says, putting an arm over Mara’s shoulder. We turn around to head toward the trail, only to stop when we spot Kyan standing at the edge of the clearing.
“Dad?” He says, his voice breaking. Tears stream down his face as he stumbles forward and Dominic staggers back as the shadows of his magic suddenly hit him.
“Kye,” Dominic murmurs.