Relinquish(110)

“He’s sleeping now. We shouldn’t wake him.” Eamon’s voice is low and soft, but I can hear the hesitation in it.

“But he’ll be fine now, right?” I turn to look back up at Kyan. He smiles and nods. “Thank you.”

He kneels down beside me, placing his hand upon my shoulder. “I didn’t think it was possible.” I tilt my head to the side, confused. “You changed fate.” He looks past me to Bastien. “Maybe it is possible to write our own destinies.”

With a pat on my arm, he rises and slips silently from the room, leaving Eamon and me alone with Bastien.

“He’s right, you know?” Eamon whispers beside me. “You changed everything.”

I nod, shifting my hand to grip his. “And I nearly lost everything in the process.”

“But we won.” He turns to look at me with a hint of a smile, pained but no less a smile. “You’re the queen now.”

“But…” I look around me in confusion. I see Aloysius’s body slumped against the wall. “Why isn’t he alive? I turned back time.”

Eamon nods. “You did, but you didn’t protect him when you released it. Everything sort of snapped back into place. We were saved only because you protected us. Bastien too.” He glances down and pulls his hand back from his brother’s chest.

“So I’m… I’m the queen?”

Eamon smiles. “Seems that way. A newly widowed queen to be exact.”

Laughter bubbles up in my throat. Once I start, I can’t seem to stop. A year of pain, misery, and fear could’ve been avoided if I had only seen this outcome. My breath catches. “I understand now.”

I grip Eamon’s hand, grinning like a fool. “I know why we couldn’t see past this room. It’s because I altered time. The path we saw no longer exists. We are forever slightly off schedule.”

He nods, running his thumb across the back of my hand. “I thought that too.”

“Do you know what this means?” I hold my breath. “It means they were wrong. The prophets don’t know everything. We can change our fate.”

Eamon lowers his gaze. “Yeah, I thought about that too.”

My happiness wanes as I see the droop of his shoulders. “What? What’s wrong?”

He sighs and pushes up to his feet. He casts a glance back at Bastien before he looks at me. “Now you’re free to love him. There’s nothing binding you to me anymore.”

“That’s not true.” I scramble to my feet, desperate to reassure him. “I’m still bound to you. I can feel it.”

He nods. “Yeah, but it’s not as strong as what you have with him.”

I bite my lip as tears well up in my eyes. I reach for him, but he steps away. “It’s okay. You should be here when he wakes up.”

My heart breaks as he turns and leaves, closing the door silently behind him. I sink to my knees, wrapping my arms about myself as I cry. It starts as a whimper before rising into shoulder-shaking sobs. Strong arms wrap around me and I sink back into Bastien’s embrace, somehow knowing he would be there exactly when I needed him the most.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers in my ear. “I heard everything.”

“I don’t… I don’t know what to do.” My voice cracks as I cling to him, feeling shattered and irrevocably broken.

“I know.” And I know he does.



News of Aloysius’s death spreads through Calahorra like wildfire. Torches light the streets. Music and dancing can be heard all the way into the palace. The gates are open wide, allowing all people to enter as they please.

Standing on a large, sweeping balcony, peering down at the joy in the streets, I smile. Aminah squeezes my hand as she clasps hands with Toren on her other side. Kyan and Zahra embrace on my other side, silent and strong. Eamon stands beside Toren and Bastien beside Kyan, polar opposites to the very end.

The crown sitting upon my head is heavy, weighted with the hopes and dreams of an entire race. Kyan said I was born to lead. I’m not so sure I believe him, but I’ll do my best to make him proud.

I know somewhere out there, my parents are waiting for me. A tiny smile crosses my lips at the thought of getting to know them. To know all of our lost parents.

I spot Carleon on the yard below, waving obnoxiously at me, his arm slung over Alesta’s shoulders. I frown, glancing at Kyan. “He sure moves quick. What about Anwen?”

Kyan smiles. “I suppose she never thought to tell you. Alesta is Carleon’s sister.”

“Oh!” Somehow I know I should’ve sensed that connection from the first moment I met her. I wave back and then shoo them away to join in with the party.