Lux, p.27
Lux, page 27
Our future.
Vision by vision, Matteo painted a picture of what he’d seen. Incredulously, Jess realized that it sounded like the Hydromancy that the Enodians practiced.
“You saw the future like an Enodian might in a large body of water,” she said. “But in this case, the body of water was the waters of Oblivion.”
“Exactly,” Matteo said. “When I told Rune about what I’d seen he came to the same conclusion. He reckons the power of the Enodians flowing through Oblivion conjured the future in its waters. And that the pack of Suang pulling your energy back and anchoring you to me, as well as Theo’s body still serving as a connection between us, brought you back.”
Stunned, Jess absorbed all the minutiae of her rescue. The sheer force of love that burned through Matteo for her was, in part, responsible for bringing her back. Then the Suang, as well as the countless other souls in the waters of Oblivion that had projected that future and used it to save her. But no matter how it had happened, the thing that made her deliriously happy was that she was going to have the chance to watch that future play out in real-time.
Beside Matteo.
As Jess’s astonishment allowed room for other thoughts, she exclaimed, “What about the battle? Is everyone else okay?” Her heart tore into a hurried beat as thoughts of her friends and family whipped through her.
“Everyone’s fine, dearest,” he assured her. “Your dad, Piera, and Dearbhla are currently on Earth. The shifters are holding a joint Rom and Rem ceremony for the shifters who fell in battle.”
Jess swore that when she went back to Earth, she’d adorn the site of their burial with some of her groves in honor of all they’d given.
Worry tugged at her. Her dad hadn’t been well enough for battle before. What was he doing portaling to Earth? “But my dad needs to rest–”
“He’s fine, don’t worry,” Matteo assured her. “I think it was Theo’s soul passing on. Giovanni almost seemed back to his normal self a day after.”
“How long have I been out?” she asked.
“Three days,” he said, the flicker of worry evident in the tension in his jaw. “When Astra and Eilea arrived back with you, Rune examined you and said he sensed your Earthen energy. Said that he was almost certain that you only needed rest after all the magic you’d expended.”
Jess saw the ghost of concern in his expression and her heart squeezed.
“Speaking of which, I should go and let everyone know you’re awake,” he said.
But the memory of her own fear, of their disembodied conversation, that she thought had been their last, washed over her. “Don’t let me go,” she said, savoring the feel of his arms tightening around her.
For a while, their unfolding breaths, the feel of each other’s inhalations and exhalations was the most beautiful thing imaginable. But as Jess looked up and caught the tender light in Matteo’s eyes, she imagined his lips on her own. And the exploratory kiss they shared was an even better celebration of the most precious thing they had: time. With each slow and gentle movement that they basked in together, they exalted in the time that lay before them.
But, it wasn’t long before Astra burst in, literally, in a flurry of feathers through the window. With a squeal, she launched herself at Jess, her wings and elbows bashing Matteo out of the way. Once she’d hugged it out, Astra rounded on Matteo. “Wing Woman should have been the first to be notified of the White Wolf’s recovery,” she scolded him.
Jess laughed at her friend’s continued use of their codenames. The fae had been off to stretch her wings but had spent most of the last three days watching over Jess. She soon learned that Astra had been the only one who had managed to get Matteo to go eat and occasionally rest over the last few days. Matteo muttered something about the “small but mighty” under his breath.
It was only minutes after Astra had joined them, that a breeze drifted through the window and Rune suddenly manifested in a shiver of shadow.
The mixture of happiness and relief on his face told Jess that he’d sensed her Earthen energy when she’d woken, but that it was only when his eyes clapped onto her that he trusted she was back.
With barely any more restraint than Astra had possessed, he dashed over, gathering Jess to him. “You’re a bloody Earthling, Jess. You’re meant to keep your feet firmly on the ground.”
“And let you take all the glory? Never.”
Giving her an incorrigible smile, he settled back at the bottom of the bed.
“Ski said the battle up here was pretty epic,” Astra said, throwing herself down on the foot of the bed, opposite Rune. “Umbra’s shadows and waves tore apart the iron-tinged, Mara, and the Fomors.”
Jess nodded. “In Oblivion, Theo’s memories showed me your waves drowning the Fomors and Mara falling out of the sky,” Jess said, looking at Rune.
Seriousness clothed Rune’s features. “I’m not going to lie, it felt good to finally get vengeance for Umbra and for us both.”
Jess’s gaze strayed over the set lines of Rune’s face. “I’m glad that Mara got what she deserved, too.” Her bare arms tingled with the reminder of the queen’s blade and what she’d tried to do to her. And the realization that the magic that Mara had tried to practice on her was truly gone swept through Jess.
“But the best move was Matteo’s head-butting that little twerp and thereby keeping him in Umbra,” Rune said, throwing a smile at Matteo.
“In this case, I totally agree, mine was the most heroic of all,” Matteo answered, his thumb stroking circles over Jess’s as he clasped her hand.
The shared camaraderie between Rune and Matteo took Jess aback for a moment. But then she realized that the two of them had spent a significant amount of time in each other’s company the last few days, watching over her, waiting—hoping—she’d wake.
As Jess’s thoughts went to the rest of her friends, she asked, “Are Sunny and Erika still here?”
Rune shook his head. “They left this morning. Erika was reluctant—she kept vigil over you almost as much as the rest of us. I think she blamed herself for what happened to you. But we thought it prudent that she checks that the Fomors’ presence is gone from the other worlds. She and Sunny said they’d report back within a few weeks, a month at most.”
“It’s right that they went to check,” Jess said.
Rune’s lips twitched.
“What?” she asked.
“Well, you never used to be shy of laying blame on others, but you really have become quite magnanimous of spirit.”
Jess laughed and flattered herself that she had.
Magnanimous Lord Alba and Lady Silva.
“Speaking of noble duties, I have to get to a meeting with Imber. There’s a mirror call with the Triodians at headquarters. They’re due to announce a new High Witch or Mage. Fern fell in battle,” Rune added in explanation to Jess’s frown.
A mixture of relief and guilt churned through Jess. “Oh, I see,” was all she managed.
Because the death of the witch felt like a blessing. Perhaps with a more open-minded person at the Triodia’s helm, the coven could be steered successfully into a period of peace and balance.
After all, Fern Trever had been a hypocritical leader who practiced death magic but prohibited its use to the wider coven. The welfare of her coven hadn’t been her priority, but rather keeping control of it. And like most leaders, when she’d felt her control weakening over her people, she’d fought back with fear and violence. Jess hoped that the Triodia would choose a more magnanimous leader for the coven from here on in. And, maybe, with her influence as Lady Silva, the Great Goddess, Mother of Shifters, she would be able to lend a helping hand to whoever that duty fell to.
Maybe I should attend the meet–
Interpreting her restless look correctly, Rune shook his head. “You need to rest. I’ll keep you updated.” His gaze went to Matteo. “Make sure she stays put.”
“Roger that,” Matteo affirmed, throwing a knowing smile her way.
And with that command, Rune vanished into a flurry of shadow and wind.
Jess sank back into her pillows, grumbling. “Alba the Magnanimous, more like Alba the Bossy.”
Next, Jess tried to check in with how Astra was feeling—given that her parents were some of the Unseelie that had died when the divisive energy was pulled out of Umbra. But the fae just shrugged, muttering something about her getting there were always going to be casualties in war.
The fae almost instantly changed the subject as she recalled, “By the way, I do have a bone to pick with you, you might have mentioned that being part of Operation Shadow Silva meant missing tree soldiers. When you’re back on your feet, you totally owe me.”
But Astra didn’t have long to list the ways that Jess could make it up to her as yet more visitors soon arrived. Matteo made way for Giovanni, who Jess was thrilled to see did look more like his normal self—his skin brighter, his cheeks less thin, and his eyes livelier.
Giovanni crushed her to him before she could get a word out. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
She squeezed him back. “Never again. I promise,” she murmured.
He leaned back to drink her in. His dark eyes were filled with affection and lingering concern.
Jess caught sight of Piera by the window. Her sister smiled at her, “Glad you’re back in the land of the living.” She knew that she was downplaying it so as not to overwhelm her, and Jess beamed her thanks.
Giovanni spoke about the shifter ceremonies with her for a bit. Five hundred had been laid to rest in the Remus and Romulus Cemeteries. Jess shared with her dad her plan to root some of the Silvan groves in both places when she returned home to honor their memory.
“That reminds me,” Giovanni said, “there’s something I wanted to ask you.” For a moment, he looked uncomfortable. “I don't know what’s going to happen with Villa Silva. I mean, technically it’s not mine now that I’m not Alpha.”
Jess wondered where this was going. Did he want her to intercede with the new Triodian Coven’s leader to have him reinstated as Alpha of the Rom Clan? But as the thought occurred to her, she realized that the blood magic that made things like blood oaths and blood commands applicable didn’t exist with the Fomor magic gone. It would be the shifters’ right to choose who and how they wanted to organize their clans and their running.
Giovanni continued, “But Piera and I have talked about it, and I’m going to move in with her for a bit. There’s another spare bedroom there, too, and we were thinking…”
Jess’s heart somersaulted and her tongue felt very much in danger of tripping over her words as she blurted, “you're asking me to move in with you?”
“Well, only if it’s something you’d like-”
“Yes, yes.” She practically clapped her hands as her gaze darted between her dad and sister. Piera offered her a smile from where she was sitting on the window seat beside Astra, delivering a vivid account of Triodian tree soldiers.
Jess felt her heart climb into her throat as she reflected that all this really was hers. A home. A family. And friends. Everything she’d ever wished for was right here. Wasn’t it too perfect? That surreal sense that she had passed on through Oblivion swallowed her again.
That’s your outdated cynicism talking. Throw it away already.
Giovanni’s smile became wry as he added, “Good. Because if you pull any more of these almost-certainly-lethal stunts that you’ve gotten into the habit of, then I’m going to be able to ground you.”
Jess laughed and couldn’t resist hugging it out with her dad yet again, even if he was threatening imprisonment. It meant he cared, right?
A knock sounded on the door and Eilea wandered in, with Rune in tow.
“Storm Horse,” Jess greeted her, her gaze roving over Eilea’s cloudy wings and irises that churned like storm clouds. “You look amazing.” Jess couldn’t help admiring both features that had changed due to the freedom she’d gained.
“Thanks, White Wolf,” she said with a smile.
With a leap of joy, she saw the way that Rune’s gaze skimmed Eilea’s vibrant form with something more than admiration, too. She bit back the cheesy grin and contented herself with the thought that things were definitely developing there. As Rune and Eilea joined them all, Jess felt full to bursting with the love she had in her chest for all of them.
But most of all, the gentleness and strength in Matteo’s eyes were the greatest treasure, the light in them as beautiful as Eventide. The light that told her he saw all that they were together and all that they would be.
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
Jess reached for that undertone of darker energy in the roots of the trees. She was in the library of the Triodia’s headquarters in Rome. Drawing from the natural decay of vegetation in the ancient glade in the courtyard, she let the energy seep into the room around them—its timbers, its bookcases, its desks, and chairs. Every surface and crevice, she coated with the death dust. Like a sigh trailing away, she felt the room become veiled.
Even though the witches and mages around her had seen and felt this happen perhaps a dozen times now, there was a collective gasp, then whispers of excitement. To be fair, most of the witches and mages were between five and thirteen years old. But Jess found herself smiling at their rapt faces.
“This magic is in your blood,” Jess said. “It’s your heritage as a witch or mage to be able to harness the magic in the Earth, both its light and dark. This death dust is drawing from the past, from the natural decay within the dirt.” She looked around at the varying expressions on their faces. A full range of emotions was apparent from apprehension to zeal. But Jess didn’t temper her words. “Because creation needs destruction.”
When she’d first mentioned blood in these sorts of speeches or death dust, there had been plenty of gasps and disapproving tsks from the older generation of Triodians. The topic of blood magic and any sort of death magic being deemed unsuitable for the new coven. But Jess had insisted on challenging their narrow-mindedness. Necessity had helped. The fact that an alternative to glamour needed to be found to veil all the Triodias over Earth. King Imber’s people hadn’t been able to be forever at the Triodia’s disposal. The fae had wanted to be back in their own world, rebuilding their community in the wake of the removal of the Fomors’ magic. The new Triodian High Witch, Hannah Lang, another witch who had a natural affinity with spirits, was, helpfully, more broad-minded than Fern Trever had been. The next step had been to get Erika’s permission for the Thokkal rings she’d left in Umbra to be used on Earth for maintaining the veilings. With the witch’s permission granted, each of the Triodian institutes had been given a ring. With it on site, it had been enough to magnify the witches’ and mages’ power, allowing them to wield the death dust and veil the institutes.
Gradually, the Triodians had come to see that this death dust was how their institutes were to be kept safely secret from the human world. And they’d allowed the teaching of this magic within its different branches. There were enough mages and witches within each branch of the new Triodia Coven—now Earth’s sole coven—to safely keep their branches veiled using death dust. But with this being such a newly learned skill, Jess was often asked into the various institutes around the globe to help foster this power in the coven’s young.
Something she had actively wanted to be part of. It was evident that the instinct in many of the coven was to stamp out any magic that reminded them of the Enodians. But that wasn’t fair. The coven’s youth was a mixture of both Triodians and ex-Enodians. Hundreds of Enodian young, ranging from toddlers to the age of thirteen, had become part of the Triodian Coven. Those who hadn’t ever tethered, who hadn’t possessed divisive magic in their soul, and had survived the destruction of the rest of their coven.
“Right, your turn,” Jess said. “As you’ll be able to tell, the books on your laps aren’t veiled. I want you to draw from the decay in the ancient glade to veil them.”
“Yes, Lady Silva,” a few of the younger witches and mages returned. The older Triodians fell straight to their task. Some of the pupils closed their eyes with a solemn focus on their faces, others with wide-eyed apprehension as if they worried they’d summon fearsome tree walkers by trying to access such power.
All the ancient woods that had been taken to Umbra during the war had now been restored to the various Triodian branches. Some of them, too, graced Cemetery Romulus and Remus in honor of the fallen. In the first few months after the battle, Jess had healed the trees before seeing them safely portaled to their homes.
Now, with the veilings being maintained by the Triodia Coven, Jess had had enough time since the fall to enroll in art school. She’d wanted to be near family, near Matteo, her dad, and her sister, so had enrolled in Rome. After her afternoon’s death dust class had finished, she left the institute and made her way from the para area and towards her school. Jess loved Rome’s streets with their Greco-Roman architecture, and its deep-layered history was a heady blend full of inspiration.
It was Friday evening and ordinarily, she had a couple of beers with her friends in their studio, alongside working on whatever piece they were developing. At RUFA—Academy of Fine Arts—she keyed in the code to the building and wandered up to the second floor.
“Ciao, bella,” Melody greeted her.
“Hey guys,” Jess said, including Cici, who was tucked in at the back corner of the studio. Cici turned around, briefly, giving Jess a small wave before sinking back into the sketch she was working on at her easel. Melody returned equally swiftly to her sculpture.
Jess breathed in the scent of graphite, paint, and clay. Even the chemical scent of paint thinner on the air was one she somehow liked, associating it now with this space. Her creative space. It was a small-ish one: enough room for the four students to have an easel and a shared table space in the middle for bigger projects. The four of them at Christmas had also hefted up the salvaged couch from the street that now rested in their break area, with a mini-fridge and a tea and coffee station. Scattered throughout the room, they had various spare easels and lots of plastic folding tables. The simple surfaces throughout the room seemed truly magical for how much they created.
