Light burst from that distant horizon, growing from gold to a brilliant, pure white. It washed over the six who sat on the shore, and went beyond them, flooding the entire world.
And when the light dimmed, Delilah found herself back at the Fallen Bastion. Back at the Pedestal, back where she’d turned the Key, with Alice right beside her.
Alice was shivering as she gripped Delilah’s hand. “We’re… we’re back…?” she asked, staring, her white eyes wide and amazed. “That was… that darkness, it… it took everything. Like there’d never be light again, and…”
“We did it,” Delilah said, giving Alice’s hand a reassuring squeeze. She looked around at the chamber — at the Key of the World shining in its pedestal, at the once grey, cracked stone now transformed to a pearly white veined with elaborate silver tracery, at the crystal lights shining from the ceiling.
The Fallen Bastion was restored. The Endless Night was over.
They’d won.
“We… we did it!” Alice cheered, pumping her fist in the air. She pulled Delilah into a tight hug, and Delilah hugged her back, and when she felt Alice still shivering, she hugged her even tighter.
“It was so c-cold,” Alice said. “You’re… really warm. T-thanks.”
“Any time,” Delilah said, smiling.
They spent a moment longer there together, and then slowly let each other go, just staring at each other now, a silent understanding passing between them. It was all too amazing, too astonishing to put to words. There was excitement at the victory, relief that this long journey led to a happy ending, gratitude that they’d all made it through okay.
All of them…
As if they’d both had the same thought at the same time, Delilah and Alice raced out from the Chamber of the Key. “Terevalde!” Delilah called. “Emmeryn! Marcus!”
“Belle-Belle!” Alice called. “Mari!”
While the Fallen Bastion was restored, all Darkness banished from it, it hadn’t been entirely healed. The floor that Delilah had fallen through was still shattered, rubble strewn around the space outside the Chamber of the Key. But that rubble was now white, and clean.
They first found Isabelle, standing beside her sleeping sisters, hugging herself and shivering. She saw Delilah and Alice and burst into a wide smile. “It’s over, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Delilah said, smiling. “We did it.” She looked around, not seeing the rest of them, and a jolt of fear shot through her as she remembered where she’d left the others before turning the Key — Terevalde and Emmeryn luring the Lingering Will on a desperate chase, Maribelle fighting Dullan… “Where are the others?”
“We’re all right,” Marcus said. He stood on the edge of the hole above them, smiling proudly down at Delilah and Alice. “Well done, girls. Well done.”
“It’s all over,” Maribelle said. She leaned against Marcus, tired and wounded, but she was smiling. “Dullan is no more. The Bastion is cleansed. And…” She looked to the side, and Delilah followed her gaze.
“I’d say you couldn’t have cut that any closer,” Terevalde said, returning to the chamber, Emmeryn at his side. “Just as the Lingering Will was about to swallow us up… there was that great Darkness, the Endless Night that consumed everything. But then, light burst through the Darkness. And we heard his voice, Gio’s voice, just as we came back from that terrible Night. He can rest now, finally rest, no more of his will remaining behind.”
“Thank you,” Emmeryn said, bowing to Delilah and Alice. “After so very long… with the scars of the Tragedy still felt deeply by those of us who lived it… the Key of the World has done what it was always meant to do. Its power, finally used for good, finally used by a proper Keybearer.” She smiled at Delilah, tears shining in her eyes.
A moment later, Delilah dropped to her knees. All the strength went out of her legs. She just couldn’t stand anymore.
The fighting was over. The quest was complete.
She’d won.
“You okay?” Alice asked, sitting beside her.
“Yeah,” Delilah said, smiling. Tears dripped down her cheeks, and she let them. “I’m just… so glad it’s over. I’m so glad that we… that everyone is…” She sniffled, wiped at her face, and then rested her head on Alice’s shoulder.
What more was there to say?
——
Caleb stared, hardly believing what he could see. Or that he could see, in the first place. His glasses had come back to him, somewhere in that dark place, somewhere along that long, glittering shore.
And now he was back, back at the Throne of Night, only…
No more Sal. Beyond the crumbled throne, there was no one. It was just Caleb and Chelsea, inside the bounds of the Time Prison.
Alone.
The Lord of Night was no more.
“Guess we… don’t need this anymore,” Caleb said. He tapped his pocket watch, and the Time Prison unlocked. Its walls fell away, and were no more.
“Caleb!” Oscar called down from high above. “If you have the strength, you need to get up here!”
“You up for it?” Chelsea asked, giving Caleb’s hand a squeeze.
Caleb took a moment to collect himself, then nodded. “Yeah. I’ve got a bit left in the tank.” He formed a Mobility Disc, and it launched him and Chelsea high up, a single bound of hundreds of feet, until they slowed and landed neatly on the edge of the platform that Oscar guarded.
“I’m pretty sure we won,” Caleb said, flashing a lopsided grin at his grandfather.
“Oh, you did,” Oscar said, smiling back at him. “But we’re not quite out of this yet.” The smile faded, and he nodded down. Caleb and Chelsea followed his gaze. Down, down, down beneath even the platform that the throne was built upon.
The swirling Darkness was crackling, solidifying, crumbling away to ash.
And in the gaps that were starting to form as this Location came undone, the eerie, haunting emptiness of the Void could be seen.
“Oh,” Caleb said, staring in slack-jawed astonishment. “Right. We’d… well, we’d better leave. Right?”
“Fast would be good,” Chelsea said. But for a moment, she was standing there watching, unmoving, with him.
All the tension of the fight had left them as they’d sat on that shore, as they’d taken in their victory. And won they had. But that victory was bringing an end to this horrible place, and while that was a wonderful thing…
It wasn’t so wonderful if Caleb and everyone else were still in it when the whole thing crumbled away into the Void.
“Right, okay, let’s move,” Caleb said, turning back to the many wounded upon the platform. “How do we, uh… yeah. How do we get everyone out?”
“Athos can carry them to the exit,” Oscar said. “I could use your help in getting everyone on board, though.”
They got to work right away. Caleb, Chelsea, two Healers, and Oscar worked to lift everyone gently, carefully, but quickly as they could, onto the huge shell of Athos, Oscar’s incredible tortoise Summon. As they did, brief, scattered conversation passed between those who could speak. Though they bore a sense of urgency for the moment, they were all struck with amazement. They’d all been swallowed up by that great Darkness, by the Endless Night. But apparently, only Caleb, his siblings, and Chelsea had walked that glittering shore, had watched Daybreak dawn. The others had just seen a sudden burst of light in the dark, and then returned to where they’d been before.
And while they were amazed, they couldn’t rest in this victory, not yet. The decay of the Throne of Night was accelerating, and as Caleb loaded Mister Midnight onto Athos, he watched as the platform that held the throne itself split in half, and both halves fell away into the Void, vanishing entirely.
“Two more, let’s go!” Chelsea said. Caleb leapt back to the platform to help her, and they loaded the last of the wounded onto Athos.
Oscar smiled. “Let’s go home, shall we?” he asked.
Athos rose up, climbing over platform after platform, floating pillar after floating piece of rubble, to the high exit from the Throne of Night. As they passed through the portal, Caleb took one last look back at the site of their desperate battle.
It was all falling away. Really, truly, coming to a complete end.
Caleb smiled. “Good riddance,” he murmured.
And then they were free.
——
Shana jolted awake, sitting upright so fast that she smacked her head against someone else’s, someone else who’d also sat up too fast. Both of them sat back on the bed, rubbing their stinging foreheads, and then Shana looked up, and saw…
“Shias!” she gasped, and then leapt awkwardly into his arms, tackling him onto the bed and hugging him as tight as she could. He was here, right here with her, really with her, really okay! And as she laughed, and cried, and blubbered like an idiot, unable to form coherent speech, Altair wriggled into their embrace and kissed her nose a million times.
“Hey, let us in on this!” Kathryn said. And then they were all hugging on the gigantic bed, back in Alexandra’s mansion.
The Dawn Riders, back from Dreamworld, safe and sound.
“We did it!” Shana cried, rolling onto her back and raising a hand in the air, clenching it into a fist. “We really did it!”
“ ‘Course we did,” Kathryn said, beaming. And she raised her hand too, touching her fist to Shana’s.
“Don’t start that like this,” Ben said from the other side of Kathryn. He raised his hand, but he could barely touch Kathryn’s, even with his long, lanky arms.
“I can’t reach,” Annabelle said, and she sat up and then stood up on the bed, placing her hands on her hips. She tried for a disapproving look, but it was gone too quickly.
They were all just way too happy, way too relieved, and way too…
Confused.
“I don’t get it,” Shias said, laying there, holding up his right arm, staring at his upper arm. “I… I’m okay.”
“Of course you’re okay!” Shana said. “What kind of victory would this be if you weren’t?”
“But I… against Sen, I…” Shias started, staring at his arm. Then he felt his face, and pulled his hands back, staring at them in disbelief.
“Sen?” Shana asked. “You fought Sen? All by yourself?”
“I wasn’t alone,” Shias said. And then his smile came back, as he hugged Altair, and Altair wagged his tail, kissing Shias on the chin. Seeing Shana staring at him, Shias laughed. “I’ll tell you the whole story later.” He stared at his arm again, his eyes going all distant, the way they did when his mind went hyper-focused on a problem or idea. “Maybe the place we fought in was… Dreamworld-adjacent? Or something like that… hmm…”
“Oh, who cares?” Shana asked, smacking him on the arm and sitting up. “You’re safe, we’re safe, everything’s fine, we won! We’ve gotta go find everyone else!” She couldn’t keep a grin off her face as she half-crawled, half-rolled her way across the bed to reach the floor and stand on solid ground. “Come on, guys! Let’s get everyone together and celebrate!”
“Give me a moment, please,” Rae said, slower than the others in rising from the bed. “It’s just… that Darkness.” She hugged herself, shivering. “Didn’t anyone else feel that cold? Didn’t anyone else —”
“We all did,” Kathryn said, plopping down beside Rae and wrapping her in a tight hug. “I just warm up faster than anyone. You know that. Shana’s the same. And sure, it was terrifying, but it’s over now. We’re really safe. We won.”
“Yeah,” Rae said, nodding slowly, a smile touching her lips. “We won.”
When Rae had recovered, Shana led the way, racing through the halls of Alexandra’s mansion. Their first stop? The coordination room, where Deirdre and the others had been helping manage communications for the separate teams. Shana burst into the room, and as soon as she laid eyes on her mother she raced to her, wrapping her up in a tight hug.
“We did it, Mom!” she cried. “We won!”
And then everyone was shouting and laughing, hugging and cheering. Deirdre and Addie and all the others in the mansion had been swallowed up by that great Darkness, had been lost in the Endless Night. When Daybreak suddenly came, rescuing them from that night, they still hadn’t felt like it was real.
Not until Shana had burst in, her friends in tow, bringing tidings of victory.
They’d won. The Endless Night was gone. Sal was gone. Darkness was beaten.
They were safe. Their homes were safe.
It wasn’t long before Delilah arrived with her team. She saw Shana, and Shana saw her, and for a moment they just shared a look. Shana would never forget how terrified she’d been, how brokenhearted she’d been, how alone she’d been.
And she’d never forget Delilah saving her from that, pulling her out of the Darkness. And though she hadn’t been able to see her… she’d known. Shana had known her sister, just by touch.
And after that look passed, the sisters raced into each other’s arms, hugging each other tight, crying and smiling at once. Not too long after that, Caleb, Chelsea, and Oscar arrived, and celebrations became more subdued as everyone worked together to make sure the wounded got to the infirmary, to get proper rest and medical attention.
“They’re all going to pull through, though,” Caleb said, beaming, his cobalt-blue eyes shining. “No permanent damage, no loss of life. They’ll need a ton of rest after healing, but… we made it. All of us.”
“So where’s Fae?” Shana asked. It had been some time now since she’d woken up. From her bedroom to her mother’s arms, then Delilah had shown up, then Caleb and Chelsea, and they’d spent time helping get the wounded where they needed to be, and now…
Fae still hadn’t shown up.
They went back out into the lobby, Shana and Shias, Delilah, Caleb and Chelsea, Deirdre and Addie. And there, they found Mercury, Neptune, Jupiter, Madeline, Ciel, and Toryu, just returned from Revue Palace.
“Where’s…” Shana started, staring. “Where’s my sister?”
“Oh, she’s busy,” Mercury said with a perfect, pearly-white smile. “And we were told that when she’s done, she’ll be here, so we came along ahead to be ready for her.”
“Busy with what?” Shana asked.
“Oh,” Shias said, and Shana stared at her twin. “Remember what you’d talked about? With the Palette in the Clouds, and how you and Fae both had to help them?”
“Oh!” Shana said, the pieces clicking into place. “That’s right! It was my job to turn the Key, to start their awakening, but it’s up to Fae, Olivia, and Sonya… to guide them home.”
——
Fae returned from the glittering shore, but not to Revue Palace, nor to the Chamber of the Key.
Instead, she ended up in a place familiar, but hard to place at first. It took her a moment, because unlike the last time she’d been here, it was filled with people. What clued her in to her location were important details. There were paintings strewn all across the floor, for starters. Then there was the far wall, where a painting of Fae, Olivia, and Sonya hung framed in prominent display.
And then there was the fact that she hadn’t come here alone. Olivia and Sonya were in the house with her, along with the gathered, tightly-packed crowd.
“The Dreamer,” a dark-haired woman said, standing and eyeing the trio with a wary look. “She isn’t coming back, is she?”
The Palette in the Clouds. The Artisan’s house. All of these people… this must be the entire population of the city, all crammed in here together.
Then that means… they’re on their way back to the Waking World. And for some reason, it’s not for Shana to guide them home, but us.
“She did her part,” Fae said. “She started things, and we’re the ones who have to finish it. We’ll guide you home.”
“To the Waking World,” the woman said. She looked down, and let out a soft sigh. “It’s all right. We understand. And we’re ready.”
There was a story here, a story Fae had missed. But that was okay. Shana would fill her in, and right now, she had work to do.
If she only knew how to do it.
“Fae, Olivia, Sonya!” called a voice that Fae knew. Tio worked his way through the crowd, and when he reached them he bowed slightly, then stood up straight, his eyes full of hopeful expectation. “Thank goodness you’re here. Come on through. We’ll show you where you’re needed. Everyone, make a path, please!”
The crowds parted as best they could, just enough for Tio, Fae, Olivia, and Sonya to squeeze through in single file. They made their way to the center of the main room, where a small space had been cleared. There stood the Artisan, over a small round table with a blank canvas spread across it. “It is up to you three to guide us home,” he said, his voice strangely subdued, the old manic energy replaced by a focused seriousness. In his hand he held a brush, and he held it out to Fae. “Please. Paint the way home for us. Guide us back to where we belong.”
Fae took the brush, but didn’t know where to start. To guide them home… she didn’t even know why she was here in the first place. What qualified her, Olivia, and Sonya to guide these strangers to where they belonged in the Waking World? Some of the people here had lived in the city in the Waking World, still remembered it. Couldn’t they navigate their own people home?
“Your city existed in the Waking World, correct?” Sonya asked. “Then we just need to take you back to that Location.”
“Yes, yes, please do,” the Artisan said, nodding emphatically.
“All right,” Fae said. She rolled up her sleeves, took a deep breath…
And tried to figure out where to start.
The Palette in the Clouds. If I just focus on that… maybe paint it in the Waking World, how it used to be, how it should be?
I guess it’s a start.
So she did just that, starting to paint the beautiful city in the clouds. But not beneath the golden skies and magenta mist of Dreamworld, but instead beneath blue skies, dotted with other spots of color.
The Waking World. The Enchanted Dominion.
She thought it was going well, but then suddenly, paint appeared on the canvas. It wasn’t from Fae, but rather like someone else with an invisible brush was painting against her. She pulled her arm back just as a swath of black paint washed over her illustration, consuming it in haunting, empty blackness.
“The… Void?” Fae asked, staring.
“What does it mean?” Tio asked.
“The Location is gone,” Olivia said. “Where your city once stood… because of its departure, and how long it’s been away, that Location was emptied and had nothing to tether its place in the Dominion. Without a purpose, empty Locations… cease to exist.”
“Swallowed by the Void,” Sonya murmured.
A rumble of scattered, frantic conversation rippled through the gathered crowds. It was the dark-haired woman from before, with the wary eyes and grim resignation, who spoke up, and the crowd suddenly quieted, listening to her. “Then you must know where we can go now,” she said. “If there is no place where we came from… there must be somewhere new.”
“Somewhere new…” Tio said. “But… where? Where can we go?”
While conversations bubbled up here and there pondering that very question, Fae stared fixedly at the canvas, her mind working frantically.
Starlight Spires? There’s plenty of space there, even empty spires from what the others have told me, whole towers the size of small cities that have been abandoned.
But no, that’s not right. That’s not a home, or, well, maybe it could be, but they’d at least start off as refugees. This is supposed to be their homecoming, they shouldn’t just be displaced like this.
There are plenty of places like that. Huge Locations, massive cities and lands that could house them, that they could eventually make a life in. But that’s not the right solution. That’s something anyone else could come up with.
This has to be something that only we could figure out. Somewhere only we would know to send them. Somewhere they can call home…
Fae gasped, suddenly. A memory came to her, a memory of a place that had been ruined, a city that had been emptied, a drawing she’d made as the past had cried out at her to be remembered.
The people of the Valley of Ruin, wiped out by the birth of Collapse, had called out to her to remember their names, their stories. To never let that forgotten city be forgotten.
But it still lay empty. The Valley, the valley with no name, with no people…
Until now.
“I know where to go,” Fae said. “But I can’t guide the way alone.” She looked at Olivia and Sonya. “Can you help me?”
But they were perfectly in tune with her, already knew where her mind was going. Olivia already had taken out her viola, and Sonya had a pen in her hand. Fae smiled gratefully, and turned back to the canvas.
She began to paint.
Olivia began to play.
Sonya began to write.
With illustration, and song, and writing, the expected three formed a full picture of where they needed to go. The empty valley, not just crying out to be remembered, but crying out to be a city again.
And what was a city without people?
That’s why you called out to me. That’s why you made sure I remembered you.
For the sake of all those who’d been forgotten, yeah. But more importantly…
For the sake of those who would one day need a new home.
“This is a place that has been forgotten for a long, long time,” Fae said as she painted. They could, all of them in this house, feel now that journey they were on. The house rumbled, shook, not so much that it tossed people around, but enough that they could tell they were in motion. There were no windows, so they couldn’t look outside, couldn’t see what strange world was passing all around them.
So Fae spoke to them, telling them a bit about where they were going. She kept a steady, calm voice, doing all she could to prepare them for this new place, to prepare them for their new home, to calm their fears and keep them steady.
And as she spoke, as she painted, as Olivia played her song, as Sonya wrote the words they needed, as the house rumbled and shook…
She felt them passing. From the Dreamworld to the Waking World. It was surreal, like waking up when you didn’t know you were sleeping. A gasp rippled its way through the crowd. Some people fell over, caught by those beside them, staring at the ceiling as if seeing it for the very first time.
The rumbling came to a stop. Fae finished her painting, Sonya finished writing. Olivia let the final note of her song hang in the air.
“I think…” Fae said softly, “we’ve arrived.”
She looked to the Artisan, then to Tio, and they both nodded towards the door.
Fae had brought them here. She was the one who should lead them out.
From Darkness, to Light. From Dreaming, to Waking. From lost…
To found.
Fae opened the door, and she, Olivia, and Sonya stepped through, then ushered the people of the Palette in the Clouds out.
No more cloud-woven streets. No more wide, open blue sky. The Valley wasn’t the home they’d known for so long. Streets of worn stone, high cliff walls, so many stairs, and towers, and bridges. It was huge, so much bigger than the Palette in the Clouds. But it could also feel constraining, constricted, compared to the boundless freedom of a city in the sky.
But the sky above recognized Fae and her siblings’ victory. It recognized, too, the arrival of people to once again fill its streets and homes, to once again bring life to this old, forgotten land.
It was shining. Blue, and bright, and beautiful, the sky beamed down upon them, welcoming these blinking dreamers back to the Waking World.
“Will this truly be our home?” someone asked. “It’s nothing like our city. Is this really where we belong?”
“It was once my city,” the dark-haired woman said. She went to the head of the crowd, climbed upon a fallen stone, and gazed upon them all. “I was torn away from it in the worst way possible. For so long, I remembered only that dark, wicked night. But… this city was the home of my childhood. There were many happy, wonderful days spent here. And it’s as the Dreamer said. Some Dreams… are meant to be woken to. We don’t have our old home. Everything is different. Not just the place — there are so many of you who have never known the Waking World before. But this is just what the Dreamer meant for us. Our home, our dream… we have to build it, with our own hands. Together, we can make this our home. And it will be better than any home we’ve known before.”
Fae found herself smiling.
Shana, you set them up perfectly. You didn’t just start them on the way here. You pointed their thoughts towards the future, towards what they’d need to do and be.
Thank you.
For a little while, Fae, Olivia, and Sonya accepted the thanks of Tio, the Artisan, the woman — who introduced herself as Yuryo — and so many others. But when the thanks were over, the people set to work right away. They explored the city, discussed its condition, what needed to be done, and where they would live now, as well as how they would spread out as they brought the city back to life.
And while the people got to work readying their new home for themselves, Fae, Olivia, and Sonya took a walk. Down the streets at this lowest level of the Valley the strode, straight down the middle. High spires loomed on every side, and great bridges between them cast a mazework of shadows over the lowest streets.
But the sky was bright and shining. This empty valley that had once been filled with such a haunting emptiness now sounded with lively conversation and footsteps.
A lost people had a home again. The Endless Night was done, Sal was defeated, the Darkness was pushed back.
Fae, her team, her siblings, all of them…
They’d won.
And before she’d go back to be with everyone, to celebrate with them, Fae had one thing she wanted to do. An idea that had come to her, that had been partially inspired by the thoughts of Olivia and Sonya as well. By fond memories they’d shared, of the most wondrous, healing, beautiful place in all of creation.
Together, they walked towards the very center of the Valley. The exact midpoint, on the lowest level. They wanted to do more than just give these people a place to call home.
They wanted to make sure it was a place that would flourish.
And there, at the very center of the city, they found the perfect place for their idea to take root. Here, with old stonework on all side, there was a small opening revealing a patch of fertile, expectant soil.
“This looks just right,” Fae said. “Don’t you think?”
“It’s perfect,” Sonya said.
Olivia nodded to Fae. “Go ahead,” she said. An excitement rippled through their bond, and grew as Fae reached to her neck, grasped a chain that hung around it, and removed an amulet she’d carried for so long.
The golden amulet of the Orphan of the Dawn.
It had served its purpose for her. She now had her seven-part bond keeping her soul stable and safe. And Wasuryu was defeated, so the greatest threat to her was gone.
“Guide them,” Fae murmured, holding up the amulet. “Show them the way. Bloom and grow, in a place where you can always have people around you, artists in need of help, in need of hope and healing after enduring so much pain and hardship.”
And know, from this day on, you won’t ever be alone again. No more calling people to beneath your boughs, only to have to send them away again.
This is a new home for you, too.
Together, the girls dug apart a small opening in the soil. Fae laid the amulet gently within the earth, and then the three covered it up again. Fae stood, held up her stylus Talisman, and drew a small raincloud in the air, with raindrops falling from it. Those raindrops turned to real drops of water, a brief but potent spray that watered the earth.
“Grow big and strong,” Fae murmured, smiling.
Then she turned, and with Olivia and Sonya, they walked across the Valley. No longer nameless, no. Fae had come up with the perfect name.
The Valley of the Dawn.
——
When Fae arrived at Alexandra’s, the party could really begin. A massive banquet was laid out in the largest dining room, and everyone dug in in earnest. Laughter and smiles were all around at first, but the celebrations grew subdued after a time.
They all had stories to tell. Shias not the least, who had been the only one completely out of contact with the others for the entire final mission. And all of them seemed to need to talk about the Endless Night, about living, however briefly it had been, in that all-consuming Darkness. Only Caleb, Chelsea, Fae, Shana, Shias, and Delilah had walked that night to the glittering shore, had seen Alexander lead Sal away and watched as Daybreak dawned. But they’d all known that Darkness, and there was no doubt the entire universe had experienced it.
The world would never be the same.
And for all of them, the joy of victory could only last so long before their exhaustion began to set in. They were all tired, and there was something not just joyful, but astonishing, about their victory.
They’d all been on these journeys for so long. Caleb, Chelsea, Fae, Shana, Shias, Delilah… all on separate journeys, occasionally intertwining, but largely on their own, in their own places, chasing their own objectives. In the end, it had all come together, and finally…
It was over. And there was something special about just sitting together, just quietly enjoying the moment. They all needed to take it in, to really absorb all that had happened, and all that it meant.
But after dining, as they started to talk about what they should do next, the little robot Core gave out an excited series of beeps and boops, flying swiftly over to Fae to hover in front of her. On his screen text displayed: “Incoming message from Margot! Incoming message from Margot!”
Fae gasped, and the six she was bonded to, as well as her siblings and Chelsea, gathered around her as Core patched through to Lore and Margot. The screen flickered, and then there was a colorless, slightly grainy image of Margot. She opened her mouth to speak, but then, seeing the large crowd gathered to hear from her, gasped and stepped back.
“Sorry about that,” Fae said. “Margot, it’s okay. It’s just…” She looked around at her friends and family, smiling gratefully. “There are a lot of people who have been waiting to see if I can be healed.”
“Ah, of course,” Margot said, nodding twice, as if to herself. “And on that front, I do have good news. Fae.” She composed herself. “It’s… rather astonishing, the timing of it. There was that sudden, deep darkness, and then, when the light dawned and I was back in my workshop… it was done.” She smiled. “I have finished analysis of your condition and am prepared to prescribe a treatment plan. It will be noninvasive, of course, as we discussed. It will require you coming here to my workshop for several spaced out procedures. Thirteen procedures, to be precise, over the course of one Earth year. After that, well…” She smiled. “After that, you’ll be cured. You will be entirely yourself again. No more transference fluid. No more Vessel. Just you.”
Fae stared, stunned speechless, and then some. For a moment she didn’t even realize that her friends and family were cheering and laughing, hugging and shaking her, saying all sorts of happy things. She waved them off, noticing that Margot was a bit embarrassed by it, and feeling a bit overwhelmed herself. “When do we start?” she asked. “And do I need to stay in Renault the whole time, or are there things I can do between procedures throughout the year?”
“Ah, right,” Margot said, nodding. “Let’s get down to details. We can start whenever you wish, though I’m sure you want to see this through as soon as possible. If you were to be here within the next few days, then we could get right to it. Each procedure will take a few days — you will need some prep time, actual treatment time, and then recovery time afterwards. Although you may wish to wait for your first procedure, since Christmas is coming soon. But if you were to begin right away, then you would be completely cured in time for Christmas next year. If that’s important to you, of course, I didn’t mean to presume anything.” She shrank back, bowing her head apologetically.
“Not be home for Christmas?” Shana asked, eyes wide. “But you can’t do that!”
“The way you’re saying it, if I didn’t miss this year’s Christmas and waited, I’d end up missing Christmas next year, right?” Fae asked.
Margot nodded. “That’s correct.”
“Well…” Shana started, slumping back into her chair. “This just sucks, doesn’t it?”
“Only if you’re impatient,” Shias said, shaking his head. “If she gets started right away, then she can celebrate next Christmas with us fully cured. That would make next Christmas something really special, wouldn’t it?”
“Oh,” Shana said. “Yeah, I mean… when you put it that way…” She sighed. “Very good points, across the board. You got me.”
“And I’m not sure how Christmas will go this year, anyway,” Delilah chimed in. “We won, but some of us still have quite a lot of work to do. Alice and I have so much left to do at Revue Palace, and Grimoire’s going to need a lot of rebuilding, and so many people need medical attention, and now that mages aren’t a secret on Earth anymore, the whole world’s going to change awfully soon. Add to that everyone having gone through that Darkness, and a lot of people probably being confused and frightened, not understanding what happened, and this’ll be a very busy year for all of us.”
“And we can deal with all of that,” Caleb said. “Come on, guys. This is Fae’s decision. Let her make it for herself without.”
That shut everyone up. Fae was grateful for that, but even if no one had said anything, she’d still feel conflicted.
I know I didn’t tell you directly, Shana, but… I did promise that I’d be with you next Christmas.
But…
“I’ll come to Renault as soon as possible,” Fae said. “Margot, be ready for me. And thank you, so much. This is… the best news, at the best time. Thank you.”
“Oh!” Margot said, eyes wide. “Well, I…” She hesitated, and then an amused tweedle that must have come from Cee sounded. “Yes, Cee, you’re right, I know. All right, Fae. I’ll have everything ready for you. Just come when you’re able.”
Margot cut the connection, and Fae turned to face her siblings, particularly Shana, who hugged Altair close for comfort. “One year,” Fae said, and that got Shana to look at her. “We’ll meet up again, in one year’s time. That gives all of you time to work on what you need to, time to recover yourselves and to help everyone else. It gives me time to get cured, and to work on what I need to do. And then… in one year’s time… we’ll all be together. For Christmas.”
“Promise?” Shana asked, tears glistening in her eyes.
Fae smiled. “I promise,” she said.
“No take-backs?” Shana asked.
Fae laughed. “No take-backs,” she said. She held out her arms, and Shana hugged her tight. Wriggling up through the embrace, Altair licked Fae’s nose.
Then it’s settled. In one year’s time, we’ll all be together again.
——
After Fae had left with her friends, everyone else got ready to leave, too. Delilah, Alice, Marcus, Maribelle, and Annabelle to Revue Palace. Terevalde and Emmeryn, apparently, were going to Hollow Island. “I’ve too long abdicated my duties there,” Emmeryn said. “It’s time the Hollows had a Shepherd again.”
The bulk of those gathered at Alexandra’s were heading back to Grimoire. They all found space somehow within Maxwell’s study. It had such a cozy interior, it never seemed like it could be big enough for everyone, especially when many of the wounded, while now stable and definitively on the mend, still needed to lie down for the journey. But somehow, the study was large enough, no matter how many boarded it.
And back to Grimoire they went. Caleb, Chelsea, Addie, Shana, Shias, Deirdre, and so many others. When they disembarked beneath Yggdrasil’s golden boughs, the citizens of Grimoire were quick to aid with the wounded, fresh Healers and doctors taking charge.
And as everyone left the study and headed home, or got right to work on their home, Caleb and Addie lingered behind.
“You’re leaving again?” Caleb asked.
He stood before the door to Maxwell’s study. Addie was beside him, holding his hand.
And bidding them farewell was Tock.
“Maxwell and I have a lot of work to do,” Tock said, flashing a smile. To Caleb, it looked forced, but he put on his own smile in return. “Our big mission was to stop the Endless Night, and we made that happen. But apparently that’s just the start of our partnership. With Maxwell’s study, and his knowledge, and my own knowledge and abilities, well… we can go places that no one else can. We can do things that no one else can, and help people that no one else can. So, I guess I’m on a never-ending, ever-changing mission. After settling in for a forever-life beyond the Farthest Shore, this is the most amazing surprise ever. I’m… well, I’m really happy, and excited, and…” She wiped at her eyes, then shook her head, causing her top hat to bobble precariously. But it didn’t fall.
“Are you sure you don’t want to take this?” Addie asked. She held up the pocket watch that hung around her neck, the white watch emblazoned with a T that had once belonged to Tock.
“No, no!” Tock said, waving her hands. “It was a gift. And I know you’ll take perfect care of it.”
“I’ll… see you again, right?” Caleb asked. “Someday?”
Tock stared at him, and for a moment, the silence between them was unbearable. Then, smiling, she nodded. “Somehow, someway, someday…” she said, “…yes. We’ll see each other again.”
“For Christmas!” Addie said.
“Huh?” Tock asked, cocking her head to the side.
“We’re all getting together for next Christmas,” Addie said, smiling. “You’re invited, too! Fae will be back and cured, and she’ll bring all of her friends, and I know so many other people will want to come. You have to come, too, okay?” She stuck out her hand. “It’s a promise.”
Tock stared blinking at Addie’s outstretched hand. She shot a look at Caleb, and he smiled and nodded. At that, Tock took Addie’s hand and shook it firmly. “All right, then, Addie,” she said. “It’s a promise!” Then she turned and held her hand out to Caleb and he took her hand and shook it.
“Take care of yourself,” Caleb said. “And take care of Maxwell. And… everyone else, that you’re going out there to help. Keep that smile wherever you go. You’ll brighten everyone’s day.”
“You think so?” Tock asked.
Caleb grinned. “It always brightens mine,” he said.
Tock smiled at that, and then turned away, starting towards the door.
“Oh, I meant to ask!” Addie said, and Tock turned back. Addie opened up Tock’s watch, to reveal the photograph of Tock with another blue-haired girl. “Did you ever remember who she is?”
Tock looked at the picture, and there was no mistaking the tears shining in her eyes. “I did,” she said. “Thank you.”
With a little leap, she entered the open door to the magical study. From the doorway she turned back, doffing her hat and waving with it to Caleb and Addie. “Goodbye for now!” she said. “Until Christmas!”
Caleb and Addie waved, and kept on waving even after she shut the door. Even after the study hummed, shook, and vanished.
“She’ll be back,” Addie said in a small voice. “Right?”
“Yeah,” Caleb said. He took Addie’s hand, and turned back. Seeing Chelsea waiting, he grinned and gave Addie’s hand a squeeze. “Come on. Let’s go home.”