Аманда Хокинг - Ascend

I nodded and closed my eyes, focusing on her and Loki. A warm tingling went through my hand, a sensation I was familiar with from being healed before. But something else happened. I felt it in my veins, flowing through me, being pulled from me. Like hot liquid escaping out through my fingertips.

Then I heard it. Loki gasped loudly, and I opened my eyes.

He took deep breaths, and tears of relief slid down my cheeks.

Sara’s hand was still over mine, and her skin had become wrinkled and pinched. Her hair suddenly had gray in it, and her face had aged noticeably. She’d given Loki a lot of her life force to save him.

“Loki,” I said.

“Hey, Princess.” He smiled dazedly as he looked up at me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I smiled and shook my head. “Not anymore.”

“What’s this?” He took my hair and held it out so I could see. A curl near the front had gone completely silver. “I take a nap, and you go gray?”

“You didn’t take a nap,” I laughed. “Don’t you remember what happened?”

He furrowed his brow, trying to remember, and understanding flashed in his eyes.

“I remember…” Loki touched my face. “I remember that I love you.” I bent down, kissing him full on the mouth, and he held me to him.

Sara had been drained too much to use any healing on me, but Loki was as good as new. He lifted me up, carrying me out of the King’s chambers. Sara walked with us, and we went out to see what damage had been done to the palace.

Kyra apparently had told the other Vittra what I’d said, and when they heard the King was dead, they scattered. What few were left bowed before Sara. She was their Queen, their reigning monarch, and she declared a ceasefire.

Not all of the Trylle survived. We lost a few, but only a few.

Duncan broke his arm, but he did much better than I thought he would. Finn probably had a concussion, but he would live. Tove hadn’t been hurt at all, and Willa was proud of the battle wounds she sustained.

Despite the losses, and the damage to everything, I felt good.

We had done what we set out to do. We’d freed ourselves, and the Vittra people, from Oren’s oppressive rule. We were free.

The first few weeks after the Vittra attack were rough. I’d broken several bones and dislocated my shoulder. So many of our people needed the healing powers of Aurora and Sara that I refused to use any on myself. I had to heal the old fashioned way.

Everyone was quick to point out that I healed much more quickly because of my Vittra blood, but it was still a rough couple of weeks. Some good things came out of it, though. Like Loki waiting on me hand and foot. Truth be told, he barely left my side.

As soon as I was well enough to attend, we had my mother’s funeral. The entire kingdom turned out, and to my surprise, the King and Queen of the Kanin came, as well as the Queen of the Omte.

They came to pay their respects but also to thank us for ending the tyranny of the Vittra.

Oren had set his sights most fervently on the Trylle, but we weren’t the only ones. It wasn’t until the funeral, when so many people came that the crowd overflowed into the street, that I realized what exactly we’d accomplished.

I also got to hear from other Trylle and even other tribes what my mother had done to protect them. The deals she had made, the things she gave up, and all the work she put into keeping the peace.

Elora had given so much to the people, and it was so moving to see them truly appreciate it.

Losing Elora made me understand even more the importance of having a mother, and what had been taken from Rhys. Despite the way my “host” mother, Kim, had treated me, I knew she’d done everything out of love, love of a child she’d never even met.

Matt took Rhys to see Kim, where she’s still locked up in an asylum. Matt’s working to repair his relationship with her, although he’s resistant to the idea. Being willing to see her at all is a huge step.

Rhys plans to go to college near the hospital in the fall, so he can start to get to know her. Matt says that Kim is doing a bit better, and if she continues on the road to recovery, she might be released one day.

Matt came back to Förening, though. He says his home is here, and for that I’m grateful. I know I’m an adult with my own kingdom now, but I don’t think I’m ready to that live far away from my brother.

Oslinna is still working on improvements, but Matt has spent a great deal of time helping rebuild. His designs are gorgeous, and it’s been really good for the Trylle people to see a mänks do something so well.

We’re still working against prejudice, and I know it will be a while before they completely give in to the idea that it’s okay for people to marry who they love, no matter if they’re Trylle or mänks or even a tracker. But we’re on the right road.

Before I hang up my crown as Queen, I’m certain we’ll make it legal for anyone to marry whoever they love. Willa’s hoping that it’s sooner rather than later, of course, but she’s been shopping around for a wedding dress since she was eight.

She’s taken a much more active role in our society. Since I was on bed rest when we first came back, she stepped up to handle a lot of the day-to-day work. Which is good, because it gave me someone to hand the reigns over to when I went on my honeymoon.

Even before the funeral, Tove and I had our marriage annulled.

He insisted on it, because he said my and Loki’s auras were blinding him.

Tove seems to be taking our annulment better than our marriage. I appointed him Chancellor, since Tove was still one of my smartest and most trusted confidants. He’s met someone, although he’s been very tight lipped about who it is. I’m hoping that someday soon he’ll open up and let me know who that special someone is.

After we defeated the Vittra, Thomas left, joining his family in another tribe, and I don’t think he’ll be coming back. Finn stayed behind, taking over his father’s duties as head tracker.

It’s still a bit strange seeing Finn around the palace. I don’t love him anymore, not like I did, although I don’t think I can ever truly stop caring for him. He was my first love, and he was immensely important to me becoming the Queen I am today.

At first, he was cold and distant, but the ice between us seems to be melting. We’re on the path to becoming friends again, and that’s something.

I saw him flirting with a girl from Oslinna, and I’d expected to feel some jealousy, but I didn’t. Only genuine happiness for him. I want Finn to be happy, and honestly, I don’t think that I was the right person to do that.

And Loki… well, Loki has hardly left my side since we came back, but I wouldn’t let him into my bed until he made an honest woman of me. So he did.

Two weeks ago in the garden, beneath the spring flowers, we had a small wedding, much different than my first one. This time, it was only my closest friends in attendance, including my aunt Maggie.

But its greatest difference was that I wanted this wedding, and I married a man that I desperately love.

Maggie’s been staying with us for a few weeks, and it’s mostly been wonderful. She still hasn’t completely wrapped her mind around everything that’s going on here, but she took to Rhys immediately. Thankfully, he’s spent the last week keeping her entertained so Loki and I could have a little bit of time to ourselves.

Unfortunately, there’s never enough time. The nights seem too short, and the sun always seems to come up too early when I’m still snuggled in bed with Loki. Usually, he wants to sleep in as much as I do, but not today.

He opened the shades, so the morning light shone in too brightly, and I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my face in the pillow.