Alyson Noel - Horizon

“Django’s Bear.” I finger the drawstring, about to retrieve it and give it to her. “Do you want it? As a way to remember?”

“I don’t need it.” She grins. “I made my wish. It’s as good as done.”

Dace and I stand together, watching as Leftfoot leads them away. Then he pulls me into his arms, kisses the very tip of my nose, and says, “So, now that they’re gone, will you tell me?”

“Tell you what?” I tilt my head, lift my gaze to meet his, knowing exactly what he’s referring to but enjoying the tease.

“C’mon, just a hint?” He presses a kiss on my forehead, my cheek, before settling onto my lips.

“And wreck the surprise? No way!” My lips merge with his in a kiss that’s soft and affectionate at first, though it’s not long before it deepens into an urgent need for more.

Despite my exhaustion, despite knowing firsthand what they mean when they say bone tired, here, in Dace’s arms, I’m teeming with an overwhelming sense of triumph and aliveness. Finally realizing—really, truly realizing—the enormity of what we pulled off.

The full extent of our victory so much bigger than putting a stop to Coyote.

By working together, we thwarted a prophecy.

Only this time in a way that undeniably eradicates evil and celebrates good.

The world spared because of our capacity to love, even when it wasn’t easy to do.

Dace pulls away, leaving my lips cold in his absence. “Shall we?” He motions toward the spring. Its misty bubbling waters seeming to beckon.

“I think we’ve earned it, don’t you?”

He grins, his icy-blue eyes finding mine, reflecting my image thousands of times. “You look exactly as I envisioned you that day at the cave.”

I cock my head, at first not sure what he’s getting at.

“When I came to you in your vision quest, and described the beautiful, radiant woman you would someday become if you could just hang in there.”

“I remember,” I say, voice thick with the memory.

“You made it, Daire.”

“We both made it,” I say.

“It’s like coming full circle. This is where it all began in the dream we both shared. Only this time, with the Richters gone, the ending is ours to determine.”

We shed our clothes quickly and step in. The waters rising to our waists until we grasp each other’s hand and immerse ourselves completely, only to emerge newly healed and refreshed.

I move toward him, clasp my hands at the back of his neck, and pull him down to me. My fingers stroking the soft spot at the nape of his neck, my tongue seeking his. At first wondering what it is that makes this kiss so different from all the others that came before, but when he cups his hands to either side of my face and gazes deeply into my eyes, I instantly realize the one ingredient that was always lacking until now is the certainty that Dace and I have a future together.

A future far lovelier than I ever allowed myself to imagine.

“Are we happy?”

I angle my face toward his, not quite sure what he means.

“In the future. In the vision you saw. Are we happy?”

I nod.

“As happy as we are now?”

I grin, snaking my fingers over the curve of his shoulders, across the tautness of his chest where I pause on the key, before moving down the valley of his abdomen, and then lower still. “That depends.” I grin. “How happy would you say you are now?”

His features soften. His gaze grows blunted. “Very,” he breathes. “Extremely happy. And you?” His fingers do their own exploring as he leads me out of the water and onto the soft bed of grass where we lie side by side, staring contentedly at the glorious, turquoise-blue sky draped overhead.

“You know, I never believed you until now.” I turn, prop myself onto my elbow, and rest my head on my hand. “The first time you told me, I thought for sure it was just another one of Leftfoot’s stories. But, as it turns out, I never should’ve doubted you. It wasn’t a fable at all.”

“What’re you talking about?” He trails a finger across the ledge of my collarbone, then toys with the small golden key that hangs between my breasts.

“That.” I watch as he lifts his chin, follows the tip of my pointing finger to the blazing ball of sun overhead. “There really is a sun in the Lowerworld. Who knew?”

He throws his head back and laughs, the sound deep and true. “I knew,” he says, anchoring his leg over mine and pulling me close. “I never doubted any of Leftfoot’s stories, no matter how crazy they might’ve seemed at the time.”

He runs a palm down my side, tracing the curves and valleys of my torso. His touch so intoxicating I instantly melt, though it’s nothing compared to the sensation of his lips following the very same path set by his hands.

I cup my hands to his cheeks, and pull him back to me. The look we share saying more than any words could. The past is behind us, the future sprawling ahead. But what matters most is this very moment. So we immerse ourselves in the present and the absolute wonder of being together.

“So what should we do about our gifts?” Dace asks, the two of us catching our breaths after another round of loving. Fielding my look of confusion, he says, “You know, our magick? Seems wrong to let it slide just because we accomplished what we set out to do. And yet, it seems kind of lazy to use it for mundane tasks like tidying up the house and locating the remote.”

I cock my head, feign a look of deep contemplation. “That’s exactly how I planned to use mine. Do you have any idea how many people wish they could manage a household so easily?”

He plants a kiss on the top of the head, gets to his feet, and helps me to stand. Raising an open palm before him, he says, “Well, if you insist . . .” Summoning my tattered red gown, as I collect what remains of his tux, which, at this point is reduced to a pair of fancy black cutoffs and a torn and stained undershirt.

“Don’t we look ravishing.” I shake my head at the spectacle as I pull a nearly shredded strap over my shoulder.

“You always look ravishing to me,” he says. “Question is, do you look ravishing in the future?”

I playfully swat him on the rear. “You’ll just have to stick around long enough to find out.”

I adjust the plunging neckline of my dress, feeling overly exposed under the brightly shining sun, when the blue tourmaline ring falls from the pocket and I’m instantly reminded of Zahra’s instructions.

“What do we do with it?” Dace stoops to retrieve it and places it on the center of my outstretched palm.

“Zahra told me to use it to release all of the others, though what she failed to say was how I’m supposed to go about that.”

Dace shoots me a worried look, and at first I start to feel worried too. But then I remember how I used the ring earlier to accidentally start the fire that ultimately saved me from being mauled by Coyote. And thinking it might work again, I angle it high toward the sun, centering the stone until it’s absorbing the light.

“You might want to shield your eyes,” I warn. “Just in case. It’s only a hunch, but it’s all I’ve got.”

A moment later, the stone and the band surrounding it become so hot I’m about to drop it when it bursts into a million shards of glitter and dust that spill at our feet.

“Well, I guess it’s safe to say that stone’s obliterated,” I say, the two of us staring at the mess. “Still, we won’t know what became of the others until we return to Enchantment.”

“Maybe sooner . . .” Dace scoops a hand into his pocket, coming away with a palm filled with tourmaline shards and dripping blue ink. “This is what remains of the pen Luther gave Auden after signing the contract. Auden gave it to me, asked me to try to find a way to dispose of it. Guess I just did.”