Chapter Twenty-Three

I take my time in walking through Laconia. I'm in no hurry. It's like I'm seeing everything for the first time, like my eyes weren't really open before. Now… everything is different. Everything will be different.

I also walk slow because I'm tired as fuck.

Phew. I can go for a nap or two. Ooh, or a feast. I know the latter is probably asking too much since food isn't exactly plentiful in Laconia, but now that should change. There should be no more scourge sending shadowstorms upon the land, no more blight affecting the crops, and no more plague twisting what animals that are left into misshapen, disfigured shadows of themselves.

It will take time, but Laconia will rebound. Nature will heal itself.

And of course I'll help whenever and wherever I can.

Walking up the steps to reach the upper half of the city really strains my calves. It's like I did a whole-body workout and went a little too hard on myself. Muscles I didn't know I had are straining and tired.

Literally, I think I could fall asleep on the steps. How's that for sad?

I groan when I make it to the top. So much for empress-level healing skills. Although, I guess I'm not bleeding or anything, so there's that. I'll take being sore as shit a thousand times over. Way better than getting stabbed, believe me.

I shuffle to the closed doors separating the upper district from the rest of Laconia, and I have to use a bit of magic to get them open. Up the main street I go, my destination the building near the conclave, where the councilmembers live. It's where Frederick and his dad are, along with some other people who had nowhere else to hide.

Honestly, I didn't know how bad the fight would get. I didn't know if Invictis would try to summon a shadowstorm or not. Better safe than sorry, especially when it comes to these people. They've already been through so much, lost so much; I hope things turn around for them now that Invictis is no longer a threat.

Walking through the upper district, alone, I feel at peace. I feel… at home. Can't say I've felt that way in a long, long time.

Laconia is my home now, and I'm going to do whatever I can to help it rebuild and grow.

Once I reach the doors to the tall stone building, I pause. My hair is in a fresh ponytail, courtesy of Prim's ribbon. I tried to wipe the sweat off me as best I could, but I know I must look like shit. With my bloodied clothes, my dirty pants, and my shoes that have seen so much I'm pretty sure the fabric on top is getting a hole or two, I've definitely looked better.

But I'm alive.

I glance around me once before I knock. Don't know why; everyone is still hiding. "It's me," I shout, "Rey." I knock a few times more, just in case nobody's near the door.

It takes a moment, and I hear the locks inside creaking as they're undone, but soon enough Frederick's bewildered face is in front of me, his eyes wide as he takes me in. It's like he doesn't believe what he's seeing, like I'm not really there.

And then his gaze falls to the tattoo lining my right arm.

Oh, sorry, the rune lining my right arm.

It's just as it was before, only its color is golden, not black, and it's much larger. It covers from the back of my hand past my elbow. Way bigger, because there was more of him to bind.

Yeah. Every part of Invictis is now bound to me.

"You—" Whatever else Frederick is going to say, he doesn't. Instead, he lunges for me and wraps me in a hug, practically squeezing the life out of me.

Leaning my face against his upper chest, I let myself smile.

Sounds of an audience behind Frederick cause him to let me go and step aside, allowing me to see Fred standing there, a content smile on his face. "I knew you would succeed," he says, and behind him, I spot Kretia, Ravenno, Aolia, and Hazor, along with a few guards scattered amongst them.

Kretia speaks with a tone that refuses to be ignored: "Gather everyone before the conclave." The guards bow their heads and hurry out to do as they're told. She glances to the others. "Let us hear what happened."

Turns out, she doesn't want to hear what happened in their home. We have to wait until the four of them are seated in their stone chairs and I stand upon the same circular design on the floor that I did that first day, only now I'm not in chains, and both Frederick and his dad look on from the side of the circular room. No other nobles. Just the seven of us.

"Frederick spoke of a creature the empresses have protected us from since the beginning of Laconia," Kretia says, her dark eyes on me. I don't know whether she's speaking of Frederick or his dad, but it doesn't matter. "You have defeated that creature?"

I stand tall, as tall as my five-foot-one frame allows. "I have."

Aolia simply smiles, while Ravenno leans forward. The man would've, at one time, berated me or mistrusted me openly, but now he's as calm as ever as he says, "It is said the woes originated from this creature. Do you believe they will now truly end?"

I nod once. "Yes. Laconia can rebuild and its people don't have to be locked inside these walls anymore. They can reclaim the land they abandoned and farm wherever they want."

"Thank you," Aolia breaks her silence. "Thank you for all that you've done to aid Laconia in its struggles." Her voice is calming. I could fall asleep listening to it, like a soft lullaby, no matter what she's saying.

Hazor speaks next, "Yes, we are in your debt, however there is much to do still. Laconia and its people will need all the help they can get—" The other grump of the council sounds like he's in a decent mood, go figure. All it took to get him on my side was fixing all of their problems.

"I'm not going anywhere," I say, glancing at Frederick and his dad. "I mean, as long as you'll have me, I'd like to help rebuild."

Kretia smiles. "Of course. Your aid will be greatly appreciated."

They don't ask any more questions about the fight. They don't want details. They also don't ask about the new golden tattoo on my arm, and I don't tell them anything about it. They don't need to know all the specifics.

Hazor starts listing off things that must be done first, the high priority things that will help Laconia the most, like creating an actual pasture for the livestock and tilling the old farmlands outside the city and getting them ready for the next planting season. I don't know anything about any of that stuff, but I meant what I said. I'm not going anywhere.

I'm here to say.

I think, with everything I've done, my dad would be proud of me. I think he'd understand why finding a way back to earth isn't something I want to do anymore. I haven't had a home for so long, but I'm looking forward to making one here.

I'm not sure how much longer we're there, talking about what needs to be done and in what order, but it must be a while. Frankly, I get bored. I don't think I need to be a part of these talks. All they have to do is tell me what to do, and I'll do it. Not saying I'm going to be good at everything I try to do, but I'll do my best.

Hey, I defeated an ancient evil no other empress before me could, so cut me slack if I don't know how to farm or whatever.

After a while, the chatter ends and the members of the council glance at each other. Kretia nods, and then she stands. The others follow, all getting up. "I think it has been long enough," Kretia says, moving toward me. "Come. Let us announce your victory to the rest of Laconia." She is the first to walk out of the circular room, followed shortly by the others.

That leaves Frederick, me, and his dad—although Fred glances between us, chuckles, and trails after the councilmembers without saying a word.

Frederick closes the distance between us with two large strides. He holds his hands behind his back, his cheeks a bit flushed. "I…" Whatever he's trying to say, it sounds as though he's having a difficult time saying it.

Oh, God. He's not trying to finish the discussion we had yesterday, is he? I mean, isn't it a little too soon to talk about anything serious? I just kicked some major ass here. Can't I have a little break?

Maybe he senses the fact that I don't want to talk about it right now, or maybe I read the room wrong and that wasn't what he was going to say to begin with. Regardless, Frederick simply says, "I'm glad you're staying with us. Perhaps I can start to make amends for lying to you about—"

About the portals, back when I only wanted to go home.

I shake my head and tell him, "It's okay. You don't have to make it up to me. I get why you did it. I was a stranger. You didn't trust me. All you knew was that I could survive out there." I shrug. "If I was in your place, I guess I would've done the same."

I swear, I hear a disgusted chuckle in the back of my head after I say that, and it takes everything in me to stand there and act like I didn't hear it. Like I didn't hear it and it didn't immediately tick me off.

Frederick opens his mouth to say more, and I can tell he's dying to revisit our conversation from yesterday, but in the end all he says is, "We should get out there. I'm sure quite the crowd is waiting for you."

If by quite the crowd, he meant everyone who's still alive in Laconia, then he's right. As I walk out of the conclave and into the bright light of day, I step out onto a platform where the four councilmembers are waiting for me. The guards, nobles, everyone who made it from the lower district, even the other orphans who used to run around with Prim; everyone else stands in the wide-open space before the building. Body to body to body; the area before us is jam-packed with people, so many faces.

And they're all looking at me.

Frederick goes to stand with his dad, off to the side on the stairs, but not quite with the rest of the crowd.

I step out onto the platform, not knowing what to expect. Beneath the platform is the library's entrance; it really is literally right underneath the conclave. I swallow hard as I gaze out at the people gathered.

More than I thought there was, but not nearly enough in the scheme of things. Rebuilding is going to be hard.

"People of Laconia," Kretia speaks as she raises her arms to the sky, "we have gathered here today to celebrate the end of our misery. The woes are no more, and each and every one of us owe our lives to this woman." She gestures for me to stand beside her, and I know I don't have any other choice.

I take the empty spot to her left, feeling like I want to throw up.

"She came to us as a stranger, but she has proven to us who she is. Let me be the first to introduce you to High Empress Aurelia," Kretia says, and she says it loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Rey," I whisper, so focused on that part that I don't even realize what she said before my name.

"High Empress Rey," Kretia corrects herself, and then she faces me and lowers to her knees. Behind her, Aolia, Ravenno, and Hazor all drop to their knees as well.

I'm seconds from telling them to get up, that this is silly, that I don't want to be considered their high empress or anything like that, but my eyes dart to Frederick and his dad. They kneel, too, their heads bowed in reverence.

It's a chain reaction. Everyone kneels and lowers their heads. The guards, the nobles, the poor folk… and even the kids. Not a single person remains standing in the audience. All I can see are the tops of everyone's heads.

They kneel for me. Not only to show me respect, but also to prove to me that they've accepted me when they once mistrusted and shunned me. Everything has come full circle.

I've never been in this sort of position before, so I don't know how to respond or if I should say anything. All I end up doing is giving the crowd an awkward smile that none of them see because they're still bowing and kneeling in reverence.

In reverence to me.

I'll never get over that.