25. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

SERA

My first thought is that Ender is going to be super pissed at me. My second thought is that I'm a freaking idiot.

Then there's nothing as the hole the size of my left nostril sucks me in.

If I thought I knew what it was like to be flattened before—I didn't.

This takes two-dimensional to another level, and everything inside of me feels like it's been squashed by a semi-truck.

The worst thing is that I can't sense Ender anymore.

I have no way to reassure him or my aunt that I'm ok.

Sort of ok.

Will I be stuck like this forever?

No sooner than I wonder this, I'm spit out at the feet of my…parents.

We stare at one another for what seems like an eternity.

"Seraphina?" my mother finally cries.

She drops down and folds herself around me in a hug that I barely can remember but I know the touch.

Warm.

Loving.

Home.

"Mom!"

I sniffle against her shoulder as my dad joins us.

"Sera, where did you come from—how are you here all grown up?"

"It's…it's a long story."

I pull back and look around, noting the calendar on the wall.

Instantly, I feel sick.

"We have to leave—now. You're in danger. Where am I?"

"Slow down, baby, you're up in your room, safe."

I snort. No one was safe, least of all them.

"Someone is going to kill you today."

Blunt seems like the best option, but in retrospect, I could've delivered it a little better.

"We know," my dad hums, and I almost faint dead away.

"What?!"

"Shhh, you're going to alert yourself, and I am not dealing with a hysterical tiny Seraphina right now."

"Hey, I wasn't that bad!"

"No, you are an angel—but imagine seeing yourself all grown up. That'll mess with anyone's head."

"Right, so back to the whole you two know about getting killed…"

"An Erlking once told us our future."

Of course they did.

"You know the future isn't set in stone! You can take another path. Let's—"

"Sera, honey, stop," my mom sighs. "This is your past. You can't change anything in it without compromising your future. Why are you here?"

"To save The Veil—it's going to collapse."

"Who's to say that by saving us instead, you lose everything you have in the present?"

"I…I don't know, but I have to try—"

"No, you don't. You can't fix everything, Sera."

"Is that why you never told me I'm a Guardian?" I ask my dad, and he just nods.

"Have you ever seen someone who thinks they're supposed to help everyone else—a veritable Atlas?"

Yep, and his name is Ender.

"I have."

"And what do you feel for this person?"

"Pity and sadness that they feel they have to shoulder the burden on their own."

"Exactly, we never wanted that for you—especially not when you were a child. We still don't, but clearly this is the path life has taken you. You can't change your past, Seraphina, and you can only shape your future. But the present? The present is yours to mold however you wish. Go to it. Embrace it. It's called the present for a reason—because it's a gift."

"You read that off of someone's bumper sticker last week," my mom hoots at my dad, and for a moment, I'm lost in their laughter.

Suddenly, I feel a tug, and I know it's the rift pulling me away.

"No, I don't want to go! I'm scared. You're going to get hurt!"

My parents' faces begin to stretch as they reach for me.

"We love you, Sera. Be brave for us."

Tears course down my cheeks as I sob for what's about to happen to them and me.

But I can't dwell on it for too long before I'm spit out again into another scene that's not my present.

A woman lies on a bed, her dark hair matted to her face and pillow, her gaze glassy while a baby wails in her hold.

I look around, but no one else is here. So I creep forward to peer at the baby.

He's tiny—a newborn—and wiggling in his mother's arms.

The face is too familiar for me not to know. It's Ender, meaning…

This is his recently deceased mother.

My stomach twists, and I start to back away before stopping.

Without thinking too much about it, I scoop up the baby in my arms, noting the tiny wings on his back.

"Hey you," I croon, and he stops crying. "You don't know me yet, but I love you. I'll always love you, and no matter what your daddy says, you are worthy. You are special. You deserve happiness, and when you're ready, I'll be waiting for you."

His tiny beak crinkles, like he's trying to figure out what I mean when I hear footsteps.

Just like leaving my parents, it breaks my heart to set Ender back down, but I do.

And then I'm gone again, flattened and whisked away.

But instead of falling into another past, it floats by me, showing me clips of certain parts.

Ender's father yelling at him.

Me crying because I'm so alone.

Ender meeting Ahnou as kids.

Me coming to live with my aunts.

Ender smiling as he helps kids at his death camp.

Me smiling as I laugh with Fern.

All the bad, but also, all the good.

I realize that's what life is about—the ups and the downs.

Nothing is static, and you can't appreciate the good without knowing the bad.

And for all the bumps in the road for both Ender and me, there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

We have friends.

We have each other.

We have love.

With this thought, I'm suddenly rushing through space with such speed that I'm glad I passed on breakfast.

Because it would probably be in my hair right now.

I feel another tight squeeze, and then the universe regurgitates me at Ender's feet.

"Sera?! Are you alright?"

"What did I tell you about scaring me?!" Denine shouts as I try to gather my wits.

No easy feat when it feels like my brains have been scrambled.

Ender helps me up but refuses to let go of me—the last time I did, I was sucked into space, so I get it.

"Explain yourself, young lady!"

"I…"

I look up at Ender, not sure where to begin or even what to say.

Instead, I just think about everything that happened, and I hear Ender suck in a breath.

"You…saw me?"

"I did."

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" my aunt demands, but Ender and I both ignore her.

"Now I know why your scent was so familiar to me that night I first saw you—we'd met before."

He cups my cheek, and I turn to kiss the palm of his hand.

"Seraphina!" Denine shouts, and I know there's no ignoring her when she uses my full name.

But when I look over, she's pointing over my shoulder.

"The rift—it's gone!"

I stare in surprise because she's right. The hole that sucked me away is no longer here.

Then again, it wasn't before. It didn't present itself until the souls started talking…

Ender picks up this thought.

"It's gone," he confirms.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I can feel it. My wards aren't fighting me anymore. You did it, Sera. You saved The Veil!"

"No, we saved The Veil."

"Agree to disagree?" he smirks, and I roll my eyes.

"Is this my future? Where you're just a giant smartass?"

My aunt scoffs. "Takes one to know one, dear."

Ender shoots me a smug grin, and I resist the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

"Now what?" I ask instead.

"Now you heal the realm and yourselves," Denine answers.

"I thought I already healed myself?"

She snorts. "You'll never be done doing that. Every day, you'll have to remember to forgive yourself—isn't that what I was supposed to learn?"

Her words sink in, and I know she's right. Healing is about letting go of our past to embrace right now.

And I'm definitely getting a bumper sticker to commemorate it.