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Chapter 41

CHAPTER 41

DEATH

The gardens of Shadow’s End are a place of shattered grandeur—cracked stone paths winding between overgrown hedges and thorny roses as black as coal. The castle looms behind us, its spires like claws against the murky sky, while the dead earth beneath my boots hums faintly, as if holding its breath. I feel it waiting—something ancient and powerful, gathering just beyond the veil.

Hanna stands near the dry fountain at the center of it all, brow furrowed, looking beautifully deep in thought. The glow of her power is dim, flickering like the last light of a dying star. She’s about to give everything she has left to “Uno Reverse” Oblivion, and bring back the lost. To some the cost would be too high. She will no longer be the powerful Goddess of the Sun—she is sacrificing that part of herself, and for what?

For us.

For love.

For her humanity.

Still, she remains the Queen of Tuonela, and the Goddess of the Dead, and if you ask me that’s pretty badass.

The Magician stands opposite her, cloaked in starlight, calm and unreadable as always. The air crackles faintly around him, a sense of inevitability hanging heavy. He has told us what must be done, that he will take Oblivion’s place, that he alone can judge who returns and who remains behind. Without him, none of this works.

I don’t want him to make this sacrifice. He essentially will cease to be as we know him. But I know it is the only way.

“You don’t have to do this,” I say quietly, though the words feel hollow even as they leave my mouth.

The Magician turns his head slightly, the galaxies in his eyes swirling as he meets my gaze. “I do,” he replies simply, his voice calm. “You know I do. I know I do. The tapestry doesn’t lie, and this isn’t the end.”

He steps toward Lovia, who stands at the edge of the group, arms tightly crossed as though holding herself together by sheer will. Her face is a mask of pain, anger, disbelief at the idea of losing him.

“This just isn’t fair,” Lovia says suddenly, her voice cracking. “Why does it have to be this way?”

“Don’t you want your brother back? Rasmus? Tapio?” he asks calmly.

“Yes but…so let Hanna do her thing and bring them back and we’ll figure out what to do with Louhi and?—”

“That’s not an option, Lovia,” I say, raising my hand and cutting her off. “Defeating them took everything out of us. We can’t go through that again, especially since there will be no real defeat. We’ll never be rid of them.”

She sighs, broken. She’ll have to come to terms with it. If this works, if we can get everyone back, then it’s worth everything, including the Magician. Besides, he is the one making this choice. It’s his and his alone.

“You knew, didn’t you?” she says, shaking her head at him. “All along. Every damn thing you said, every riddle—this is what you were preparing for.” She takes a step closer toward him, fists clenched. “And you didn’t tell me.”

The Magician’s stars dim. “Would it have changed anything?”

She falters, her jaw working as tears spill down her face. “Yes. No—I don’t know. You—” Her voice breaks, and she turns away.

The Magician reaches out, hesitant, as if he wants to touch her but doesn’t dare. “It’s because of you, Loviatar, that I can do this,” he says gently. “You gave me a heart.”

Her shoulders shake, but she doesn’t respond.

Silence falls around us, the air tense with Lovia’s heartbreak and the possibility of bringing our loved ones back. The idea of seeing Tuonen again nearly has me in pieces, but I try not to dwell on it, try not to get ahead of myself until I lay eyes on him and feel him in my arms.

Without much fanfare, the Magician turns to Hanna and says, “Do it,” before stepping back into place.

Hanna looks at me briefly, her face lined with exhaustion, with fear, but also something else—a quiet, unshakable resolve. Hope. She nods once, then turns toward the empty air before her. Golden light gathers at her fingertips, warm and fragile, as if she’s holding the sunrise itself. It spreads outward slowly, waves of light rolling over the garden like a tide, chasing back the shadows. The Magician raises his arms as the glow washes over him. Starlight pours from him in answer, like a thousand embers scattering into the wind.

I watch as his form begins to unravel, the galaxies in his eyes spilling upward into the sky. His body disintegrates into a cascade of stars, glowing brighter and brighter as they rise, as though the heavens themselves are claiming him.

Lovia’s anguished cry pierces the stillness, and she drops to her knees as he vanishes. I can’t bear to look at her. It’s a special thing to witness your child’s first broken heart, and as trivial as it seems, I do feel her pain as my own and want to protect her from it.

But she will learn and grow in time.

The light that was the Magician grows brighter now, spreading across the garden, and then, just as suddenly as it began, it stops. For a moment, there’s silence. The glow fades, leaving only the ruins of the garden and a cold, heavy stillness. My chest tightens.

Nothing happens.

I look around, the remaining gods and troops that haven’t gone home yet through the portal, murmuring and whispering, fearing that the sacrifice was made in vain.

Then, from beyond the garden wall, I hear it—footsteps.

Whispers.

I freeze, hardly daring to believe it, as they come closer and closer, a murmuring crowd.

Slowly, I turn my head toward the gate, my heart thudding painfully in my chest, too afraid to hope.

Tuonen steps into view.

My son.

He walks toward me, his horns whole, his face young and alive again, his silver eyes wide with wonder. He looks at me, at the garden, and then his gaze locks onto mine. “Father?” he says softly.

The word shatters something inside me. I don’t remember moving, but suddenly I’m there, crushing him against my chest. My hands shake as I clutch him close, my breath ragged. He’s real. He’s warm. Alive.

“Tuonen,” I choke out, my voice breaking. “Tuonen, my boy.”

He clings to me just as tightly, murmuring words I can’t hear over the sound of my own pounding heart. I don’t care. I have him back. My son is back.

But it isn’t just him.

From the garden gate, more figures emerge. Tapio steps forward next, tall and strong, his antlered staff whole and gleaming. He walks arm-in-arm with Nyyrikki, his adult son, and Mielikki, his wife, their family of Forest Gods whole and complete again. Tapio nods toward me, his eyes filled with gratitude, and Tellervo cries out with unbridled joy as she runs across the garden and right into their arms. Together they topple into a patch of lemon balm and mint, laughing and crying, finally reunited.

Rasmus follows, his red hair bright as a flame. He gives Lovia a small, gentle smile as he passes. She’s still kneeling, shaking, unable to look at him. He hesitates, then kneels beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She doesn’t resist—just bows her head and weeps harder, her tears turning to ones of joy as they embrace. Torben then goes over to him, pulling his estranged son into a hug and holding him tight.

General Pekka comes next, seemingly older now than when I first bestowed the title on him. He salutes me, a small, proud smile on his face while General Suvari and the rest of the army run toward him, hooting and hollering.

Then comes Ahto, my dear brother, a crown of coral and fishbone on his head, a trident in his hand. Vellamo yells for him and runs to his side, their reunion a little sadder when he realizes her injury. Still they embrace and he gives me a solemn wave. I wave back, eager to talk to him later.

After him comes Kalma, my old advisor, his wrinkled face smiling at me from under his hood. I didn’t even know the guy had died, but that’s probably a good thing. I’m happy he’s back.

Behind him walks one of my Deadmaidens, veiled in black. For a moment I think there’s been a mistake since they all turned against me in the end, but then Hanna runs toward her and pulls her into a hug. That’s when I realize that it’s Raila, Hanna’s loyal servant, and the one who sacrificed her life for our escape when we were trying to get out of Inmost and into the Upper World. I’m briefly reminded that Raila is indeed an ugly as sin spider person underneath, one that ate her own children, but hey, she’s one of us now.

More and more emerge—soldiers who fell in battle, allies we thought lost forever. They step into the garden like a tide of life rolling in, their faces shining with disbelief, relief, and joy. Even a unicorn steps out—Alku, I think its name was—and Sarvi immediately canters over to greet them.

But I’m back to watching Hanna as she pulls away from Raila and looks around. Tears streak Hanna’s face as she watches the reunion, her hands trembling, the last remnants of her power flickering away like embers.

I look at her and see her for who she truly is—Hanna, the woman who saved us all. Not just with her strength, but with her sacrifice. She gave up nearly everything she had left to bring them back, and though it cost her dearly, I can see the peace in her eyes.

“Are you all right?” I ask her softly as she comes over to me, Tuonen having gone to embrace Lovia.

She gives me a small, tired smile. “I will be.”

“Do you feel anything? Other than all of this?” I gesture to the emotions flying around us.

“Maybe,” she says, thinking it over. “A kernel of something, deep inside in my gut. I think I have some power left. Could be indigestion, though. It’s hard to tell.”

I can’t help but laugh, the sound booming across the garden.

Fuck, that felt good.

From across the way, Tapio approaches me. He reaches out, clasping my arm in a warrior’s grip.

“You brought us back,” he says, voice thick with emotion. “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t me,” I reply, glancing at Hanna, who now leans against her father Torben, utterly spent. “It was her.”

Tapio bows his head toward her in silent respect before stepping back, his family gathering around him.

Rasmus and Tuonen are laughing with Lovia now. She still looks a little broken, but with them back, I think she’ll manage.

The soldiers begin to mingle, laughter and tears mixing as they embrace, as they realize they have been given a second chance. Beyond the garden, the portal that Torben opened remains open for anyone that wants to go back.

And above us, even in the blue sky, you can see the stars. They burn brighter, shimmering like a thousand watchful eyes. I know the Magician is there, among them, guarding the void as he promised.

Hanna moves closer to me, her face soft, peaceful despite the tears still tracking her cheeks. “We’re whole again,” she says quietly.

I nod, glancing around the garden at all we had lost and all we gained. “We are.”

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