Chapter 71
The edges of the Aurelian Gate hadn't worn. Much like us, they were eternal. Our constant path to all the realms. We'd visited Requiem time and time again, but only where Orin was needed. With no sign of Paesha, and no clue where she'd landed, we simply held back and watched and listened as often as we could when that world shone in the gate. And though we mostly went together, as we stood hand in hand, staring at a scene we weren't prepared for, I wondered what my place would be in this moment.
Elowen lay in a bed, her breaths shallow, her skin pallid, a soft smile on her face. We'd never been able to control what the gate chose to show us, and so, this was the first time we'd seen the Syndicate house in twenty years. It felt familiar to me, but that was Orin's home.
"I can stay here," I whispered.
"No. You're coming. Let's just… wait a minute."
Every face circling the bed was sad. I searched the features of the strangers, digging through my memories for anything that might be familiar. Thea's red hair was simple to find, and though she'd aged beautifully, it was clear the world had not been kind to her. Scars marked the hands that held Elowen's, and a permanent flush graced her cheeks. Beside her, though, stood a stunning woman with tears so large, they might've drowned the room had they been able. She seemed older than she should have been. Perhaps also poisoned by the world that never had a heart for a child. It wasn't the tears that drew me to her, though, nor the curly hair that seemed far tamer than my memories, but it was those stunning blue eyes next to her olive skin.
"Quilly," Orin said, with a smile.
There were others, of course. People Orin might've recognized and some neither of us had known. But their sadness was palpable, even across realms. To them, a matriarch would fall today, and they would never see her again. But the concept of death had changed so much for him and me over these years. No longer a deep, soul-shattering severance of reality, but more of an awakening, just a piece of a soul's journey, onward or renewed, and that was all. Death was merely a slot in an endless cycle of life until one decided to step off the ride and live an eternity in the ether or here in this court.
One of the strangers, whose back was to us, took the hand of another. She swayed, inspiring the next person to do the same, and down the line, as a low, soft sound blossomed into a song. She was singing. The most beautiful sound as she inspired peace in a room full of mourning people. She dropped the hand of the closest stranger, circling the others to pull Quill, who sobbed and sobbed, into her arms. Still, she sang and moved, though we were frozen in place. Not because of her song, nor the way Quill remained still in her grasp, but because when she turned and finished her song, the finale of her requiem carrying into our own hearts, one blue and one green eye had shone through her tears. Paesha.
My heart immediately ached with pride. "She did it. She made it back," I whispered.
Orin released a long and steady breath. "Let's just hope she truly finds a version of happiness down there because I don't see Ezra, and that means he abandoned her, despite his power."
"We run on hope, Husband. Are you ready to go get your mother?"
"I hate to take her from them, but I'm ready."
Stepping past the threshold, the familiar chill brought me comfort. The promise of family.
It was nighttime when we appeared in Elowen's room. Only Thea remained at her side. And when we nudged her, hand in hand, she gasped, throwing herself into Orin's waiting arms and then into mine. That bit of cheer was short-lived, though, as she realized what it meant.
"You're Death now? Truly?"
Orin nodded.
"I guess it's wrong of me to be sad when I'm just returning your mother to you," she cried. "But she's been a mother to me, too."
"Of course, she has." Orin wiped away her tears. "She'll be there waiting when it's your time. We all will."
"And we'll throw the biggest party you've ever seen. But live your life, Thea. Find happiness here that's just for you. Be a little selfish, okay?"
"Selfish. Got it." She swiped another tear away, looking down at Elowen. "You've always been the glue. I can put things together, but you've always known how to bring people together, and I never took a second to tell you thank you for building a family around me. So, thank you."
But Elowen didn't answer. Her spirit had already left her body. Thea couldn't see her soul standing behind her; she couldn't feel Elowen's hand rest on her shoulder, nor hear her words. "Goodbye, my beautiful girl."
With that, she stepped away, and into Orin's waiting arms. We walked back through the gate before he spoke. "Hello, Mother."
She pulled him close, studying his face, smoothing her hands over his strong jawline, and running her fingers through his hair as if trying to remember every detail of him. "You haven't changed a bit."
"Immortality is eternal."
"I suppose it is."
"You birthed a god, Elowen. Just don't remind him of that too often. He gets a big head, and it takes days to shrink small enough to fit into the castle."
"Hello, dear," she said, finally turning to hug me. "I hoped I would see you again."
"I promised I would save him, didn't I?"
She patted the top of my hand. "You sure did."
"Mother," Orin said quietly. "You don't have to stay here. You can reincarnate or vanish into the ether and simply… end. You have a choice. All souls do."
"Of course, I'm staying," she said, as if it were the easiest choice in the world. "I've waited twenty years to be with you, son. I'm not leaving now."
The tension fell from his shoulders as he gestured to the castle. "Then let's go home."
Sometime later,I woke from a deep sleep to find the space beside me empty and the mountain of black fur that'd been the reason our room kept expanding, gone. Slipping from the bed, the marble floor cold on the bottom of my feet, I tied a robe around my waist and opened the bedroom door to peek out. And though I couldn't see a thing, a single haunted note echoed down the hallway like a string tied to my heart, tugging me toward Orin. Toward the throne room.
He didn't stop playing when I walked in, hadn't heard the door open. I watched him for a long time with awe and so much respect for the burden he carried with far more dignity than I would have. The moonlight seeping through the window high above lent a godly aura to his presence, highlighting the strong features of his face and the graceful curves of the cello in his hands. The instrument was an extension of his very soul, a steadfast companion during these nocturnal hours. This was where he came when his mind got busy, when eternity felt a little too long to serve.
His music, though hauntingly beautiful, carried an unmistakable undercurrent of peace and fullness. The mournful notes, like whispers from the past, filled the room, mingling with the hushed stillness of the castle. I'd never felt so much peace as I had in that moment. We'd come full circle, him and I. And there would be an eternity of euphoria because of a single moment on top of the roof when I'd accidentally married the wrong man.
"Do you know what the tonic of a song is?"
I'd never heard the piece end, spiraling so far into the beauty of it and our memories. I hadn't seen him look at me either. I shook my head and walked around the massive hounds snoring peacefully on the floor in order to sit on the arm of his chair. He still couldn't bring himself to sit upon his father's throne of gilded skulls.
"It's the most important note in a piece of music. It's the destination, the end. Every other note's single purpose is to lead you back to the tonic."
"That sounds lovely, like poetry."
He set his cello to the side and pulled me into his lap, sliding a lock of hair behind my ear. "I thought I loved you, but I was wrong. We both ran from madness for so long, love was impossible. There's only obsession. Only compulsion. You are not a desire, Wife. You're a godsdamn addiction. Love makes you a weakness. But you're my strength. My future. Mine. All of you belongs to me. Every heartbeat, every breath. Every second of your eternal life is mine and mine alone. In malevolence, in anger, in hysteria and darkness, you are unwavering. You're the crescendo, my love. The pinnacle of every song, the climb, and the purpose. And I will love you beyond the final note."
"I think you need to go back to weapons training for your own sanity. You're losing your edge, Husband."
"I hate you," he chuckled.
THE END