“More or less.”
Milicent gave her a skeptical look. “What will you do now?”
“I was going to ask you the same,” Ocean said. “You should stay in DC. It will be livelier than Rosen. I really can’t see you rebuilding the Quine. All of that material was burned for a reason. Walk toward the future, Milicent. Let go of the past.”
Milicent nodded, and Ocean walked away.
Skylar and Argan stood in the great hall of Sophia’s books. “Will they be my books now?” Skylar asked. “Will this be known as Skylar’s library?”
“If so, here’s that glory you were looking for,” he said.
She grimaced. “Argan, I don’t want to disappoint Sophia, but I can’t stay here for eternity.”
“I don’t want that either, Sky, but let’s play devil’s advocate. If not you, who’s going to do it?”
“Well … Sophia,” she said. “She’s been doing it until now. What’s she going to do, go into retirement?”
“Something like that, yes.” Sophia’s voice rang like sleigh bells behind them. “All souls eventually transition. Even ones like me. And Lucifer. We weren’t meant to stay in this realm forever. Thirteen thousand years is quite enough.”
“What happened to Lucifer?” Skylar asked. With everything turned on its ear, the fate of the prince of darkness had slipped her mind.
“Now that the stone has healed, human perception has shifted. His presence can no longer be manipulated. He transitioned.”
“That’s cryptic,” Skylar said. “He’s free without his stone?”
“Not quite,” Sophia said.
“All due respect, again, but I’m not like you,” Skylar said. “I didn’t start out as a goddess.”
“But you became one,” Sophia said. “And in that process, you figured out who you are. I know you’ve longed for the familial connection you feel was ripped from you. But through this journey, you have found so much more. You have found your tribe. Your lineage is from the sea—it is the sea. You’ve returned to your true home.”
As Sophia spoke, a rustling noise started above their heads. Against one wall, dark tentacles snaked down and wove among the books, spreading throughout them.
“Are those octopus tentacles?” Argan asked.
“No,” Skylar whispered in awe. “Tree roots.” She walked toward the wall as it grew dark with the black roots overtaking the books on the shelves. “Why is it so invasive? What is happening?” she asked, trying to stay calm.
“The last tree has been planted. New Atlantis has risen.” Sophia smiled. The roots snaked in and out of the books and down to the floor, where they stopped, anchoring themselves.
“Suki,” Skylar said, grinning. She could see the image of Suki in front of the White House. She was happy and she was helping re-create the world above. She was doing her part. She had found her purpose.
Skylar turned to Argan. “This is my part. This wild, insane ending is my part.” She took his hand in hers. “I don’t expect you to stay here with me, but I understand now. This is my part,” she repeated, partly to reassure herself. She kissed him but he didn’t kiss her back.
“I’m so glad you see,” Sophia said. “Come, dear one. We must prepare for your baptism.” She looked at Argan. “You will return to your sleeping quarters while Skylar gets ready.”
“I didn’t know I had sleeping quarters,” Argan said.
Excited, Skylar followed Sophia out of the great hall, hardly noticing that Argan lagged behind.
Four turrets had been erected in the newly rebuilt castle. One in each corner; all made of sand. Sophia explained that the new structure looked nothing like her original temple. This design was intended for Skylar.
“I had no idea medieval architecture was in my DNA,” Skylar said before a flurry of undines shooed her in one direction, Argan in another.
Undines were beautiful water creatures, similar to the mermaids but with legs. Their skin shone an iridescent blue and violet and like their sea sisters, they all had long hair. Most dressed in white gauzy gowns that trailed as long as their hair. These elemental beings were not prisoners of anyone. They were born of the sea, and they infused their surroundings with their love of the ocean and her creatures. They assisted those in the spirit and human realms not only with the task of purifying water but also of purifying the heart.
Skylar’s room was at the very top of the turret on the opposite side of the castle from Argan’s turret. Everything was decorated in silver and blue, and Skylar thought she’d have to embrace beach décor. She looked out the window into the perpetual night. Will I really never see the sun again? Standing in the library, she could embrace her duty, embrace her purpose, but now, standing here alone, she wasn’t so sure.
She took in a deep breath as a soft knock came at the door. It opened and a delicate undine came in. Her chestnut hair carried on behind her beyond the scope of what Skylar could see.
“I’ve come to prepare your hair,” she said, holding up a silver sand pail filled with hair supplies. She gestured for Skylar to take a seat in front of the mirror.
Skylar looked in the mirror and noticed that her curls were resurfacing. There was no hiding them in this water world. The undine retrieved a silver, jeweled comb from her pail and began to comb out Skylar’s hair effortlessly. With each stroke, strands of light shot through her hair and individual curls sprang back in perfect place. Skylar was amazed.
“I must have been five or so,” Skylar started a story as the undine continued her work. “My mom was so sick of my knotted hair she cut it off. We could have used a bit of this magic back then. It was short until just before I met Argan. It was about that time that I rediscovered my curls. And it was one of the things he liked about me then.”
“I’m sorry I cut your hair all those years ago, that beautiful hair,” the undine said. Skylar looked up through the mirror and saw Cassie’s face. She continued to comb Skylar’s long curls; the simple act of love shot right through Skylar’s heart. All she could do was accept the pampering, accept the love of her mother through this magical creature.
When she was done, Skylar’s hair was swept up exactly like Sophia’s. Every color was represented—black, brown, blond, red—all in streaming ringlets. Her hair had grown exponentially since she’d been there. “It must be the water,” she joked. A simple circle of udumbara flowers wove through braided green vines around her head.
She stood up and the undine’s delicate features returned to their original state. She helped Skylar slip into a beautiful, white, flowing gown of lace that resembled coral lattice.
Skylar looked in the mirror and saw her reflection, then Cassie’s, then Rachel’s, then Sophia’s.
“We are all reflections of the Great Mother,” the undine said. “All unique, all beautiful.”
“I’m too young to be a mother,” Skylar said.
“Yes, but you embody the magic waiting, a time of life to be celebrated. All of the stages of a woman’s life should be celebrated. They all hold their own magic.”
Skylar thought about the nursery of souls and the evolution of a woman over the course of a lifetime.