Chapter 9
At some point in the night, my sobs exhaust me and I fall into a restless sleep. In the first moments that I awaken, I struggle for a moment to figure out why I’m on the floor draped over a sleeping Alaric.
But the moment I sit up, reality crashing back in again, and I remember.
Alaric isn’t sleeping.
He’s dead.
I’m alone.
And while I’ve succeeded at my mission, I’ve failed my own heart.
Instantly, my eyes well with fresh tears, but then I frown as I catch sight of the view outside the window. Sunlight, unfettered by clouds or snow, streams in hot enough to saturate the room. As proof, I realize the fire is out again and this time, the room hasn’t gone cold in the absence of its flame.
If anything, it’s stuffy.
Warm.
Hot even.
I rise, reluctantly leaving Alaric's prone form to cross to the window, and when I see the landscape beyond, I gasp and sink into the chair, dumb-founded.
Winter is gone.
The snow has melted, and in its place is spring.
Fresh soil, thawed and offering new growth in the form of tiny green buds, dot the ground. In tall branches, birds perch, singing their happiness at the transformation. Underneath the canopy of treetops, squirrels chase one another up the trunks of freshly budding trees.
Everything feels hopeful and happy and alive. It's a miracle.
I can only imagine what it’s like in Willowdale.
The dancing and laughter and celebrations. They will know I succeeded. They will know I saved them.
They just won't know the price I had to pay. The prince Alaric had to pay.
I glance back at my love lying still on the rug behind me, and my heart withers all over again.
I stand and return to his side, dropping to the floor to run my fingers over his cheek. Fury burns inside me.
“This can’t be it,” I cry, angry at the goddess and at the witch who cursed him. Angry at myself for not finding another way. Angry at him for drinking the damned poison.
“He’s not who you think he was,” I scream at the witch from his past.
And though she’s long gone, I am compelled to prove it in the way only a broken heart can.
With the pad of my thumb, I run an invisible line over his cold lips, then I lean in and press my own lips to his, sealing the end of our story with the kiss we never had.
His lips are cold and unmoving against mine, my tears flowing and mingling with our lips, and when I pull away, I only cry harder at the loss of him. Of what kind of ruler he would have been had he been given a second chance.
I'm so lost in my own heartache I don't notice it at first.
The sudden rise and fall of his chest.
Did I imagine it? Surely grief can do strange things to the mind.
I still myself and hold my breath, watching with the fresh birth of hope, a hope that hurts down to my soul.
There.
It happened again.
I'm sure of it. His chest moved.
"Alaric?" my voice is hoarse and comes out in a whisper.
And then he gasps, inhaling a sharp breath, and I realize it’s real.
His chest rises, and I hear the distinct thump-thump of his heartbeat as he exhales loudly.
His eyes open and his gaze lands on mine.
I'm too stunned to do anything but stare.
He smiles, his eyes crinkling at the edges.
“Hello, witch,” he says, and I shriek, throwing myself on top of him.
“You’re alive.”
“Not for long if you crush me,” he says against my hair, and I laugh, pulling back to look at him. “Sorry. Can you sit up?”
With my help, he sits, and when he reaches for me, I scoot in close, reveling in the natural warmth of his skin, the golden glow of his cheeks.
“I thought you were lost,” I tell him.
“I did too.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. I was somewhere cold and dark and then . . . you kissed me. The witch from my past appeared before me, like a specter, and she said you were right. I had changed and then, she sent me back." He pauses to study me, squeezing my hand. "You broke the curse, Adara. I’m human again.”
He guides my hand and places it over his chest, and I marvel at the heartbeat I feel there.
“I can’t believe it. You’re really human. No more blood cravings?”
“Not at all. Though, a plate of bacon and eggs sounds absolutely divine right about now.”
I laugh and throw my arms around him again, happiness filling me.
“It’s a miracle,” he says, and I remember the plea I sent to the spirits of the house.
“It’s a miracle for us all.”
Whirling at the familiar voice, I see my parents standing together by the window. Their forms are wispy, their bodies ethereal as they smile back at me.
“Mom! Dad!” I jump up and run to them, relieved that I can feel their arms around me, though faint.
“Hello, darling.” My mother kisses my cheek, and the sensation leaves my skin tingling when she draws away again.
My father rests his hand against my cheek. “We’re so proud of you,” he says, and I blink back the tears that blur my vision.
“I miss you,” I say.
“We miss you too, but you’ve done well,” my mother says. She glances at Alaric who has come up behind me. “You’ve shown much growth of spirit, Prince.”
“Thank you. I am sorry for what I did to you both.”
“You’ll learn from your mistakes,” my father says sternly. “Use them to become a more compassionate human. A kind king who cares for all his people equally and values love and family above riches.”
“Yes, sir, I swear it.”
“A man who also values my daughter,” my dad adds gruffly enough that my mother laughs and pokes him.
“I think he’ll do just fine,” she says, eyes twinkling at Alaric and then me.
“Will you stay here?” I ask them. “There’s so much I want to tell you.”
“We will always be with you, in your heart,” my mother says. “But we’re free now. And we must go find our own peace.”
“I understand.” I hug them again. “I love you both so much.”
“We love you too, Ada. Tell Grandmother we send our love.”
“I will.”
I step back and they both float toward the window, passing through and out into the sunshine before disappearing in a fractal of sunlight. Behind them, other spirits follow, each of them winking out as they step into the sun’s warm rays.
I turn to Alaric, smiling as he reaches for me and sweeps me into his arms.
“There’s just one more thing we need to do to truly mark this miraculous event,” he says.
“What’s that?”
“I’d like to kiss you again, only this time with a beating heart and a tongue that works.”
I laugh as his lips capture mine, soft at first, then deeper as my body melts into his.
And this time our kiss feels like the beginning of a story rather than the end.
Chapter 10—Epilogue
Moonlight reflects against the white flowers that hang from the recently erected archway. Their silvery glow frames the dais, and I am mesmerized by the soft light as I slowly make my way toward it.