The Last Hope

Epilogue

SONG FOR THIS CHAPTER - What a wonderful world, a cover by Alala. Original by Louis Armstrong. Linked above! If you enjoy the chapter please vote, it means a lot.

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Sebastian Alexi stared out of the wide arching doorway. A shimmering barricade around the curved stone stopped the freezing winds from crawling into the room. He watched the violet sky in the distance, fading like a bruise into yellows and oranges and golds. From the top of the bronze palace, he could see the whole Kingdom of Anavir, carved out streets spreading miles into the distance and spanning into mountains settlements. The domed copper rooves of businesses and housing sparkled in the rising sun. Beyond them, the jewel-like colours of the travellers' tents, who'd moved into the capital recently for the annual circus.

He loved Anavir in the morning. He loved the way the heat and wind stirred up the dust into clustering swarms. Children would laugh and run from them, dancing in fountains and the river that ran through the city to escape the blistering sun. He loved the sounds of the vendors, and of the distant crashing waves. And sometimes on the very clearest day, from his point in the high tower, he could see the Kingdom of Ellyheim, beyond the tumultuous sea.

The two Kingdoms faced each other almost perfectly. Were they built like that, or had it been an accident? He wished he could ask the people that would know, but his parents... He blinked; the thought scattered before he had a grip on it.

No matter how much he loved it here, there was something wrong with this place, he just couldn't figure out what. Like an itch that he just couldn't reach, the answer lay just past the edges of his mind.

"Sebastian, what are you doing? It's barely dawn, come back to bed." The voice behind him was startling. Not because it was unfamiliar, but because he hadn't heard it in so long. Sweet, and quiet, and always so calming. Idra's silky dark hair slid over her shoulder as she sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. She smiled in her gentle way, all bright eyes, and subtly upturned lips. Her reddish-brown skin glowed in the early morning light like it was burning from within.

"Where are we?" Sebastian asked her. The details were hazy and unclear.

"What do you mean?" Her brows pulled together, lips slightly parted, "we're at home."

"Home?" Sebastian questioned, glancing back over his shoulder at the rising sun, the city. Was this home? It didn't feel right - something was missing. He loved it here, but it felt ... off, somehow.

"Sebastian are you okay? You're acting strange. Do you feel well?"

No. No, he wasn't. He'd had a terrible dream. He remembered now. There was something about a girl, a girl he called Reid. With dark hair and fascinating eyes. He'd been hurt, and she'd tried to help him, she'd yelled at him to let her, but he couldn't. There was... there was... but it was gone. The answers slipping through his fingers. Something he could see, but only in the corner of his eye. His brow furrowed as he tried to remember.

"Sebastian?" Idra stood from the bed, the sheets whispering as they slid over her silk nightgown, feet barely making a sound against the tiles. She stopped hesitantly in front of him placed a gentle, warm hand against his cheek.

Everything else evaporated. Idra. Home. Of course. Where else would he be? He lifted his hand to hold hers against his cheek. She always smelled like lilac and faintly of peppermint. He breathed this in deeply and she giggled. His heart squeezed at the sound.

"Good morning," he murmured, twisting his head to place a kiss on her palm. She smiled, and the sight of the rising sun was second to the sight of that smile on her face. "Good morning," she whispered back, stepping closer, pressing a lazy kiss to his cheek. He revelled in the feel of her body against his. Idra smiled wryly, certain of where his thoughts had gone, "now, come back to bed. You made some promises last night that I intend for you to keep."

Sebastian didn't object as she led him back towards still-warm sheets.

END OF BOOK ONE