To the Shadowsinger | Azriel

Epilogue

MAJOR ACOSF SPOILERS!!

The same bright soul that had once burned in Raisa now burned in another. Her mother was a priestess and her father was a mystery with fire in his veins. She grew up surrounded by love, music, and though a plague struck her land, her twin sister was always there to remind her to be brave.

Her name is Gwyneth. And just like Raisa, she is beautiful, brave, strong, full of hope, and holds a love for knowledge. There are many similarities, but there are also many differences. When Raisa hit the lowest point of her life, no one was there to guide her to sanctuary. She held onto all of her pain and fear, and when she needed someone to guide her through the darkness, all she had was the mirror. It ruined her, it stripped her body of her mind, but it did teach her a great many things. She learned to keep going. Even when life kicked her face into the ground, she learned to stand back up and keep going, to wait for the beautiful moments in life because they will come. Even if she had to be very patient.

Gwyn has no memories of her past life, but Raisa's pain wasn't for nothing. Gwyn was only twenty-six years old when Hybern invaded her temple. It was the worst day of her life. Though she can still feel the scream that ripped through her throat as her twin's head rolled to the ground, though she could still feel the press of the table against her cheek as the general forced himself inside of her, she continued on. The days that followed were dark, she can vaguely remember them, but she remembered how she felt. There were moments when she felt as though her heart hurt so terribly that she no longer wanted to live, but a voice in the back of her mind told her tomorrow would be better.

Tomorrow will be better.

It took many weeks of her saying the phrase over and over again. Some days she didn't speak, or sing, or eat, she would lay in bed and dwell on her pain. Her grief was a physical, disgusting thing filling her bones. She carried the weight of it around, still believing tomorrow would be better, and before she knew it, the days started to be bearable. A part of her healing was knowing, without a single doubt, that she was in a safe place. A shadowsinger working for the High Lord of the Night Court had saved her that day and she ended up in Velaris. The Court of Dreams, they called it. She couldn't see the city from her bedroom window, but she considered the mountain her dream home because she was safe and surrounded by females that understood her pain. No one pushed her boundaries or made her feel like a broken doll, the priestesses she lived with were patient with her.

As the weight of her grief became easier to carry, she found herself smiling again as she read late into the night. She found herself singing as she put away books. She even found herself enjoying working for a priestess with a temper, because the days went by faster. She was proud of herself for every single step she took towards happiness, but pain and fear still lingered. She wasn't sure it would ever go away.

Routine became her ally. It calmed her for a while, but she wanted more. When Gwyn was little, she dreamed of traveling the world. There were so many things she wanted to do in her lifetime but she feared she would never see the outside world again. Books kept her sane in the moments she craved adventure and romance, but never felt like enough.

On the day Gwyn met Nesta Archeron, an idea took root in her mind. Her intuition pulsed with excitement, she didn't quite know what it was, but she knew their friendship would lead to something great. Gwyn wasn't wrong; for the first time in years, she stepped outside because Nesta asked her to train with her. It was terrifying, but every single night Gwyn fell into bed exhausted and excited for the next day. Her body no longer felt like a burden, but a tool. And once she learned how to use it, she didn't want to stop. She didn't want to go back to being afraid and defenseless.

One of Gwyn's greatest qualities was her determination. When she wanted something, she would work until she got it. So she became a valkyrie. She built a bond with Nesta and Emerie that numbed the constant pain of missing her sister. She read books that turned her cheeks red. She left the mountain, something she never thought she would be able to do again. And when she was stolen, drugged, and forced into the blood rite, she fought her way up the summit alongside her sisters.