Water and Wind

Chapter 41

A blazing inferno has now taken the place of what was once called her house. The waves of heat roll across her face. They crash against her skin until she can no longer take it.

The beams are coming down. The wood is going up in smoke. She is going up with the smoke.

"Mama, Mama!" Heat and tears roll down her face. She grabs her brother's hand as the world spins.

She's lifeless now, the ash raining down on her face. Is she in water? She was drowning in beauty, watching the gold and orange roar upwards to meet her, and now she's staring dazedly into the ripples of silver and turquoise as she floats under a full moon. The world has contrast, and it's not a bad way to die. Right?

Only she doesn't. She goes around the bend. Roots catch her brother. She doesn't know where he is, what's become of him. Hands lift her up, stroke her skin, cool her fire-burnt scars. Her memory is receding like the tide. Fingers touch her face, and she feels light warmth coursing through her skin. Her brain is strangely foggy, and there's only Delphine's voice above her... Delphine?

"She will be better off not knowing... there is nothing not painful about the past..."

She wakes up in the trees, blinking hard. The grass is a cool balm, as she stares up at the brilliant blue sky, breeze caressing her cheeks. She blinks once. Then twice.

She is a nystergeryi, a simulharmonia, not because she was born one, but because she was not made for this earth. She crawls to her knees, then pushes up, in a kneeling crouch, eyes watering as her mother becomes more and more obscured in the fog.

She was not made for this world. She was born of a blue moon and fire, mixed with water. Her powers are great, because they are unearthly. She is a demon's child, a fallen angel.

She will never fit in on this earth.

Thoughts of her siblings and Arian's kiss press on her chest, and she feels the fog in her lungs, choking her, as she sinks back to the ground. The air is pressing down on her, thick and heavy, and however much she tries to resist it by putting up her hand and waving, her efforts are in vain.

She lies still on the ground, cold air wafting above her head and neck, just breathing. The cool dirt, the crisp air, all calling to her. The world is fading.

Somewhere near, her mother comes close. She is coming back for Nimue, emanating light. It is not her that is causing this fog, and both know this. Her mother steps forward, bending down to Nimue. Strands of hair slip out from behind her ear and into the edges of Nimue's vision. She is slipping away.

It's a strange feeling. She feels like a hundred pound weight has dropped from her as she stands up slowly. She straightens her shoulders, feeling freedom for the first time. Happiness bursts through her, erupting into several crystal bubbles throughout her body as she laughs gleefully.

At the bell sound, her mother's face breaks into a radiant smile for the first time in decades, and she hoists Nimue to her feet and twirls her around. It's only when Nimue looks down that she sees her earthbound body on the ground. Somehow, there's no heartbreak. She squeezes her mother's hand. This is where she belongs.

Something stirs at the edge of her vision, and she halts, heart thudding in her chest. Her mother sees it too, and senses Nimue's inner thoughts. Carefully, she detangles their hands and points to the water's edge. That's where she'll be waiting. Take your time, she seems to say, and Nimue swallows hard. Two figures step closer to the body she's shed.