The Curse of the Blessed

Epilogue

I stand on the deck of the Calamity. Beside me are the other rescue Blesseds—my family, not in blood but in bond—my comrades in arms. They are waiting. They are waiting for me to speak.

Lark and Bran and Reed grin at me from the front of the crowd. Sharla stands beside them. It took her years for her to cultivate her ability until she could animate boulders, but she did it, and now she fights beside us.

I take a breath.

"Tonight's mission will be easy enough." My words seem quiet, and I don't think many of the rescue Blesseds heard me, so I begin again with a higher volume. "Tonight's mission will be easy enough. The new Blesseds will be waiting at the village green, which is where Leith'll be dropping us. We get in. We get out."

Some of the rescue Blesseds are nodding, while others simply listen attentively. All of them are smiling.

"If the villagers attack, we will be ready." My eyes meet Lark and Bran and Reed's. "They can be cruel. The last time I was there, one of their men held a child hostage and threatened to kill her."

And there she stands, a little behind my friends: Wren. She's grown. She begged us to let her go on a mission for so long—well, she begged Lark, and the remaining three of us stayed out of it—and a year ago, Lark finally said yes. She does not seem afraid to be returning.

I'm afraid. But I'm ready.

"Any questions?"

The rescue Blesseds all shake their heads. I grin at them, trying to muster up a smile similar to Cass's before a raid. Cass. She retired not long ago, leaving her legacy—her position—to me. I thought she was joking. She wasn't. And here I am.

I turn to Leith, and he gives me a nod of deference.

"Are you ready to send us down?" I ask him.

"I'm ready whenever you are." He raises an eyebrow at me. "Are you going to go your usual way?"

"Of course." I grin, and this time it's genuine rather than forced. "I like to feel the wind on my face."

Still grinning, I turn back to the rescue Blesseds. My rescue Blesseds. "Are we ready?"

A chorus of yeses fills the air.

"Great," I say. "I'll meet you down there."

And—to no one's surprise—I run over to and off of the edge of the ship.

Five years. Five years it's been since me and my friends joined the Calamity for good. It took a while for us to adjust. I dreamed of villagers and Magicians and knives for so long, and sometimes I still do. Dreams are hard to get rid of. Otherwise, though, I let go. I learned to live my new life, though it was hard and I made many mistakes along the way.

There was no thought process leading up to my joining the rescue Blesseds. Really, I could never not have joined. No one was surprised. They all welcomed me back like an old friend—which I was, really; after what I'd done for Brinley, they were happy to have me.

And now I'm here. I haven't been to my village in five years. Already, from above, I can see that it's changed. Houses have fallen down and been re-erected, and gardens have shifted in search of fertile soil. The one thing I cannot tell from above—in the near-darkness illuminated by the crescent moon—is whether the hearts of the people there have changed. Probably not. Five years may have been a long time, but fear is long-lived. And the fear we sowed that night won't fade quickly.

There's always hope, though. Hope for a better place. Hope for a better world.

I'm getting a bit too close to the ground, so I call my birds. They're there in an instant. We've perfected this, they and I, and though they tell me I'm a foolhardy daredevil each time, I can tell they enjoy it, too. The perfect dive. Their talons grasping my arms. The gradual slowing down, and the rolling tumble into the grass.

I roll to my feet, as I always do. I'm waiting when the other Blesseds touch ground.

Tonight, we will rescue our fellow magic-casters. We will fix a little bit of this broken world. And perhaps, someday, the people of this earth will look to the skies not with fear, but with hope.