Mavobella: The Angel Of Death

Epilogue

You’d think that after all we went through, I’d finally get a moment to breathe without someone trying to save my life or summon a monster with way too many tentacles. Yet, here we are, perched on a grassy hillside inside what I now officially know is the back of a cosmic turtle—an “island,” they said. Sure. And I thought Wade’s sense of direction was bad.

Nicole’s sprawled out beside me, busily scribbling notes about “expansive ecosystems” and “bizarre mythical fauna” that somehow include a flower that snores. She’s muttering something about bio-diversity in “limited airspace,” while I keep my eye on Wade, who's—oddly enough—fiddling with his sword, trying to make it glow brighter against the sunset painted across the turtle’s shell.

We’re a mismatched trio if I’ve ever seen one. And to think, somewhere in the chaos of sea monsters, time loops, and a very venomous green liquid, Wade and I managed to, well…fall for each other? Or rather, he fell (literally) off that sea cliff, and I might’ve mentioned something about not letting him go alone. I suppose I didn’t either. Now, every time he catches me looking at him, he grins in that infuriatingly smug way that makes me want to scythe him… or maybe just sit a little closer.

“So,” Nicole says, looking up with a sigh of relief like she’s finished her millionth note. “Do you two plan on making googly eyes forever, or should we explore more of this cosmic turtle before it decides to stretch and fling us into another dimension?”

Wade’s grin gets wider. “I don’t know, Vampire Girl,” he says, nudging me with his elbow. “What do you think? Another trek across this place, or are you comfortable staying here and ‘protecting’ me?”

“Protecting you?” I scoff, leaning back on my elbows. “I thought you were protecting me, or were you too distracted by your reflection to notice?”

Nicole rolls her eyes, but there’s a laugh hiding in the corner of her mouth. “Please, I’m third-wheeling for two people who argue about which one’s more heroic. Not how I saw my day going, just saying.”

Wade throws his arm around me, and I let it linger, just long enough to hear Nicole mutter, “Oh, great. Now the world’s unraveling, and these two are acting like lovesick teenagers.”

“Cheer up, Nicole,” I say, giving Wade a wink. “You’re stuck with us now—two heroes in shining… well, glowing green and orange things, plus a cosmic turtle with the strangest wildlife.”

“Yeah, lucky me,” Nicole replies, though her smile says she wouldn’t trade it for any magic formula or gem in the world. And so, as stars begin to sprinkle themselves across the turtle’s sky, we sit there in comfortable silence—three adventurers, a bit bruised and very much bound together, watching this fantastic world open up beneath our feet.