The Wishing Tree - Book Two [Completed]

Sacrifices - Part 46

I nod and Mason follows me out of the crowd to the edge of the circle. We stand, watching my father and mother working through the crowd. We're not speaking or looking at each other.

"So, this is it," Mason says. "We'll both finally get what we've always wanted."

"Will we?" I ask, keeping my eyes forward. "What did you tell Rocco?"

"I gave him instructions on how to become the next Lord of the Realm. I won't be here anymore." Mason's voice is quiet, subdued.

"And Clara?"

"I asked her to be the gatekeeper. Grayson knew how to impersonate the keeper. In hindsight, I should have figured that out earlier." He shrugs. "I killed the last one to jump to the Second Realm," he gives me a wry glance, "to go kill you. That was before all those loopholes were closed. Rocco will anoint her once we're gone."

"You've forgiven her?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I think I've forgiven myself and that's more important."

We stand in silence for a few moments before I get up the courage to speak again. "What does the last line of my sequence mean, Mason?" I ask, almost afraid of the answer.

"I think you know, Queenie. Playing dumb has never suited you. You're tough, and you're smart. You've learned to do what's right, not what's easy." We stand together watching the Journeyers for a long time before he asks quietly, "What are you most afraid to lose in this realm, Hannah?"

I kept my mind clear on purpose so I didn't have to ask myself that question anymore. I know the answer, but I can't face it. At his words, tears spill down my cheeks, but I can't look at him yet. I gulp down my sobs.

"It's you, Mason. It's you." My chin wobbles and I'm barely holding it together.

He shifts closer to me and turns to face me. His gaze is tender but determined. "Then you have to kill me, Hannah. Use the knife, drive me home. Send yourself home where you belong."

I place my hand gently on his heart and can't quite meet his gaze again. "But, where will you go? You have to be alive to go to the Fourth Realm. That's the only requirement – alive. If I use the dagger..."

"Do you know who I had to kill to be immortal?" he asks. "The last step in my sequence from the tree for immortality?"

I look up, and he looks amused which confuses me. I try to memorize his face, the colour of his eyes. I breathe deeply and wonder whether the scent of pine will take me back to this moment again and again. I can't speak; my throat is trapped around a sob. I shake my head.

"I killed myself, Hannah. And look, I'm still here. That's the thing about the tree, no one knows the outcome of their final sacrifice. There are probably abandoned sequences littered across this realm from people who were too afraid to try."

"But you can't be killed," I say, choking out the words around the massive lump in my throat.

He wipes my tears tenderly with the pads of his fingers and gives me a small smile. "Now, you know that's not true." He tips my chin up so I have to meet his gaze. Tears are falling so rapidly from my eyes that I'm not even bothering to brush them away anymore.

"I won't do it," I say, shaking my head and stepping forward so my forehead rests on his chest. "What if you end up in the Ether?"

"I won't lie to you. Not now. It's a risk; that might happen." He takes a deep breath. "But, Hannah?"

I lift my head and look at him. "This time when I die, I'm gonna die happy. I love and have the love of two of the most amazing people in all the realms." He pauses for a moment before continuing. "At first, when I found out what happened between us, I was angry and frustrated. How different would my life have been? When I thought you'd never loved me, it was easier in a way. Ryan deserved you. But the truth is, he would have deserved you regardless. He always thinks of other people first. You know what he said to me on the balcony in your dream?"

I shake my head, unable to speak.

"He said he'd love me no matter what choice you made. Who says that when their life is on the line? If you don't go back, he dies. And I realized that I wanted to be a guy, like him, who doesn't just say those things, but who means them." He pulls me into his arms, hugging me close.

We stand in silence for a few moments as he strokes my hair and I try to keep my sobs at bay.

Finally, he says, "No matter where I end up, the one thing I know? I'm going to miss you like crazy. I love you, Queenie and because I love you, you're going to kill me, even if I have to knock you out and use your lifeless arms to do it."

I laugh into his chest, trying to brush away my tears. Oddly his pleather outfit isn't able to soak up water. I squeeze him tighter, pushing myself closer to him.

"Whoa, Queenie. I'm still a guy and you're still a pretty girl. I wouldn't get too much closer," he says, kissing the top of my head.

"We're ready for you," my father calls out across the field.

I pull away from Mason. "You might have to knock me out. I'm not sure I can do it."

He gives me a steady look. "Once you have all that power coursing through you, you'll want to go, Queenie. You won't be able to hold it for long. It's going to feel overwhelming. I don't want you to stay; I need you to go. Whatever you pulled from Ryan to blast Grayson across the field," he hesitates and continues, "I'm worried it was too much."

My breath catches on a sob and I shake my head. "No," I say, the tears starting again.

"Shhh, shhh," he says gathering me close again. "I don't know for sure. He might be fine. You had him topped up; he might be fine." Mason strokes my hair, and I rest my cheek on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart. I'm going to end this sound? It's an impossible choice.

Taking a deep breath, I look up at Mason, trying to firm up my resolve. "Ryan needs us."

"He does," he says quietly. "And neither one of us is going to let him down."

I reach up and brush his hair back from his forehead and then I rise up on my tip toes and give his forehead a soft kiss. "I love you, Mason. If I could split myself in two; you'd get half."

He gives me a wicked grin. "Do I get to pick which half I keep?"

I slap his chest and push back from him, shaking my head. I turn towards my father and head into the crowd.

"Who's first?" I ask, squaring my shoulders, wiping away the last of my tears and straightening my spine.

Author's Note:

Are you surprised at the last step in the sequence? How has Mason grown as a character through this novel? How has Hannah changed? It's an impossible choice - what would you choose and why?

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