Stars Of Memory

Epilogue

Jīvitaya comes to with searing pain in her stomach and the Correllia bending over her, frowning. "Don't move, Lilaria. I'm pulling the last grub out of you."

She feels a tugging sensation as a small object is pulled out of her abdomen, a tiny bit at a time. Finally, it is free, and the Correllia lets out a sigh.

"That was the hard part. Now let's fix the rest of you up, alright?"

He waves his hand over her body and a wave of warmth spreads over her, starting at her toes and moving all the way up to her head. It leaves a pleasant tingling sensation in its wake, but that quickly fades. The Correllia steps away from her.

"You can get up now Lilaria, I've purged all the venom from your system."

Jīvitaya nods and croaks out a reply, her voice hoarse from screaming. "Thank you."

He smiles. "I would say it was my pleasure, but I would have much preferred to see you without all the drastic injuries. When the wounds are fully healed, I can try and remove your scars, if you wish."

Jīvitaya shakes her head and smiles weakly. "No, they're badges of strength for me. I resisted him."

The Correllia bows and his mouth tilts up into an approving smile. "Very well."

She sits up and he extends a hand to help her off the table. She takes it gratefully, swinging her legs around and standing shakily. She takes stumbling steps out of the room to find Kysanden and Iyokú waiting just outside of it. She pulls them both into a tight hug.

"What happened after . . ."

Kysanden nods. "He's dead. I'm sorry we didn't get there sooner."

Jīvitaya shakes her head. "I knew what was going to happen when I went with him. How long did he have me for?"

"Three days. We're already en route back to La'Vi'Ai."

Jīvitaya pulls back to look at them, her eyes wide in shock. "You mean both the Correll and the Correllia aren't on La'Vi'Ai?"

The Correllia places a hand on Jīvitaya's shoulder. "There isn't anything we can do on the planet at this moment. The war is over and we've healed most of the crystal forest from the bombing damage."

Jīvitaya frowns. "Most?"

Iyokú responds. "The only one Rynsta will let near the life crystals is you, so the best thing we could do is find you. The tracker was really quick thinking, Jīvitaya."

Jīvitaya smiles weakly and looks up at Kysanden. "How long until we get back? If I need to fix the life crystals, then we need to hurry."

"We have about an hour left, and don't worry, the crystals are stabilized for now."

Jīvitaya smiles and walks shakily to the kitchen, sitting next to the window to watch their approach back to her home. When the ship lands, she is immediately at the door, waiting to reemerge on La'Vi'Ai. The doors hiss open and she steps out, immediately greeted by a tight hug from her parents. Her mother finally pulls away and turns her around, inspecting her all over. Her gaze catches on the row of circular burns running down Jīvitaya's arms and sucks in a breath, air hissing between her teeth.

"What happened?"

"He burned me with an iron because I wouldn't answer his questions properly." She calls back over her shoulder at Kysanden. "He was very insistent that I had turned you against him."

Jīvitaya looks back at her parents to see her mother frowning at her neck.

"What?"

Her mother touches a finger to a spot on Jīvitaya's neck. "What is this?"