A Haunting Melody: The Golden Lyre

Epilogue

"I still can't believe all this!" Neil said in disbelief after Astrid had told him everything that had happened, "I told you he couldn't be trusted."

Astrid looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "he was your best friend and you had no idea what he was involved with! I hardly think you have a right to say that."

Neil blushed as he looked at his little sister. He was so relieved that she was okay. She had been unconscious for an entire week before she finally woke up. He had been worried that she would never wake up at one point.

He felt like a failure, looking at her with all of her bandages and bruises. Her split lip had already healed somehow, but she still looked strained. Not just physically, but emotionally.

He could see the sadness in her eyes. She hadn't cried once since she had woken up and that made him worry.

"I know she meant a lot to you. I am so, so sorry that I wasn't there for you," Neil whispered shakily, resting a hand on Astrid's shoulder.

Before she knew it, a few tears had escaped his eyes. She hadn't seen her brother cry since they had lost their father. The sight of his tears felt like a stab at her heart and she quickly pulled him into an embrace.

She didn't know what to say, so she just held him in her arms and try to show him instead. She didn't blame him for anything. It wasn't his fault. Nothing was his fault.

Astrid felt a familiar tightening in her throat and chest as she thought back to that night with Neil. She often found herself reflecting on the past lately.

Still, she needed to focus on the present now, and presently, she was meant to be studying.

She hadn't quite recovered from all her injuries yet and lay in bed most days. She let out a deep sigh and decided it was finally time to do the reading Adras had given her.

She opened the journal to the page Adras had instructed her to read, furrowing her eyebrows as she read the contents.

This page was all about the Mark Psi, the most mysterious Mark in the Hunter world.

Why had Adras given her this to study? He said it was very important. Unless...

Astrid gulped as she slowly pulled her sleeve up. Her heart raced as her eyes fell onto the grid of marks on her wrist. Her eyes scanned the grid back and forth, looking desperately for the Mark, but to no avail.

She let out a sigh of relief. Life was hard enough, the last thing she needed was to know that it would never end.

Just then, Neil walked in with a cup of coffee in hand.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked, peering over her shoulder at the journal.

"Adras told me to read this page. He said it was very important, but I don't understand why," Astrid replied, perplexed.

Neil paused as he looked at the page, realising which Mark it was referring to.

"Um, Astrid?" he said nervously.

"Yes Neil?" she asked, getting a little annoyed by his tone.

"You have this Mark," he said matter-of-factly.

Astrid looked up at him like he was crazy.

"No I don't," she said insistently, "look!"

She shoved her wrist in his face, "see? No Mark!"

Neil lowered her hand and looked at her cautiously, "it's not on your wrist."

At this, Astrid jumped out of bed and ran to her mirror, looking all over her body to make sure that she wasn't losing her mind.

"Where?" she asked frantically, not seeing it anywhere.

Neil picked up his phone and held it up behind her.

"Here," he said, using the dark screen as a mirror.

Astrid looked into her mirror to see the reflection in the phone, her eyes widening as she saw it.

There, clear as day, was the Mark of longevity, Psi, a large, trident-shaped symbol on the back of her neck...