Rising Phoenix - Sequel To Forgotten Power

Epilogue

Bren clung to Arelyn's hand as they hid among the side array of trees. The forest that was normally fairly quiet was bustling with voices and noise. Elves dressed in green made their way through the trees, talking in somber tones and keeping their heads bowed.

Arelyn wanted more than anything to be waiting at the end of the line.

She wanted to be able to mourn her brother with everyone else.

He'd died saving his friend's life. Was that really a bad way to die? No. But their father barely seemed to care that his son was dead. His mother was nowhere to be found. The most upset people there were the Vackers. No, dying to save a friend was not a bad way to die, but this Planting barely did him any honor.

Months. It had been months since Bren and Arelyn had destroyed the Neverseen. But that didn't stop them. Her brother had died to one of the few remaining members; Gren. Of them all, it had to be Gren. Gren, the Phaser that had specialized in torture. Her brother had been protecting his friend from a psychopath.

Arelyn saw Val walking alongside Tam and Wylie. Wylie, she'd learned, was Val's adopted brother. And Tam... As far as Arelyn knew, he still didn't remember anything about Val helping her out. All of them had lost another friend.

Her brother had died protecting Val. Gren had gone after Val, but her brother had stepped in the way. How must Val feel, having been there? How must they all feel? They'd lost their friend; their good friend, who'd already been through so much when Sophie and Dex died. Who still managed to make jokes when others were upset. They'd lost that.

And it was her fault. All those months ago, a goddess had handed her a fortune cookie, saying it came at a price. All those months ago, she broke it to find the child standing beside her. All those months ago, she'd thought having to kill her friend was the price she needed to pay. But no. This was it. This was the price. She couldn't have prevented this. He'd died. She wasn't the cause, but it was her fault.

"Bren," she whispered, "Can you go get Emma?" Bren nodded and took out the pathfinder she'd given him. He gave her a worried glance before leaving.

Bren could light leap. They'd discovered that during the weeks after they'd defeated the Neverseen. He was an elf. He was a demigod. He was like Arelyn. And so was Emma. And everyone else they'd found in the dark. So they'd started looking for them. Helping them. Protecting them. Then, when they were "better", they'd being them to Camp Half Blood or Camp Jupiter. It was easier than bringing them to the Lost Cities. But Bren never left, and nor did Emma.

Arelyn wandered through the trees. The forest felt too loud and too quiet at the same time. Everything felt way too slow and way too fast. She paused for a moment and watched her brother's tree shoot up, joining Sophie and Dex's in a tangle of branches. Three of the seven were gone. Now there were only the Song twins and the Vacker siblings.

The demigods didn't know. They didn't know their friend had died. They didn't know his funeral was happening. They thought that their life had gone back to normal, just like it had for them. But it never would. Not without Sophie, Dex, and now her brother. Nothing would be the same. The demigods couldn't quite understand that. They'd lost people, but they couldn't quite understand this.

Arelyn met Val's eyes for a moment before Val turned away. Val knew who she was. Nobody else could recognize her, but Val did. And she knew Val was sorry. She didn't blame Val for her brother's death. She was mad that he'd died, but not at Val. She hoped Val learned that someday.

Arelyn stopped in front of two different Wanderlings. Nobody knew these trees had been planted. Arelyn had done it herself months ago. One was for a close friend who'd begged to die. Alvar. The other was for every other person she and Bren had killed. Neither of them had any guilt for doing so, but she still felt like she should honor them. Sure, they were her enemies. They'd manipulated her. They'd killed people. But they'd also been the closest thing she'd had to a family. Gisela had been like her mother. Gethen had been that really annoying younger sibling that you act like you hate but in reality have an interesting kind of respect for. Alvar had been her best friend. They had been fighting for the wrong cause, but did that necessarily mean they were bad people?

As she stood in front of the two trees, Bren and Emma came up beside her. "Are you ok?" Bren asked.

Arelyn nodded, "How would you like to disappear for a while?"

"You mean for good?" Emma asked. Arelyn nodded again, and Emma looked at her almost scared, "Like, we never visit Camp Half Blood again?"

"We can still visit. But we're not coming back here. We'll let the Lost Cities sort out their own problems. We'll let the demigods sort out their problems. We'll deal with our own as well. We'll forget our past and go on with our future."

"Where did you have in mind?" Bren asked, handing her the pathfinder.

Arelyn held it for a moment before randomly spinning and stopping the crystal. She smiled and offered her hand to the kids, "Let's find out."