Like the Dawn (Lark #3) (21 page)

              Everything happens so fast that I can't process it—I can't wrap my mind around the fact that the boy I love just stabbed me. Did that just happen? The burst of light slowly fades into nothing but my body still quivers with the aftershock.
              Jacoby has one arm wrapped protectively around me, while the other holds the dagger at my chest. I wait for the pain to come but when it doesn't I look down and see that the dagger hasn’t pierced me, but rather the black stone encased in my amulet.
              “Wha—?” I falter. “Um, did you just try to stab me?”  I ask Jacoby incredulously.             
              “I could see it. The lifeline,” he says breathlessly. His face is white and the blood vessels in his eyes have ruptured from the pressure of the explosion. His breathing is erratic like he just ran five miles at full sprint.
              “The what?” I ask. “Are you okay? You look like you might pass out.”
              “I could
See
it. The stone. Look.” He waves his hand around at the Light Elves, Shadow Elves, and humans who are slowly getting up around us—only the Dark Elves, including Dugan, remain still on the ground. It's like a cloud has been lifted. The trance on the humans is broken. Hannah stares at me, dazed.
              “Mia? What happened?” she asks, but I barely register her question because there are too many questions of my own whirling around my head and I can barely think straight.
              “The stone? But how? Why?”
              A lyrical voice answers, “The One with Spirit holds the Key...To See what others cannot See...They will bring Light to the Dark...Only to perish but for the Grace of the Lark.”
              “Sól!” I exclaim when she appears in front of us.  I start to ask her more questions when Jacoby collapses in my arms. “Jacoby?!”
              I can't support his weight so we both end up falling to the ground. I maneuver my way out from underneath his heavy body.
              “No. No. No.” My hands are trembling as I shake his shoulders. “Jacoby!”
              This can't be happening. Not after everything. I glare at Sól. Why isn’t she doing something? She can save him. I know she can, yet she just stands there like she's waiting for something.
              “What happened?” I scream. “He was fine just a minute ago!”
              “The power was too much for him. He used the force of his own life to destroy the stone,” Sól answers, and her eerie calmness irritates me. Doesn't she realize that my already broken heart has just been shattered into a million tiny pieces?
              I feel a hand on my shoulder and Adele says, “Mia, I think it's too late. He's gone.”
              “No!” I say adamantly. “No. This can't be the end.”
              I place my hand on Jacoby's chest and will the healing magic to pour out of me and into him even though I know he's already gone. Gone like Alberico. Gone like Freya. Gone. Gone. Gone. I know that all I'm going to accomplish is completely draining myself but it doesn't matter.  I have to try anyway. I can't let him be gone too.
              The heat surges in my veins, rapidly growing stronger until I feel like I might implode. I concentrate it all, forcing all of the energy into my hand until it bursts forth with such a force it knocks me breathless and scorches my hand.
              I pull my hand away in shock. What was that? That was like nothing I had ever felt before. I examine my hand expecting to see smoke but it looks perfectly fine.
              I look back down at the fallen boy that I love and something catches my eye. On his chest, right over his heart, is a faint golden mark identical to the one on the inside of my wrist. I reach down and touch it gingerly. It's warm to the touch and that's when I feel something else. Then I can hear it too—the sound of a beating heart.
              His eyelids flutter open and his emerald green eyes look up at me full of life and love. “Lark?”              “Oh!” I gasp. I fling myself down on him.
              “Can't—breathe.”
              “I'm sorry!” I sit back up, then reaching down under his elbow I ease him up into a sitting position.
              “What happened?”
              “You died.”
              “That's a little dramatic, even for me.”
              “Yes,” I scoff. “Yes, it is.”
              “I think I remember,” he says thoughtfully. “Everything went black and cold—colder than I had ever been before in my life. And then suddenly, I could see the horizon. It was like the dawn was finally strong enough to break through the darkness. Pink and orange beams lit up the sky—faint at first and then so bright I could see nothing else. That was you wasn't it? You saved me.”
              “Well, I mean, really—what else is new?” I make a lame attempt at teasing him.
              “That does seem to be a habit of yours.” He smiles as he pulls me closer to him and everything in the world feels right again. “You know, someday you're going to have to let me be the hero.”
              “Well, I'm pretty sure you just saved the world so I think we're even. Besides, I think we've had enough heroics to last a lifetime.” I place my hand over the mark on his chest that matches the one on my wrist. “And if this means what I think it means, a lifetime will last forever.”
              He looks at the identical marks and his face lights up in understanding. I don't know how it happened—how I was able to transform Jacoby the way Sól transformed me, but right now that doesn't matter. All I care about is that he's okay. He's here and very much alive.
              The relief I feel only briefly overshadows the heartache I feel deep in my bones over the loss of my father and friends—a wound I suspect will never really heal. Tonight has been full of sorrow and loss but just as the dawn begins to break through this bleak night, a tiny ray of hope begins to flicker its way into my soul.

Epilogue

             
I
t feels wrong—like I'm invading his privacy somehow. I know that's ridiculous, but it's how I feel standing in the middle of his drawing room.
              For so long I wondered what it was that he hid underneath the white sheet—now I didn't have to wonder anymore. I consider just leaving the canvas untouched but I can't stand not knowing. It's almost like a piece of him is still here and I need to see it.
              I pull the sheet back quickly the way you rip off a band aid in the hope that it will somehow make the hurt sting less.
              It's me. He's painted me in a dark green dress standing in the rose gardens. My back is to the viewer but it doesn't matter, I know that it's me because I'm surrounded by a bright, golden light.
              I stare at the painting, awestruck by his skill and the beauty of the vivid colors. It's so realistic, yet it has an ethereal feel to it that makes it seem almost dreamlike.
              I wish he would've shared this with me while he was still here so I could tell him how beautiful it is. There was so much left unsaid, it kills me inside knowing I'll never get the chance to.
              “Mia?” Isobel says softly from the doorway. “It's time.”
              I nod, quickly wiping away the tears that have trickled down onto my cheeks.
              “Can I just have another minute?”
              She nods and walks back out onto the balcony overlooking the front of the castle where a crowd has formed.
              I still can't believe that this is happening. If you would have asked me a year ago how I wanted to spend the summer after I turned eighteen, I definitely would never have imagined that it would be
this
              Here I am, about to stand in front of the Ljósálfar, surrounded by people who love me—Isobel, Adele, Greyson, Jacoby, and even Hannah are all here, but it still doesn't feel complete.               There are too many people I care about who are noticeably absent. I wish my mom and Paul and Maddie could be here.
              "They are," Jacoby says from behind me. I turn around to face him.
              He smiles at me and then looks behind him. I follow his gaze and my mouth drops open. Back inside the room my mom, Paul, and Maddie are huddled together, eyes wide and curious as they take in their surroundings.
              I can't believe they're here.
              This can't be real.
              "How?" I manage to ask.
              "I pulled some strings," he says with a proud smile. He takes my hand and leads me toward them.               “Mia?” My mom asks tentatively as she steps forward and looks around nervously—I can relate to the disbelief she must be experiencing right now. I remember how it felt the first time I was thrown into this magical world. I rush toward her, throwing my arms around her neck and the tears that I had just managed to reign control over moments ago are released once more.
              “I can't believe you're here,” I tell her. I release her and turn to Paul who is holding my baby sister, Maddie. I take her from his willing arms and squeeze her.
              “I can't believe this place is real,” my mom says in astonishment as she hugs me again.
              “I'm just so happy you are here!” I wipe my tear-streaked face and get control of my emotions.
              “You look so beautiful.” She smiles. “I almost didn't recognize you.”
              I look down at the white and gold gown I'm wearing—my most elfish looking dress. Alberico had said it was his favorite so it seemed fitting I should wear it today.
              “Jacoby told us—about—” She doesn't finish but I know who she's talking about. 
              Alberico.
              My father.
              He should be here, but he's not. I will never see him again and that causes an ache in my chest that I don't think will ever go away.
              Of course, if he was here,
this
wouldn't be happening. 
              My coronation day.
              I would give anything in the world to have him here. It doesn't seem fair that I spent practically my whole life thinking my father was just some jerk that abandoned my mother after a summer fling only to discover the truth not even a year ago. 
              To learn that my father was one of the greatest elven kings of all time and that he loved my mother and me so much that he went to such great lengths to protect us, yet I only was allowed to know him for six short months—it's just not fair.
              But I've learned that life isn't fair and you just have to roll with the punches.
              It's only been a few days since the final battle took place. I wanted to wait until we could give Alberico and the others we lost a proper ceremony. However, the Ljósálfar don't have funerals like humans since they don't view death in the same manner we do.  They look at the process as simply returning to nature.
              Herdis and the rest of the Shadow Elves that so graciously came to our aid just when we needed them the most remained to say their final good-byes. I know that we wouldn't have been successful without their help.
              Elves from the other kingdoms came to Álfheimr to pay their respects to the fallen king as well. King Magnus and Klaus as well as King Valdar, Queen Isla and Hugo are all still here awaiting important business matters that will be discussed later on today. 
              I had my doubts about both Klaus and Hugo in the beginning. Especially since Hugo certainly wasn't very likable. But both of them have really come through for me when I needed them most, and I think we'll all be able to remain peaceful friends and allies long into the future
              My first act as Queen will be to sign a treaty between the kingdoms pledging to always come to each other's aid.
              If our alliance would've happened sooner maybe—just maybe, we wouldn't have suffered so much loss.
              I've been on autopilot for days. I feel as though I have to consciously make myself inhale and exhale with every breath.
              Jacoby squeezes my hand reassuringly in an automatic response to my inner thoughts. I look up at him and smile gratefully. I'm so thankful that he's here. I don't know if I could do this without him.
              After I brought him back, I made Sól answer my questions. She explained that in order to keep the Dökkálfar trapped in the Underworld, she had to encase their essence—their souls for lack of better word—in the stone. When I freed the stone thinking it was the only way to save Isobel, I freed them and broke the curse that had kept them in the Underworld.
              She had no choice but to add the stone to my amulet to keep it safe until the time was right to destroy it—a lunar eclipse.
              When the sun, earth, and moon aligned perfectly, the Dökkálfar just had to be close enough for the essence to leave the stone and return the elemental magic to them. It's why they waited until that exact moment to infiltrate Álfheimr. Dugan had it planned perfectly. It would've worked had it not been for Jacoby.
              I always thought it was strange that the Dark Elves weren't able to harness the elemental magic like the Light Elves, yet Dugan was still able to use Spirit.  But Spirit plays by its own rules—which I should have realized since I've never once been able to manipulate any of the elements. Spirit is something else completely—something that I still struggle to understand.
              None of that matters because the stone still contained a piece of Dugan's life essence.
              That's what Jacoby saw—the ‘lifeline’—it's why they seemed to get stronger as the battle wore on. Their essence was restoring their strength as the lunar eclipse progressed and nobody realized it because they couldn't see it—but Jacoby can See what others can't see. It all makes sense now.
              When Jacoby broke the stone, he basically destroyed their souls for good and, without their souls, they could no longer exist.  Dugan and his Dark Elves are gone forever, granting the Light Elves peace once more, and today I officially become their queen.
              I never thought I would actually take the throne. For so long I thought I would die a mortal death long before my father was ready to pass it on. Yet here I stand, in front of the Ljósálfar, being crowned their queen—and they are waiting for me to speak.
              “Mom,” I start. “I'm so thankful you are here. For weeks now all I've wanted was to be back home with you guys. I should be enjoying my last summer before heading off to college in the fall but that's not my life now. My life is here—with my people. They need me.”
              “I know, sweetie.”
              “You do?”
              “Yes. I mean, this is all surreal—it's kind of hard to wrap my mind around. But Jacoby said you needed me—us—here and we we will be here for you whenever you need us. But Mia?”
              “Yeah?”
              “From what Jacoby has told us about the past few months, it sounds like you won't really be needing us all that much. We're so proud of you, Queen Mia.”
              “I love you, Mom.”
              “I love you too, Mia. Very much. Now, I think they are waiting for you.” She nods toward the crowd of waiting Light Elves.
              I step out onto the balcony and address my kingdom. It’s strange standing so high above them, but I'm grateful for the distance so they can't see my tear-stained cheeks.
              “My father's reign was tragically cut short. He should have been on the throne for many centuries to come. Though his era was brief, he was a wonderful ruler and Álfheimr was peaceful and happy up until the very end. I can only hope that I will be able to lead Álfheimr back into the glory days full of peace and prosperity and a newfound friendship with the kingdoms of Raumelfr and Gautelfr. I know that I can never compare to my father, but I intend to do the very best for my people for as long as you will allow me the privilege of being your queen.”
              The crowd erupts into cheers around me. None of this feels real. Jacoby gives my hand another reassuring squeeze.
             
“How was that?”
I ask him using Mind-speak.             
“Perfect.”
              “Yeah?”
              “Yeah. You're going to be a great queen,”
he echoes Alberico's final words to me. My heart clenches in response.
             
I'm not sure if I believe that yet, but I know with all of my heart that I'm going to spend the rest of my very long life trying to be.

The End