Read parts One through Twenty Three here.

My fingers grasped air. The fingers I anticipated clasping weren’t there. That feeling of nothingness haunted me. Dasha closed The Willow for the day and locked herself in her room when I told her. She didn’t speak to me for days.

Her funeral was a silent, somber event; all of Haven’s End was gathered around Arion’s Tree. The weight of her sadness was no longer bound in her body and rained on us from heavy dark clouds. It was hard to tell if the people of Haven’s End were affected. But each raindrop seared my skin with her memory.

I lingered far behind the mourners, not wanting to taint their grief.

“A day to match her spirit,” Cyrus said as he stood next to me. “The depth of her grief knew no end and now that it’s been released to the earth, the sky weeps with her sorrow.”

“I tried to stop her,” I answered. “I can still feel the air where her hand should have been.”

“You’re going to have to let that go. There was nothing you could have done. Mara died the day the King took her husband. Since then, all she has ever lived for is answers on what happened to him. It’s why she took it upon herself to greet all newcomers. She waited for the day one would come with the information she wanted. Upon learning his fate, there was nothing left for her to fight for. All that was left for her was to join him.”

“How could you possibly know that?” I asked, irritated by his speech.

“Don’t you remember how we met?”

Right. Mara had sought him out to Heal me. But things took a wrong turn. Fast.

“You Saw me.”

“Not really. Magic isn’t as linear as people believe. Yes, there are lanes one can stick to and become proficient. But when Magic wants something of you, you learn to listen.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I said it that day. I Saw that Mara had found the last piece of the puzzle she’d been longing to finish. It turned out to be you. Magic happened to choose me to reveal it to her. Come see me tomorrow. We have much to speak about.”

“What about?” I said, still not looking at him.

“The offer I made you.”

I turned to look at him. Really? You want to talk about this now? He was staring at me, his face cloaked in shadows from the Tree.

“Is now the best time for that?”

“Probably not. However, I know I can help you.” Cyrus’s expression didn’t change.

“Bad things happen to people who try to help me.” I hadn’t meant to say the words aloud, and my hands flew to my mouth as soon as I realized I had. To my surprise, Cyrus smiled.

“Come see me tomorrow,” he repeated.

Cyrus left me alone after that, joining the rest of the village. His words swirled in my mind, and I realized that I didn’t know anything about Magic at all. It was this living entity inhabiting the world. She was whispering her secrets to me, but in a language I didn’t speak.

Feeling out of place, I went back to the cliffside. I had expected to feel something. I had expected to feel Mara’s presence or spirit or something lingering there. But there was nothing. Like she was never there. But I spoke to her anyway.

“I um… know that your husband has been waiting for you. So, I’m hoping you found him. And um,” I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt the sob catch in my throat. “I’m sorry.”

That night I dreamt of a young couple, deep in the throes of love. I watched as they raised a family and grew old together and took their last breaths while tangled in each other’s arms. Their souls left their bodies and danced through the world, blessing every loving union.  Every time a pair of star-crossed lovers met in secret, they were there providing protection. When a man couldn’t find the words to express his feelings to the one he loved, Warrick was there. When a woman felt she may not be enough to attract the affections of the one she pined for, Mara stood beside her.  Together, they watched over those in love, guiding soulmates to each other. They became the patron spirits and Guardians of romance. Mara and Warrick entwined their souls with the soul of the earth and took their place in the Magical realm.