The Soul Seekers: Horizon (34 page)

Should’ve never asked for a peek into the future.

I never allowed myself that kind of indulgence before, so why risk it now? Just because the Richters are dead doesn’t mean this will end any better.

I mean, what’s next? A vision of the Bone Keeper and her sinister skirt of snakes flaying my flesh and collecting their bounty?

Daire, please,
Valentina says
. Have I ever let you down?

Well, there were times you failed to show . . . but, now I realize you were always standing by, letting me find my own way.

Which is what I’m doing now. Keep watching . . .

I switch from doubt and anxiety to the scene unfolding before me, and that’s when I see it.

That’s when I begin to understand what’s really occurring.

And before I can do anything to stop it, my face is streaming with tears at the sight of Dace standing before me, his hair cropped short, his body lean and muscular, his features a bit more
angular than they are now, but he’s still as devastatingly handsome as ever, if not more so for all that we’ve been through together. And standing right beside him is a young woman I
instinctively recognize as a midwife I trained, placing a newborn baby in each of his arms.

Twins!

And they’re ours?

You’re a doctor of holistic health. Dace is the mayor of Enchantment. And this is your family—a boy and a girl.

Enjoy your “something to cling to.”
Valentina laughs, circling her arms around me and embracing me with such an abundance of unconditional love I nearly fold under the
weight of it. The two of us watching the future fade. And when it’s no more than a memory, she vanishes with it, leaving me sobbing before my family and friends.

“I really hope those are tears of joy,” Lita says.

I nod. Swipe the back of my hand across my cheeks, and confirm that they are.

“Are you going to tell us what you saw?” Xotichl asks.

“And spoil the surprise?” I sniff, shake my head, still captured by the wonder of it. “No way.” I grin. “But someday, I promise, you’ll see for
yourself.” I wrap my arms around my waist, hardly able to contain the surge of happiness and joy streaming within. Unable to recall a time when I’ve felt so content, I return to the
present, the life that I’ve made, the wonderful people gathered around me, and place the feather on top of Chay’s grave.

When it’s done, Leftfoot looks at us and says, “I think it’s time we head home.”

Everyone mumbles their agreement and starts to follow his lead, except for Dace and I who continue to linger.

“Aren’t you coming?” Jennika peers at me with red-rimmed eyes, her hair falling in soft messy waves around her dirt-smudged features. Her filthy, torn clothes a testament to
all that she risked to support me.

“Go home. Get some rest.” I move in for a hug. Hoping to convey just how much I appreciate all that she’s sacrificed on my behalf, not just today, but pretty much every day
since she brought me into the world. “Dace and I are going to stick around for a bit. We’ll catch up later.”

She nods. Traces a finger over each cheek, and tucks my hair back behind my ears. “Be safe.” She lifts the buckskin pouch from her neck, and loops it around mine.

“Django’s Bear.” I finger the drawstring, about to retrieve it and give it to her. “Do you want it? As a way to remember?”

“I don’t need it.” She grins. “I made my wish. It’s as good as done.”

Dace and I stand together, watching as Leftfoot leads them away. Then he pulls me into his arms, kisses the very tip of my nose, and says, “So, now that they’re gone, will you tell
me?”

“Tell you what?” I tilt my head, lift my gaze to meet his, knowing exactly what he’s referring to but enjoying the tease.

“C’mon, just a hint?” He presses a kiss on my forehead, my cheek, before settling onto my lips.

“And wreck the surprise? No way!” My lips merge with his in a kiss that’s soft and affectionate at first, though it’s not long before it deepens into an urgent need for
more.

Despite my exhaustion, despite knowing firsthand what they mean when they say
bone tired,
here, in Dace’s arms, I’m teeming with an overwhelming sense of triumph and
aliveness. Finally realizing—really, truly realizing—the enormity of what we pulled off.

The full extent of our victory so much bigger than putting a stop to Coyote.

By working together, we thwarted a prophecy.

Only this time in a way that undeniably eradicates evil and celebrates good.

The world spared because of our capacity to love, even when it wasn’t easy to do.

Dace pulls away, leaving my lips cold in his absence. “Shall we?” He motions toward the spring. Its misty bubbling waters seeming to beckon.

“I think we’ve earned it, don’t you?”

He grins, his icy-blue eyes finding mine, reflecting my image thousands of times. “You look exactly as I envisioned you that day at the cave.”

I cock my head, at first not sure what he’s getting at.

“When I came to you in your vision quest, and described the beautiful, radiant woman you would someday become if you could just hang in there.”

“I remember,” I say, voice thick with the memory.

“You made it, Daire.”

“We both made it,” I say.

“It’s like coming full circle. This is where it all began in the dream we both shared. Only this time, with the Richters gone, the ending is ours to determine.”

We shed our clothes quickly and step in. The waters rising to our waists until we grasp each other’s hand and immerse ourselves completely, only to emerge newly healed and refreshed.

I move toward him, clasp my hands at the back of his neck, and pull him down to me. My fingers stroking the soft spot at the nape of his neck, my tongue seeking his. At first wondering what it
is that makes this kiss so different from all the others that came before, but when he cups his hands to either side of my face and gazes deeply into my eyes, I instantly realize the one ingredient
that was always lacking until now is the certainty that Dace and I have a future together.

A future far lovelier than I ever allowed myself to imagine.

“Are we happy?”

I angle my face toward his, not quite sure what he means.

“In the future. In the vision you saw. Are we happy?”

I nod.

“As happy as we are now?”

I grin, snaking my fingers over the curve of his shoulders, across the tautness of his chest where I pause on the key, before moving down the valley of his abdomen, and then lower still.
“That depends.” I grin. “How happy would you say you are now?”

His features soften. His gaze grows blunted. “Very,” he breathes. “Extremely happy. And you?” His fingers do their own exploring as he leads me out of the water and onto
the soft bed of grass where we lie side by side, staring contentedly at the glorious, turquoise-blue sky draped overhead.

“You know, I never believed you until now.” I turn, prop myself onto my elbow, and rest my head on my hand. “The first time you told me, I thought for sure it was just another
one of Leftfoot’s stories. But, as it turns out, I never should’ve doubted you. It wasn’t a fable at all.”

“What’re you talking about?” He trails a finger across the ledge of my collarbone, then toys with the small golden key that hangs between my breasts.

“That.” I watch as he lifts his chin, follows the tip of my pointing finger to the blazing ball of sun overhead. “There really is a sun in the Lowerworld. Who knew?”

He throws his head back and laughs, the sound deep and true. “I knew,” he says, anchoring his leg over mine and pulling me close. “I never doubted any of Leftfoot’s
stories, no matter how crazy they might’ve seemed at the time.”

He runs a palm down my side, tracing the curves and valleys of my torso. His touch so intoxicating I instantly melt, though it’s nothing compared to the sensation of his lips following the
very same path set by his hands.

I cup my hands to his cheeks, and pull him back to me. The look we share saying more than any words could. The past is behind us, the future sprawling ahead. But what matters most is this very
moment. So we immerse ourselves in the present and the absolute wonder of being together.

“So what should we do about our gifts?” Dace asks, the two of us catching our breaths after another round of loving. Fielding my look of confusion, he says,
“You know, our magick? Seems wrong to let it slide just because we accomplished what we set out to do. And yet, it seems kind of lazy to use it for mundane tasks like tidying up the house and
locating the remote.”

I cock my head, feign a look of deep contemplation. “That’s exactly how I planned to use mine. Do you have any idea how many people wish they could manage a household so
easily?”

He plants a kiss on the top of the head, gets to his feet, and helps me to stand. Raising an open palm before him, he says, “Well, if you insist . . .” Summoning my tattered red
gown, as I collect what remains of his tux, which, at this point is reduced to a pair of fancy black cutoffs and a torn and stained undershirt.

“Don’t we look ravishing.” I shake my head at the spectacle as I pull a nearly shredded strap over my shoulder.

“You always look ravishing to me,” he says. “Question is, do you look ravishing in the future?”

I playfully swat him on the rear. “You’ll just have to stick around long enough to find out.”

I adjust the plunging neckline of my dress, feeling overly exposed under the brightly shining sun, when the blue tourmaline ring falls from the pocket and I’m instantly reminded of
Zahra’s instructions.

“What do we do with it?” Dace stoops to retrieve it and places it on the center of my outstretched palm.

“Zahra told me to use it to release all of the others, though what she failed to say was how I’m supposed to go about that.”

Dace shoots me a worried look, and at first I start to feel worried too. But then I remember how I used the ring earlier to accidentally start the fire that ultimately saved me from being mauled
by Coyote. And thinking it might work again, I angle it high toward the sun, centering the stone until it’s absorbing the light.

“You might want to shield your eyes,” I warn. “Just in case. It’s only a hunch, but it’s all I’ve got.”

A moment later, the stone and the band surrounding it become so hot I’m about to drop it when it bursts into a million shards of glitter and dust that spill at our feet.

“Well, I guess it’s safe to say that stone’s obliterated,” I say, the two of us staring at the mess. “Still, we won’t know what became of the others until we
return to Enchantment.”

“Maybe sooner . . .” Dace scoops a hand into his pocket, coming away with a palm filled with tourmaline shards and dripping blue ink. “This is what remains of the pen Luther
gave Auden after signing the contract. Auden gave it to me, asked me to try to find a way to dispose of it. Guess I just did.”

“So, it stands to reason that the other tourmalines are destroyed as well? I mean, there were a lot of tourmalines out there . . .”

“It’s the logical conclusion,” Dace says. “And, for now, it’s all we’ve got to go on.”

“Since when has anything in Enchantment ever been even remotely logical?” I watch as he tries to wipe the ink onto his pant leg, but, for the most part, it’s too late. His palm
will be blue for a week.

“It’s a new day.” He abandons the task and grasps my hand with his clean one. “Which means there’s a whole new town for us to discover.”

“You make it sound so exciting.” I lean against him, overcome with an inexplicable reluctance to leave.

“That’s because it
is
exciting. Except maybe for you.” He tips his finger under my chin, tilts my face toward his. “What gives? You nervous about heading
back?”

“A little.” I shrug. “Guess I’ve gotten so used to the evil Enchantment, I’m not sure I’m ready for the new and improved version. Not to mention how the only
real challenge I now face is getting through senior year. How can that ever compare to saving three worlds? Do you think I might’ve peaked too soon?”

“I think you’ve only just begun.” He drops a kiss on my cheek, helps me onto Horse’s back, and we begin the journey back to the portal with Horse intuitively leading the
way, and Raven riding high on my shoulder.

It’s a ride we’ve made countless times in a similar fashion, but never with quite so much fanfare as now.

All around us animals pop out of shrubs, caves, and elaborate tunnels they’ve carved deep into the earth, calling to us in their various ways, as we make our way to the vortex.

“You ready?” Dace slides free of Horse’s back and I do the same.

Stopping just shy of the place where the vibration is higher, the energy moving quicker, I take a long moment to look all around, knowing I’ll be back many times, but still wanting to
memorize this place the way it looks now. Then after bidding goodbye to Raven and Horse, Dace clasps my hand in his and we step through together. The two of us spiraling up through the earth, side
by side, only to find this particular portal leads to the Rabbit Hole—though the formerly bleak desert landscape is gone.

“It’s weird to see it so empty.” It’s the first thing I say as we enter the deserted club. “With the instruments still on the stage, and the tables full of bottles
and glasses, it looks eerie, almost like it’s been evacuated.”

“In a way, it was,” Dace says. “But surely this is not the first time you’ve seen it that way?” His lips curl at the corner, his eyes flash on mine, and it takes a
moment to get the reference.

“So you did know?”

He nods.

“And still you let me go?”

He squints, swipes a hand over his chin. “Wasn’t easy. It took every bit of my strength not to go after you. Luckily, there was still a small a part of me that managed to cling. And
it was that part that insisted on sparing you. Besides, it was fun watching Raven breach the Coyote lair right under Leandro’s clueless nose.”

We walk past the plush banquets, the extra-long bar with the gleaming countertop and sparkly snake suspended overhead. Its glass mosaic tiles flashing, blinking, appearing as though the serpent
is slithering, which instantly reminds me of Marliz’s tattoo.