Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4) (75 page)

Alex's eyelids slid closed, his lashes dark against his cheeks. A tear spilled out of the corner of his eye and slid down his cheekbone to where it ran into my fingers. I leaned forward and kissed him gently on his forehead, but then I pressed my wet cheek to his forehead and wrapped my arms around him, squeezing him close to me. He slid his arms around my waist and held me there, just held me. My own tears kept falling—for Cicero, and for Alex's pain at losing him. And then my tears weren't just for Cicero, but for Nexus, and Myez, and my grandfather and father, and for a world full of beauty and magic and life that no longer existed. We didn't speak for a long time, content in grieving with one another. His shoulders shook a little with each of his breaths, and sometimes I kissed his hair, and sometimes he squeezed my waist.

"I love you," he whispered against my neck.

"I love you, too," I said against his hair.

He pulled back and looked at me. His lashes were dark and clumped together, and his gaze moved over my face. He gently wiped away a stray tear from my cheek. "Thank you," he said softly, running his hand through my hair. "I've…I'm trying to be strong for my mother, but…it's hard, sometimes."

I placed my hand over his. "I know."

His shoulders rose with a full, resolved breath, and then he grabbed my hand from his face, threaded his fingers through mine, and pulled them into his lap. He waited another breath. "So. My mother. She left Karth with Master Durus and Arioch Prime. Arioch knew what had happened and brought them to the tunnels."

"Is that when she found out about your father?" I asked.

Alex winced at our hands. "Yes. She preoccupied herself with making sure Stefan healed, so she hasn't had much time to grieve until now." He paused and then looked straight into my eyes. "I wouldn't understand that kind of grief if I didn't know you."

I bit the insides of my cheeks, but another tear leaked out despite myself. He reached out and wiped it away, too.

"What about the rest of the world?" I whispered. "The people in the other territories?" This was a question I'd been almost too afraid to ask. The guilt I felt for what I'd done, for destroying a world so many people called home—it lingered at the edge of every thought, threatening to push me over the edge.

"I think most of them got out in time," Alex said to my overwhelming relief. "At least it seems that way, considering how many Gaians are being assimilated into the corresponding nations. Anyway, it's more than would've survived if you hadn't done what you did."

"What about…the other creatures?"

He exhaled slowly and looked down at our hands. "I don't think any of them made it. The creatures of Gaia…they were magical creatures, and they, too, were tied to Gaia's world, so while they may still exist here in spirit, their bodies seem to have disappeared with Gaia's world." His gaze lifted to mine. "That isn't to say that they won't ever exist here. Tran thinks they might in the future; they just don't exist now."

I thought of Grool. "Then…it's safe to say the dragons didn't come through, either."

He shook his head, and I felt a deep sense of loss and regret, knowing that Nexus's kin were gone. They'd sacrificed themselves for us, and I would never get the chance to let them know how grateful I was. 

"Also…Myez didn't make it," he said.

"I saw," I whispered, my heart feeling even heavier.

Alex cupped my chin. "He wanted me to tell you thank you. And that you saved him."

This time, more tears spilled down my cheeks, landing on Alex's knee. He leaned forward and kissed me lightly on one of my tear-streaked cheeks. "He died a free man, Daria. Through you, he found forgiveness. He's in a better place now, and probably with his family."

I nodded as he wiped away another tear from my face. He was right. I knew he was right, but I still hurt for Myez. And Cicero. And my grandfather, and everyone else we'd lost in this terrible, terrible war. Alex and I sat quietly another long grievous moment, and then I asked, "There were…three armies by the portal in Valdon. You're saying they all made it through into Yosemite?"

"Yes, at least all who survived the actual battle, which includes Tran, Fleck, Mercedes, and Hawk. And…" His brow knit together as he looked back down at our hands, thinking something over. "Danton was able to rescue most of Orindor."

"He was?" My heart filled with hope. Danton had followed through.

Alex nodded, rubbing his thumb over mine. "He came to see you, actually. While you were in a coma."

"He…did?" I could not picture Lord Danton Pontefract in all his medieval finery storming down the halls of a hospital, past stretchers and monitors and surgical carts. But truth be told, I was glad—relieved, even—that he was alive and okay.

Alex looked up at me. Talking about Danton was still hard for him even though he tried not letting it bother him. "Yes. He needed to see that you were all right. And then he left for Paris."

"Paris?" I didn't hide my surprise.

"Yes, well, he had a very valuable necklace to sell, and apparently the Louvre was the highest bidder."

My eyes widened. I knew immediately which necklace it was. "The Je Quai."

"The…what?"

"Ah…it's a necklace—a Pontefract heirloom. Danton gave it to me as a gift but, um, I sort of broke it when I found out what Eris did to my family."

"What do you mean, you broke it?"

"As in I ripped it from my neck, right before I attacked Danton."

Alex's lips broke into a small smile. He looked a little proud, and pleased.

"He must've sold the gems separately, then," I said, thinking. "The Estrella ruby was about the size of my palm. He could probably buy a small country with the profits of that thing alone. Actually, now that I think about it, where are all the Gaians? How is the media not all over this?"

"Oh, the media
is
all over this. It's been on the news twenty-four seven since we came through. You can't hide an exodus of an entire world." He leaned over, snatched the leather case from the nightstand, and opened the flap. The screen of his iPad sprang to life.

I started, gaping at the innocent little screen. Almost an entire year of nothing but magic, and now I was back to a world of electricity and gadgets. Alex noticed and chuckled. "You get used to it. After a while it just feels like coming home after living in another country for a long time." He shrugged.

"Not that I'll have to get used to it now," I added.

"True."

He entered his password, and I grinned up at him. "My birthday?"

He smiled at his screen. "Of course." He touched his news app, and there it was, a headline that said:

Magical Fugitives Seek Refuge on Earth.

And right below it was a tagline that made me laugh:
Harry Potter Fans' Greatest Dreams Come True: Real Wizards Live on Earth.

"Seriously?" I laughed.

"Wait, it gets better." He swiped a new screen.

Middle-earth is Real.

And a new screen.

Alderaan Happened.

Another screen.

This one was a picture of the White House with a bunch of people wearing tin hats and protesting. The sign in front said:
Government's biggest hoax yet: Aliens have already landed.

I couldn't stop laughing. "Alex. This is crazy!"

He shut the cover and set his iPad back on his nightstand.

"What are all these people going to do?"

"The United Nations is discussing that, currently."

"Which means it'll be a while."

He laughed. "No, they'll have to make a decision about this soon. The public is scared to death of Gaians."

"Because of the magic? Is magic working on Earth?"

"Eh…sort of. It's still as difficult to use as it was before, so most Gaians have no access to it, and those who do—like Tran and Mercedes and Lord Dommelier—are being very careful not to use it. The people of Earth have enough to adjust to as it is. Tran suspects it will only be a matter of time before magic becomes a more natural part of the world, like it was on Gaia. It existed here before, you know. Back before Gaia split herself off from Earth. But right now, the public is just afraid of strange aliens from another world that no longer exists."

Yes, I could definitely understand that. But speaking of magic— "Where are Tran and Fleck?"

Alex grinned. "They went off to London."

"London?"

"Tran heard about a particular school of Witchcraft and Wizardry there—"

"I sincerely hope you told him it's not real." I gave him a look.

"Of course I did, but then he was fairly adamant about starting one."

Bewildered, I stared into Alex's bright eyes, suddenly unable to stop smiling. "Earth is never going to be the same again, is it?"

His smile spread slowly across his face. "No, Daria. I don't believe it will ever be the same."

52

DARIA

T
he next few days were still a little hazy. My conversation with Alex had exhausted me, and I'd taken a long nap shortly after. But when I woke, I still felt delirious—even when the nurse unhooked me from the tubes. Alex said it was because of the pain meds, so I stopped taking them, even though the pain in my body brought me to tears at times. He'd said that channeling the power of the shield should have killed me. He'd felt my magic burn out, and he'd said people die when they push themselves to that point, but somehow I hadn't. By some miracle of Gaia, my spirit had returned, and Alex thought, perhaps, it was Gaia's parting gift to me for setting things right—for destroying Mortis's physical form, even though it'd also destroyed her world. Gaia had come through for me—for us—more than I could've hoped. It made me feel a twinge of guilt for yelling at her on the edge of that cliff.

Alex never left my side, always doing everything he could to ensure my comfort and warmth. He gave me a pair of his sweatpants, which were much too big for me, but I liked wearing them because they were his and they smelled like him. And then at night he'd sleep beside me on his California King. He wouldn't kiss me very much, but he'd hold me close, keeping me warm while I fell asleep to the sound of his deep breathing. I felt so safe with him, so comfortable and so…whole, and being with him in this way made my heart feel fuller than it had ever felt.

"Well, don't you look snazzy." I grinned at Stefan one morning, as he strode into the kitchen to get himself a cup of coffee. He still didn't like coffee. Which was also why he was currently dumping half the contents of coffee creamer into his mug.

Stefan looked like a handsome executive in his tailored grey business suit. I still found it incongruous, seeing him dressed in, well, anything other than leathers and fancy robes. He'd trimmed his hair, too, and styled it with gel, and the smell of Acqua Di Gio followed him into the kitchen. Actually, the Acqua Di Gio sort of took over. Thad coughed opposite me at the kitchen table.

"How many times did you spray that stuff?" Thad made a show of lifting the edge of his sweater over his nose.

Stefan lifted the mug to his mouth and took a slow sip. He winced.

Thad laughed. "Maybe someone oughta give Goldilocks a drink instead. Caffeine only makes nerves worse."

"No." Stefan set his mug down. "
You
make nerves worse."

This time, I laughed.

"What, all that talk of cannibal cars and mini-dragons keep you up all night?" Thad asked, all innocence.

"You'll be fine, Stef." I stood and walked over to him, giving Thad a look on my way. Thad snorted and shook his head. "You won't even know you're in the air," I continued, leaning back against the kitchen counter.

"Except every time you look out your window…" Thad added.

I gave Thad another look, but he only preened as he chomped on his biscotti.

Stefan sighed and leaned against the counter beside me. "What if I'm not cut out for this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Daria, I'd never stepped foot on Earth until a few weeks ago, and now I'm
flying
to the other side of this continent to live at its capital, where I know no one. Yes, I technically know the President, but I've never actually met him in person. I've only ever spoken with him on the phone. I don't know this country's ways or its customs—I can't even figure out how to use the bloody remote to the television, and the President's asked me to be Gaia's ambassador!"

I beamed at him.

"Why in the world are you smiling?" he asked. "Daria, I'm serious."

I held my smile. "I know. It's just that…you sound like me, when I first landed in Valdon."

He blinked, his lips parted, and his expression twitched between denial and realization.

I grabbed his hand between both of mine. "You'll be fine, Stef. It's just a lot of technology. Other than that, people are still people, no matter where you live. They still eat and breathe and sleep. They still have feelings and insecurities and fears…"

"They still poop…" Thad chimed in.

"You'll adjust to the customs," I continued, giving Thad another quick look. "I did. And you're in an even better spot than I was, because the people here
want
to help you. They
want
you to succeed. All your experiences as a prince make you exactly the kind of diplomat the people of Gaia need in this world, and I can't think of a better person to represent them."

He sighed, and it was as if the world slid off his shoulders. "You really think so?"

I squeezed his hand. "You're just like dad. I know so."

He held my gaze a long moment, then squeezed my hand back.

Stefan walked one hundred pounds lighter as we saw him out the front door and to the taxi waiting at the Del Contes' roundabout. Sonya squeezed him and kissed his cheek, then stood back by Thad and Vera on the porch. Alex helped Stefan load his suitcases in the trunk, and then they said their goodbyes. Part of their goodbyes I couldn't hear, because Stefan whispered something to Alex, and Alex smiled brilliantly, his eyes finding me at once. I met Stefan by the passenger door as Alex paid the taxi driver.