Light the Reign (The Forgotten: Book 3) (29 page)

Layna sat on a dais with Gryffon next to her
and Phoenix standing wobbly up against the railing, clapping her
hands and laughing at the commotion below. The parade that was set
to march through the city streets would be one to remember, and
people from all over had flocked in to see it. Amelia had suggested
it, both to entice people back into the city which had been avoided
for months as the site of the curse, and to bolster the local
economy and get the city people back on their feet after the
tragedy.

Layna looked down into the crowd and spotted
Charles standing with his entourage of children, as well as Natalya
and Alina. The two sisters had moved back to their home, Hardonia,
and were helping them to rebuild. Layna had been unable to decide
which honor to present her with, so she had finally decided to do
both. She had formally knighted the girl, which had been
enthusiastically received by the rest of the Knights, and also
offered her lordship over the lands which Lord Morven’s father had
previously governed. He was stripped of his nobility for his part
in his son’s activities, though was allowed to remain at his
estates. He took the humiliation gracefully, and Layna got the
feeling that he knew what his son had been involved in was wrong,
but had been unable to see past the fact that it was his son. Layna
felt confident that he wouldn’t try and wreak revenge on anyone for
the outcome. Regardless, Natalya had refused this second honor,
asking instead that it be given to another household she knew to be
fair and just people, and Layna had obliged.

Natalya caught her eye and waved happily.
Layna smiled and waved back. She was glad they had made the
trip.

Not only were there people from all over
Gelendan coming in to watch the parade, but it would also mark the
momentous day when representatives from all of the three parts of
their once united nation were in one place: Gelendan, Treymayne,
and the Forgotten tribes.

Katya was the first to walk up the stairs to
the dais on Hunter’s arm, looking radiant. She had come a long way
since her troubled past at the hands of the Order, and Layna was
happy to see that she had found someone that so obviously
complemented her perfectly. She was also pleased that she would
finally be able to get to know the girl better who had helped save
the world time and time again. Katya had been working closely with
all of the tribes to find homes for the misplaced creatures who had
been turned from bloodbeasts back to their original form, and this
post had led them to establish her as their combined chief. All of
the tribes still had their own leaders, but they all had agreed
that Katya should be the speaker between them and she in turn would
communicate with Gelendan and Treymayne for them.

Katya and Hunter were followed by two of the
younger tribesmen from the Myaamia: Lorcan and Raina. They had
volunteered to be part of a mission of the tribes to learn more
about the ‘Lost Ones’ as Katya had told her the tribes referred to
those outside their ranks. Now that they were aware of the
Forgotten Ones’ – as the original survivors had called themselves –
existence, it was clear that some sort of arrangement would have to
be made between them. For the moment, they were trying to learn
more about one another in order to help integrate their societies
in some way.

Next came their Council members, who all
grinned brightly at them as they passed on their ways to their
seats, followed by several members of the Treymayne Ieldran. Lady
Aria was in attendance and accompanied by – Layna did a double-take
– none other than Noam. He was part of Treymayne’s court who had
very obviously had a crush on Lady Aria for some time, and who had
made Layna’s stay at their palace rather uncomfortable. He gave her
a self-satisfied smirk. As with most of his intentions, she wasn’t
sure what the motivation behind this expression was. She had never
been able to figure out whether he was making her uncomfortable on
purpose or not. Lady Aria seemed to take his personality quirks in
stride, however, and she nodded a greeting to Layna.

As one of the Triumvirate, her seat was
directly to Layna’s left – Gryffon being on her right – and she sat
herself daintily into it. She leaned in and whispered in Layna’s
ear, “I have good news, but I don’t know if you want me to tell you
here.” She glanced around at the multitude of people around
them.

“They are all trustworthy,” Layna assured
her, sitting forward, eager for good news.

“Well,” Lady Aria said mischievously,
reminding Layna more of the gossiping lady she had once known more
than the political leader she had become, “Between Phoenix’s
demonstration healing the people, and the display of power that you
showed to wash clean the blood-magic from the beasts, I don’t think
we could stop the merger now if we wanted to. The people are fairly
demanding for us to unite with you.” She was smiling broadly and
Layna couldn’t help but smile back.

“And the logistics?” They had been going back
and forth now for some time about how such a merger would be
possible, and Layna found it hard to believe that every single one
of the Ieldran would suddenly agree to it – which is exactly what
was needed by Treymayne law for a change so drastic.

“Phoenix is the obvious choice for our
symbol, and the people already believe in her. It would be fitting
to announce her as the ruler of both our countries, and until she
is old enough to create her own Council – out of people from both
Gelendan and Treymayne – the councils we have now will rule
together with the Triumvirate and you two acting as the deciding
votes as we previously discussed. Then, once she is of age, the
merger will be official and there will only be one larger
country.”

Katya spoke up. “The tribes will be loyal to
Phoenix as well. They would like to eventually re-enter the
country, and also feel it would be fitting to have this event
coincide with Phoenix’s reign. Part of Kali’s plan to manipulate
the tribes into kidnapping her was to convince them all that she
was a ‘chosen one’ that would usher in a new era of peace and unity
between us. Though it has been shown that this was only a ruse to
garner their assistance, they can’t help but still feel that it was
in part true. Especially after all she has done. They also hope
that you might continue your cleansing program up towards them in
the meantime, and that the education program will help us to learn
about one another so that a compromise can be made. Each tribe has
discussed it and hopes that you might be amenable to the idea of
them continuing to self-govern, but adhering to the rules of the
nation as a whole, and that they would then benefit from your
protection and cleansing, and you would benefit by their unique
resources and knowledge.”

Layna felt tears welling up at the outpouring
of support that came from all directions at these announcements,
and she was glad when the music of the parade started, and all the
people’s attention was drawn towards the street.

There was a magnificent representation of a
dragon, part prop and part magic, blasting the audience with
imagery of ‘fire’ – really just pieces of confetti. There was a
rider atop the dragon, shouting the beginning of the speech.

“Today is a momentous day!” He roared and the
dragon’s head swung around to face Layna and the others on the
dais. Confetti swept over them, and Layna closed her eyes, letting
the pure happiness she felt at this moment wash over her. It was a
momentous day indeed.

EPILOGUE

Layna and Gryffon stood in the corner
watching Phoenix play with her new toys. They had just had her
fifth birthday party which was attended by Katrina and Aaron’s son
who was slightly older than little Phoebe. Her name was now
associated with so many official things, they preferred to use her
nickname, Phoebe, at personal events. Katya and Hunter had also had
a son soon after they had helped her divert the disaster that could
have been, and he was also in attendance.

There had been many births the last few
years, proving that the reversal of the spell had been successful
and that there were no remnants of the original spell left upon
them even as the more obvious Bricrui was cured. She and Gryffon
still felt rather guilty for having had to take away Phoenix’s
power in order to do so, but she didn’t seem to be affected by it
much at all. Layna supposed it was hard to miss something you never
realized you had. There were some questions, however, when she or
Gryffon performed a spell with the use of magic, asking why she
could not also do this, but they answered simply that not everyone
could use magic the same way.

Strangely, though the spell which had
reversed the curse had died as it completely ate away her talent,
the healing properties Phoenix had obtained from the Dakelh water
used in the spell seemed to have stayed with her somewhat. Though
the results were not nearly as drastic as when it was still in full
force, it always seemed that when one of her friends was ill, after
they spent time with her, they would suddenly be feeling much
better. Layna supposed it was the silver lining to have lost her
talent, though the phenomenon couldn’t be explained, either by her
and Gryffon or by their royal mages.

Even with this special ability, Layna felt
guilty for the sacrifice. She raised a hand self-consciously to her
mark. The blood-red color which had appeared when she had been
forced to make a sacrifice of her own to complete the spell had
faded somewhat, but not disappeared. She still woke to nightmares
on occasion, but Gryffon was always there to help her through the
guilt. It was fitting that it was her daughter who would mark the
beginning of a new era. Her perfect little daughter.

As Layna watched, Phoenix removed herself
from the other children and went to her tea set; it was her
favorite toy and she spent hours with it hosting imaginary tea
parties. She had quite the imagination which included several
imaginary friends. Phoenix poured the pretend tea for herself and
two others. Then she plopped herself down and started rambling on
to her two ‘guests’.

Layna couldn’t help but smile. Things had
finally turned around; after everything that had happened, they
were now able to carry on more normally. The last traces of the
Order and Telvani’s Faithful were completely erased. The Bricrui
curse was no more, thanks to Phoenix’s sacrifice. The war with the
bloodbeast horde was averted. Things seemed to be calming, the last
remnants of the black aura of Nuko gone from the land.

Phoenix’s blaze on her temple caught her eye
and Layna sighed, turning to Gryffon. “Between having been
kidnapped and then cursed, the Three’s blessing didn’t seem to have
helped her any,” she commented under her breath.

He smiled at her. “Perhaps it was more than
you think,” he shrugged. “We had hoped that she would rise up like
her name suggests and come out of the ashes to bring forth a new
era devoid of the blackness that came before her. Perhaps the
blessing was that she was the spark that was needed to light your
reign, to burn out all the evil to make way for hers.” He poked her
in the ribs good-naturedly, and she stuck out her tongue at
him.

“Well, if I had known fate would take her
name quite so literally, maybe I would have vetoed the name Phoenix
and insisted we name her something like Harmony or Joy
instead.”

“That’s what you get, I guess.”

They both looked over at their baby girl and
smiled.

*

Little Phoenix put a cookie on the plate in
front of her and grabbed two more for the two spots on the other
side of the table facing her.

“Here you go,” she said to the guest on the
right, placing the treat on the plate, “One cookie for you.” She
hesitated before setting the other one down, bringing it back to
her mouth and taking a large bite out of it before putting it on
the other plate. She spoke around the mouthful of goodness, “And
half a cookie for you, I know you’re on a diet.”

-
Thank you, Phoenix,
-
said the voice in her head, -
That’s very thoughtful
of you.
–

Phoenix beamed with pride and glanced over
her shoulder at her parents who stood watching her in the corner.
She got up from the table and ran over to them, hugging them both
around the legs.

“Thank you!” she exclaimed happily, “This is
the best day ever!”

* * *

BOOKS BY LAURA R COLE

The Eleventh World Saga:

BloodRunes Trilogy

Unleashed Fury

Those Who Fear the Darkness

Leoht

The Forgotten Trilogy

Serpent’s Lair

Bricrui

Light the Reign

Connect with the author:
www.laurarcole.com

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