April 4, 2024

The following story contains spoilers for House of Flame and Shadow. If you haven't already read this book and wish to avoid spoilers, I recommend waiting to read this until you've done so.

Additionally, I wanted to let y'all know that I've been considering writing another Crescent City fic, this time following Salem and Amunet's characters. It would take place before the events of this fanfiction and set up Salem and Amunet's story leading into the events of this one.

If that's something you'd be interested in reading, please let me know! If there's enough interest, I'll probably try to further develop the idea and begin working on it after I finish my original book Born of Flames. That being said, enjoy this story! Hopefully it'll make y'all hate me a little less XD

◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ☾☽ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦

She wasn't sure how it was possible; any of it. How she was still here, breathing this sweet honeyed air and listening to endless laughter and joy.

For so long, she'd been a restless soul locked in the Bone Quarter, living in fear of the shadows of her past and the Under-King who had lorded over them all. Remembering the terror and gore of her last moments of life. Waiting for her turn to be erased from existence forever. Watching the same happen to those she had once known.

And then, it happened. Ithan Holstrom and Hypaxia, the former Witch Queen, had set them free. They had killed the Under-King and given them a chance to make a difference in the fight against the Asteri.

She had given the last bits of her soul to that gorsian bullet, expecting to finally end her existence, only to arrive here, in this strange, wonderful paradise. It shouldn't be possible. They'd been taught that there was no existence for souls outside the Bone Quarter. And yet here she was. Here they all were.

Sarai Ilerion drew another full breath, simply relishing the sensation of it. Of feeling whole at last. "Leave some air for the rest of us," a teasing voice behind her called. Sarai smiled and glanced back over her shoulder as Connor Holstrom made his way up the grassy slope to join her. "It's still strange to me too."

"Strange, but right," Sarai said. "Although I wish there were still nightclubs and television."

Connor hooked an arm around her shoulders with a laugh, shaking his golden-brown head. "You females and your Fangs and Bangs withdrawal."

Sarai jammed an elbow into his ribs with a scoff. "As if you don't miss watching sunball games just as much."

Connor inclined his head. "All right, you got me there. But hey," he pulled his arm away from her, "Danika sent me to get you. She said there's something you need to see."

Sarai furrowed her brows, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. "What is it?"

"You'll find out." He offered her a hand this time and she took it, letting him lead her across the seemingly endless swathes of grass that they somehow passed through in a heartbeat.

Beyond the grasslands was the magnificent city they now called home. It was like a replica of Lunathion, only made from pearl and alabaster instead of concrete and metal. One of the biggest differences lay in the area that would've been the Bone Quarter in the living world.

Here, it was a true graveyard, serene and beautiful, and filled with statues of all those who had been lost forever. Sarai had spent her first hours after arriving scouring the graveyard for any semblance of her parents.

Her fruitless search for the White Raven had come after that, accompanied by an equally disappointed Danika. Connor kept a tight hold on her hand as they walked down the street past the spot where the White Raven should've been and Sarai looked back longingly, forcing a pout onto her lips.

Connor only chuckled and kept dragging her along. They slowed their pace to wave at a few people who called greetings as they passed by, but didn't linger. At last, they reached the familiar streets of the Old Square and the Heart Gate at its center, the true heart of Crescent City.

Several people were gathered around it and among them, Sarai caught sight of Danika's pale hair, streaked with sapphire, amethyst, and rose. When she recognized who Danika was talking to, she pried her hand from Connor's and sprinted the remaining distance to the gate.

Nathalie perked up at once and turned, a grin stretching across her lips. The toddler seated on her hip was passed to his father, leaving Nathalie free to return Sarai's crushing embrace. They'd been together only once since arriving here and that moment had been short lived.

An infant boy had been in Nathalie's arms the moment she and Bronson appeared and they'd spent every second since with their child, watching as he grew into a four-year-old in what was one week of this world's time.

Their son didn't seem to be aging quite as rapidly now, but Nathalie and Bronson seemed to think he'd reach maturity in less than a year. Regardless, they were grateful for the time they had to watch their child grow, as they'd been unable to while alive.

"How is little Kai?" Sarai asked when she allowed Nathalie to breathe once more.

"Asking more and more questions every day," Nathalie answered with a beaming smile, glancing back at the child. "He figured out how to shift already and demands to go running almost once every hour."

Someone cleared their throat behind Nathalie and Sarai looked past her, catching sight of yet another familiar female. Isadora Ilerion waved her over with a stern look. Sarai pursed her lips and shrugged to Nathalie before joining her mother. Her father stood at her side, an almost amused glint in his eyes.

"What is this?" Sarai asked, glancing between the people surrounding her.

"We figured out something that I think you're going to like," Danika answered. "Here." She patted the dial before the Heart Gate. "Place your hand on it, just like we used to."

Sarai knit her brows but obediently laid her palm on the dial pad. Another hand joined hers and Sarai peered up at Connor curiously. "Now think of someone," Danika instructed. "Anyone you'd like to see."

Sarai jerked her gaze from Connor at once. "What?"

"You heard me."

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, at a loss for words. Sarai swallowed hard. "What will happen if I do?"

It was Connor who answered. "The Gate will bring us to wherever they are. Not physically, but we'll be able to see them. I suppose in a sense, it's that television you wanted, only you won't be watching Fangs and Bangs."

Sarai looked up at him again, her throat bobbing. "Have you done this already?"

Connor nodded. "I wanted to test it before we told you, to make sure it would work. I used it to see Ithan."

"And...will they be able to see us? Can we...speak to them?" She couldn't stop her voice from catching. Her father's scent wrapped around her, steady and comforting, before Sirius rested a hand on her shoulder.

Connor's golden gaze softened. "No. It seems to be only one way. But it works."

Sarai closed her eyes, drawing a measured breath. "You want me to use it to see him, don't you?"

"Bryce is there too." She understood his unspoken meaning.

Connor would do this with her, and as much as it would pain her, would pain both of them, it was something they needed to do. It was something they could do together, to support each other just as they always had. It was something to bring them closure so they would finally be free to live their own lives here.

"Rai?" Connor murmured, nudging her with an elbow. "If you'd rather not..."

"I want to," she interrupted. She looked back at the others lingering behind them. "But without an audience please?"

"You heard her," Danika hollered. "Let's move it, People. There has got to be some fucking alcohol around here somewhere and Rai's gonna need some." She ushered Nathalie and Bronson away and scooped up Kai herself.

Sarai offered her parents an encouraging smile before they set off too, leaving her and Connor alone. She lowered her gaze and sucked down a few shallow breaths, attempting to steady her rattled nerves. She was aware of Connor watching her, but he remained silent until she lifted her head and squared her shoulders.

"You ready for this?" He asked.

Sarai managed a nod. "I want to see if he's happy. If he is..."

She didn't have to finish the thought. She just flicked her fingers against Connor's thigh and extended her hand when he looked down at it. He locked their fingers together and she squeezed his hand tightly as she closed her eyes, envisioning the Prince who still lived.

Almost at once, voices reached her ears and she opened her eyes to watch the scene playing out before them. The Heart Gate was alight with a soft glow and within it stood the life-sized reflection of the male she had loved. He was dancing with a beautiful golden-haired female, a warm smile upon his lips.

Just beyond them, an Angel was waltzing with the Starborn Heiress. Connor was smiling faintly, his gaze fixed on Bryce Quinlan and her mate. Sarai drew her own attention back to Ruhn and watched as he lifted Lidia Cervos' left hand, touching a kiss to the ring on her finger and flashing that smirk she had both hated and adored.

Sarai gripped Connor's hand tighter, aware of the incomplete glistening threads within her chest. She had thought they were mates. Perhaps if she had lived, this tether would've been complete. But the fact did not fill her with sorrow.

Instead, it carried a sense of relief. Ruhn had loved her, she knew, but now he loved this female too. He hadn't been burdened with a Bond fractured by her death. He had been free to accept his Bond with Lidia, and he could live happily now.

And she could be happy too, perhaps with someone in this world. Perhaps love could be found even amongst the dead, and when she at last saw him again, she'd have a new lifetime of stories to share with him.

Sarai blinked as tears stung her eyes, a sensation that had been foreign for so long. "They seem happy," Connor said, his voice as hoarse as her own would be if she could find words to speak. "And your prophecy was true."

Sarai managed an answering nod. The prophecy that had haunted her whole life had passed in its entirety now. She had met her demise and witnessed the doom the Oracle had predicted her death would lead her loved ones to.

But she had watched them overcome that doom too, and just as the Oracle had promised, a change had been sparked in Midgard, and in worlds beyond.

"Do you think we can be that happy here?" Connor asked, his voice a little stronger now.

Sarai pulled her gaze from the gate and met his. "Yes. I think we can." A smile flickered across her lips. "Even if I have to live without Fangs and Bangs for eternity."

Connor broke out laughing even as a few tears dripped down his cheeks. He let his hand fall from the dial pad but kept hold of hers. "Come on, Ilerion. Get a drink with me, if we can find one."

"Making a move already, Holstrom?" She teased.

Connor shrugged. "We were already fuck buddies before."

Sarai grimaced. "Please never call us that again."

"Deny it all you want, but it's true."

"I will kick your ass."

Connor flashed his handsomely cocky smirk. "I'd like to see you try."

Sarai mirrored his smirk, but didn't pull her hand from the dial pad just yet. She faced the gate again, taking one last look at Ruhn.

He had pulled Lidia close as they continued to dance and was resting his cheek atop her head while she said something inaudible. He smiled and his shoulders shook with laughter. Sarai smiled too, then gently lifted her hand from the pad. The glow faded from the gate and the scene melted away.

"You'd better hope we find some alcohol or I really will kick your ass," she said, facing Connor. He feigned a look of shock and indignation, then hauled her down the street.