Jai stared down at her, the dark orbs of his brown eyes narrowed in concern. She was back in her room at the Tavern, on the firm mattress set upon the straw-matted floor where it seemed all the life-changing moments from her time on the island began and ended. The translucent walls flickered yellow in the fire-light and when she tried to sit up, Jai gathered her into his arms and held her tightly. He wasn't as bony as he'd been at the orphanage. Beneath a thin layer of thick skin, she felt cords of muscle beginning to form around his shoulders.

"I thought you weren't coming back," he said, pushing the air out of her with his arms.

"Can't breathe," she said.

His arms went slack and he transferred his grip to her shoulders and leaned back so he could look her in the face. Tears rolled down his cheeks in rivulets, but his smile was the same one she'd always known. "Did it work?" he asked. "Did you take them to the new world?"

She nodded and wiped the tears from his eyes just as her father had done only moments before. "It worked."

"How?"

"Our forces can move freely between the worlds. They're not confined by physical boundaries like our bodies. I had to become my force. We had to become our forces before we could pass into the new world."

Jai sucked in air. "That's incredible."

They sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts when Jai said, "I told the others everything I knew. They were worried about you."

Her heart fluttered. Her secret was out. And once again, the Wanderers weren't angry, just worried. There was surely something wrong with these unwaveringly kind, loyal people. They were surely too good for her. "Is everyone okay?" she asked.

"Fine," Jai said. "A few stitches here and there."

"How long have I been out?"

"A couple of hours," Jai said.

"Hours?" She sat straighter. "What happened to the rest of the Establishment soldiers?"

"They left."

"Just like that?"

Jai bent his head. "It's... kind of hard to explain."

Before she could ask him to explain further, there was a gentle rapping on the door. Jai turned towards the sound. "Come in," he said.

Eli entered, took one look at Jai, nodded, then let his piercing grey gaze settle on Ash. Ash forgot what she'd been about to say.

Jai released her shoulders and pushed himself to his feet. "I'd better go and tell the others you're awake."

"Wait." She shook her head, still trying to remember what she'd been about to ask. "I want to know everything that happened to you since the Recruitment." She studied his face, brushed his floppy fringe from his eyes. "You've changed so much."

Jai smiled. "There'll be plenty of time for that," he said. "All the time in the world." He patted Eli on the arm as he moved towards the door.

Eli stopped him with one hand. "Tell the others she won't be seeing visitors tonight."

Jai nodded. Ash frowned. The door closed behind Jai with a gentle click.

For a moment, neither of Ash, nor Eli spoke. The air shimmered, the flames in the fire pit rose with a roar, casting elongated shadows on the walls. There was a stillness in the air and Ash felt as though the room had suddenly become smaller, as though the walls were moving in and pushing them closer.

Eli rocked back on his heels, then onto his toes and strode over. Before she knew what was happening, his arms were around her, gathering her into his body so that her hands had nowhere to go but against his chest. Their faces were inches from touching and their shared breath flowed seamlessly between them. Then, he was kissing her, so passionately and deeply that her lips burned. She pulled him closer as though drawing a blanket over her body and felt back against the give of the mattress. Eli's hands trailed wildfire along her arms.

He tugged at her robe, she gripped his arms, shoulders and face in turn before running her fingers along the scars on his cheek.

He pulled back, his breath ragged, eyes a cloudy grey. "Ash," he breathed. "Don't."

She drew her fingers back. "Does it hurt?"

He closed his eyes. "No. It's just... I know it's not... "

She sighed into his neck, breathing deeply the smell of log fires and candlewax. Slowly, she lay a trail of kisses down the length of his scars and past his breastbone. Stooping her head and twisting her body, she continued down the scars on his torso, stopping at his abdomen.

He sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders to draw her back up. "Ash, I just want to make sure... "

Before he could finish his sentence, she pulled him firmly against her, lost herself to the feel of his hands, the scent of his skin, the taste of his lips. Inch-by-inch their robes came away, revealing the toffee rich glow of their skin. Dragon scales and phoenix feathers grew brighter in the dim twilight until they were glowing like two embers of the same branch. Two coals with the same flame.

They lay in the cooling shadows of twilight, bodies tangled—the fire cooling to embers in the fire-pit. Ash rested her head against Eli's chest, listened to the steady, rhythmic beating of his heart. She'd never felt so calm. It was as though nothing else existed outside the walls of the room. The night was still, the crickets trilling in chorus. She fingered the chain of the pocket watch that was still around her neck, resting cool against her bare skin.

After some time, thoughts of the battle returned and her bubble of calm dissipated. She shifted under the tangle of sheets and carmine robes and said, "What will happen now that the Establishment's returned to Ace?" Though she spoke barely above a whisper, her voice punctuated the quiet like a pin to a balloon.

"I'm not sure," Eli said, his voice equally as punctuating.

Cheek still pressed against his chest, Ash heard the flutter of his heart as it accelerated with his words. "Will they come back to avenge Falco's death?" she said.

"Nobody's coming to avenge anyone," he said with dry throated certainty.

"How do you know?"

Eli shifted so he could look at her and, entwining his fingers through hers as though he might somehow trip and fall, he said, "After my brother died, his soldiers informed me that Antiques Trading Incorporated was made an affiliate company of the Establishment in all the official records." He paused to let her absorb this new information. "Falco somehow made the owner of Antiques Trading the Assistant Director of the Establishment and changed the law so that should anything happen to his control of the Establishment, it would go to... "

His voice trailed away.

Ash's heart raced to match the speed of Eli's. "You're the new Director of Ace?"

"I am."

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*~*

And just like that we've made it to the end of the story! What did you think? Would you like to read more on Ash and the Wanderers in the future?

If you would like to read the EPILOGUE to this story, you'll need to purchase a copy of the novel from the link below. As I am a poor struggling artist, this is a way to support me and my work and to hopefully keep me on my feet so I may continue to produce stories in the future!

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PHOENIX FROM THE ASHES is now available as an e-book over at Kobo, iBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Scribd, Toino, OverDrive, Bibliotheca, Baker and Taylor, Hoople, and/or Vivlio. It's only $1.99 USD (or the equivalent in your territory's denomination)!

Link for all outlets:

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*~*

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