Sunrise.
The pale, promising light brushed the edge of the Impwood, chasing the full moon from the sky and bringing an end to the worst night of Alexia’s life. The sunrise brought a new day, a better day. It had to.
Her body felt as hollow as a casket. It was cold, empty, and waiting for death to fill it. Her spirit seemed to be hiding, unable to reconcile all the terrible things that she had done in Ferrickton. She’d been unable to feel anything last night. Even the pain, her tether to reality, her constant reminder of the evil she had done, went numb after a while. She operated on instinct alone as she made the daunting journey back to Mirrevar.
The sunrise stirred her spirit, coaxed by the memory of Zander’s voice calling her ‘Sunrise.’ Alexia focused on Zander, willing herself to feel Leverith’s embrace once more, dreading that the Divine of Love might reject her after Ferrickton. But Leverith answered her call, spirit energy flowing into the locket. Divine Leverith soothed her weariness and her aches, though she didn’t touch the scars left deep on her soul.
Alexia reached for the small doll in her pocket, clutching it tightly. Turning to the rising sun, she vowed to remember Allison but to keep looking forward to forging peace.
A giant eagle glided on the morning wind. Alexia was not free, nor did she deserve to be. She belonged to all of Leveria, not just the Sapphires. Her next move was clear: She would return to Sapphirica and convince King Gideon Sapphire to seek peace. The threat of a Celegan invasion had to make him see that peace was the only way Leveria would survive. She grabbed this tenuous thread and allowed it to give her pain a purpose.
A southern wind brought the scent of death and smoke from the Ruby encampment. At least a thousand bodies were scattered amongst the countless flowers. The sight was a visual paradox. Death and beauty intertwined. Zamael and Leverith merged into one. Smoke drifted from the burned palisade walls where Master Conrad and the Horned Apes had assaulted the Rubies. Her actions had, no doubt, led to this. She tapped the Brighton dagger at her side. She and Maleon had taken down scores of knights that night, likely sparking this attack. More deaths on her conscience, more lives to atone for. One thousand reasons to end the Gemstone War.
The fields were lifeless, disturbed only by carrion birds picking at the fallen. She gently rubbed Cally’s head. The horse was exhausted from their flight, having avoided Peacewatch pursuit thrice in the moonlit dark. Alexia had called on Qoryxa—the only Divine that she could find in her cold numbness—conjuring walls of frost that covered their tracks in slippery ice, slowing her pursuers to a halt. The Bear River had frozen to ice where she crossed, and only now was Alexia’s heart beginning to thaw.
“Just a little more, Cally.” Alexia thought of Timmeck and channeled Leverith through the locket, hoping to ease his horse’s exhaustion. The horse was one more victim of Alexia’s night. She stroked her mane. “We’ll be home soon, girl.”
Cally neighed softly, and Alexia climbed back into the saddle. They rode directly into the sun, trotting forward at an easy pace. Alexia lacked the heart to hasten her.
She rode for over an angle, crossing the Cardian into Sapphire territory, leaving the past behind her. As she traveled, a deep ache bloomed in her chest, urging her hand to clutch the locket at her sternum. The silver Leveria pendant pressed sharply into her, as if it had a will of its own, insisting she turn back. But she was a prisoner to peace, and she was going to willingly serve her sentence.
The ache grew stronger, like the rising sun behind her. A wind blew at her back, carrying with it not the smell of smoke and blood, but a sound—the unmistakable sound of hooves pounding the earth, followed by a voice, deep and resonant. It was a voice that could rival Balbaraq’s most sonorous thunder, a voice fit for a king, deeper than the sea, and yet as majestic as a great tidal wave. Its ebb and flow were enough to cull the mightiest into submission. The call of her life’s mate reached her as he chased her across fields of endless flowers.
“Wait for me, Sunrise!”
Alexia glanced back, catching the sight of the rider: blue eyes bright as twin moons, auburn hair aglow in the dawn’s light. Every fiber of her longed to stop, to turn toward him, to surrender to his judgment. But her path was set; like the sun itself, she had to keep moving. Leverian peace was her only purpose now, her only path to redemption. She didn’t deserve to be loved. Even Zander would reject her if he knew what she had done. Alexia couldn’t bear to face either his love or his rejection. She urged Cally onward and cast a wave of ice across the field, hoping to slow him down.
But his silver destrier merely slid over the ice and found speed, closing the distance as Cally faltered, exhaustion impeding each stride. Panic overwhelmed Alexia’s addled mind. The Sapphire Kingdom lay just ahead; she needed to reach the king. All that remained in her way was her Moon. Would he kiss her or condemn her? She couldn’t risk either.
She wove a desperate path, galloping into a thicket of high, swaying flowers, turning south to mislead him. For half an angle, she rode, never looking back, toward Covademara’s trunk. Emerging from the flowers, she let out a cry, knowing she had taken away the only chance she might ever have to be held again by Leverith’s answer to all her dreams of love.
“Sunrise!”
“My moon,” she whispered, a sad smile crossing her face, tears brimming her sore eyes. Everything in her wanted to stop, to surrender to the chase, to let—for once—the moon to catch the sun. But she felt the doll digging into her side, heard the echoes of soldiers screaming as she burnt them, saw the light of silver eyes shining in a dark cave, and knew she must go.
Holding stubbornly to her need to restore wholeness to Leveria, Alexia channeled Divine Celegana. Executing her focus with a conflicted heart, the ground roared apart, creating a chasm that stretched hundreds of feet in either direction.
Yet Zander’s destrier thundered onward toward the deadly trench. Alexia’s heart raced as he rode straight toward the abyss in order to pursue her. His horse leapt across, its hooves just managing to land safely.
“Wait for me, Sunrise!” His shout filled the air, not angry but pleading. A plea she needed to deny, though it was everything she ever dreamed of.
“I am not who you think I am! I’ll only bring you pain! Go back!”
“You are exactly who I think you are, Alexia! You are the Sunrise!”
His eyes held a resolve more beautiful than any she’d ever seen. He didn’t care that their destiny together would be full of death and despair; he was going to chase her across the sky no matter how much she ran. Zander would fight for her, like Elior for Pelianna. Her heart soared higher than Covademara, love blossoming like the billions of flowers growing on the tree over their heads.
She couldn’t escape him. He was faster, and his will to love her was stronger than her will to run. She touched Sunfire’s hilt, then released it. There was too much pain already. No more blades, no more magic. Alexia dismounted. They had arrived at the foot of Goddess Hill where the ancient ruins of the Leverian monarchs circled Covademara's trunk. She took a seat on the grounds where Elior won Pelianna’s hand and where both Linus Peacemaker and Queen Alexia Leveria conjured Pacisamorus to unite a fractured continent.
The Moon had caught the Sun, and there, on this most sacred ground in all of Leveria, she waited for his answer.
Zander dismounted swiftly and sat beside her. Alexia leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She trembled, unsure if she was more afraid of his love, his anger, his disappointment, or even apathy. The sun was fully visible now, casting a warm glow over the eastern horizon. Above them, Covademara stretched out, its flowering canopy draping the sky in delicate hues.
He wrapped an arm around her back, leaning his head against hers. For what felt like a long time, they sat in silence. Alexia’s thoughts turned inwards, down the same familiar paths of the last twenty-four angles. She couldn’t utter the first word.
“You made the earth split apart.” Zander’s voice was soft. “And iced the ground. You’re—”
“I told you; I only bring pain.” Her fragile composure shattered. Alexia buried her face against his neck, hiding from his response.
“No.” Zander’s voice held only love. “You’re the sunrise at the end of the longest night. Whatever you’ve needed to do to get here, I love you. No matter where you’ve come from or where you’re going, I’m with you.”
Alexia turned to him, meeting his gaze. His acceptance pierced through the clouds of self-loathing like a brilliant blue light descending from the heavens, restoring pieces of her heart she thought were lost forever. She smiled. And he smiled back. Her heart fluttered back to life. She awakened with possibilities, believing that anything could be achieved as long as he was with her.
She placed a hand over his heart, feeling warmth she hadn’t believed she would ever feel again. Fire ignited within her. Each moment like this felt so precious that she could endure all the pain just to hold him.
“You don’t have to hide from me,” Zander said, his deep voice as soothing as the scent of the sweetest flower. He touched her cheek, and she leaned into his hand, trusting him completely.
For once, Alexia wasn’t afraid to show her true self. This man loved her as she was, and she let go of every mask, revealing her truest self in the sanctuary of those moon eyes. She felt a freedom that couldn’t be chained.
“I am Master Alexia Bluerose, daughter of Eron Bluerose, the royal steward to King Gideon Sapphire. I have harnessed divine energy since I was eleven, and I’m only the second person that could control all eight. I am the sworn enemy of your kingdom.” Alexia paused, studying his reaction but already trusting in what she would find: Acceptance.
Zander’s response was as firm as meladonite. “I would forsake any vow that claimed you were my enemy.”
Alexia kissed him, and in that moment, Leverith’s spirit surged from the locket with a force she’d never known. Pacisamorus danced around them, bathing them in radiant blue light as Divine Leverith reforged their hearts with peace and love. This was what allowed her to survive Ferrickton, the dream that kept her from giving in. This was the peace to be herself and not worry about what others wanted or needed her to be. This was the love of a person who would never give up on her or hate her if she was herself. This was happiness. She never thought she could feel this again.
When their kiss broke, she laid her head against his chest, staring up into his eyes with newfound wonder. Goddess Hill, the Grand Confluence, and Covademara, the crowning beauty of Leveria—no, the world, surrounded them. For all that, they were nothing compared to his smile. She could have spent forever in this moment, and still feel that it ended too soon.
“I never thought I’d feel this way again,” Zander said softly. “Last night shattered me, but your love puts me back together. With you, I find peace again.”
“You steal my heart and my words! I could say the same to you, and it would be just as true.” She lowered her eyes, the memories of Ferrickton intruding on the moment. “You saved me last night,” she murmured. “Twice.”
“And you saved me.”
“Twice?” She smirked, raising an eyebrow.
Zander cradled her in his arms, lifting her into the air as he stood. This giddiness, this wondrous new feeling, she could get used to. She laughed, and he pressed his nose to hers until their foreheads touched, eyes meeting with mischievous glints. “Tis not a contest,” he said.
Alexia laughed again. She put her hands on his face and let herself savor this moment. She knew it couldn’t last, but she wouldn’t let go of it a moment earlier than she needed to.
He hugged her closer, and she felt blessed in his cocoon of love. “But I think I’m winning,” he said, smirking.
Her playful side escaped its meladonite cage with a sarcastic laugh. “Technically, since we’re life’s mates, any time one of us saves the other, we save both of us. Therefore, I must conclude that it’s a tie.”
Zander smacked his lips, his triumphant smile widening. “Flawless logic, Alexia Bluerose. I’d even given you extra points for your clever way of confessing that we’re life’s mates. Tell me it’s true, and not just a ploy to outwit me.”
Alexia vaulted out of his arms. Heart fluttering, she took his hands and leaned closer, pressing her nose to his. “We are life’s mates,” she whispered, conspiratorially. She kissed his cheek. “Forever.” She kissed his other cheek. “And always.” She kissed his lips, guiding him to the ground until she straddled him. Leverith answered with a rush of divine energy that burst from the locket and encircled them.
Zander rolled her onto her back. He kissed her neck, awakening a yearning in her. Her back arched, her toes curled, and she dug her nails into his shoulders, pulling him tight to her body. The intensity was beyond what she’d imagined—a craving that united her body, mind, and spirit in a singular desire for his touch. She wanted to give him every part of herself, right here, right now. She was on the edge of a cliff, looking down at that beautiful lagoon, wanting to make a splash that would ripple forever. She hesitated, knowing there was only one chance at making this leap for the first time, but she knew this was the person she wanted to take this plunge with and that there was no better place in the world. If time didn’t concur, it would simply have to bear what was meant to be.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
She shook with anticipation, excitement roaring in her as she neared the leap. She embraced the moment, feeling any restraint vanish like mist as she kissed him.
But Zander paused at the edge, his gaze drifting toward Covademara above. She pursued him with kisses to his neck, eager to give back what he had given her. Leverith’s spirit spiraled around them, enveloping them in ethereal blue. The Goddess vanquished their weariness and washed away their woes like a blanket of love allowing only warmth within it. The Divine’s blessing convinced her even more that this was meant to be.
“We don’t have to rush this, Sunrise,” Zander murmured, caressing her cheek. “I could spend all my days marveling at how beautiful you are, but my love for you is more than lust.”
Did he have the slightest idea what his words meant to her? Her conviction that Zander was her life’s mate went impossibly higher, crashing through new ceilings with each sentence he gave her. With each verse, he captured her soul and cradled it in the most loving embrace. His thoughtful words of caution only made her yearn more intensely for him. As certain as the sun rises each morning, every doubt was banished.
Running her hand under his tunic, she felt his strong, sculpted muscles and lifted his shirt. Her heart pounded and her breath caught as her eyes drank in the sight of him. “My Moon,” she whispered, locking her hands with his, their gazes entwining as if nothing else existed. “What I feel transcends desire.” She smiled at the spirit energy permeating the area around them, traces of Leverith’s love spreading hundreds of feet in every direction. “Leverith joins us together: two souls, two minds, two bodies, meant to be fused into one whole.”
“I am yours and you are mine,” Zander assured her with a kiss.
Alexia nodded. “You are mine and I am yours.” She removed her robes, with his gentle assistance, and helped him out of his breeches, savoring each new discovery. She gazed at him, thoroughly enamored by his form, by his kind heart, and his playful wit. His eyes wide, mouth ajar, smiling sweetly, she knew he saw the same expression reflected on her face. Feeling blessed as a dream she never thought would come true came true, Alexia serenaded him as Leverith’s light enveloped them beside Goddess Hill:
Love’s shining light
Shines on us so bright,
For all the world to see,
The love of you and me.
In all our innocent dreams,
And all our lover’s schemes,
And all our heart’s regimes,
All feel our beams.
Moon, I shine for you,
I love you, big blue.
I love you through and through,
No words ever this true.
Zander looked at her, awestruck, his eyes wide and his mouth parting in a silent “Wow.” She nodded at him, hoping with all her heart that he could create this melody with her. Zander took a breath, then sang in a deep voice, untrained but rich with heartfelt passion:
Sun, ‘tis you I embrace,
When all the world’s a race.
‘Tis you I chase,
My love’s resting place.
Love’s shining light
Shines on us so bright,
For all the world to see.
The love of you and me.
Tears of joy rimming their sunrise and moon eyes, they kissed. Leverith’s spirit swept across Goddess Hill and over the Eagle River, spilling into the fields of flowers. Zander sang again, and they continued their duet, intertwining their voices and fingers as they alternated every two lines:
No matter how far,
You are always my star.
No matter the time,
You are worth the climb.
No matter the wait,
You are my life’s mate.
No matter what they say,
You are always my way.
No matter the fire,
You are my desire.
No matter the cold,
‘Tis you I will hold.
They held each other tightly, their bodies pressed close, the wholeness of Alexia’s heart restored in his embrace. They merged together and became one voice, one body, one soul. Two lovers finished their song as one:
No matter the pain,
Our love will never wane.
Love’s shining light
Shines on us so bright,
For all the world to see,
The love of you and me.
For all the world to see,
The love of you and me.
On Meladon Waning, Norali Moon, 213 3LE, beneath a rising sun and enveloped in the light of the Divine of Love and Dreams, the moon and the sun became one. Hand in hand, they leapt from the cliff, plunging into the lagoon below. They merged, a grand confluence of body, mind, and spirit. Zander guided her gently through the water as they splashed into the wellspring of joy.
Each kiss, every embrace, every thrust carried Alexia and Zander closer to a paradise of flowers and shimmering blue light. When they finished, creating a melody of another kind, Alexia laid on her back beside Zander and gazed up at Covademara as it stretched to infinity. The only thing either of them wore was her locket, and in that embrace, all felt whole.
“I’ve always felt incomplete,” Zander said. “I chased after the sunrise like the moon, but I could never catch it. I spent each night trying to find a fraction of the peace and love you give me, Alexia.” He put his hand on her chest, brushing against the locket. “I’d nearly given up hope. Moments before you arrived into my life—”
“You arrived into my life, Zander,” Alexia said, smiling as she traced her fingers up his chest. “A paladin atop his great steed, with a voice like thunder and eyes like the moon.”
Zander smiled, chuckling as he took her hand. “Moments before you arrived into my life…” He paused, daring her to challenge him. Some battles were supposed to be lost in order to win the war. She pinched his cheek and let him have this one. For when he won, she won.
“I asked Leverith to send me a sign.” Zander’s eyes welled with happy tears. “Then you were there. We battled a shebear.”
They laughed. “The first of many collaborations, I hope,” Alexia said.
“You know it,” Zander said, pulling her closer. “I knew the moment I looked into your eyes that you were the answer to my prayer. Every moment since then, you’ve proven me right. I feel more whole right now than I had even dreamed was possible. You’re my life’s mate, my Sunrise. I love you, Alexia.”
“I knew it too,” Alexia said. “The moment I met your gaze, I felt it; you were the Moon that would chase me across the sky.”
“More like fields of flowers.”
Alexia nodded blissfully and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Giddiness swept through her like a flood down the Eagle River. “I’ve dreamed of you all my life. Just when I had lost all hope that I’d ever find you, there you were.” She squeezed his hand, feeling him there, fitting with her like a perfectly matched jigsaw piece. “I love you too, Zander.”
Zander nudged her face with his. The feeling of joy was sweeter when you thought it was one you’d never experience again. Alexia battled the urge to cry and failed.
He brushed her hair, his brows knitted with concern. “What is it, Sunrise?”
She didn’t want to think about Halius and wanted to talk about him even less as it spoiled the joy in her heart. But she couldn’t hide behind a mask of joy and pretend that all was well. Being with Zander taught her that dreams did come true, but like Pelianna and Elior, happily ever after didn’t come right at the start. They would need to fight for their love to be accepted, and peace couldn’t be the price.
“Whatever it is,” Zander said, “we will face it together.”
“Before I left Sapphirica,” Alexia swallowed, feeling sick to her soul, “King Gideon asked me to bond his son.” She searched his face, seeing a flicker of panic. She clutched his hand as tightly as she could, infusing her touch with Leverith and Celegana, stubbornly clinging to their love. “I knew you were Leverith’s answer the moment I first looked into your eyes. I knew yours was the song of peace and love that would play in synchrony with mine. I love you, Zander. With everything I am.”
“And I am yours, Alexia,” Zander said, traces of worry leaking through his confidence. “I will do whatever it takes to be with you.”
Many kisses and eruptions of Leverith’s divine energy from the locket later, Alexia pulled apart, willing herself to move forward from this dream and forge the path toward peace. Watching him get dressed, she felt a longing to leap into his arms again; the very thought of this moment ending tore at her heart. She tried to plan for the path forward, but every road she considered ended in tragedy and she wasn’t innocent enough anymore to believe that love would always triumph.
“Where do we go from here?” she asked.
“Wherever we want,” Zander answered. “As long as we go together.”
Alexia knew where she needed to go. The happiness inside of her snapped like a twig beneath the foot of a giant as reality crashed back into her. “I must go back to Sapphirica. I need to face King Gideon.”
“Then I’ll go with you,” Zander replied without hesitation.
She averted her gaze. Despite her desire to have him by her side, she saw no happy ending to that road. Despair rose in her chest and threatened to suffocate the joys of the last angle.
Zander tried to break through the darkness with a sunny, optimistic, but oh-so-unrealistic solution. “We don’t have to serve the Ruby or the Sapphire. We can stay here.”
“I’m not free,” Alexia said, her voice breaking. “I can’t abandon my responsibilities.”
“There’s no glory in this war. We could leave it behind, start anew.” His voice grew desperate. “Take my hand, and let’s go. Just us.”
Tears brimmed her eyes. She didn’t want to be part of the war or the politics that kept it forever in motion. She reached into her pocket and felt the doll. Alexia would never forgive herself if she ran away. “I can’t,” she whispered, choking back a sob.
“You can,” he insisted. “We can be happy.” He reached for her, but she backed away from him. The sorrow writ upon his face was another dagger of guilt stabbing into the heart of joy.
She shook her head. She didn’t deserve such an easy fate after what she had done. Any joy she felt while hiding would be strangled by the guilt. A million Leverians relied on her to bring peace, to help them stand strong against the Chimaera, to make amends for the atrocities she committed in Vulcan, Mirrevar, and Ferrickton. A thousand souls reaped by Zamael far before their time demanded she go on in their stead, not abandon everything for her own selfish desire to be loved and left in peace.
She held up her hands. “The people of Ferrickton welcomed me with open arms. I destroyed their mines, the very lifeblood of every person in that community. I killed every soldier that tried to stop me, even the father of the sweetest little girl I ever met.” Alexia shook, remembering Allison fading to shadow. “I need to bring the Second Great Peace.”
Zander clenched his teeth, growling, before snapping back. “You think I’m innocent?” he asked, raising his hands for her to see. “Last night, I killed dozens—maybe hundreds—of your countrymen. I was nothing but a monster harvesting life beneath the full moon. When I wanted to give in, the only thing that kept me going was you. I could feel your pain echoing my own. I fought and fought and fought, just to get here with you, and I’m not about to give up on us without fighting with everything I have.”
His tone softened and he took her hand. “This life is too hard to go alone. Wherever you go, I’ll be with you. We don’t have to run from responsibility to be together. Together, we can sing the melody that brings eternal peace.”
Alexia knew he meant every word. He would accompany her on the journey to Sapphirica and he would fight for her with every fragment of his considerable power. He would be her Elior whether he had to battle chimaeras, princes, ogres, or her own self-doubts. Every part of her heart wanted to say yes, but every part of her mind warned her of the tragedy that road would bring.
Nobody alive had better attunement with Leverith than her, and yet, she was also Eron Blueroses’s rational daughter. Emotion and logic battled within her like two great forces determined to tear each other apart. Instead, they sundered her soul with their conflict. She tried so hard to envision a path where Zander could ride through the Sapphire encampment full of soldiers he just battled against without causing more bloodshed or tarnishing the love the people of the Sapphire Kingdom felt for her, where they declared their love before Gideon, Eron, and Halius, and where that conversation ended with the king throwing his hands up in joy and declaring that every fragment of his authority would be devoted to restoring peace. Her mind knew that what her heart wanted was nothing more than the innocent dreams of a girl who believed that love could triumph over all.
But Alexia’s innocence was lost. Maleon had taught her better of the darkness that resided in people’s souls and how often and easily Zamael could triumph over love.
“I cannot take you where I must go,” she said, holding back the wave of sorrow that crashed against her heart. “Do not chase me, Zander.”
Zander fell to his knees and begged. “Don’t do this, Alexia. Don’t leave me all alone.”
It broke her heart to see such a grand man groveling. She forced herself to look away from him, doing everything she could to keep the sorrow at bay as it slammed into her.
“I will be your sworn shield,” he pleaded tearfully. “I will protect you every step of the way. Please don’t leave me.”
Alexia turned her back on him to hide her tears. If only they lived in that dream world, she would be so much happier. But this wasn’t a dream. Every future she saw where he came with her ended in tragedy, in Zander’s death, in more war, and, ultimately, in defeat as the chimaeras came. She lifted the locket from her neck, instantly feeling her connection with the Divine, especially Leverith, weaken. Where once was a great flowing river, was a dried-up creek. She was no longer whole, but a broken woman trying to live with only a fraction of herself. Alas, if Leverith was to prevail over Zamael, if she was to break this cycle of endless hatred, vengeance, and death, she must finish strong.
Alexia inhaled, held her breath, then exhaled. “We are at war. This is not the season for love.” She turned and faced him, her eyes burning with all the fire of the sun, though her voice was as cold as Zamael’s blackened heart. “The next time we meet…” Alexia clung to the last trace of her innocence for one final moment, before it was lost forever. “We will be enemies.”