Page 77 of The Forbidden Wolf King
“Hurry or you’ll miss it!” she said and yanked me by the hand, pulling me and Oslo towards the open space they had prepared for the event. It was set at the base of a beautiful mountain and in the center of the meadow was a breathtaking, gigantic, weeping willow tree.
Raife stood before the tree wearing a stylish silver tunic and Kailani pulled me right past all the crowds of people and up to the front. She knew how hard my brother’s loss had hit me and I thought it was sweet she had put so much time in this memorial for the fallen ones.
Raife cleared his throat and then pointed to his wife. “I would like to honor my queen, my wife, my love, Kailani. This was her idea and she met with all of the artists and watched over the whole project.”
Everyone clapped, me included, as Kailani blushed beside her husband.
“And a big thank you to all of the local artists who made this memorial possible and worked tirelessly.” Raife then gestured with his hand and over fifty artists stepped out from the crowd and assembled before us.
We applauded loudly as they bowed, accepting the praise with gratitude. As they moved to the sides, opening up the clearing again, I noticed the weeping willow tree had leaves or flowers or something on it. They were glinting in the dying light as if made of metal.
“The Nightfall war took a lot from us,” Raife said, “but we now look forward to a reign of peace that we will try to find solace in.” He then gestured to the tree. “May the souls of the fallen ones be with their Maker forever. Please come closer, and when the sun sets, you will see the surprise.” The crowd pushed forward then, and I grasped Oslo’s hand and moved closer. With every step we took towards the magnificent tree, the metal objects became clearer.
They were metal, but they weren’t flowers. They were butterflies! Tiny sculptures hooked onto the tree. The center of the body of each butterfly was formed of beautiful crystal.
I walked right up to one of them and peered at the intricate wing design. There, engraved along the outside of the wing in tiny perfect script, was a phrase.
We honor Thomas Colt.
A lump formed in my throat.
I read another.
We honor Cassady Readers.
Kailani appeared at my side and motioned us to a weeping strand near the base of the tree. There was a little gold butterfly and engraved on the wing was,we honorCyrus Swiftwater.
Oslo took one look at it and began to wipe at his leaking eyes. I tried but couldn’t hold back the tears. Normally I would call them weak and try not to show emotion but my brother was worth every tear I had cried for him.
“It’s so beautiful,” I told Kailani as she watched my reaction.
Reaching over, she patted my back. “Look.” She pointed to the center of the butterfly and I had to rapidly blink to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
The sun had left us and now the crystals in the center of the butterflies were glowing! At first it was barely noticeable but as the sky grew darker, the butterflies all took on a beautiful purple hue.
Gasps rang throughout the space as the tree lit up like the moon. Over five hundred glowing butterflies.
“These crystals never go dark!” Raife yelled. “They are charged by sunlight and will glow, each night, until the end of time! Just as the memories of those fallen ones will always be with us.”
A few people burst into sobs and I pulled Oslo into my arms. Suddenly Axil was there holding us both and I knew it was the perfect remembrance for my brother. His light would never fade, just as the memories of him would never leave me.
EPILOGUE
One Year Later
“As an alpha,you will need to stare death in the face and laugh,” Axil told our three-month-old son Koa Cyrus Moon as he lay nestled in his father’s arms. Koa looked up at his father with bright blue eyes as spit bubbles formed on his lips and I smiled.
“Teaching him the ways of the big bad wolf?” I asked as I entered the room.
Axil looked up at me with adoration. “Alpha training starts young.”
I snickered. “Quite young indeed.”
I moved to his side and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You sure you guys will be okay without me for three days?”
“Are you kidding? Koa has two wet nurses, his crazy Aunt Liz, and I have an entire palace staff. We’ll be fine. Have fun with your friends.”
Kailani had arranged the first of our annual queens’ retreats. We were going to stay at a well-known elvin hot spring in the mountains for three days. Just me, Kailani, Madelynn and Arwen.
