Page 167 of Earthbound

Afa wiped at the blood from a wound on his cheek and said, ‘I can.’

Two words that would change the world.

Lettle rounded on him. ‘Is this a trick?’

‘No,’ he said. ‘I have always known how. You see, I cannot create something from nothing. But I am not nothing.’

It was Golan who understood first. He began to sob. ‘No, you can’t do this.’

Afa smiled and went to him. He ran his hand along his jaw, leaving blood. ‘I can, and I must. This was my mistake to right. I must unravel all of me. But you will be the hardest knot to untie.’

He kissed Golan long and slow, then whispered gently in his ear. Yeeran couldn’t hear what he said, but when he let Golan go, the fae was grief-stricken.

‘Lettle, I didn’t really believe life was the rose and thorn. I said it in order to comfort you. But in becoming who I am, I have understood the sentiment. Live as you love, fiercely, deeply.’

Lettle hesitated, her face a clear war of emotions, but as Afa turned away, she ran into his arms to embrace him. He pressed something small into her hands as they separated. ‘Add it to your necklace,’ he said with a grin that was all Alder.

‘Furi, Rayan, I have rebuilt your home. It is a small token of all your people have endured. Take care of it well.’

The king and queen nodded, both wary.

‘And now, to my people. Come, and let me weave my final spell.’

He kneeled on the ground that had once been the Wasted Marshes.

Yeeran thought it was thundering again, but then she saw them. All the obeah left in the world, running to their maker.

Then Afa began to speak. The words were impossible to capture; they sounded as deep and beautiful as a whale song. As light and soft as a bird’s morning call, and as sorrowful as a wolf’s howl.

Here was the earth coming undone.

The wind picked up once more, this time carrying with it the scent of the mountains, of conifers, and the ancient memories they stored.

And slowly, bit by bit, the man who was once Afa and Alder began to come apart. His edges began to blur, then his skin started to shed. Faster and faster the wind blew, picking up all the pieces of him.

The last to disappear was his smile.

Then in a flash the world turned white, and when Yeeran blinked again all traces of him and the obeah were gone.

In their place stood humans.

A woman with dark hair and silver eyes reached for Yeeran’s face. She was of a height with her, though her body was generous in areas that Yeeran’s was not.

‘Pila?’ Yeeran asked uncertainly.

The woman smiled and said, ‘Do you have any strawberries?’

Epilogue

Golan

One Year On

It took Golan many more months than it should have to reach Caperly. He took his time, lingering in all the quiet beauty of the world. Despite everything he had seen on his journey, he was not prepared for the view from the Osono Mountains.

‘It all looks different now without the conifers,’ Mia said. She stood with him looking out over the cliffside, Caperly at their backs.

‘I saw many saplings on the road,’ Golan said. He didn’t add that he had prayed at each one.