“I’ll miss you too, Rachel,” Jason said gently.
Tears brimmed in her eyes. She looked down. “I’m doing this all wrong. I should never have allowed the rest of you to see me off. I should have gone through alone.”
Jason pulled her to her feet and hugged her. She hugged him back. He was tall and strong. “We wouldn’t have let you.”
Rachel held him tightly. Could they have ever become a couple? If they hadn’t known they would have to separate? Maybe. She certainly felt closer to Jason than to anyone. But it was pointless to think about. She was leaving. He was staying.
“If I hate it there, maybe I’ll come back,” she said. “I read a lot about ways between our worlds. It was my main emphasis these past months. There is no guaranteed way, but there are many tricks I could try.”
“Darian told us that one of us had to stay and one had to go,” Jason said. “He never said we had to go or stay forever.”
Rachel nodded. “I’ll keep telling myself that maybe I’ll come back someday. That makes this more doable. I have to go. Not only because of the prophecy. I have to see my parents. I have to let them know I’m all right. I have to be with them again.”
“I know. Listen, if you ever make it back here, you’re welcome to stay at my enormous castle.”
She pushed away from him, giggling. “Are you ever serious?”
“I’m serious! Caberton keeps getting better and better. I’ll even lend you some of my servants and share some of my gold and jewels.”
“What if I come back and hundreds of years have passed?”
“I’ll remember you in my will,” Jason assured her. “You’ll always have a home at Caberton. If anybody doubts you, just point at the monument.”
Rachel smiled weakly. Even kidding around, it was hard to think about the monument. It had been completed shortly before she’d left Trensicourt for the last time. The great square near the castle had been renamed Hero Square. There she had been immortalized in stone, her statue more than twice her actual height. The craftsmanship was exceptional. The sculptors were the finest from across Lyrian, including several of the Amar Kabal.
The statue of Rachel did not stand alone. Beside her were Galloran, Jason, Corinne, Farfalee, Jasher, Aram, Kerick, Halco, Andrus, Delissa, and Nollin. All of the delegation who had set out from the Seven Vales and lived.
The dead from the delegation were represented on the other side of the square, including the drinlings who had joined them at Ebera. Io, Nia, Raz, Dorsio, Nedwin, Drake, Tark, and Ferrin were all rendered in lifelike detail. Ferrin held his smiling head in his hand. The sculptors had argued that it made his heritage as a displacer too obvious, but Galloran had insisted for that precise reason.
Rachel loved that her friends had been memorialized there. She appreciated the plaques and fountains commemorating others who had fallen. She respected the sacred feeling the location inspired. But she could not look at her friends without sobbing. After the dedication she had only visited Hero Square twice more—once to take pictures and once to say good-bye.
“Hey, don’t get like that,” Jason said, giving her a squeeze.
“I’m all right,” Rachel said, realizing that her thoughts must have been written on her face.
“Somewhere Ferrin is laughing his guts out that his statue stands in a place of honor.”
“Drake, too,” Rachel said.
“All of them, probably,” Jason realized. “I can’t imagine I’ll ever get used to that statue of me.”
“Whatever. You know you like it.”
“What?” Jason asked, unable to resist a smile. “Maybe a little.”
Rachel chuckled quietly. “I’m really leaving.”
“Looks that way.”
“I’m taking some treasure home. The necklace from Drake, of course, but some other stuff as well. I’m not sure if I’ll ever try to explain any of it or cash in some of the gemstones, but I thought it would beat returning empty-handed.”
“Good idea. You deserve some spoils after all you’ve done.” He nodded toward the opening of the tent. “They have food prepared. Everyone wants to see you.”
“I know. I’ve been stalling. I’m ready now.”
The feast was held in a huge pavilion. There were grand announcements celebrating all Rachel had done for Lyrian. There were cheers and applause. But mostly she enjoyed seeing her friends. Corinne, who got more beautiful every year. How could Jason possibly resist! And Galloran, who would never again need to blindfold his mismatched eyes. Aram’s lovely wife Brielle stood much taller than him, at least during the day. Rachel always found it strange to see the half giant dressed as a lord.
The meal was delicious, the praise generous, the conversations delightful, but everything felt fleeting. This was the end, and Rachel could not forget it. Regret and excitement warred within her.
The afternoon was waning when her closest friends escorted Rachel to the cave. They passed the guards and entered in silence. At one point they had to fall flat and slither forward. At last they came to a chamber where a clear pool hardly reflected the lamplight.
Rachel leaned over the side. “Look how far you can see.”
“It’s deep,” Jason told her. “And cold. You’ll sink until you think you might drown. But then you’ll emerge in a farmer’s field.”
Thank you, Rachel, Galloran thought to her. Lyrian will forever be indebted.
You deserve more thanks than anyone, Rachel conveyed earnestly. Without you, Lyrian would not have been saved, and I would not be going home. Trensicourt could not have a finer king.
They embraced.
“Are you talking in your minds again?” Jason complained.
“Sorry,” Rachel said. “It won’t be a problem much longer.”
“I don’t know what I’ll do without you,” Corinne said.
“You’ll be beautiful, and wonderful, and so happy,” Rachel replied, embracing her friend. “I’m sorry for everything I’ll miss. I’ll think about you always.”
She hugged and exchanged words with Farfalee and Jasher, Aram and Brielle, Elaine, Brin, and finally Jason.
“Take care,” Rachel said. “Have a marvelous life.”
“You too.”
There was much more she could say, but it was already too painful. She turned to Brin. “You have weights for me?”
Brin showed her a pair of iron weights at the edge of the pool with loops of rope attached to them. “Just hold tight and you’ll sink like an anchor.”