The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 72

Indigo

"Kath!" Aaron's anguished cry echoed in the empty throne room. I lowered my spear slowly as the gold magic faded. I could feel the tears roll down my cheeks. The portal had disappeared; it was as if it had never existed. Aaron's hands were still clasped over Katherine's hand that was no longer there. He froze for a moment before scrambling to his knees. He waved his arm in the air desperately, searching for a rip in the space, for a sliver of the portal. There was none.

I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Aaron, it's no use. She's gone."

"No!" Aaron turned to look up at me, and the pain in his eyes brought a fresh batch of tears to my eyes. "Indigo, open the portal. Kath is still in there. We have to get her out. I have to get her out." He looked a little crazed. "Open the portal, Indigo!"

"I can't." My chin trembled as I spoke. "You know I can't. Even if I could, Katherine used her life to seal it and destroy Lord Victor for good. To reopen the portal would mean Katherine's sacrifice was in vain."

Aaron might have been too focused on Katherine to notice, but I saw Katherine channel all of her magic into sealing the portal. As the blue magic surged and she let go, I summoned every last drop of magic I had in me and stitched together the last part of the tear. I didn't want to. I almost stopped. But Katherine's determination and her last words to me—"You understand, don't you?"—pushed me to finish what we started. Even if it meant standing by and watching her vanish, along with the portal.

Grief, anger, pain, despair...an array of emotions passed through Aaron's face. I knew he understood that Katherine was gone and that there was no way for us to save her. She stayed inside the portal as the world was destroyed so that we could seal the portal and annihilate Lord Victor permanently. But did she realize, as she made her decision, that this choice would destroy Aaron's world too?

"Kath..." Aaron buried his face in his hands as the tears fell. He slumped and let out a choked sob, still kneeling in front of where Katherine once was. "It's my fault...I couldn't save her...it's my fault..."

I sat down beside him. My tears flowed freely down my face, and I did nothing to stop them. "It's not your fault, Aaron. It's not your fault." If it was anyone's fault, it was mine. If I had been the one to go inside the portal, Katherine would still be here, and Aaron wouldn't be this devastated. If I had volunteered to go in instead of Katherine, things might have turned out differently.

As the candles in the iron chandeliers above us flickered weakly, we grieved together for the loss of our friend.

* * * * *

The sound of running footsteps and loud shouts from outside the throne room interrupted our grieving. "Is it more of Lord Victor's soldiers?" I asked worriedly.

Aaron looked up from his hands, his eyes puffy and red. The flames in them flickered back to life. "If it is, then I will commemorate Kath with their blood," he said simply, before getting to his feet and drawing his sword. I stood as well, and we stood side by side in the center of the walkway, brandishing our weapons toward the open door.

The first cluster of people burst in, all holding weapons. They caught sight of us, bloodied and battle-weary, and skidded to a halt. Aaron had a gust of wind ready in his hand. Before conflict could erupt, though, someone pushed through the crowd and emerged in the front. I lowered my sword after seeing who it was. "Rachel? Why are you here?"

"Indigo! Aaron! Oh my goodness, thank the heavens you're alive!" Rachel ran up and threw her arms around us. "I was worried sick; you've all been gone so long, I thought—I thought—"