After Ambrose finally drifted back to sleep, comforted by hearing more of the story, I crept back into the house. The sleeping herbs I’d stirred into his stew earlier should help him rest deeper this time. His body needed to recover before he could even consider using magic again. Even my own body ached from the strain of using my power more since his arrival and the weight of the past clawing its way into the present.

  I quietly pushed the door to his room open and smiled when I saw him curled beneath the blanket, sleeping peacefully in the moonlit room. The soft glow illuminated his features and cast gentle shadows across his face, washing away the storm of emotion that had overtaken him only hours before. I gently closed the door behind me, leaving him to—hopefully—happier dreams.

  I turned and trudged to my own room, the weight of exhaustion pressing down on me like a heavy cloak. Sleep and I were always in an on-again, off-again relationship, but tonight there was no pushing off the rest I desperately needed. I stood in front of my mirror and was shocked by the red veins visible in the whites of my eyes and the dark circles rooted underneath, a testament to my sleepless nights.

  I kicked my boots off and pulled my shirt over my head, tangling my hair as it fell down and brushed against my bare back. I reached behind my back and unclipped my black bra, instantly feeling relief wash over me like a cool breeze. I slipped out of my brown mud pants, grabbed my white nightgown from my dresser, and pulled it over my head, the fabric soft against my skin.

  Once I was finished getting ready for bed, I threw myself onto the center of the giant comforter, sighing as I collided with the soft surface. I stared at the wooden logs holding my home together, contemplating if I could go one more day sleep-deprived, but my body made the choice for me almost as quickly as my head hit the pillow. My eyes closed, and I was dragged into the peaceful darkness.

  My eyes fluttered open as a bright light blinded me. I reached to pull the blanket off of me, but instead of my bed, I was resting in the middle of a moss-covered forest floor, the rich scent of earth and greenery enveloping me. I sat up abruptly, taking in all my surroundings. This place had an energy I hadn't felt in forever—magic. Not just any magic. Fae magic.

  As I looked around, I saw an Ekhala Willow, a tree native only to Amathara, its branches swaying gently as if whispering secrets. It was rumored to house the souls of Fae who were waiting for their eternal pair to die to be reborn. I saw so many plant species I thought had gone extinct in the Fall that I was convinced I was dreaming.

  "Juniper, where are we?" I heard Ambrose's voice from behind me, breaking the spell of wonder.

  I spun to face him, my heart racing. "Ambrose?" I asked, shocked. "I'm not sure, but this place looks exactly like Amathara."

  "It has been quite some time, hasn't it?" A woman's voice emerged from under the Ekhala Willow, smooth and melodic.

  I grabbed Ambrose and pulled him behind me instinctively as I turned to face the mysterious woman. The moment I saw her, I knew who she was—Gaia. Her dark brown skin radiated a golden aura, making her look ethereal, as if she were woven from the very fabric of nature itself. She wore a dress that appeared to be made of moss and vines clinging to her figure perfectly, the material shifting like living foliage. Beautiful pink Dashuri flowers were scattered throughout her luxuriously coiled hair that fell to her collarbones.

  I fell to my knees and placed my fist across my chest in a gesture of respect. "Goddess Gaia, it is an honor to meet you," I exclaimed, my voice trembling with a mix of reverence and resentment, signaling for Ambrose to copy me.

  "Rise, my children," she commanded, gesturing upward with her arms, her voice carrying an authority that demanded obedience.

  I slowly rose to my feet and faced the being in front of me, my heart pounding. "Where are we?" I questioned, my curiosity battling with my unease.

  She smiled, a soft, knowing expression. "With the last of my magic, I was able to create a small sanctuary to survive in before the fall consumed me too. I hope it feels like home."

  A million questions swirled through my mind, but I was too distracted by the beauty of the Amatharan nature all around me. This can't be real. How I wish it were real.

  "I heard you, Juniper. I heard your screams tonight, and you released enough magic energy for me to summon you here, but we don't have much time," she said, her voice grave.

  I held Ambrose's hand tightly as we walked beneath the surrounding trees, my white nightgown dragging against the forest floor, the fabric whispering against the earth.

  "Why did you summon us?" I asked, my tone sharper than intended.

  Gaia opened her arms wide, as if to embrace the very essence of the forest. "To see this. To show you Fae magic isn't gone, Juniper."

  She wasn't lying. I felt every bit of Fae magic surrounding me, a feeling I had long forgotten—a bittersweet reminder of what once was. I looked at her, puzzled and frustrated.

  "Unlike life energy, magical energy can be restored, Juniper. So the worlds you grew up in can thrive again," she said as she took my hands, her grip warm yet insistent. "You and Ambrose together have the strength to undo any previous mistakes you made."

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  I looked to the ground, avoiding her judgmental eyes. "There is a reason the two of you were born together. The first two Fullvalda to live at once must be destined for something great," she said, her voice echoing with a weighty promise.

  I looked back at Ambrose as he messed with all the new kinds of wildlife surrounding him, his laughter ringing like music in the air. He seemed so happy and at home here. But this beauty could only cover so much of the corruption that lay beneath.

  "Why would I ever want that back?" I said, staring into her green eyes, my voice laced with anger. "The Fae used the gifts given to us to harm each other instead of helping one another. They took freedom away from everyone, forcing them to serve their realm, never giving them a chance to truly live. The world that has resulted from the Fall is by no means perfect, but they have found ways to live peacefully—something we never learned."

  Gaia frowned, her expression shifting as she guided me underneath the Ekhala Willow. "Place your hand on the trunk, Juniper, and tell me what you feel."

  I did as she said, resting my hand against the rough bark, the texture grounding me as I opened my magic to the energies resting inside—until I felt it. A soul. His soul.

  "Only two souls have never been reborn since the Fall, Juniper. I take it you know who they belong to," she said, circling the tree, her voice echoing with ancient knowledge.

  I held onto the feeling of being near him, the warmth of his essence wrapping around me like a comforting embrace. I forgot what the eternal bond felt like. It was pure bliss. I kept holding on, never wanting to let go, but Gaia's voice broke through, pulling me back to reality.

  "Even with humans lacking Fae magic, their souls are still bound to one another. They just can't feel it. You can allow them to feel that joy again, Juniper."

  I looked back, and Ambrose was still distracted by the popping pansies he had found, blissfully unaware of the weight of our conversation. "Why is he here? He doesn't know anything about the Fae worlds. He wouldn't understand."

  "Look at him, Juniper. He is a thousand-year-old trapped in a child's body. Do you really want him to stay like that forever? Do you want to stay like this forever?"

  "Answer me this first. Why me? Why did you give me a gift I wasn't capable of wielding?"

  She looked away from me and sighed, the weight of her choices heavy in the air. "I chose you because you understood how precious life was. The pain you feel when something dies is unique to you. Most Fullvalda didn't have that understanding. But you, Juniper... you were incapable of abusing the gift I gave you, like some of the others that came before you."

  I balled my fists together, anger boiling over. "And what great judgment you had," I yelled, my voice echoing through the forest. "I destroyed eight entire realms because you thought I could handle it, but I couldn't. Because of you, I never got a happy ending. I never got an ending at all!"

  "Juniper, we don't have a lot of time," she pleaded, her grip on my hands tightening as if trying to anchor me to the moment. "You alone don't have the strength to restore the magic. But with Ambrose, you will."

  I stared into her eyes, fury raging inside mine. After a thousand years, how could she ask me to undo my mistake? I thought she had disappeared along with Fae magic, but it turned out she had been hiding this whole time. This entire time I was hurting, and she had ignored me—until I was helpful to her again.

  "You abandoned me," I whispered, my voice cracking. "When I needed you most, you left me in the hands of that tyrant. This is just as much your fault as it is mine."

  Just as I finished my sentence, she started to fade away—and so did the beautiful Amatharan facade. She stared at me, dumbfounded by the accusations I made. "Don't make the same mistake twice, Juniper," she said, just as she disappeared entirely, her voice echoing in my mind.

  My eyes shot open as the sunlight streamed through my window, blinding me. I jumped out of bed and ran to Ambrose's room, swinging the door open with urgency. Ambrose was sitting on his bed with a look of pure shock written all over his face, his eyes wide with wonder.

  "Juniper, I just had the most incredible dream!" he exclaimed.

  I raised my hand to cover my gaping mouth, riddled with disbelief. "Ambrose... I don’t think that was a dream. I think we actually spoke to Gaia."

  "Wait, really?" he shouted.

  I grabbed the doorframe to steady myself as the weight of what had just happened settled on me. I am one of the only Fae ever to have spoken to one of the Fae gods. And I yelled at her.

  "Why did she make you touch the tree?" Ambrose asked.

  "Remember when I told you how Fae have eternal pairs?" He nodded. "The souls of eternal pairs are always born around the same time and have to wait for the other to die before they can be reborn. But since I haven’t died... my eternal pair has been stuck waiting for me."

  His smile disappeared, replaced by a shadow of worry. "Does that mean my eternal pair is also stuck?"

  I nodded. "You never got the opportunity to meet whomever they were. But that doesn’t mean the bond isn’t strong."

  "Gaia said there was a way to restore the magic and that our souls would be set free. We have to do it, Juniper."

  "Ambrose, that isn’t such a good idea. You have no control over your magic yet. One wrong move and it could all be lost forever. It could destroy this world too. Are you willing to risk all these lives for a hail Mary from a magicless goddess who abandoned us?"

  He looked down. "So we just continue to live pointless lives? I want to have a real life again, Juniper! I don’t want to be a little boy anymore! I want to fall in love, I want to have a job and family, I want to grow old, and one day, I want to die."

  "You think I haven’t wished for that every day since I screwed up? Before I met you, I would jump from that cliff every morning hoping that eventually I wouldn’t wake up when I hit the bottom."

  "So what do you have to lose?"

  "I have nothing to lose. But these humans... these humans will lose everything they’ve built. Who are we to decide which species get to live or not?"

  "Even if it meant you could be happy with them again?"

  I sighed. "I had my chance at happiness long ago. But I let others dictate my life. It’s not my turn anymore, Ambrose."

  "What about me? Where was my chance to be happy? I apparently never even got to meet my eternal pair. How is that fair!"

  His emotions rose, and his eyes began to glow. "Ambrose, take a deep breath. You are losing control of your magic."

  He didn’t listen. Gold branches stretched from his body, reaching for every living thing nearby. I rushed to stop him but was thrown back by the force.

  If this continued much longer, his magic would reach the tree. I had to stop him.

  I harnessed a part of my magic I hadn’t used since the Fall—the ability to control magical energy. Silver beams erupted from my hands, wrapping around the gold branches, shrinking them. I focused, careful only to take what he was producing.

  The room’s glow softened from gold to silver. Finally, Ambrose collapsed onto the bed, breathless. I slid down the wall beside him, exhausted.

  And I thanked the gods for giving me just enough strength to stop him from destroying all of the magic remnants left in this world.