EPILOGUE
So here I stand on a calm, average Wednesday. My friends filled this past weekend with relaxation and mindless fun. Much unlike the previous one … the one chock-full of Donovan, who has since gone missing. I am trying not to think or worry about him and what he might be up to.
Instead, I am taking advantage of what I am certain is one of the few chances I’ll have from now on just to be a girl. I am unloading my closet, dumping everything into bags and boxes for the move to our new apartment. Mine and Hollie’s, that is—a transition my parents say is non-negotiable since I am only seventeen. I suppose I can’t argue with the law. And I also can’t argue with my parents, whom I’ve made up with as much as possible, given the circumstances. It will all take time. But things are decent. Maybe even, dare I say, on the road to good…
We did the whole apology and crying deal, and what’s interesting is that I now feel more comfortable around them. Even with leftover tension and anger and all that, I can be me and they can be them. If I’m not around, it (sadly) won’t be much different for them; if they’re not around, that’s fine because I have other family I can go visit. Of course they aren’t related to me, but neither are ‘Jeffrey&Diana’ when it comes down to it. Family chooses you and vice versa—blood is not always a factor.
As I expected, things are warmer with my dad than with my mom, but I can read her pretty well and I know it’s nothing more than guilt. She loves me as much as any mother can love a daughter. Her problem is simple. Not only am I not what she believed … she’s not what she believed. Or rather, she didn’t want to confront her own truth, choosing instead to believe she was another type of person.
But enough about that. Sappiness can come later. Because I don’t doubt another adventure is headed my way. I need to look forward and anticipate what is to come, but in the meantime, I pack at fast as I am capable (which is muchmuch faster than my old, slow-ass self, thanks to my new fae abilities) so I can meet Hollie and shop for some more apartment décor.
It does suck that I won’t be living with Sloane like we wanted, but I will still be seeing plenty of him. Hols and I are moving into his building. Across the hall. And then next year, I’ll be with him and have my best friend right by me. Hollie and I will always belong together.
But two people who don’t are Olivia and Preston. Once she finally sees the light (which may happen sooner rather than later due to my new deviousness) and dumps him, I’m pretty positive I will have two roommates rather than one, which is awesome for now and even better for later so Hollie won’t be alone after I turn eighteen.
As for moving forward with the fae side of me, which I must admit is quite dominant, well … I count myself lucky. My powers came easily from the minute I knew the truth because of my faery family and my mother having given me as much of herself as she could.
On top of the cool tricks I’m still learning, I have discovered that I am able to enter people’s dreams. My own still evade me, but at least I’m content with the certainty that all the creatures I used to envision are alive and well in children’s minds – as well as in the heads of some imaginative, believing adults.
Yes, what I did in order to save myself and other fae does bother me when I think about I, but if I tear apart the situation I was thrown, or rather born, into, I know I had no choice. Ankou (the creature’s name, I recently discovered—kind of creepy, huh?) needed to be stopped and I am proud to have avenged my mother’s death. My amazing, tolerant mother who first saved my life as a baby and then guided me toward the right path later on in my life. The path I walked was, without doubt, the lesser of two evils. The terrorized fae are happy again, and in such a short time! … but I could not have come back to life so easily. In fact, I wouldn’t have even had a chance. And I don’t really like to think of that possibility. So that is about the time during any recollecting-slash-reminiscing when I stop analyzing. And then stop thinking about it at all.
Nothing I spend my time thinking of now will change what was. I need to focus on what is and what will be. And besides, ignoring things is still something I am damned good at.
I know it’s not that simple, though.
But I refuse to worry. I know my place now and I know my life. I have friends and family, both old and new, and I have Sloane. I look forward to seeing where the Mother Nature allows the wind to take us all.
Eden Tyler studied English Literature and Psychology at Purdue University and resides in the Midwest where she grew up, in her comfortable home with her great little family. Still a reader, she spends a lot of time researching her main obsession—faeries. The Abandoned Edge of Avalon is not only a dark/urban fantasy, but also a form of Mythic Fiction in that it draws directly from Celtic mythology. Eden created her own world from the facts she learned. Other than believing faeries do come into her house and hide things from her and mess around for fun, she maintains a fairly simple life. It consists mostly of writing, reading, and watching movies. Eden adores almost all candy and loves the colors pink and blue. You can contact her through her website, www.edentylerbooks.com
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Be sure not to miss:
Edging into Magic
The Slivers of Avalon: Book < IS >
2012
– & –
The Mischievous Magic
The Slivers of Avalon: Book < II >
2013
WITH SINCERE GRATITUDE …
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