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"Wait!" Tulip says, pushing back from Viola. "I… you…" She struggles to get words out, grasping her chest. "This is different. What did you do?"
Viola shrugs. "You are my high priest as the othersare. But the Equinox believed that the reason the previous high priests were so corruptible was because they had no magic of their own, and they began to covet. The feeling of it, when they funneled the devotion, was enough to drive them to madness to get their own."
"Hold on," Morrow says, his voice low. "Are you saying…"
"I have magic," Tulip whispers. "I have Winter magic." Morrow gapes at his partner, eyes darting between her and the Shadowweaver. Viola grins smugly and shrugs.
"Does this mean you can give Plume her magic back?" Cirrha asks. "You should do that. She should be your high priest, not me."
Viola shakes her head, "That is the smallest sliver of my magic, and I cannot erode myself to give magic to everyone who does not have it. It is only worth the risk of giving it to Tulip to ensure that my high priest has the necessary magic." She slumps against my shoulder, her body still worn out despite a month of stasis. "You are my high priest, Cirrha. I do not choose who gets the draw. I worry Plume will be hurt that it did not come to her. But I hope this gives her the freedom to make a new life for herself. She said she wanted to explore the realm."
"Does this mean I'm fae?" Tulip asks quietly after a beat. Hope glimmers in her eyes. I weave my fingers into Viola's and squeeze. I am blown away at the power she commands, and this connection as her high priest is just one more thing that makes me love her.
"You are," Viola replies. "I hope that's okay. I can remove it if you donot wish to be my high priest."
A hiccup of a sob escapes Tulip and then she launches herself off the bed, throwing herself into Morrow's arms. "I'm not going to die!" she says through tears.
"Were you sick?" His face betrays his utter confusion as he struggles to hold the sobbing woman as she wraps her legs around his waist.
"No, but I was human. I was going to die, and you were going to live, and I couldn't let you watch me grow old and die."
It hits me then, that the reason Tulip always kept her distance was to keep the eventuality of losing her away from Morrow. I can see the same realization drop down his face, and he buries his face in her neck. "We can live a long life together, Tulip." His voice is thick with emotion and the moment is so intimate I wonder if we should clear the room and let them have it to themselves.
The Summer high priest lifts his head and locks eyes with Viola over Tulip's shoulder. Tears stream down his face as he looks at her. "This is the greatest gift you could have ever given me."
"I love you both," Viola responds.
Morrow wedges his arm under Tulip's ass and then turns and walks out of the house, leaving the four of us left laughing in his wake.
Taegan gathers up his notebook and turns to Viola. "I hope you don't mind, but I have been writing down what happened here. I want to tell the true story of everything you've accomplished."
"We'veaccomplished," Viola interrupts.
"Sure, we've accomplished," he says, humoring her. "I think it's even more important now since we will never truly know what happened before. Please come find me when you're ready to talk about it." He turns and leaves, pausing at the doorway for Cirrha.
"I'm still not sure why it is me, Shadowweaver, but thank you." Her voice is quiet. I know there was something between Cirrha and Zeph, the others have told me as much this past month, and it cannot have been easy for her to lose yet another partner. Her stoicism is beyond reproach, and this is the first crack of emotion I've seen since he died.
She turns and leaves with Taegan, leaving Viola and me suddenly, blessedly, alone. Even Shadow appears to have made himself haste. I cannot stop myself from pulling her into my lap and clutching her tightly to my chest.
"Well, my numen, you certainly do know how to make an entrance."
Chapter 51
Viola - 3 Months Later
The shadow darts out so quickly I barely thought of it and catches the clay pitcher that was flying directly at my head. "I hate this!" Tulip shouts, her face red with frustration. "I'm never going to figure this out!"
"It takes time, Tulip," I say, placatingly.
"You don't get to talk, you had the Witch's Ladder to help you!" A thick cloud of shadows forms around Tulip's feet and sinks heavily to the ground, resting upon it like a stubborn steer.
"And you have me. The Shadowweaver. Isn't that better than a Witch's Ladder?" She tries to set her intentions to throw her sad cloud of Shadow magic at me, but it does nothing more than rest on her feet. Shadow squeezes my neck from his position as my jewelry, giving me an idea. "What if we try something a little more fun first?"
Tulip flops down in the grass, staring at the keep of Rainworth. She leans back on her hands as I lower myself in front of her. "What do you have in mind?"
"A familiar. Maybe my Shadow magic responded to me so well because, from the moment it appeared, Shadow was with me insome way."
Her eyes catch on the bundle of shadows that rest beside her. I'm assuming she released her intentions, but the cloud remains. "Do you think this is a familiar?"
