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Their twins, Peach and Plum, who are six years oldnow, sit in the grass, tossing a ball around and giggling. They've both got creamy brown skin, and Peach has bright blue eyes like Tulip, while Plum has her father's brown eyes. Both of them have dark, curly hair and are dressed in matching rompers. Despite not being identical, they've always liked to match.
"What am I watching?" I ask, looking at Tulip, who looks like she's about to cry.
"Watch!" she says, turning my head back to the twins.
I'm glad she did because when Peach throws the ball wide, Plum retrieves it with a shadow.
A shadow.
"She's a…" I can't find the words.
"She's a Shade," Tulip says, her hand over her mouth. "We haven't seen any of the other Winter magics, but maybe they'll show up. For now, she's a Shade."
I cross the courtyard quickly and sit on the grass. The two girls squeal and tackle me to the ground. I thought I would hate playing with kids, but it's different with these two.
"What about Peach?" I hear Mace ask.
"Nothing yet, but most don't manifest until when like eight or nine?"
"Something like that, yeah," Mace replies. "She's advanced."
I turn my attention back to my girls, who are talking so quickly over one another that I cannot make heads or tails of anything. "Auntie Lola!" Plum shouts, way too close to my ear. "Did yousee it!"
She throws out more Shadow magic, but all it does is produce a fine mist of magic that flows to the ground like specks of shadow.
In the years since we built Rainworth, we've had several Frost wielders manifest. There has always been so little literature on Winter magic that we had to create a name for them. We settled on Zimas.
But we have yet to see a Shade or a Winter Seasonale, making Plum something special indeed.
She looks so proud of herself as she smiles at me, and I can't help but pull her to my chest. "I saw it, my little shadowweaver. I saw it."
Chapter 55
Viola - 100 Years Later
Juniper sits in front of me, her back straight, hands folded on her lap primly. Her dark hair falls down her shoulders, and her bright blue eyes are undeniably a trait she got from her ancestors.
I've known Juniper since she was born forty years ago. Fae have long lives, and while I consider myself solidly middle-aged, it's still funny to see Tulip and Morrow stand next to their grandchildren, looking like their peers. They had ten children, and they're up to twenty grandchildren now. Juniper is one of the oldest, an Autumn Seasonale like her father.
She was small when the pull started.
The Eternal Equinox told me I would know when I found my replacement, and I did. Juniper is set to be the next God of Krillium.
But she has not spent her life training for it.
No, I never told her, or her parents, or even Tulip and Morrow. Mace is the only one who knows. I wasn't going to do to her what had been done to me. I did not want her whole life to be preparing for something bigger than herself and for her to lose her childhood. I couldn't do that to anyone.
I don't regret my decision, but it does makethis conversation harder.
"You think I'm what?" she says, blinking.
"You've been chosen to be the next Equinox, the next God of Krillium," I repeat, trying not to get choked up. I love this woman as if she were my own, and I know this is going to be hard for her to accept.
Mace and I never had children. I didn't want to be a mother, and he didn't care to be a father. Tulip and Morrow's kids kept us busy enough. We've had an incredible time bringing Krillium through to a new era. We've learned ways to harness the ambient magic in the world to create grids like we had in Ytopie that do not have to be powered by magic. We have water that flows through homes without the need for a Nereid.
That's not to say Krillium has been without its problems. We've had skirmishes and issues, and I've had to be the cruel God I promised I'd be more than I'd like. But for the most part, it's been quite peaceful.
"What makes you think that?"
