“Darling girl, “Moira says, as she takes Kaeda’s face in her hands and kisses both her cheeks, just as she had done to Nicolai, “We have been so worried about you, Nico and I. When you went out to look for him and never came back, I didn’t know what to think. At first, I hoped you’d found him and taken him back to your place. I figured he’d bring the things I’d asked for the next brightening, but I started to get scared when neither of you ever showed up.”

     She takes Kaeda’s hand and leads them into the beautiful house, still talking as Kaeda looks around the bright, clean space. “I didn’t know what to do.” she says. “Imagine my surprise when my boy showed up a month later, telling me he’d been taken across the ocean to the Moon Marshes. And then no one knew where you were.”

     “I’m so sorry, Moira.” tears of guilt, shame, and sorrow are brimming in Kaeda’s eyes, because she’d chosen to run away and leave Moira without any answers. But she would have told Moira that Nicolai was dead, and caused her all that grief for nothing. Maybe it’s better that she didn’t. “I’m sorry that you were left wondering. Everything was such a mess then, and… everything is still a mess.” 

      And suddenly she realizes that she shouldn’t be here. She’ll never forgive herself if anything happens to Moira, if something else happens to Nicolai, just because she’s here. She’s breathing too fast, tears streaming down her face now. “I’m sorry for the trouble I caused back then. I don’t want to cause any more problems for your family. I shouldn’t be here.” Her words are broken up by her gasping breaths and sniffles. She gives them both an apologetic look, and turns to run back through the open door, to run far away from here. 

     A hand catches her forearm, gently but firmly, and pulls her back around. “Kaeda, stop.” Nicolai’s voice sounds pained. “Just stop for a minute and listen to me.”

     “You know there are bad people after me, Nico.” she says, hiccuping and sniffling through the emotional storm that has begun to ebb almost as quickly as it started. “I can’t let them follow me here. I can’t let them hurt you or your mom. And you know what I’m capable of - I can rutting summon fire and burn people to death, Nicolai! I won’t bring a war to your mother’s doorstep.”

     “Whether we want to take that risk or not is up to us, honey.” Moira says, coming to rest a delicate hand on Kaeda’s back, not even seeming surprised to hear about her magic. “They took my only son, disrupted all our lives, and hurt you - but I will not live in fear of them. I will not let any enemy influence my decisions. And I am not afraid of you. You are welcome in my home. I want you here.You can stay as long as you like”

     Kaeda is sobbing again, just as hard as before. “What if they come? What if they hurt you all?”

     Before Moira can respond, Nicolai growls, “They won’t hurt anyone. We will be ready for them this time.”

     Resolved to stay, for now at least, she sips tea from a delicate, white mug with beautiful birds hand-painted on it. They’re sat on soft furniture in Moira’s living room, Nico and Kaeda next to each other on the chartreuse sofa with Moira facing them from the yellow armchair she’s perched on.

The whole house appears to be done in shades of cream with random jewel-tones everywhere. The result is both stunningly beautiful and quite welcoming. 

     The windows are all open, and the sea breeze passes through the house, blowing away the discomfort of her emotional outburst - refreshing, almost healing. 

     She doesn't think the ocean smells exactly the same everywhere, there is a subtle difference to the salty smell depending on where you are. This particular smell is distinctly home. It doesn’t smell of fish, rotting vegetation, or even damp earth - just a clean breeze with a hint of sun-baked sand. It’s like an invisible balm for invisible scars.

     While they sit, sipping tea, Kaeda and Nicolai take turns telling Moira everything. She listens and nods, lips set in a thin line. When they finish with how Nico had found Kaeda and they’d begun their journey home, she sits silently for a bit, looking thoughtful as she processes everything. 

     “The Gods do not make mistakes, Kaeda. You’ve been gifted for a reason. You’re destined for something great.”

     “I don’t want greatness.” Kae tells her. “I don’t want any of this,”

     “You may not want it, but the world needs it, “Moira says, sagely, “and the Gods have chosen you, because you are the right female for the job.”

     “I don’t know what to do.”

     “Nobody ever does, honey. They will guide you, all you have to do is trust them.”

     Trust them. The Gods have put her through so much, taken so much from her… but they have also carried her through it all, kept her alive so many times she could have easily died. They brought Nicolai back to her when she believed him dead. 

     She didn’t want to be responsible for doing anything great or for the fate of the world, but maybe she owed it to them to fight for whatever future they were trying to shape. 

     She could, she would trust them, and she would fight to come out of all this alive and victorious. Whatever Queen Nola hoped for, she would not let her have it. Kaeda would burn her kingdom to the ground, if that’s what it took. 

     Moira watched the resolve settle in her eyes, and smiled knowingly at her. 

     “Your path has not and will not be an easy one,” she says, “but you must always remember that you have the Gods on your side.”

     Kaeda nods in response, and finishes her tea. 

     When everyone is done and the conversation has dwindled, she offers to help clean up, but Moira waves her off, telling them to go enjoy the beach. So, they do. 

     It’s dimming, and the sun is growing fainter as it fades into sundown. The glow on the water is beautiful, not as blinding as it would be during midsun. They walk in silence, holding hands, with their feet submerged in the waves that perpetually lick at the shore.

     “Together,” Nicolai says, suddenly, “Wherever we go, we go together.”

     She realizes he’s making the promise she’d asked him for before they’d sailed here, promising to stay by her side no matter what. 

     “Together.” she repeats, and pulls him in for a kiss as the breeze blows her hair around them both.