Chapter 38: 39: Health and Happiness…

ARIEL

Alex’s father gives me a weak smile as I hold his hand. Alex stands across the room, glancing at me nervously as Maria tries to comfort him.

~Goddess, please guide me through this.~

“Um, your majesty…”

“I’m not the king anymore, dear. Just call me George,” he says, weakly.

“Okay…George. Are you ready?” I ask hesitantly.

He gives me a wobbly nod, which I assume means yes.

I have no idea what I’m doing, but I hope to the Goddess that this works.

Alex will be crushed if I can’t heal his father, and I don’t want him to lose another important person in his life.

He’s had such a rough time moving forward after Olivia…

How can he go through all of that again so soon?

I have to do ~everything~ that I can.

Taking a deep breath, I place my hands on George’s chest.

Alex and Maria join me at George’s bedside. Alex shoots me a hopeful smile.

~I can’t let him down.~

I try to direct the energy in my body to George, feeling it ebb and flow through me like a river.

My whole body tingles as I focus my power into George, but…

I open my eyes and look down.

George is just as pale and sickly as before.

~Why isn’t it working?~

I close my eyes and try again.

~Selene, please help me!~

I start feeling anxious as I attempt to transfer my energy to George, but it becomes harder and harder to focus.

Something isn’t right, and I know it.

~Selene!~

Finally, I hear a faint voice in the back of my mind and feel as though I’m falling into a trance.

~“Ariel, don’t despair, child. You’ve done all that you can…”~

~I’m standing in a foggy clearing, but the Moon Goddess is nowhere to be seen.~

~I can only hear her voice, and even that sounds distant and muffled.~

~“Please, you have to help me heal him!” I plead.~

~“Not all can be healed with your gift,” she replies. “My sister Fate can be fickle…”~

~“But I derailed her plans before, didn’t I?” I ask, my voice trembling. “Can’t I do it again?”~

~“You did,” she replies. “But George has already resigned himself to Fate, and there’s nothing you can do about that.”~

~“But why?” I ask desperately. “Why can’t I heal him?”~

~“His sickness is not a wound you can close up or a scar you can heal,” she says softly, her voice starting to fade out.~

~“The only fate you can change is your own.”~

I jolt back to reality and find that my cheeks are wet with tears.

Alex and Maria are looking at me with concern.

“Ariel, what just happened?” Alex asks. “Your eyes rolled back, and you stopped responding for a minute.”

As I look into Alex’s eyes, I’m filled with dread.

Even though Selene’s voice was distant and muted, her message was loud and clear.

“My powers can’t heal a terminal illness,” I say, defeated.

Alex goes pale. “Are—are you sure?”

I nod as the tears continue to fall.

Without another word, Alex turns and leaves, haunting despair on his face.

Maria’s trembling hand covers her mouth, but she doesn’t allow herself to shed a tear.

I feel completely helpless and crushed.

~I guess some things really are left to Fate.~

***

After my failed attempt to heal George, I isolate myself in my room, not wanting to see or speak to anyone.

I let Alex down when he needed me the most.

~What good is this fucking gift if it doesn’t even work!~

I wish I’d never been given this ability in the first place. At least then there wouldn’t be any expectations placed on me.

I bury my face in my tear-stained pillow, finding solace in the darkness.

A soft knock at my door rouses me from my gloomy thoughts.

“Ariel, can I come in?” Steve asks from outside.

“Yeah, sure,” I reply stoically.

He opens the door and approaches my bed tentatively before sitting on the edge.

“I heard what happened,” he says. “Are you doing okay?”

“I’m really not,” I reply, clutching my pillow over my stomach. “I’ve failed Alex. How can he forgive me for this?”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” Steve says firmly. “You haven’t failed anyone, Ariel. You did all that you could, and you shouldn’t think otherwise. Alex knows that.”

“You didn’t see the look on his face when I told him there was nothing I could do,” I say sadly.

“Maybe not, but I know that Alex would ~never~ blame you for something that lies beyond your control,” he replies.

“I know you have a strong sense of responsibility, Ariel,” he continues. “That’s part of what makes you such a great warrior. But you aren’t responsible for everyone.”

I throw my arms around Steve in a hug. His words are exactly what I need to hear.

It’s hard not having my dad around all the time, and Steve has really been there for me as a father figure.

“Thank you,” I say, fighting back my tears. “I really needed to be reminded of that.”

“You do so much to heal others that sometimes you forget about yourself. Just remember that Louisa and I are here for you no matter what,” Steve says, smiling.

George’s life might be out of my control, but I can’t let that stop me from using my abilities.

I still have people who need my help—like Angel and Xavier.

~I won’t give up hope.~

ALEX

My father’s death is imminent.

And I have to come to terms with it…even if I don’t want to.

The realization that Ariel’s gift can’t heal him is devastating, but I know it’s not her fault.

It was naive to believe that her power was some sort of all-encompassing cure.

The best thing I can do now is try to make the most of the time I have left with him.

I ask my mother if I can speak with him alone. There’s a lot to process before I can accept his fate.

I sit at his bedside and hold his frail hand.

Just days ago he was sitting upright. The disease is taking him quickly and without mercy.

I can’t help but be reminded of Olivia on her deathbed.

She was taken so suddenly, without warning.

At least with my father, I know what’s coming.

But we don’t have much time left.

“Don’t go worrying about me,” Dad rasps with just the slightest reproach. “You have a kingdom to run.”

“Scolding me even while you’re confined to a bed,” I say, trying to muster a laugh. “I’d expect nothing less.”

“You know that I’ve lived a happy life, Alex. I’m prepared to go,” he says. “But I don’t want you living in the past anymore. You withdrew and put your life on pause when you lost your mate.”

I look down at the floor as he continues. “I want you to promise you won’t do the same when I’m gone. Too many people rely on you.”

I take a deep breath and nod. “I promise.”

“Life is short. Don’t hold yourself back from what you want,” he says with a wheeze. “Especially when you have a great girl like Ariel.”

He’s right, as usual.

Olivia’s death almost broke me.

For months, I was barely even living.

But Ariel revived me in a way that I didn’t even know was possible.

“She really is something,” I say, smiling.

“Girls like Olivia and Ariel only come along once in a blue moon, but the Goddess seems to favor you for some crazy reason,” he says, chuckling.

That chuckling quickly turns into a hacking cough.

I give my dad a squeeze on the shoulder. “I’ll let you rest. There’s something I need to do.”

Dad is right…

Life is too fragile and short to hold myself back from what I really want.

And what I want…

…is to be mated to Ariel.

ARIEL

~TAP!~

~TAP!~

~TAP!~

A noise at my window stirs me awake.

It sounds like someone is throwing pebbles…

Sleepily, I drag myself out of bed and go to my window.

~TAP!~

I lift it up and poke my head outside to see Alex standing in the yard, holding a handful of rocks.

“Can I come up?” he asks, grinning.

I can’t help but smile as I’m reminded of the first time Alex called on me from outside my window.

He came to steal a kiss, but he ended up stealing my heart instead.

~I wonder what that little thief wants to steal now.~

“Fine,” I say, grinning back. “Just be ~quiet.~”

Alex climbs up the side of the house and crawls through the window, landing in a heap on the floor.

As I help him up, he pulls me close and kisses me deeply.

All my fears of Alex being disappointed in me instantly vanish, and I melt into his arms.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, staring into Alex’s eager eyes.

He’s never spent the night here, mostly because it would probably be awkward as hell for Steve and Louisa to know that the ~king~ is sleeping over.

But it’s obvious Alex isn’t here to sleep…

“I have something I need to ask you,” he says nervously. “Maybe this is too soon…or the timing isn’t right, but I know in my heart that ~we’re~ right. For each other.”

“Alex, what are you saying…” My heart is racing.

“Ariel, what we have is so much stronger than destiny. It’s real and it’s unbreakable.”

~Oh my Goddess. Is he going to…~

“Ariel, will you be my Luna?”

“I… Um, I…”

I’m completely stunned. My heart is swelling, and my love for Alex is stronger than ever, but…

Even though my answer rests on the tip of my tongue…

I’m not sure what it will be.