“We climb.”

Wick started up the huge chunks of rock that blocked their way, but she slipped almost right away. The constant quaking made it impossible to get a grip. She tried again and slid back down to the ground.

With tears in her eyes, Wick shook her head. “There’s no way out.”

Lily sat down on the ground next to Lux. He sat up the best he could and wrapped both of his arms around her, so he could shield her from anything else that came.

“Take my hand!” a familiar voice said, and Lily looked up to see Aeterna floating above them.

His wings were completely healed, as was the rest of him. In fact, he didn’t show any signs of his earlier wounds. He’d flown in through the hole in the tower, and he held out his hand for Lily to take.

Lily was too stunned to react, so Wick took his hand first. Then Lily got up and grabbed onto him, wrapping her arms around Aeterna’s neck. With his other hand, he picked up Lux.

“Hang on tight,” Aeterna said, and then he was flying out of the tower, his wings beating hard and fast.

Soon they were soaring high above the Earth, the crumbling tower below them. Lily clung onto him, afraid of falling, and she saw Lux doing the same.

“What’s going on?” Lily asked, her face pressed into Aeterna’s chest.

“There’s someone you need to meet,” Aeterna said, and then flew up higher, past the clouds into a blinding white light.

24

Lily didn’t remember how she got there. One minute she was in Aeterna’s arms in the clouds, the next her feet were touching the grass gently.  A brilliant white palace sat before her in the center of a green island. Crystal-clear water sparkled around it, and the sun shone down warmly on her.

The grass felt amazing on her bare feet, much softer than grass had felt before. In fact, she felt better than she had before. All the aches of her body were gone, and when she looked down, she saw that any evidence of her wounds were gone. Even her tattered dress had been replaced by a new, beautiful, white gown.

“Lux.” Lily remembered in panic that she hadn’t been alone and looked around frantically.

Both Lux and Wick were standing behind her, their confused, dazed expressions matching her own. Wick looked at her arms with amazement. Like Lily, they were free of any marks from her earlier fights. Her own worn dress was replaced with a clean one, and her hair had been pulled back in beautiful curls. She looked lovelier than she ever had before.

“Lily,” Lux said.

He had been healed and cleaned up, and he looked so stunningly handsome, it was hard to believe he was real. Lily ran into his arms, and they felt strong and cool around her. She stared up at him, touching the smooth skin of his face to see if he was real.

“How is this possible?” Lily asked, running her hand through his blond hair.

“I don’t know.” Lux looked on with the same awed expression as she had.

“Are we in heaven?”

“I don’t think I can get into heaven.” He furrowed his brow.

“This isn’t heaven,” Aeterna said. He stood on the steps of the palace, and he waved them on. “Come on. He’s waiting to see you.”

“Who?” Lily asked.

“Daniel.”

Lily and Lux exchanged a look, neither of them really understanding what this meant or what had happened. He took her hand, and they started walking toward the palace. Wick didn’t follow, so Lily turned back to her.

“Wick, come on.” Lily held out her hand, and Wick came over and took it. She squeezed it and smiled before they all walked to the palace.

There was no door to Daniel’s palace. The steps merely went up to a wide entrance. It almost appeared as if a wall had been left out. The palace opened into a white marble hall. Music played softly throughout, though Lily couldn’t see the source of it.

“How did we get here?” Lily asked Aeterna as they followed him.

“I brought you here, of course,” Aeterna smiled back at her over his shoulder. “People often don’t remember the journey, at least not the first time. It’s too much for senses to bear.”

“What is?” Wick asked. “What have you done with us?”

“Don’t look so worried,” Aeterna laughed. “You were simply healed along the way. It can be too much.”

“Along the way to where exactly?” Lux asked. “I know its Daniel’s palace, but where is that?”

“It’s not located on the Earth, not in the sense you know it,” Aeterna replied. “But don’t worry about it. You’re here now, and you’re safe.”

As they reached the end of the hall, they came to a rotunda. Lily could see the back of an irin, his silver wings spread out wide. Light streamed in from an open ceiling, letting the sun shine right down on him. Flowers filled the room, mostly lilies, and the irin appeared to be attending to a plant.

Aeterna stopped and motioned for Lily, Lux, and Wick to continue on without him. Before she went in, Lily turned to face Aeterna. She reached out and touched his wing, the one she had tried to mend when it had been broken.

“How are you healed?” Lily asked, running her fingers over the silkiness of his feathers. “Last I saw you, you could barely even walk, let alone fly.”

“Addonexus took me far enough from Valefor’s that I could summon help,” Aeterna explained. “Valefor’s dark magic cloaked his tower in a haze, so I couldn’t reach out to my fellow irin. Once I was out of range, Daniel sent several irins to help me. They healed me, and I came back for you as soon as I was able.”

“Did the irins do that to Valefor’s tower?” Lily asked.

“No, that was you,” Daniel said from the rotunda, and Lily looked back at him.

He was more exquisite than any man she had ever seen before, even Lux or Aeterna. His hair was the color of gold, and his skin was tan and smooth. He seemed to radiate light and love. His beauty was almost too much to bear, and Wick actually bowed down before him, unable to stand it any longer.

“Me?” Lily asked in a voice that sounded too small to be her own.

“Well, no.” He smiled and gestured to Lux. “It was your friend, Lux.”

“What?” Lux asked. He tried to hide it, but Lily could hear in that soft quake in his words that he was as intimidated and awed as Lily. “No, I…” He lowered his eyes, shielding them from Daniel’s luminance. “I didn’t do anything.”