Seeing the house again was a strange mixture of sensations. It was so comforting and familiar, yet also strange and new. Clouds were not here yet, but they were on the horizon behind us as we drove. There was a pile of newspapers near the steps, and the porch generally looked a little wind-blown with all the scattered leaves. Fall was rapidly approaching here, unlike the house in Rhode Island.

"Wow," Linden said as he pulled up. "It looks haunted or something."

I smiled and unlocked my door, stepping out. I took a deep breath, reveling in the smell of the swamps. I'd forgotten how much I missed it. As Linden stood and stretched, I went to the newspapers and stacked them up in my arms.

"Do you need these?" I asked as he ambled towards the stairs.

He pursed his lips and shook his head. "No, unless you want them for something. Fire starter?"

I shrugged and followed him up the stairs. He held the screen open for me after he unlocked the door, and I stepped inside, feeling like an intruder. The house wasn't as cold as I expected. Meryl had been coming here lately to keep it up to date, and she had turned on the heat already. Linden's mail was piled up on the kitchen table, but I went to the living room first and dumped off the newspaper next to the fireplace. His fish were still living in the tank, and I sprinkled food along the surface before going back to the kitchen.

"I can't believe it, she even made tea," he said as he pulled out a pitcher. He asked if I wanted some, but I declined. He guzzled a tall glass before turning to the rest of the house. "Well, home sweet home. Think you can live with it?"

After Rhys had said he would be moving on again, it was up to us to decide what we were going to do. After all that had happened, I didn't really want to stay in the beach house. At least, not at that moment. Tally was interested in living there for a while, so that left Linden and I with the old house. I didn't mind at all—in fact, the offer was so appealing at the time, I jumped on it. It was in a place we could both enjoy, and it was near the remainder of my family. Rhys insisted it would always be there for us, as well as any other home of his if we chose to travel. Somehow, I had a feeling we would definitely be using that to our advantage.

I shrugged jokingly, looking uncertain. "Yeah, I guess so."

He laughed and crushed me against him, putting most of the pressure on my shoulders. It turns out I was healing faster than normal, too. Rhys attributed it to the twin flame connection. Once I had personally told him about my strange increase in power, he nodded and told me what he knew of twin flames. Only after I disappeared did Linden mention it to him, and he connected the dots just as Aidan had: auctorita must come about through finding one's twin flame.

He made many conclusions after that, but most importantly, he said I would have to learn how to work with it. It wouldn't be as intense as Linden with auctorita, but there was a definite increase I would have to deal with. Naturally, he had spoken to Rene about it, and she agreed to help me with as much as she could. This wasn't her normal field of knowledge, but she knew a few others who could help as well.

This thing felt strange in me since I'd used it. Maybe it had never been harnessed before, but now it was a constant reminder, buzzing there in my veins. Linden said he had a similar feeling with auctorita, though it was slowly beginning to fade as he practiced. He too would still have to learn how to control it, and Rhys warned me of the things that could happen.

"If he ever gets out of control," he whispered to me the day before I left, "you need to leave. Not for good, but just a few hours. I know he's strong, but still, be cautious, all right?"

I would take his advice, and I kept the idea in the back of my mind as Linden and I walked through the house together. Meryl had done wonders; nothing felt too awkward. I expected the rooms to smell of stale air, but somehow it was the faint scent of lavender instead. Looking into this further, I found she had put lavender satchels in most of the rooms.

"This is better than I would have thought," I remarked as we joined in the bedroom again.

"I know," Linden replied. "She'll have to watch the place anytime we leave."

I could never quite get used to his use of 'we', including me. Just knowing that I was his and he was mine was enough to have me shivering with pleasure. At the thought, I stood in front of him and laced my fingers at the small of his back, holding him near.

"Are you okay with all of this?" I asked for about the millionth time.

Linden rolled his eyes and jokingly shook me. "Yes. I am, and more than okay with it. I would have been a little devastated otherwise."

I laughed, and felt my phone going off in my pocket. Reluctantly, I reached for it, seeing it was only a message from Alesana. We were supposed to be meeting up with her and a few others for lunch.

"Ali?" Linden asked.

"Yeah. She says we should be there in about twenty minutes," I replied.

One of Linden's wicked grins slowly spread on his face, and I halted it as I pressed a finger to his lips. "Wait—can we ascend?"

He frowned slightly. "Why?"

"Because I like it there. And it'd just be a change." I shrugged.

He thought about it for a moment and then shrugged agreeably. "All right, if you want to."

"And then I can say your true name without worrying about people hearing it," I added.

He smiled genuinely and kissed my forehead. "Same here. It's better when you say it though."

And the same went for him. Hearing my true name coming from him was a verbal caress. I guess that came with the fact of being his twin flame, but that was the best part of it. Few got to feel this way about someone, at least so strongly and on so many odd levels. It was beyond the physical and emotional, and it made me wonder why some would want to stop it. What harm did it bring anyone?

These were questions I had asked Linden before, but he couldn't answer them. He blamed it on close-mindedness and people living in the past.

"Everyone needs to change," he had said. "If we don't, we'll all be stuck in the same rut. They all talk about moving forward, but if they hold on to stupid grudges, nothing gets done."

He referred to the grudge Aidan had held onto so fiercely: witches were the half-breeds tainting the natural lineage. It was news to me, but also something I initially wanted to forget. I took Linden's word that no one was going to follow in Aidan's footsteps.

Here in the house at the swamps was safety. Even though most of what I knew was burned to the ground, this brilliant seedling was growing out of the ashes. I could start over. This time, I didn't have any fear of being alone as I did months ago. This way, I could go out into the world without fear. As long as I had a certain undine with me, I would be content.

"Ready?" Linden asked as his arms encircled my neck.

I rested my forehead against his before I kissed him lightly. "Yes."

I closed my eyes and let him do the work. When I felt myself going into the calm darkness, I was concerned with nothing else. No lessons about controlling my will, no caution because of auctorita, and no fear of the vulcani. Nothing else was important except for what existed there in that moment: him and I.

THE END

For reals this time, it is indeed the end!

Wow—is the best I can say. I can't believe this whole thing, it's huge and it was just a 'side project' to begin with! I can't thank all of you enough for getting me to keep going with this and for your wonderful reviews :D I lovelovelove you all for it!

Soooo, the next snippet of information concerns the sequel . . . yes . . . it won over me, it has a sequel. I started it today in work after a few days of pondering just how it would play out. So I'm going to go fetch the paper it's written on, and consider which part to post here for you, just to get you pumped :)

fetches paper

Hm….I could be awful and only post a piece of it, but I think I'll just go ahead and give you the bit here.

FIREBRAND

There was smoke everywhere. It clogged the air and made my eyes tear and my throat sting. Was I the only one screaming? Bystanders were just that: bystanders. They didn't move, they didn't speak, they just stared. Their eyes were bloodshot, but that didn't stop them from watching.

Wood was piled high, and a single long stake shot up to the dark sky. My eyes never left it before, now I just wanted to look away. They had taken her; three of them had pried her away from me. I reached and stretched to get to her, but I couldn't move. Her arms lashed out to me, and we couldn't touch. They took her and bound her to the single stake while I struggled. I could feel myself thrashing and pulling, but I couldn't get to her. The wood crackled as fire spread fast, and my screaming went on. While she burned, I could do nothing.

They watched me with no pity. Their yellow eyes read hostility, with a hint of I-told-you-so. This is your punishment, they whispered. This is what is right.

I yelled, cursing at them for their stupid antics. I screamed that it was wrong, she wasn't at fault. But they ignored my words and continued to watch as Riley burned on the pyre.

So cruel to end it there, I know, but I am working on it :) So check back frequently for the newest piece, 'kay?