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I look at August sometimes, and I can’t believe they're mine. I think about how far away they are from the overworked Enforcer I met in Ezra’s shop all those months ago, and my heart soars. There are so many things I love about August, but the most important thing is how they’ve come to see how special they truly are.
“Can you believe this is Lunaris? Look how happy everyone is.” They gesture to the smiling faces that surround us, and everything feels like it’s falling into place.
“They’re free now. All of them.” I embrace their arm, leaning in close. “Us too.”
A blush kisses their cheeks. I’m not too sure if it’s from the cold or the wine, but it’s stunning against their pale skin. I watch them take it all in, the warm glow from the lights that surround us making them shine. There are violets in their eyes when they look at me.
I brush my lips over their knuckles, my lips buzzing at the gentle touch. They watch me with their trademark expression that others see as smug or cold, but I know it as August’s warmth. It seeps from their pores, as fierce and as free as their magic.
August is lightning, and they are mine.
“Kiss me,” they plead, and I don’t hesitate. I find myself smiling somewhere between the soft curve of their mouth and the sweet press of their tongue. Their clever fingers curl in the front of my coat, and I swear that lightning flashes somewhere in the distance. My perfect storm.
I’ve never had anything, anyone , this much like home.
Except I have.
Memory returns, and I still feel the ghost of August’s lips on mine as I return to The End. The storm has passed, leaving me with my heart almost bursting.
I see the creature in the distance, its many limbs encasing August’s body, just like Ezra and Finn before him. How foolish I was last time, to try and pry the loves of my life from their grasp, only to be struck down in an instant and met with a deal; repeat my mission in Lunaris, and bring it new perspectives, new memories. There was also a lot of rambling philosophical bullshit thrown in for good measure, but the small details slipped my mind.
If only that version of me listened better.
“You are more than you were, as am I.” It speaks in August’s voice, surrounding me on all sides. “You likened the General to a storm. Being caught in one could be deadly, yet you remained, seeking no shelter. Who will you return to when all this is done, Hunter?”
During my first time here, there had been no question where I would go. Returning here, however, knowing that I had felt just as fated to be with August as I had felt with Ezra and Finn, my mind blurs, and yet my heart feels just as full knowing that they would have each other in that life, even without me. It’s like even without my memories, my soul still remembers.
“I have three more paths to tread, don’t I?” Piper, Omen, Alkar.
What is happening to me? They are my friends, comrades in arms, and yet I think of them like a list of stalls with wares to browse through, and not hearts to take, people with emotions.
"Your heart is cavernous, General. There are more paths ahead of you than three.”
An odd observation from an abomination, yet I sense it's meaning; I have room in my heart for all of the people whose path lies before me; besides, I have to see this through; this creature can’t be beaten yet; my instincts tell me that this plan of theirs will put me on an even playing field with his creature, and I can use the same thing I’m feeding it with to–
Am I turning into Harry?
“You have only condemned the Lieutenant-General for his crimes.”
"So I have to free him at least once."
"That is one perspective I have not seen, yes."
“To free myself from this hellhole.”
“We will see if Hell is worse; I won’t know until I experience it.” August’s form starts to sink into the mass of limbs. “It is time to leave. The paths you have already tread will be closed to you, as there is nothing new to see there, but there may be more than you expect.”
I feel my memories fade, onto the next path of my journey, and I hope and pray that I won’t stumble into becoming the beast Harry wants me to be, even if I can do it all again.