He pressed her close to him, his arms strong and sure around her waist. "I'm always in your life, Carissa. You couldn't get rid of me now if you wanted to."

She rested her head against his chest, felt the steady thump of his heart beneath her ear. "Then why..."

"Why what?"

"Why don't you answer when I call for you? Are you ignoring me? Have I done something wrong?"

She could already feel Elon shaking his head before she'd finished. "No, Carissa. And I always answer—eventually. But sometimes my answer is so quiet that you don't hear it at first. Other times, an answer would change your future for the worse. Occassionally, I'm silent so you'll learn to seek me more." He tucked his hand beneath her chin and lifted her face to his. "And, of course, to trust me."

Carissa set her forehead atop his. "Trust. I swear that's your favorite word."

"Do you know that I have a purpose for you, Carissa?"

"Yes."

"Do you know that I love you?"

"Yes."

"So when I'm silent, you can either trust in my character or doubt what you know."

Carissa flinched. "Well. When you put it like that..."

He grinned—a full grin that made his eyes narrow and scrunch at the corners. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed seeing him smile until her heart lurched. "I'm not trying to scold you, love. But when I see you doubting me, I know it hurts you. And that hurts me." His fingers skimmed her shoulder, and she found herself wishing he'd replace his fingers with his lips. "I want to prepare you for what's to come."

"What's to come?" Her heart grew heavy, each pound against her chest feeling like the beating of a drum. "What's going to happen, Elon?"

"You're going to have to face the Reaper King."

She snorted. "I already did. And I failed miserably."

Elon stroked her hair, his fingers pressing against her scalp. "You and I have a very different definition of failure."

So she hadn't failed? But how was that possible? She'd failed to kill the Reaper King and now she was his captive. She opened her mouth to ask him.

"Carissa?"

She glanced to the side. Mera was standing there, a small bundle cradled in her arms. Carissa stopped breathing. Mera was here?

Mera's face had gone slack with shock. "Have you died already? Lands, I thought you would have lasted a little longer."

Laughter burst from Carissa. "I'm not dead yet." She rolled off of Elon and approached Mera. "But if you continue to insult me, I might just have to kill you again."

Mera grinned. "It's good to see you, Carissa. In truth, I was already beginning to miss you."

Carissa began to embrace her, only to realize the bundle of cloth she held was in the way. Wait. Could she be holding...

Carissa tugged the cloth aside, revealing a tiny face. "Is this—"

"My baby girl." Mera bent toward the baby, nudging noses with her.

"Oh."

It was wonderful that they'd both been swept away to Second Life. But there was something tragic about the fact that she would never get to live a life back in Nysia. And Mera had been so young too.

"Don't look so sad, Carissa," Mera said. "I'm perfectly happy here. The only thing that could have made me happier is seeing you and telling you that I'm all right." Mera flung out her hand to gesture to Carissa. "And here you are! Please don't worry about me. Elon has already told me the ending to your story. He has everything worked out."

Carissa whirled around to glance at Elon. He was sitting upright on the grass, watching them with gentle eyes. When he patted the spot next to him, Carissa went to him and sat, leaning back against his chest.

"I can see my presence is no longer wanted here." Mera winked. "I think I'll just give you two some alone time..." Mera began to head deeper into the forest, only to stop. "Oh! And tell Tian goodbye for me, if you get the chance. I don't want him to feel guilty for what happened."

"Of course, Mera."

"In that case, I'll see you later Carissa." With a small wave, Mera disappeared into the forest.

Carissa stared at the spot Mera had disappeared for a long time. "Mera eventually made a vow to you; it just took longer than everyone else. Did you know she would eventually choose you?"

"I knew it was a distinct possibility. And I wanted to give her every opportunity I could to make that vow." He drew an arm around Carissa's waist. "As you said earlier, I love her. And thinking that I could have been separated from her forever would grieve me."

If the caravan members had died, they would have still joined Elon in Second Life. But if Mera had died during that attack, she would have disappeared into oblivion.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

The only two survivors from that attack were Brone and Mera, who were the only two who hadn't pledged their lives to Elon, the only ones who would have been separated from Elon forever if they would have died.

She had thought that Elon would want to prioritize the lives of those loyal to him. But Elon had suffered and died for the traitors.

For Mera.

For Brone.

For her.

Naïve though it was, he still hoped that one day those who had turned from him would turn to him. But perhaps it wasn't naïve. She and Mera had turned to him after trying things their own way. Perhaps Brone would too.

Carissa turned into Elon. "I'm so sorry for not understanding earlier—and for being so bitter about it. If I die and become separated from you for an eternity, it would kill me. It terrifies me to think Mera could have met the same fate."

He feathered his lips along her neck before pressing a single kiss there. "It's all right. I knew you'd see it eventually." He rested his forehead against her shoulder and sighed, his breath warming her skin. "You should probably leave now."

***

Author's Note: Sneak peek is up. :) I quit one of my tutoring jobs today, so now I should have some more time to make sure I get my Wednesday updates posted consistently!

Captive and Crowned recently got a review in my school newspaper, and the article was titled, "Elizabeth Newsom's Captive and Crowned Was Less Than Captivating." I have a video above of me reading that review. It wasn't super flattering, but she made some good points. :)