Sebastian

magic."
    "No, they can't. But there are also wizards who have enough human blood that their appearance won't change."
    "Then they have a choice, don't they? With the others exposed as Dark Guides, they can choose to continue following the Dark currents nurtured by the Wizards' Council or they can become Justice Makers in the true sense."
    She nodded. "The Landscapers who survived the attack on the school, if there are any, will have to make choices, too. I can help them, if they'll let me. I'm not sure they will."
    "Can they help you?"
    She shook her head. That's something she already knew with certainty. "They don't have inside them what is needed to fight the Eater of the World."
    "You can't fight It alone, Glorianna."
    I don't think that's going to he a choice . "We'll see."
    He hesitated, then asked softly, "What about Sebastian?"
    "I know where to find Sebastian." Then she added just as softly, "If he followed his heart."
     

 

     
     

Chapter Twenty-seven

 

     
     

     
    The sound of waves rolling into shore. A steady sound. Familiar. Comforting.
    Sebastian rolled onto his back and opened his eyes.
    Dark. He hadn't expected anything else. Not really. And yet, some small part of him, right before Hearts Justice had swept him away, had hoped—
    Lynnea!
    His body jolted into a sitting position. He twisted to his left when he heard a soft groan. Patting the ground, he found her hand, her arm.
    Shifting to his knees, he gently explored, his hands roaming over her body. No jagged pieces of bone.
    No wet spots that would indicate she was bleeding.
    She groaned again, then said hesitantly, "Sebastian?"
    "Lie still, sweetheart." His hands went to her shoulders to hold her down. "Are you hurt? Is there any pain?" Her neck. What if she hurt her neck? "Can you move?"
    "I could if you weren't holding me down. Let me up. There's a stone digging into my butt."
    He helped her sit up, then pulled her into his arms and hung on, choking on the sobs that were going to explode out of him at any moment.
    "You foolish woman," he said, his voice breaking. "Why did you do that? I asked Glorianna to let you have your hearts desire. I asked her, heart-to-heart. And she would have given it to you, because I asked. Hearts Justice or not, she would have done it."
    "And she did," Lynnea said, reaching up to rest a hand against his face. "She did give me my heart's desire. I wanted to be with you."
    He cried. He couldn't stop it, couldn't hold the tears back. "I love you, Lynnea. I love you."
    "And I love you, Sebastian. With all my heart."
    He sniffed, brushed away the tears. Tried to regain some control. "We'll make a good life. Somehow we'll make a good life."
    "Yes, we will. Together. But…"
    He felt her head move as she looked around. No, he saw her head move.
    It wasn't quite as dark as it had been a few minutes ago.
    "Where are we?" Lynnea asked.
    He looked around—and felt a jolt deep in his gut. It couldn't be. Could it?
    The lake. The line of tall bushes that had been planted as a windbreak. The trees. And there. The long break in the trees that gave him a clear view of the lake… and the moonlight.
    "I think I know where we are," he said, pulling Lynnea to her feet. "Come on." Taking her hand, he led her through the trees until they reached a dirt lane.
    "It's your cottage," Lynnea whispered.
    "Our cottage."
    He approached it slowly, studying it in the strange gray light. It was definitely his cottage, but it wasn't the same landscape. There was something very odd about this moonlight.
    He frowned at the cottage. The shutters needed painting.
    "Sebastian?"
    The moonlight had never made that apparent before.
    "Sebastian."
    He turned, felt a fizz of panic when he realized Lynnea had wandered a little way away and was staring at the break in the trees. When she started heading toward the cliff and the lake, he hurried after her.
    "Lynnea, wait. We don't know anything about this landscape. We don't—" He stopped. Stared.
     
    "Oh," Lynnea said, laughing and crying. "Oh, Sebastian." She flung her arms around him. "Isn't it beautiful?"
    He couldn't speak. He just stared, blinking back tears. He hadn't seen one in fifteen years. He wanted to see every moment of this one.
    With his arms wrapped around Lynnea, he watched the sun rise.
    Thank you, Glorianna Belladonna.
    In sunlight, they walked back to the cottage and heard someone calling, "Hey-a, the house!"
    Hurrying around the cottage, they saw Jeb standing near the trees,