Enceladus

One month later

Lainie and I finally burrowed into the Earth’s atmosphere in January 2021. It was a nice, peaceful trip. Just Lainie and I.

We had missed the start of winter quarter at school but we could enroll for spring classes. Lainie didn’t seem to mind how much school we had missed. We were just happy to be together. We had also missed Christmas and the New Year. Lainie insisted she didn’t mind. I had never celebrated Christmas before so I wasn’t missing out.

I probably had several missed calls from work on my cellphone that I had neglected to bring to Enceladus. But I still didn’t care. I had my powers and I felt stronger, better. Whole.

There had been a rough goodbye between Lynx and I. He made me promise to not let it be eight years until I saw him again. I had agreed and mumbled awkward goodbyes to my other siblings. They each had thanked me in their own unique way and I considered that growth.

Lainie and I stepped into my apartment. There was a stale smell from it not being aired out in two months.

I opened some windows.

“It’s good to be home,” Lainie purred. Whether she was talking about my apartment or Earth, I didn’t know. I kissed her. She blushed. “I want to know more about your planet. Tell me everything.” She cradled her chin in her hands and gazed curiously at me.

So then I launched into everything there was to know about Enceladus.

Epilogue

Vela approached the planet’s spacecraft dock. She had to leave without being seen but there were four guards in the way. She didn’t want to use her invisibility because that was too easy.

“Queen Vela,” one of them greeted as they noticed her.

Bæt.

Vela calmly unsheathed her sword and not too calmly decapitated a guard. She used her telekinesis to crush the second guard’s skull. On the last two guards she used her mind control, what she specialized in, and made them kill themselves.

Feeling satisfied, Vela jumped in a small ship and set course to Earth. She felt a dull pain in her chest at leaving Orion to be killed. It wasn’t powerful enough to make her go back but at least she knew she wasn’t a complete monster. Or was she? The Devil did take her soul.

She no longer wanted to be Queen—it had been 300 years—but she didn’t fake her death for that selfish of a reason. No, it was much bigger than her. She urgently needed to tell Amelia why. In the letter she wrote, she couldn’t tell Amelia about the changes. Someone would have found it. She also couldn’t tell her why she cancelled the treaty or faked her death. That had to be done in person.

Vela wanted to help her planet and knew that her daughter, crown Princess Cassiopeia wouldn’t have believed her old mother. Amelia would save their planet.

Maybe for the second time if the King’s and my death caused an uproar, Vela thought.

Vela knew sentencing her own husband was cruel but it had to be done. Vela had to make up for what she’d done the past 500 years.

Starting with saving their planet.

Pronunciation Guide

Characters

Delphinus: Del-phee-nus

Cassiopeia: Cass-ee-o-pia

Vela: Veh-la

Caelum: Cal-um

Place

Enceladus: En-kah-lay-dus

Enceladian to English Dictionary

Ĉëv : hi Rüš : here

Ŷån : goodbye Ŷë : not

Mïð : love Tô : are

Zü : you Ïjå : family

Ü : I/me Fån : who

Gïx : her/she Ënô : come

Gïxï : him/he Ôp : is

Zür : your Bôm : nice

Zë : we æ : to

Ŷôt : miss Bëël : meet

Nïx : sister

Nïxï : brother

Bæt : damn

Môn : devil

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to everyone who has been with me on this journey.

Thank you to my parents, (I LOVE YOU MOM) who always believe in me even if they haven’t read my novels. Mom, you are always there for me no matter what is going on and I couldn’t be more grateful. I am fortunate beyond belief to have you as my mother.

Thank you my sister, Alyson who is the greatest sister I could ask for. You make me want to be the best I can be. There were some points where I honestly thought you’d get a book published before me. Don’t give up on writing. You’re amazing at it.

Thank you to my best friends who’ve been with me through thick and thin, two decades. You two know who you are and we will always remain friends. I hope everyone gets to experience friendships like ours because there is nothing better.

To my father who passed in 2018, I still can’t believe you’re gone but I am going to live up to the person you knew I was. Thank you for always encouraging me that I could do anything I put my mind to. I’m starting to believe it. I love you.

To my grandpa; I miss you more than anyone will ever know. I love you to the moon and back, walking.

Books by Emily Williams

The Immortal Vampire series

Dead but Living: The Beginning/Dead and Dying: The Middle (Book 1)

Dead and Gone (Book 2)

Alive and Human: Alexis Meyers (Book 3)

Enceladus series

Enceladus

Enceladus 2: The War

Enceladus 3: The Heat

Enceladus 4: The Invasion

Grindelwald series

Sick