Emily didn't seem to have the energy to move, to get up and carry on with life. She still held the unmoving Jace in her lap, his head cradled in her arms as her tears slid down her cheeks and onto his face. She didn't know how long she had stayed this way – a minute, an hour, an eternity. It didn't matter. She didn't notice the order Haemon had given to retreat, didn't notice the soldiers scrambling madly around her; but she did notice Amy by her side, her arm wrapped around her as she cried her own tears of sorrow. Sisters in grief. They had been like sisters before, but now they needed each other more than ever. Jace's father was there too, holding his son's hand as he gazed at his white face.

Then Jace gasped. His blue lips parted as he sucked in life-giving air, followed a moment later by his eyelids. His green eyes stared straight up for a moment, trying to focus on the blurry shapes that crowded his vision.

Emily, Jay and Amy all stared down at him, exclamations of disbelief echoing around them.

"Jace! Are you ok? You're alive? OH, Jace!" Emily brushed back the hair that had fallen across his forehead.

His hand instinctively flew to the gash in his side, but no pain was written on his face. With old blood drying on his hand, the others gave him space as he pulled up the slashed tunic. His skin exposed, they gasped at the perfectness of it. No nasty wound could be seen. Jay ran his finger lightly over the soft pink scar on his son's body. How could he be healed that quickly? How could he come back to life?

"I know you all must be surprised, but we have important matters to attend to," Cyrus' soft voice from behind them made them all jump. Glancing over her shoulder, Amy saw that the four governors were standing close to Cyrus, protecting him from the few Tiritian soldiers who dared to come close. But there weren't many of those. Almost everybody had their eyes on Jace who had just miraculously come back to life not one minute after dying on the cold marble steps.

Haemon, who had been standing on the grass not knowing exactly what to do for that minute, took a few steps closer, not trusting his eyes as he watched Jace sit up and hug his family. He had just seen this man give his life for Cyrus, a man he had only just met a few days ago, and now here he was, come back to life. He watched the scene unfold in amazement. Then he made a decision he had sworn he would never make for as long as he lived.

"Wait!" Haemon shouted, holding up his large hand high in the air. "We... we surrender!" he raised his other arm, dropping his large sword in the grass beside him. It fell to the earth with a resounding thud that spoke more than words could ever say. His soldiers stared at him in confusion. An order to retreat was bad enough, but an order to surrender? Had their king gone mad?

Haemon walked over to the group that was standing and kneeling on the marble steps. There was Cyrus surrounded by his governors and chief protectors, and Jace with his family huddled on the steps. Roakin stepped forward and held out his sword in a warning.

"What do you want? Don't take a step closer, Haemon," he said with a low growl that showed he meant business. Lamont also stepped down the steps and prevented him from getting anywhere near their creator.

"It's alright, I...I don't wish to harm you...anymore," Haemon's arms were still held up in surrender, and as he drew closer he fell to his knees, a dozen different emotions racing across his face. He didn't know how to process or describe what he was feeling, but what he had just witnessed had had a powerful impact on him, on his long-held principles of war, of revenge, of what it meant to be strong. Could it be there was another way? Could it be that there was something else to fight for? He had just seen Jace give his own life for another man! How strong and brave must he be to do that?

Jace was standing now, the two women by his side. The governors still regarded Haemon with distrust, and he didn't blame them after everything he'd done to them. But Jace walked down the steps and extended his hand. His hand, not his sword that had clattered to the steps as he fell to his death.

"Do you really surrender? Are you really saying you'll stop killing these innocent people and their beloved creator Cyrus?" Jace grasped Haemon's offered hand and looked seriously into his grey eyes.

"I am. I..." he was never normally at a loss for words, but his mind was still reeling from the events of the last three minutes. He looked at Cyrus, really looked at him as if for the first time. He saw a gentle elderly man, a peaceful smile that he realised was always on his countenance. Never a bad word had he heard spoken from his lips, never an idea to hurt people or get things from them, never a plan to destroy others that had done nothing wrong. That had been Haemon's life, his goal that he strived for every day. Why? Why had he always wanted to hurt this kind old man and all these innocent people who had never hurt him in all his life?

"I am sorry, Cyrus, for all the many, many horrible things I have done to you and your people," he felt tears prick his eyes but he refused to cry. He was still a fearsome warrior afterall, and a king at that! He stepped closer and Jace and the governors let him past. He knelt at Cyrus' feet.

"I don't know why I did all those things, tried to destroy you and all your people here in this land, but I promise now, with everyone here as a witness, that I will never fight you again. I....I fully surrender to you and....and you can lock me up forever, you can tie me up and throw me to the whales, you can do whatever, God knows I deserve the worst punishment, but..." his voice broke as the tears slid down his cheeks. He felt a warm hand rest gently on his head.

"Shh, my Son. All is forgiven. You are, and always have been, as much my son and creation as everyone here now. I created you and your peoples from across the sea the same as here in the villages and regions surrounding Whale Lake. I forgive you," the gentle voice seeped into Haemon's melting heart of ice and stone, his defences crumbling as he threw down his armor and let Cyrus heal him. Was it Cyrus healing him from the inside out? Or was it this other god he had heard they all worshipped? He didn't understand it all now, but maybe, just maybe if they let him live he would come to learn and know the source of the gentle strength that they all seemed to have.

Jace clapped him on the back, "Welcome, Brother."

Why was Jace being so nice to him? Something powerful must have happened to him in that minute he was dead.

He looked over Jace's shoulder at the woman behind him, the one he had been fighting a few moments before Jace was killed.

"Miss, I'm sorry for trying to kill you before. I will... I will try to make it up to you," he couldn't understand the slow smile that spread across her pretty face and sparkled in her brown eyes. Did she know something he didn't?

"It's ok. I was doing the same....well, trying to kill you that is," she looked down for a second and shuffled her feet. "So, I guess we're even. I'm Amy, Jace's sister," she extended her hand and Haemon gently shook it. He couldn't tear his gaze from her eyes, but quickly remembered himself when the older man by her side cleared his throat. He must be their father going by the resemblance.

"I'm Jay, and it's good to see we've all come to an understanding here," he too shook Haemon's hand.

"Very good, very good I must say," Cyrus grinned and chuckled. "Isn't this just wonderful? All my creations finally coming together in peace!" Roakin and the governors were slowly lowering their swords, still slightly wary of Haemon and his abrupt decision to cease fighting.

There was a tense moment as the Sen Cyrian soldiers rounded up the fleeing Tiritians while Cyrus and his friends watched Haemon carefully. Haemon wasn't sure if they wanted to take him prisoner or not, so he just stood there staring back.

Captain Derek came walking up to Roakin, saluting before saying, "We have restrained the enemy troops, and are awaiting your orders, Sir."

Roakin looked to Cyrus, "What would you have us do, Cyrus?"

"I trust Haemon and his change of heart. Let them all go; I'm sure they'll follow their king and let go of the past," he smiled kindly at Haemon. "And now, I say we all have a feast, yes?" he looked around with a broad grin on his kind face.

Kallum let out a cheer, "Yeah, let's celebrate! Peace in Sen Cyrus!"

Meredee joined in and pretty soon all the soldiers, Sen Cyrian and Tiritian, were cheering, clapping each other on the back and shaking hands. Haemon looked around in wonder before being pulled into a hug by Gavin, soon followed by Lamont.

Jace and Emily shared a heartfelt embrace as the excitement continued around them, but each felt like they were the only two people in the world.

"I can't believe you're back, Jace," Emily sniffed into this shoulder. "I...I completely fell apart when you....stopped breathing..."

"It's ok...I'm here now," Jace patted her back comfortingly. He dreaded telling her the truth about his second chance.

"So, what happened? How did you come back?" she pulled away just enough to see his face, their foreheads nearly touching.

"Hm, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," Jace smiled, trying to play it off and delay what he knew would break her heart all over again.

"Jace, look where we are. I'd believe anything nowadays!" she gave a nervous laugh.

"Well, it turns out Cyrus has the ability to bring people back to life. I woke up in his amazing paradise world, and he gave me a choice to stay there or come back here....." at least that part of the truth might satisfy her for now.

"Well, I'm glad you chose to come back. I don't know what I'd do without you, Jace," she buried her head on his shoulder again, her eyes watching the merriment that surrounded them, her heart beating in time with Jace's that seemed to be thundering just as fast as hers. She thanked Jesus over and over again that He had allowed her best friend to come back to them, to help them win this battle. She thanked Him that peace had prevailed and there would be no more bloodshed in this beautiful land.

Jace thanked Jesus that he had been given this precious, yet limited, time with his best friend before things changed again. Tonight, he would celebrate with everyone and make the most of their time together. But he knew he would have to tell them the truth eventually; knew he would have to say goodbye as they went back to Earth – without him.

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Ohhh.....So many things happened in this chapter!! How did you expect the battle to end? Did you think that the nasty King Haemon would ever surrender and completely turn his life around?
And what do you think of Jace's decision not to tell Emily the truth straight away? 
Thanks for reading! and please vote and comment if you liked it :) 
~Emmy