Nothing had ever felt so right, so complete, as holding Rae in my arms. Limp with exhaustion, twitching in her sleep, but back with me. Back where she belonged. Battered and scarred but alive.
I knew that nightmares would torment her for weeks, and that the memories of this would never fade. It would stay with her, always, like the cuts on her body that would become scars. I couldn’t forgive myself for it, for not fighting hard enough for her, for having just laid there, broken, when Jeremiah and his minions took her.
But I was going to set it right.
With Callum by her side, I believed that Everly would destroy the Deep One, even if it killed her too. I’ve felt it in her, that wild magic that once unleashed, could destroy empires, worlds, and even gods.
That was her story, her fate. Perhaps I’d never know if she made it out alive.
It didn’t truly matter to me. Only Raelynn mattered. Keeping her safe, making sure nothing ever took my baby girl from me again, mattered more than anything else.
I looked down at the cuts Jeremiah had carved across her chest and was filled with so much rage I couldn’t see straight. He’d marked my girl, and for that I was going to break his hands, crush his fingers one by one until every bone shattered. As I walked, I fantasized on every gruesome thing I’d do to him. His God was dying, and he was merely mortal. The strength God had rewarded him with was only temporary.
He was going to die, slowly and agonizingly, and I would enjoy every goddamn second.
I stayed deep in the trees as I walked, to ensure no one driving by on the road would get a glimpse of me. It would surely be a sight to behold: my jeans were torn, my chest was bare from having given my shirt to Raelynn to cover her, and the injuries the Reaper had left me with were only barely healed, still pink and angry. I was too furious to disguise myself, so my claws were out, my eyes were bright, my teeth sharp and ready to rip apart any member of the Libiri I managed to find.
I smelled the fire long before I saw it. The ashen scent of burning was strong in the air, the smoke carrying even through the rain. As I reached the tree line at the edge of the Hadleigh property, I could see the flames.
I hated to leave her for even a second, but I laid Rae down at the base of a tall pine, where she could lie hidden among the gnarled roots. She sighed softly as I laid her down, curling her arm around to cushion her head. The ache of looking at her was almost too much, the sweetest pain in my chest as I brushed her hair back from her face before turning to leave her.
Love. What an odd thing.
I crept beyond the trees. The grass sloped down, to where the Hadleigh’s house was entirely engulfed in flames. I could feel the heat of them, the scent of the smoke sharp in the air. The rain wasn’t enough to put the fire out, despite the downpour. All the glass had burst, the ground around the house shimmering with its shattered pieces.
This was no natural fire. I could smell the gas in the air. There was a crack, and a massive section of wall collapsed inward. The house would be reduced to nothing more than its concrete foundations soon enough.
A little further down the lawn, two figures sat in the grass side by side. I recognized Zane immediately, covered in ash and bloodied. Beside him, Juniper turned toward him and whispered something too softly for even me to hear. A shotgun lay in the grass beside her and her face was bruised, but when Zane reached out and cupped her cheek, she leaned into his hand. She closed her eyes, and they sat there silently, watching the house burn.
I watched with them, trying to figure out the bizarre feeling of melancholy that overtook me. I knew nothing was alive in that house. I knew that if Jeremiah had survived, Juniper wouldn’t be sitting here. She’d still be hunting him down.
They stood and turned to go. But when Juniper caught sight of me standing there, she raised the shotgun immediately, aimed and ready to fire. Zane laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Easy, Juni,” he said. I put up my hands and slowly, nervously, Juniper lowered her weapon.
“You beat me here,” I said. “Got to have all the fun before I could, eh?”
Zane smiled and shook his head, but Juniper came closer. The bruises on her were even worse than I thought, furious purple blossoms across her skin. She looked me over cautiously, her eyes narrowed with suspicion, but she didn’t raise the weapon again.
“Where’s Raelynn?” she said.
“Close by,” I said. “Hidden. She’s safe.”
She nodded. “We left no one alive. The Hadleigh family is gone. The Libiri are gone.”
The leaping flames had died down now, but the ashes still smoldered. “Jeremiah, too?”
“He died like a coward,” she said. “You would have loved to see it.”
“I would have loved to do it.”
She laughed, and slung the strap of her shotgun over her shoulder. “I sold my soul for revenge. It was mine to take. But it’s over.” She glanced back toward the house, the reflection of the flames making her eyes almost as golden as mine. “It’s over.”
Faintly, the distant wail of sirens began. Zane came up, and tugged lightly at a few strands of her hair. “We should go. This place will be swarming with people soon.”
She nodded, turned as if to leave, then suddenly turned back and held out her hand. It took me a moment to realize it was a handshake. Strange human comradery thing. As I took her hand, she said, “I forgive you. I really hate to say that, but I do.”
I’d never really cared about forgiveness. It was only meant to ease guilt and bring closure. But as they left, and the sirens grew louder, I took one last look at the smoldering ruins and realized that I needed closure.
I needed to know that all this was finally over.
We only had a little time.
Rae was still sleeping as I carried her through what remained of the house. The flames were almost entirely out now, leaving only the charred skeleton of the house behind. There were several bodies I came across, but I didn’t care about them. There was only one I was looking for.
When I found Jeremiah, he never would have been recognizable to human eyes. He was just a blackened husk, lying among the splintered glass and burnt wooden beams. But I knew him. Even dead and burned, I felt hatred looking at him.
It really was over. Nothing remained but ashes.
Rae squirmed a little in my arms as I made my way back out through the rubble, her eyes blinking slowly open. I felt her stiffen as she looked around, and I said softly, “Don’t be afraid, baby girl. You’re safe.”
“Where are we?” She tried to turned her head to look around. She was missing her shoes, so I wasn’t about to set her down.
“The Hadleigh house.”
“Did you do this? You burned it? How long was I asleep?” Her voice was deeper when she was sleepy, and a little raspy. It was so damn cute.
I almost lied. I almost told her that I did burn it, that I killed Jeremiah, that I made him pay for what he’d done, that I’d taken vengeance for her. But I couldn’t lie to her, even though I felt as if I’d failed her somehow.
“I didn’t do it. Juniper and Zane got here first. She got her revenge.” I could see flashing lights on the road. The fire trucks had arrived. I quickened my pace, jumped down from the back of the house and slipped away into the trees. Rae’s eyes were on me the whole time, watching my face even though it must have been a blur to her without her glasses.
“And Jeremiah?” she whispered. There was fear in her words, and it made anger boil up inside me. She didn’t deserve to feel afraid. I wished I could kill her fear. I wished I could rip it apart and burn its remains.
“He’s dead, baby girl. I wish I could say I’d done it, but they got to him first.”
The rain had slowed to a drizzle, dripping slowly down through the trees. I paused under the shelter of a thick pine, and let Raelynn stand on her feet for a few moments. She was wobbly, and leaned against me for support, her arms wrapped tightly around my chest. Feelings of comfort were relatively foreign to me, but holding her as she clung to me was easily the most comfortable thing I could imagine.
“I’m glad you didn’t have to do it,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “You’ve already had to kill enough. I know you’re tired.” She pressed her face against me again. “You deserve some rest.”
I frowned. “You think so?”
“Mmhm.” She reached her arms up, around my neck, and I scooped her up again. Through her yawn, she said, “I wanna go home and sleep. We can sleep for days, like you did before…and you don’t have to be angry anymore, because Jeremiah is gone and Kent is gone, and…” Another yawn. She was going to pass out again at any second. “We’re safe now. We’re both safe.”
Safe. What a strange idea. I hadn’t felt safe in over a hundred years. And I hadn’t seriously thought I could rest in nearly as long, at least until I met her. But now, as her eyes drooped closed again and I carried her toward home, I realized that I didn’t feel so angry anymore. The knot of hatred that had kept me going through all those years was loosening. Suddenly I was thinking of rest, I was thinking of calm and quiet.
I wanted to hold her in my arms, wrapped up in all her blankets, and sleep with her scent surrounding me. When we woke, I wanted to prove to her that she was safe again and again until there was no more fear in her voice, and all this was just a distant memory.
And I would. I’d keep her safe for eternity.
