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All at once, the horse beneath me vanishes, and I tumble to the ground, Star cradled protectively in my cold arms.
The silence that follows is deafening, a stark contrast to the chaos just moments before.
“Is everyone okay?” My voice comes out in a rasp from the adrenaline coursing through my veins.
“We did it.” Flint’s gaze locks on mine, relief flooding his features. “We defeated the Wild Hunt… Clearhelm is safe.”
Flint rushes over to take Star, who still hasn’t woken from her trance.
Darius joins us, extending his hand. “My lady?”
“Thank you.” I clasp his fingers, letting him lift me to my feet, and then press his hot palm to my cheek. “For everything.”
Darius pulls me closer, offering his flames to thaw the chill without being asked, and the shivers fade.
Flint holds Star against his side and turns to face the ignis demon. “Yes, thank you for stopping me. I wasn’t thinking straight. You made the right call.”
“You are welcome,” Darius says, his tone grave.
“So stuffy.” Flint tugs him into a hug, and I go with him. “Get in here, Marc.”
A warm body presses up behind me, and Marc’s arms surround all of us. “Someone should let Sharpe know we’re still alive.”
“Someone should.” But no one makes a move to part until Star stirs in the center of our circle.
We all step back to give her room.
“What’s going on?” Her confused gaze settles on Flint. “Are we safe?”
“Yeah, kiddo.” Tears glisten in his eyes. “We’re safe.”
“Where are we?” Star looks around, distress tightening her sweet features when she sees the guard station, and she sniffles. “What happened? I was just at the big tree with the others.”
“It’s okay.” I lean against Darius’s warm body, stealing his flames. “Everything’s fine now.”
Flint hugs her close. “Let’s get you home.”
bonds
- Pen -
We deliver Star safely into Lia’s waiting arms, and before we even pull out of the driveway, Sharpe’s phone is ringing incessantly.
It turns out that, despite the somewhat remote location of the interaction with the Wild Hunt, someone had recorded their arrival during the eclipse and uploaded a video of Star being kidnapped and me walking through the ring of fire to save her.
Then a certain news channel had covered the entire galloping up and down the road from an aerial view, like some kind of car chase, and Sharpe’s standoff with the horsemen in the middle of the road. The recording cuts off before he makes the Wild Hunt vanish, and the comment section is flooded with praise for us once more saving the day.
In the aftermath, the bodies of former city officials Lynch and Bailey are discovered, the final, tragic victims of the killing spree.
I don’t know how Syl’vyn spun that, but I’ll be forever grateful to the enigmatic woman for smoothing the way for us.
Sharpe goes straight from Lia’s to city hall, while I report to the Clearhelm Police to get my people working on cleanup.
My first day as captain is a trial by fire, but the video of me walking through flame to face down what looked like specters of death put the fear of respect into my officers.
No one talked back to me when I handed out orders.
By the time I return to our room at the Harbor, I’m sore, exhausted, and cold, so when I see Darius sitting on the couch, I walk straight to him and crawl into his warm lap.
