“More than I ever have,” I admitted as I cuddled against his chest. “But I could use it again.”
“I know, but I love having you in my arms.”
And there was no way I could protest when I loved being there.
Chapter Forty-Six
Aisling
The next day, I leaned against the rocks near the entrance of the cave as I watched the humans and demons from town prepare to leave for the wall. Sometime during the night, while I was sleeping, Raphael arrived with word that the others were fine; they lost their telepathic demon when he kicked a calamut tree that kept blocking his way. The tree had not taken kindly to it.
During the night, they decided Raphael would take the survivors to Magnus and Amalia, who would make sure they made it the rest of the way to the wall. Raphael would return to us.
“I never thought I’d leave the Wilds,” Randy said to Wren as he finished tying his boots.
“I never thought I’d be a demon,” she replied.
He chuckled as he rose and embraced her. “Neither did I, but it works for you.”
Wren laughed and stepped away from him as Corson walked over to join them.
“It’s best for Oliver,” Wren said as she took Corson’s hand. “Even after what happened with the attack, he’ll still be safer at the wall, and the queen has a brother about his age.”
I turned my attention to Oliver as he lifted his head from Nadine’s shoulder. I wanted to go with them and make sure he made it safely to the wall, but if we were ever going to have any peace, we had to destroy the last four horsemen. We may not know where they were, but wewouldfind them.
I wasn’t ready for another battle with them, but I yearned for peace and would do everything necessary to achieve it. I’d spent my whole life dreaming about being somewhere else. Now, all I wanted was to see my parents, to have a regular place to lay my head, and to wake up beside Hawk every morning.
Apparently, my wanderlust wasn’t as strong as I’d believed.
No, that wasn’t true.
My wanderlust hadn’t changed;Ihad. I was so different from the girl who used to dream of standing in the shadows of the pyramids or exploring the Colosseum. That girl planned to explore the Catacombs of Paris before taking a train through the Alps. But now, I didn’t know how many of those places still existed, and if they did, I’d one day see them with Hawk.
However, I’d seen enough of this new world to know I preferred a house at the wall with Hawk. I didn’t want a tent anymore; I wanted a place to hang pictures and play games with friends. A home with a room for my parents to stay when they came to visit.
I wanted a home.
When he rested his hand on my shoulder, Hawk pulled me from my reverie. “They’re leaving,” he said.
I pushed myself away from the rocks and walked over to join the others. I didn’t know any of them well, but I wanted to say goodbye to Oliver. Taking his small hand in mine, I bent to look into his eyes. I blinked away the unexpected tears burning my eyes when he smiled at me and used his other hand to pat my face. This resilient, beautiful, loving child was a brilliant hope for all our futures.
“Be safe,” he said.
“I will,” I vowed. “You’re going to be okay.” I shouldn’t make him any promises when I didn’t know if they would come true, but I had to believe he would make it to the wall. “And they’re going to protect you.”
At least I knew that much was true. Nadine and Randy would fight to the death for him. Hewouldmake it to the wall.
I hugged him and kissed his forehead before releasing him and stepping away. When I was sure no one was looking, I wiped tears from my eyes. Hawk slid his arm around my waist and pulled me against him as the survivors started down the mountain with Raphael soaring through the trees ahead of them.
“He’ll be okay,” Hawk said.
“I know,” I muttered, but my voice was raw with emotion.
“We should go.”
I turned to gaze up the mountain. With no idea where to find the four horsemen, we’d decided to move further up the mountain where we would rest until Raphael returned.
The still-rising smoke would probably deter a lot of things from coming this way, but it would attract others. We planned to be further away from the town and cave before those things started arriving.
