“No, I’m not, Helene,” he said.
“But to be Novo—”
“Yes, I’m supposed to be married; however, no qualified heir is married, therefore, I’m asking for an exception from the pack. My mom will continue being Nova until I get hitched,” he said.
“What about Quinn? He looks like he’s closer to being there, and he’s the true heir,” another female said.
“Miss Dorothy, while that may be true about the heir part, I’m no longer interested in being Novo,” Quinn said.
“But,Quinn—”
“Respectfully, no. If Benji doesn’t find someone in two years, we can have this discussion then,” Quinn offered.
“I can agree to that… I guess,” Dorothy said.
“Me too,” a couple of them said at the same time.
“Perfect, then as you all heard, I’ll be the one setting my father’s raft ablaze,” he said.
Quinn tightly squeezed my hand. I looked up at him, and a deep frown crossed his face.
Benji walked over and grabbed a crossbow and an arrow that had been modified with some type of fabric on the end. He loaded the arrow. He gave a nod to Daxyn, who then shoved the raft off into the creek. It started to float. Benji reached forward with a lighter, lighting the end of the arrow. Flames blazed at the tip. He aimed and fired. Once the arrow hit the center of Ravik, the entire raft exploded into flames. A huge burst of sparks traveled back to the bank, almost as if they went straight to Benji.
The body and the raft continued burning as it floated down the creek. It eventually rounded a corner, and the flames disappeared.
Everyone started to make their way back up the path until only Quinn, Callie, Raphael, Benji, Daxyn, and I stood there.
“We need to mend ourselves. The five of us used to be close. I’ll need all of you more than you know in the coming years,” Benji said.
I felt awkward and like I didn’t belong. This was a conversation for the cousins, not me. As if sensing my discomfort, Quinn gave my hand a quick squeeze.
“I agree, we need to let the past go, grow up, and be there for each other,” Quinn said.
“Agreed,” the rest of them said.
Everyone started walking up the hill.
“Can I talk to you for a minute, Zay?” Daxyn said.
Quinn and I came to a stop and turned around. The other three kept walking.
“There isn’t much to say,” I said.
“Oh, there is plenty to say,” he said.
“I don’t have much to say to you, Daxyn.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry that our child didn’t make it. I’m sorry for everything. I’m truly sorry, and most importantly, I’m glad you’re alive,” he said.
“His name was Izayuh,” I said, my eyes fixated on the ground. I didn’t need to look at him to see that he was barely holding himself together.
“It was a boy… God… Izayuh is beautiful,” Daxyn said.
“Yeah…” I said.
“For what it's worth, Zay, I’d have found a way to stop him. I don't know how, but I know I couldn't have stood there and let him take your life. Not yours,” he said.
“But keeping me locked up was okay?” I said.
