Page 111 of Lost

She grinned. “It’s not hard to do. I’m thinkin’ the same thing—how great it would be to have Dragon and Anastasia back with us.”

“It would be, but only for us. For this world—not so much.”

“Sometimes it sucks to not be selfish,” she said.

“Yep,” I said.

Then we didn’t talk at all because we had to climb single file up a rocky path that seemed to end nowhere—until we turned a narrow corner and saw the opening of a cave. Scents of simmering stew drifted from within, along with the muffled voices of women and children.

“Wow, this is awesomesauce!” said Stevie Rae. And then she gasped and turned quickly to Rephaim. “Uh-oh! And I didn’t even warn them.”

“Warn who about what?” Dragon said, instantly alert.

“Well, um, remember when I told you to just wait and see what happens to Rephaim at sunrise? Okay, don’t freak. I’ll explain everything after he flies away.”

“What is happening!” Dragon spoke forcefully, moving to stand protectively to block as much of the cave entrance as he could, longsword raised.

“There is no danger, friend Dragon,” Grandma said. “Rephaim is simply not quite as he seems—like most of us.”

“Sun’s rising now!” Stevie Rae ducked her head, cringing against a sun I couldn’t even see yet.

“She needs to be inside that cave!” I said.

I was taking off my jacket to throw over Stevie Rae’s exposed head when Dragon moved so that she could duck past him, where she stopped just inside the cave and turned to stare at Rephaim.

We all turned to stare at Rephaim.

He’d taken off his shirt and was looking around frantically, which made me wonder what happened to his pants and underwear if he was still wearing them when he changed into a raven.

But nothing happened. Nothing at all.

“I am not judging you, but your mate strips every sunrise? Why?” Anastasia asked Stevie Rae.

Stevie Rae didn’t answer. All she could do was stare at Rephaim.

“Are you sure it is sunrise now?” Grandma asked gently. “It is difficult to tell with the tree coverage.”

“Yes.” Stevie Rae’s voice was shaky. “There’s no doubt. Sunrise happened three minutes ago.”

Rephaim held out his arms, staring at his very human hands. “It is not happening. I am not changing!” He looked up, meeting my eyes. “Why? I do not understand.”

“Neither do I,” said Dragon.

“Rephaim changes into a raven every sunrise to sunset,” I explained, though my voice quivered, as I felt shaky too.

“Why? What type of creature is he?” asked Dragon.

“He used to be something called a Raven Mocker,” I said. “But they are ancient, evil creatures, and he turned from Darkness when he fell in love with Stevie Rae. Nyx forgave him, giving him the body you see him in now.”

“But I had a penance to pay for the evil deeds I once did,” Rephaim said. And though he answered Dragon, his gaze had found and remained on Stevie Rae. “So, when the sun is risen I return to the form of a beast. Only not here. Not now.”

“Perhaps that is because you committed no evil deeds in this world,” Anastasia said. “Nyx has no reason for you to serve penance here.”

I wish I could’ve explained to Anastasia how ironic her words were—and how cathartic for Rephaim—but I knew I couldn’t. So, all I did was watch through very watery eyes as Rephaim went to Stevie Rae, took her into his arms, and held her tightly as she cried happy tears all over his very bare and very human chest.