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Elsie drops to her hands and knees as Mayfly holds her hair back.
I'm going to check on Elsie, Black.
I mentally tell Ronny as I leave her and her sisters to the reunion they deserve. I know what it's like to have your family reunited. Having my sister back with us is more than I could have ever hoped for. I know my parents are gone but having Elsie brings them back too and I'll forever be grateful for that.
Drac and Draven run beside me and we stop near our sister who is retching in the grass. The stone Mayfly used is glowing brightly with multiple colors and Merelda violently shakes beside it.
Not giving a shit about the fluids on the ground, I drop next to Elsie as our brothers hover over Merelda, ready to strike if she comes to.
"That was a stupid and brave thing you did, sister," I grind out. I know she did it to save the Crow ancestors but Merelda is an unspeakable monster and losing Elsie would have killed us. And since we can't actually die, it would have been a tortuous existence.
She wipes at her mouth and chuckles at me, "You need to remember, Drug. I'm not the baby you once knew. If I can stop someone from hurting those I love I will always dive in, no matter the threat to myself."
I mime wringing her neck but smile all the same. She's definitely a Hound, stubborn and bullheaded.
I look over to Mayfly and see nothing but admiration in his gaze as he brushes hair back from my sister's face. He will still need to prove to us that he will love and fight for my sister but I think he has proven himself today. Although, brothers like us will need daily proof no matter how long we live for.
"What happens now?" Drac asks with a lip curled in Merelda's direction. She continues to convulse but there's no sign she'll stop.
She can be killed now but in order for her to stay dead, we'll need to wait for the full moon. Until then, she will need to be encased in glass. It'll keep her energy enclosed until then. Her power is in the stone, it will leave the stone and find someone new to inhabit when her spirit is no longer living."
"Drug?" Ronny's voice stops me from commenting that Merelda is no Disney character and she should be kept in a coffin or something.
I turn to her voice and smile at her. She looks incredibly shy and it makes me want to tease her but I know this is overwhelming for her. Shit, it's overwhelming for me.
"Drug, this is my dad, Amos Crow. Dad, this is my mate, Drug... Hound."
Her father doesn't blink an eye at hearing my last name, the name of their mortal enemies, he just grabs my hand and pulls me in for a hug. He's a lot stronger than he appears. I can feel all his bones beneath his skin and I cringe at how hard I've hugged him. That would be just great if I broke this man's back after just meeting him.
We pull apart and he clears his throat. His voice is terribly cracked and broken as he speaks but I can hear the sincerity in each word he speaks.
"Thank you for fighting for my daughters. I didn't want to attack them and I will forever be in your debt for protecting them."
"Well, sir, I'm not built to lie so I'll be honest. I was mostly protecting Black Bird. Your other daughters are whack jobs, sir," I say this with a chuckle amid punches from the sisters but their father just laughs at it.
"Thank you nonetheless." He claps my shoulder as Rory and Roxy introduce him to my brothers.
Ronny jumps in my arms and buries her face in my neck. I hold her close and despite all the horrors we've faced, I laugh and nip her earlobe. This is my place. I belong here with my Black Bird. I want to spend the rest of our lives in each other's arms, making each moment count to make up for all the moments that didn't.
I put Ronny back on her feet as Elsie stands and holds a hand out to Amos. It's tense for a moment but Amos has no anger for my sister. He ignores her hand and wraps his arms around her.
"Thank you for freeing us. Thank you for sacrificing your mate, I know it was a ploy but the risk was there nonetheless. You have me in your debt, True Witch."
"No, Amos. You owe me nothing. If you want to repay me, do it by making up for lost time with your daughters. The pain they've carried is as heavy as your own. I wish I could bring back every person Merelda killed."
Darren comes out with a large crate filled with packs of blood, passing them out to the fifty or so Blood Crows still coming out of their metamorphosis-like state. Each Vampire takes the packs with graciousness that you wouldn't expect. You see, I grew up in a time where witches, Vampires and Werewolves were hunted and called evil but after meeting Ronny and her sisters, I see how wrong that was.
In any race and family, no matter the realm, there are always those who break the rules of the moral compass. But looking at the ragtag of people around me, enemies coming together, it's clear that not everyone wears a crown of sin.
"Are all these people part of your family?" I ask Ronny as I watch people reunite with loved ones.
"I don't know any of them. My father says that my mother really did die while fighting Merelda when she took him so we won't be seeing Mother in this life." Ronny wipes at her eyes as she tells me this. I know she's holding her emotions in.
I top her chin up to look at me, "It's okay to break, Black Bird. I'll find ways to put you back together in the end."
She squeezes her eyes closed, pushing tears free from the confines of her lashes as she drops her face to my chest. Her body shakes as I rub her back, soothing her while she lets the emotions out. Sometimes, breaking for a moment makes you stronger. It releases something deep inside your soul and makes room for those that deserve a spot in there. We just need someone to keep us grounded while it happens.
"It's okay, Black. I got your pieces."
