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“As fierce as a wolf,” he said, and I rested my head against him. “You can rest now, love. You can rest.”
Fuck, that did it. I wept against his shoulder, my chest tight, the tears burning. It was overwhelming. It was freeing. He laid his head on top of mine, and when I finally had cried all I could and wiped my face, he said, “You can lead wherever you want to go, and I’ll follow. And, fuck, if you don’t know which direction to take, then I’ll lead for you.”
I shook my head, laughing softly through the last escaping tears. “I’m a mess, Zane.”
“Enough of a mess for this lifetime and the next. Every bright, sharp piece of you…” He kissed my bloodied hand, and then the other. “Your hunt is over, but mine isn’t. It never will be. Not for you.”
I leaned close, as if the words were still too tender to be loud, too intimate to be heard. “I love you.”
“And I love every messy piece of you, Juniper. I won’t tell you not to doubt it. I’ll just prove it to you every day until you can’t.”
The flames were beginning to die down. Little remained of the house now. “We should go,” I said softly. “Someone’s going to call the fire department over all this smoke.”
Zane nodded, getting to his feet and offering me a hand up. But as I stood, his eyes darted to the side, and instant panic shot through me. I lifted my gun as I turned, aiming —
But there, across the lawn just outside the trees, stood Leon.
Just Leon, alone. Then Raelynn...Raleynn was…
Zane put his hand on my shoulder. “Easy, Juni.” His voice was gentle. “You know he won’t hurt you.”
I forced myself to lower the gun. He was right, Iknewhe was right. I didn’t want to keep being afraid. I didn’t want to keep clinging to awful memories. I wanted to start over, even if I didn’t know how yet.
And I could see the relief on Zane’s face. He and Leon had left their own marks on each other, and they had their own eternity they’d promised. If it was for Zane, then I could figure out how to take one tiny step.
I could figure out how to forgive.
Leon put up his hands as he walked toward us. His clothing was torn, and there were angry purple bruises along his shoulder, his chest, his face. “You beat me here,” he said. “Got to have all the fun before I could, eh?”
I stepped closer to him, away from Zane’s side. He regarded me cautiously, but not as coldly as I’d thought he would. He looked at me with a cool air of respect — and, somewhere within those bright eyes, even a little sadness.
Someday I’d ask him about that night. Someday I’d try to understand the things Zane had said about him. I’d try to understand his side, his pain, his fears. I wasn’t the only victim in all this. I wasn’t the only one with nightmares.
“Someday” didn’t feel like much...but it was a way forward. It was another tiny step into figuring out how to live.
“Where’s Raelynn?” I said.
“Close by. Hidden. She’s safe.” His tone became immediately guarded, but I gave a heavy sigh of relief. He had her. The Libiri truly had failed. Their last sacrifice was alive, and who the hell would dare try to take her now? I didn’t know Leon well, but there was no doubt in my mind — he’d kill anyone who tried to take Raelynn from him.
“We left no one alive,” I said. “The Hadleigh family is gone. The Libiri are gone.”
He looked over at the house, silent for a long moment as he watched the lingering flames. “Jeremiah, too?”
“He died like a coward. You would have loved to see it.”
“I would have loved to do it.”
I chuckled, but I understood. He probably felt the same as I had for so long, except his revenge was claimed by another. I would have felt even more lost than I did now if I were in his place.
“I sold my soul for revenge. It was mine to take.” I nodded slowly. “But it’s over. It’s over.”
For a moment, I just watched the flames die with him. It was the end of years of pain, smoldering into ashes. The burning of the chains that had bound us both. Then, in the distance, I heard the wail of a siren.
“We should go,” Zane said, coming up beside me and tugging lightly at my hair. “This place will be swarming with people soon.”
I nodded and turned away — but it didn’t feel quite right yet. I took a deep breath, turned back around, and offered my hand.
Leon stared at my open hand as if he didn’t know what to do with it, as if he expected a trap and was trying to figure out where it would hit him. Damn, we really weren’t so different after all. But slowly, with narrowed eyes, he grasped my hand.
