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The helicopter blades fired on, whining and thundering with building power as the girls climbed onboard.
Jewel was the last goddess to arrive. Her red hair bounced, and her freckles reminded me of Louise who stayed protectively by Sully’s side while he remained unreachable.
I expected her to run to the helicopter and leap inside with the other goddesses but she beelined for me and wrapped her arms tight around my waist. “Come with us.”
I squeezed her back. “I belong here.”
“You belong with your loved ones.”
Pulling away, I stared into her pixy face. “Exactly.”
She frowned and dropped her arms. “You were telling the truth that day…on the path with the guest. You truly don’t want to leave.”
“I truly don’t want to leave.”
“Love makes people do stupid things.” She hoisted her bag higher up her shoulder. “I hope you’re making the right decision.”
“Safe journey home, Jewel.”
She smiled, shielding her gaze from the bright sun. “My real name is Baylee.” Striding toward the bamboo jetty, she paused and added, “Goodbye, Eleanor Grace.”
I watched her join her fellow goddesses, and the helicopter took off.
I didn’t look away from the horizon until they’d vanished into the hazy humidity.
* * * * *
“He told me to burn it to the ground,” Cal muttered.
“We can’t.” I spun in place, opening my arms and incorporating the cathedral-size space of Euphoria’s entrance. “It would be a waste.”
“It’s not going to be used again.” He moved toward the playroom where a harness dangled from the ceiling and cupboards ringed the space with props. Last time I’d been in here, Jess had sacrificed herself, I’d broken beneath elixir, and Sully had killed Drake’s guards.
There were no bloodstains or corpses. No signs of rape or violence.
The mess had been cleaned and deleted.
It was just a room.
A villa that could be repurposed.
Cal kept moving, leaving me to follow him as he entered rooms I hadn’t been in before. More playrooms with more harnesses. More outdoor bathrooms and lush gardens. “I’ll get the gasoline.”
“No!” I darted in front of him. “I…I have a suggestion.”
The goddesses had left two days ago.
Pika and Skittles were with me today after staying by Sully’s side for the past few days, and Pika darted through the rafters, making Skittles grumble in frustration on my shoulder that she couldn’t join him.
Cal scowled.
Yesterday, I’d gone to see Jess in Dr Campbell’s surgery. I’d left Sully in his coma and joined Jess in hers, holding her hand and telling her how we were the last girls on this island—barring the invisible staff who made this place run.
Etti, the vet helping Dr Campbell, had found me. Sharing a quiet moment with me and Jess, discussing the animals who’d survived the bombing and all the others who’d been en-route to arrive for rehabilitation.
Serigala couldn’t be a sanctuary again until it was rebuilt, but Euphoria was no longer unwanted.
He’d put a seed into my head, and it’d grown into something I couldn’t uproot.
“What suggestion?” Cal crossed his arms, wincing at his healing chest.
“Euphoria can become Serigala.”
“Say what now?”
“Let it be home to creatures in need. Etti could be in charge of setting it up. The animals that survived need care and many more besides—”
“Sinclair won’t go for it. After what happened, he’ll swear off helping anything again. He blames himself for their deaths.”
“Their deaths were Drake’s fault.”
“He doesn’t see it that way.”
“Drake is dead. He can’t hurt Sully or anyone he loves ever again.”
Cal strolled around me, eyeing up the space as if planning where to drop explosives and do what Sully had requested.
I couldn’t let him burn it.
No way.
Pika barrelled through the air, chirping and playing. He wasn’t his usual happy bossy self, thanks to Sully’s unbreakable sleep, but he was a bird and needed to stretch his wings.
Catching up to Cal, I said with a firmness I was starting to embrace, “Euphoria stays. I’ll tell Etti to begin transporting the animals that survived here.”
Cal stopped, turned to me, and looked me up and down. His nostrils flared as if he’d fight me. “Flexing your power, I see.”
“Learning to fight for things that are right.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re the one who’ll be at the mercy of his temper when he wakes and finds out what you’ve done.”
I hugged myself at the thought. “He can yell at me all he wants because it will mean he’s awake and healthy.”
Cal chuckled, breaking our tension. “Christ, you’ve got it bad.”
“And I accept it wholeheartedly.”
“Meh, it’s your funeral.”
“As long as it’s not Sully’s, I’m okay with that.”
His shoulders slouched. “You and me both. Fine, you win.”
I did my best to smile, but all I could remember was Sully telling me I’d won the night on the path after we’d been to Lebah together.
‘You win, Jinx.’
He’d told me I’d won, and he’d send Calico, Neptune, and Jupiter home. I’d saved three lives that day, but I hadn’t had an inkling of the death swooping toward us.
