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“Can I come back with Dad?” Oli asked his papa. “And Frel and Dalia can come too!”
Delos smiled and stroked Oli’s hair. “We don’t want to burden our hosts, Oli. I’m sure it’s a lot, having so many guests.”
“Not at all!” Kai said.
“No way,” Makoa chimed in. “We got the whole island, brotha. A Blue Fin home is your home. You guys haven’t even met the entire family yet. Guests and gatherings are our culture.”
“That’s right,” I said. “We’d be honored to have the entire flight visit.”
“Our guest house needs some guests,” Kai added. “It’s getting lonely.”
The mahinui snapped open with a rush of mountain air and that mysterious shimmering light. Haru, who was carrying a big basket of T’Wanu fruits and a bottle of luyu, gave his father a final hug, then waved to us as he stepped first through the doorway. Delos and Oli were next.
“Goodbye!” Oli said, waving frantically. “I’ll miss you!”
“Hey, we’ll miss you too,” Makoa said. “You come back again soon, little bro.”
Rainor was next. He paused as he passed Makoa, and with a clap that sounded like thunder, they slapped their hands together in a forearm-bulging handshake. As they stared each other down, Makoa’s lips curled into a smile.
“Just kiss each other already,” Istil called with his hand cupped around his mouth. “We know you guys want to.”
All of us laughed, and Rainor and Makoa gave each other a brisk hug with plenty of hard back slapping.
“I’ll see you all later,” Rainor said, waving as he started down the stairs. “And I can’t wait to meet that baby.”
Rainor disappeared through the portal, and Baleon clapped his hand into Kai’s palm.
“Thanks for showing me wave riding,” he said. “I’ll drag my brother here next time. He’ll love it.”
“Our pleasure,” Kai replied.
Thran took Istil and Visir’s hands, and the three cousins embraced.
“Ah, shit,” Istil said, his voice wavering with emotion. “Why am I about to cry? This isn’t goodbye.”
Thran smiled. “No, it’s not. We’ll be together again soon.”
“Thank you for everything, Thran,” I said, shaking his hand. “Everything.”
He nodded, then slipped his arm around Baleon’s. With a final glance back at us, the two of them stepped across the threshold and disappeared into the wavering reflection. Elemental energy surged around us and the gate shut with a loud crack, leaving nothing but an empty stone frame.
Chapter19
Istil
The cart clattered and bounced painfully over the uneven path, and I could do nothing but groan and pray the baby wasn’t going to be flung out of me with all this chaos.
“This is not helping!” I shouted.
I was lying in the back with my head in Ari’s lap, with Makoa at my right. Kai, up in the driver’s seat, kept nervously swiveling his head to look at me as he cracked the reins.
“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” Kai mumbled.
“Hurry up, brotha!” Makoa urged him. “He’s gonna pop!”
“That’s not helping either!” I screamed.
“Just be quiet, both of you,” Ari grunted at his cousins. “Istil, don’t worry. We’ll be at the nest, and everything will be fine.”
