“Wait! Their parents — they’re missing too!” Scout yelped as the Eske turned to go. When it glanced back at her in exasperation, she added a hasty, “Please?”
As it launched into the air, Kylin stormed up. She was missing her normal stilettos and designer clothes. Instead, she had black combat boots and protective armor, although she’d pulled the helmet off and shook out her blond hair. She glared daggers at Scout as she crossed toward them.
Scout swallowed hard. “Kylin, you were amazing back there. Thank you. So much.” The words felt like razor blades climbing up her throat. But they needed to be said.
“I didn’t do it for you, you boyfriend-stealing—”
“Kylin.” Trey cut her off, leaving Torz’s side to stand next to Scout. “You told me to go die. I think that constitutes as a break-up.”
Kylin’s bottom lip jutted out, and she burst into tears, throwing herself into Trey’s arms. “I missed you so much! I didn’t mean it, Trey. I even fought to save you. I was brave! I got bloody for you!”
Did he look impressed? After everything Scout had been through that day — that week — weeks? She wasn’t even sure how long they’d been gone, this was just more than she could handle.
“I’ll just leave you two alone.” She tried to not hiss, before turning sharply on her heel. “Ashra, can I help you? Where do you usually rest?”
Ashra looked at Scout like she’d grown two heads. “Who said anything about resting?”
Scout frowned. “The Leerha did. She said you have to rest, and I have to borrow another unicorn to go get Lil Bit’s body back.”
Ashra’s head jerked up, and she snorted in indignation. “Oh no, she didn’t.”
Scout couldn’t help it. She giggled. It had just a hint of insanity, but that was to be expected, right? “Horse, you just about had your heart ripped out of your chest. Go rest.”
“I don’t need to rest. Do you know what I just lived through? It didn’t kill me, Princess. So it made me stronger.” Ashra gave her a self-satisfied whinny, which seemed to be the unicorn equivalent of patting yourself on the back.
Scout crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing her. “I’m not taking no for an answer, you giant bird. Now I can walk with you to wherever it is you sleep, or I can drag you, kicking and screeching.”
“I believe the word is ‘screaming’. And I’d like to see you try.”
“You don’t scream. You screech. Like an enraged banshee. And I’ll have help.” She looked over at Torz, who nodded solemnly.
“Fine. Good grief, a unicorn is practically a hero, and this is how she gets treated? Next time I’ll hang out in the back and fight the slow, tired Taraxippus.” She struggled to her feet, swaying dangerously for several seconds.
Scout reached out a hand, like that would do anything but get broken if Ashra fell. And Scout smiled, because she knew as long as Ashra was alive, she would be in the front, fighting three-hundred times harder than she had the strength for, because it would save someone’s life.
They started slowly across the valley, and Torz walked right behind her, presumably to protect Scout if Ashra toppled over on top of her. She glanced once over her shoulder to see Trey and Kylin in deep conversation, Kylin still sobbing and clinging to his chest. Biting her lip hard enough to make it bleed, Scout turned away from him and instead watched the skies for the Eske. She watched the hundreds of souls, searching for her parents. And then her eyes landed on her hut, and a pang of homesickness hit her so hard she nearly doubled over. Hastily, she moved on — to Iros’s hut. The door was wide open, and through it she could just see the faint glow of the magic keeping Aella’s body alive.
Aella’s body.
She froze in her tracks, causing Torz to smash his soft muzzle into the top of her head. “Where’s Aella? She was there — Lil Bit said she was protecting them!”
Ashra looked at her, wild-eyed. “I… forgot about her. I was in such a hurry to get Lil Bit out of there—”
Torz shook his big head. “She wasn’t there when I landed. We will have to ask Lil Bit.”
Scout thought hard. She knew Lil Bit had told her Aella was there. Could Lil bit have just said that because she knew how much Scout and Ashra needed the hope? When they’d landed, it had been such a blur. She didn’t remember Aella there, but then, she hadn’t been thinking clearly, either. She needed to talk to Lil Bit. Where was that blasted Eske?
“Scout — wait!”
Scout paused, and Torz ran into her again. If her hair hadn’t been a giant mess before, it definitely was now, with his muzzle rubbing it all over the place every time she stopped. She tried unsuccessfully to smooth it as she turned to watch Trey jogging after her. He limped, just a bit, and she could see blood staining the side of his black shirt.
“You need a Leerha to heal you,” she said when he got close enough that she didn’t have to yell.
“You’re mad.”
She sighed. “I’m too tired for this right now, Trey. If you want Kylin, then—”
He glared at her. “You lose faith in me that quickly, Scout? I’ve been in love with you since I was eight years old. See these?” He held up his arm with the leather bands tied around his wrist. “Nine of them. One for each year I’ve loved you. I loved you when you hated me. I loved you when you were dancing for some other guy. I loved you when I watched you throw yourself off your unicorn eight billion feet above the ground.”
Scout opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Instead, tears trickled down her cheek. Finally, she knew what those leather bands meant. And her heart swelled.
“Just because I talk to Kylin doesn’t mean I’m going back to her. What have I ever done to make you doubt me, Scout? And if you say the hospital—” His glare was more fierce than she’d ever seen it. Clearly, he’d heard enough about the hospital.
Scout smiled, scrubbing at her tears. “Nothing, Trey. You’ve done nothing to make me doubt you. I’m sorry. I’m just tired and insecure.”
His hand shot out, circling her waist, and he pulled her into him, so close she could feel his heart pounding inside his chest, and he kissed her like he would literally die if he didn’t. There was pain and fury and hope and love in that kiss. Scout rose on her toes and slid her arms around his neck, kissing him back, hoping he could feel that she felt the same way.
“Well. this is awkward. We’re going to rest. We’ll find you two later.” Torz snorted uncomfortably, and Scout heard them walk away, but she didn’t care. She’d been trapped in the demon’s lair, had fought when she thought there was nothing left to fight with, found hope when things were at their darkest, and was still caught in a paralyzing fear that her parents hadn’t made it out. But for this second, this minute, the only thing she could do was kiss this boy. And she intended to do it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Trey had Scout in his arms, and he was never going to let her go. That was his plan. He’d fight Ariston himself right then if he showed up and tried to take her away.
But it wasn’t Ariston who landed heavily next to them. He reluctantly broke his kiss with Scout and pulled away, looking over the top of her head at the Eske, releasing Lil Bit from its magic. From the look on her face, there was not good news.
Trey felt the brief bit of hope, the moment of peace, shatter. His parents weren’t here. They were still in Aptavaras. He’d left them.
“Mom? Dad?” Scout asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Lil Bit shook her head and burst into tears. Scout left him to rush to her side, and Trey’s entire body went cold without her warmth. Tate and Liam jogged over, looking at him with big, hopeful eyes.
“They aren’t here.” He could barely choke out the words.
“Just because they are not here now doesn’t mean they won’t be soon. The rest of the unicorns are returning now with the remaining souls.” The Eske made an attempt to sound positive, at least.
Trey searched his eyes, which were deceptively mild. He wanted to make him swear that the
y would bring their parents home, make him promise that they were okay. But he knew the Eske couldn’t do that. There was no point in screaming about it.
“Lil Bit.” Scout knelt in front of her. “They’ll be okay. They’ll come home. I promise you, we’ll bring them home.”
Lil Bit peeked through her fingers at Scout, still sobbing.
“Have I ever lied to you before?”
“No — no.” Lil Bit hiccupped.
“And I’m not lying to you now. If I have to go back in there and search for them, I will. Bring. Them. Home.”
Lil Bit nodded. “Okay.”
“I have another question, sweetie. When you said Aella was there… were you just trying to give us strength to fight? Because no one saw her when we landed.”
Apparently, Lil Bit’s heart was too broken to give Scout a look with the annoyance she deserved. “Yes, she was there. She left to help Iros.”
“Apparently, while she was stuck being a soul for so long, she picked up a few tricks. She rose right out of the floor in Ariston’s castle,” Scout said, squinting up at Trey.
“Understandable. She was a warrior. She wouldn’t just sit there and cry. She’d be learning how to use her weaknesses as strengths,” Trey said.
Scout nodded, looking back to Lil Bit. “Okay then. If they don’t bring her back, I’ll go back for her, too.” Again she looked up at Trey, and he read everything in her eyes, as if she’d spoken aloud. It’s the least I can do after she was nearly torn apart to save me.
“That won’t be necessary, Scout, although I appreciate the gesture.”
Scout tried unsuccessfully to spin on her knees and rise at the same time. She succeeded in falling in a tangled heap on the ground. “Aella! You’re — you’re okay!”
Aella grinned at her. The real Aella, not the soul Trey had only caught a glimpse of.
Scout untangled herself and clambered up from the ground to throw her arms around her dear friend. “I thought we’d left you behind. I’m so sorry — you saved me, and I don’t know how to even — ” She blubbered.
Trey thought the same thing. She’d sacrificed herself to save Scout. If she hadn’t, if he’d lost Scout — there was no way. No way he could keep going without her. How was he supposed to thank Aella for that?
Aella pulled back enough that she could see Scout’s face. “You brought us peace, Scout. You freed me from my prison. For that alone I would throw myself in front of a thousand demons. I had to leave your sister because Iros needed me. But I watched over her from where I stood.”
Scout nodded, still crying. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you enough.”
“How did you get away from the demons? Scout said she watched them attack…” Trey asked, belatedly realizing that probably wasn’t the most polite of questions. He frowned and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.
“Ariston saved me.”
Somehow, even when Trey and Tate and Liam all gasped in shock, Scout did not seem surprised. “When I saw him — saw him throwing his black flames, he wasn’t throwing them at me, was he? He was throwing them at his own Taraxippus.”
Aella nodded.
Scout glanced at Trey, with something akin to guilt written across her face before she firmly changed the subject. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Aella. Was Iros overjoyed to see you?”
As one who had almost lost the girl he loved several times in a few weeks, Trey could only imagine the happiness the sight of Aella must have brought Iros.
Aella smiled gently. “He did not see me. Iros was saving you. He was a bit distracted.”
Trey’s eyebrows shot up. “He doesn’t know you’re alive?”
“No. Not yet. But the Eske say he is returning soon.” Her face positively shone with excitement. The love of her life, the one she hadn’t given up on in six hundred years would finally be within arms’ reach.
Scout turned, watching the skies anxiously for the eight thousandth time that day, and Trey turned with her. The unicorns were coming home. Iros and Havik were coming home. And hopefully, they were bringing his parents with them.
Trey felt Kylin’s glare piercing his back without even turning around. Yeah, he’d gently untangled himself from her arms, told her that telling someone to go die wasn’t something a relationship could recover from, and ran after Scout. Did that really mean she had to try to murder him with the force of her stare? All he could do was ignore her and hope he didn’t burst into flames.
So he pulled Scout close, needing the feel of her against his chest, needing to touch her. To make sure she was still there. He’d watched her throw herself on a soul stealer and then tumble through the sky. The whole thing had only taken a minute, a minute and a half, tops, but it would haunt him every second for the rest of his life. She was lucky she was so cute, or he’d be close to strangling her right now. Instead he held her tight while she watched the sky.
Lil Bit stood as close as she could without the force of the soul-body interaction pushing her away. She obviously needed Scout’s physical comfort right then too. She’d been so strong. Waiting for Scout, sending her strength and hope. Now she was just a scared little girl who wanted her mama, and her mama wasn’t there.
Trey wanted to kill something.
But he couldn’t. Not now. So all he could do was stand silently while they watched the skies. They were all so focused on willing the lightning to open the gate that none of them even saw the small herd of Irwarros until they were nearly breathing down Trey’s neck.
“We will escort you and your families back to your town.”
Scout shook her head frantically as Trey said, “We can’t go until our parents get here. I’m not leaving without them.”
He expected an argument. Battle unicorns were not known for their patience. But the one speaking nodded slightly, and they moved away without another word.
Scout returned to watching the sky. Aella sat at Scout’s feet, one hand just above Lil Bit’s tiny foot, maybe sensing that Lil Bit needed something and she was giving what she could.
Tate and Liam both joined them, as well, and their little group waited silently. The entire valley was teeming with souls and black, blue, and green unicorns. He wondered briefly where Lil Bit’s unicorn had gone, the little white one that had come with them from battle.
“She can’t be here. Too many want revenge, not peace. She only comes when you want peace.” Lil Bit answered his unasked question.
He felt his eyebrows shoot up, and Scout smiled.
“She has this gift…”
The sky split open.
The thunder shook the ground, and then the gate opened and thousands of unicorns roared through like a black, very dangerous cloud. Scout sucked in a breath and leaned closer into him. He held her tighter, wondering if his blood would ever not roar in his ears just because her skin brushed his. Even battered, burned, and bloody skin.
Havik led them, with a triumphant Iros raising his scepter. Just a bit of the tension went out of Scout’s shoulders. If Trey was a jealous person, he might be threatened. And then he snorted. Who was he kidding? He was incredibly jealous, but not of Iros. That man was one of the kindest people Trey had ever met. And he had a girl of his own — one he hadn’t seen in six hundred years.
Havik landed, and the ground shook beneath them again. Trey expected Aella to spring to her feet and race across the valley, but instead she slunk back, her hand gripping Scout’s compulsively.
“It’s okay, Aella,” Scout whispered.
Aella spun on Scout, talking fast but keeping her voice low. “What if Ariston is right, Scout? Why did he come for you but left me there for six hundred years? What if he does not love me?” She shoved her long, dark hair back from her face. “What if he has forgotten me?”
“Aella?” Iros sounded strangled beyond belief.
Trey looked up at him, the man he’d seen ride into the face of a thousand soul stealers without flinching, the man who never said an un
kind word and never admitted defeat. His face was white, and his entire body trembled.
“Aella?” he asked again.
Slowly, Aella turned toward him. She, too, was trembling. “Iros.”
One word. And Iros crossed the distance between them in two long strides, sweeping her into his arms in a crushing embrace. His hands stroked her hair, and he sobbed. “Aella. They told me you’d… I thought I’d come too late… You’re real. You’re real.” His hands seemed desperate to touch her face, her hands, her lips. Like he was trying to convince himself that she was, in fact, standing in front of him.
“We should leave them alone,” Scout murmured. She took Trey’s hand and motioned toward Lil Bit, wiping tears from her eyes as they went to join the rest of the Irwarros to look for their parents.
There were a thousand more souls being released throughout the valley, and Trey stopped by his brothers, turning in slow circles. “How will we ever find them?” he asked.
“Spread out. Meet back here when the sun is—” Scout started, but the Eske that landed lightly next to her cut her off mid-sentence.
“I will look for them. Little one, join me?” he asked. Lil Bit nodded solemnly and curled into his magic.
Before Scout could object, they were leaping into the sky and out of sight.
All Trey could do was stand with his brothers and pray.
But sometimes, prayers aren’t answered.
Scout left him to wander among the souls, her big green eyes searching desperately, but when the Eske landed in front of them again, the first thing he saw was Lil Bit’s tears.
They weren’t there. His parents, and hers, had been left in Aptavaras.
“We’ll go back. Now. We’ll go back right now and find them,” Scout’s voice was harsh in her determination. “Don’t worry, Lil Bit. We’ll get them back.”
Lil Bit, looking so much older than her eleven years, shook her head. “You won’t go alone, Scout. I’m going with you this time.”
“So will we,” Tate said firmly, glaring at Trey when he opened his mouth to object.
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