The image of his cousin, the whisper of Pax saying his name still in the air, struck Ben so hard he grinned.
The horrors he’d endured to get here had been utterly worthwhile.
13
VEX’S PULSE HAMMEREDhim speechless.
It didn’t matter that he’d had to hobble from the boat to the sanctuary on Lu’s arm. It didn’t matter that he was standing now by sheer force of will, gritting his teeth and taking too-deep breaths to combat the splitting pain in his legs.
Ben was here,free.
Vex surged forward and tackled his cousin. Ben gave a startled oath before he gripped Vex with the same ferocity.
Since they’d been reunited weeks ago on theAstuto, either Vex had been a prisoner, or Ben, or both of them. This was the first time in more than six years that they’d stood together without threat of a pyre or secrets wedged between them.
Vex sagged against Ben, unsure of a time in his life when he’d been this relieved.
A sharp cry pulled Vex away.
Kari stood up the road, her face the rawest Vex had seen it. He turned to Lu, who had her head tipped, peeking up at her mother the same way she’d first looked at him on the steamboat.
The memory still cored Vex out. Lu had expected him to be upset with her. How could he—he wouldneverbe—
Neither would Kari.
She scooped Lu in a hug that re-formed her whole body, taking her from rigid leader to a parent who had never thought she would see her child again. “Adeluna,” Kari sobbed, “my love—”
Lu didn’t try to reason with Kari as she had with Vex. Maybe she’d intended to, but the moment Kari’s arms were around her, a whimper broke out of Lu’s mouth and she buried her face in her mother’s neck, shoulders heaving as Kari rocked her.
A tremor started in Vex’s hands. He couldn’t stop smiling, a manic, idiotic grin, and he gripped Ben’s arm, looking from him to Lu and back. People from Vex’s boat passed into the sanctuary but gave them room.
His focus caught on someone who had been on the road behind Kari.
Teo stood beside Edda, holding the edge of her shirt.
Kari untangled herself from Lu. Everything in Vex’s body went still.
The barest flicker of hope brightened Lu’s face. “Teo?”
Teo’s wide, dark eyes fixed on Lu. Vex hadn’t told him Lu had died—or that he thought she’d died, at least. All Teo knew was that Lu hadn’t come back.
Vex held his breath.C’mon, kid...
Lu reached for him.
Teo didn’t move. “You left.”
A pause. Vex watched Lu, saw her take a shaky breath.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“You won’t leave anymore?” Teo pressed. “You’re here now. We’re all here, and we’re safe, and you won’t leave again.”
Vex’s chest caved in. No one could make that sort of promise now.
The grayness in Lu’s expression said she knew that. She slid forward, her arms still out. When she didn’t respond, Teo took an equally large, definitive step back.
“Teo.” Lu’s voice was pinched and throaty. “Teo, let me—”
