When he sees Digby, he pauses.
“Where is she?” Digby asks. His voice is strained, face sharper with all the edges of hope as his emotion pierces through. “Where’s Lady Auren?” His voice cracks down the middle. “Is she okay?”
All I see is a blur of gold.
One second, I’m staring at Digby as he barely keeps it together, and then Auren has launched herself into his arms.
He staggers back from the shock and her hold. But when he realizes who’s hugging him, when he realizes it’s real, he wraps his arms around her, and his face crumples as the old guard cries.
Cries.
Clutching her as tightly as she’s clutching him. “Hi, Dig,” she whispers.
I notice he lets out a scattered sob.
But I also notice that she haswings.
“Umm. Where the hell did those come from?” Lu asks.
Auren pulls away with a laugh, her face wet with tears and wonder. “It’s a long story,” she says as she fluffs them out. They look like they’re made from both metal and the soft texture of her ribbons.
“What are you all doing here?” she says as she goes over to Lu next and hugs her fiercely as tears drip down her face. “How is this possible?”
When she turns, she stops short at the blonde tucked into Osrik’s side. Shock slackens her face. “Rissa?” she whispers, voice splintering as her hand covers her mouth. “I thought…you…”
Rissa tentatively steps away from Osrik, her blue eyes gone wet. “I almost did.”
Then she walks right over to Auren and pulls her into her arms. Auren looks as shocked as everyone else, because other than with Osrik, Rissa is pretty standoffish. Not the hugging type.
But she’s certainly hugging now.
Auren stalls for a couple seconds before she hugs the woman back. “I knew we were friends,” she says through a smile.
“Yes, well…” Rissa pulls away with a sniff and tries to wave off her emotion. “I figured you needed me. None of these people know how to wear anything other than armor. It’s barbaric.”
Auren snorts, and then she comes over and gives me a hug. “Hey, Fake Rip,” she murmurs.
I smile, my emotions still choking my throat. “Hi, Gildy.”
Argo chooses to swoop down just then, knocking right into Slade. My brother goes flying back, landing with anoofin thegrass. Then he erupts into laughter, jumping back to his feet. “Beast, you crazy fucker, I told you to go back to Fourth!”
The timberwing chuffs at him, nudging at his arm as Slade runs his hand down his neck. “Fuck, am I glad to see all of you,” my brother says, looking around at us as he scratches Argo at the jaw. “Where’s Judd?”
And just like that, all the happiness empties out.
Disquiet spreads, thick and jagged.
Raw.
Auren and Slade instantly tense, picking up on our reactions.
Slade’s head whips over. “Lu?” he questions.
Her eyes fill, bottom lip trembling as she shakes her head.
My brother’s face goes lax with shock, face turning pale. “No…”
“I’m sorry,” I gasp out, feeling the loss of Judd all over again. My brother turns reddened eyes to me. “He… There was a battle, and he came to help me, and…I’m fucking sorry, Slade.”
