The ceremony blurred. Names were called. People cheered. Someone tripped over a microphone cord and half the class snorted. My turn came and went in a blink. Kaylor Steele. Applause followed, along with a flash of cameras, and Mason’s low whistle carried over the crowd, making my cheeks warm. The twins were easy to spot in the crowd as they were the only two idiots standing and making a ruckus when I walked the stage. Kreed frowned at them, which made me grin.
By the time we tossed our caps and the field erupted into chaos, laughter, screaming, arms thrown around shoulders, and caps sailing up into the air, I felt weightless for the first time in months.
We were free.
Not from everything…but from enough. I’d grown comfortable with my life.
Poppy grabbed my wrist the second my feet hit the grass. “Picture time. Before Nash disappears to avoid more human interaction.”
“I’m right here,” Nash deadpanned behind us, adjusting his gown like it personally offended him. “And I don’t disappear.”
Poppy arched a brow. “You ghost at every social event.”
“I prefer selective attendance.”
I snorted just as strong arms slipped around my waist frombehind, Kreed’s breath brushing my ear. “Congratulations, little raven.”
I leaned back into him despite Nash groaning, “Dear God, does the mushy shit ever stop with you too?”
Poppy smacked Nash’s arm. “Seriously. That’s what I said.”
Kreed murmured against my temple, “You ready?”
“For what?” I asked, turning in his arms to look at him.
He stepped closer, his gown unzipped and silver eyes bright in the sun. “Our next chapter.”
My throat tightened, not with fear, not with the old grief that used to haunt every milestone…but with something warm and fierce.
Hope.
We drifted away from the crowd toward the parking lot where our cars were lined up, graduation balloons bobbing on antennas, and parents still crying into tissues. The four of us, me, Kreed, Nash, and Poppy, walked shoulder to shoulder.
Poppy kicked a pebble. “I can’t believe you’re moving out together.”
“It’s just for the summer until we go to college,” I reminded her though saying it out loud made my chest lift in a weird mix of disbelief and delight. “Still feels insane.”
“What the hell are Mason and Maddox going to do without you?” Nash asked Kreed.
Kreed groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. “Fuck, get into more trouble than I want to think about.”
“They’ll be okay, won’t they?” I asked, but I didn’t fully believe they would. As much as I wanted to move on with my life, I felt guilty for leaving them alone with their father. Thinking about it always left me with an ache in my stomach. Mason and Maddox weren’t the only ones with something to stress about when it came to Donovan Corvo.
He’d been good on his word.
I was officially part of the crew, much to Kreed’s fiercedispleasure, but it was better than the alternative, and even though Donovan hadn’t asked anything of me yet… I knew he would.
Someday, probably when I least expected and just when my life was comfortable, I expected him to blow it all up, but until that day…
Kreed slipped his hand into mine, squeezing tight enough that the pressure grounded me. “I’m not abandoning them. I’ll make sure they’re okay.”
“You take on too much responsibility,” I said softly. “All these lives you swear to protect… Who the hell looks out for you? Keeps you out of trouble and safe?”
He didn’t hesitate. “You do.”
I blinked, heat rising in my cheeks. “And just how do I do that, Kreed Corvo? I can’t shoot a gun straight, as we’ve established. I’m not exactly qualified as a bodyguard.”
He turned toward me fully, expression open in a way he reserved only for me. “You love me. That’s what protects me.”
