“We just got done dropping off the Fight Master and Body Opponent, and everything went smoothly! Cyn—”
Panicked, I cut Birdie off. “Oh hey Birdie, I’ve got you on speaker phone,” I announce, and I work hard to maintain my composure and not give anything away. I don’t even dare look at Sabin and risk that he might somehow put those out of context clues together.
“Oh hello, everyone, you’re just going tolovethe new equipment that came in for the home gym; it’s pink!” Birdie says with a squeal. I internally send her long-distance, high five vibes for that smooth as fuck cover up and then make a mental note to buy actual pink gym equipment so no one ever figures out what we’re really up to, and by no one, I mean O Captain, my Captain himself, Sabin.
“So who all is with you, my love?” Birdie inquires, and I quickly name off everyone in the room. Birdie must have put us on speaker on her side too, because Adelaide and Lila greet everyone right alongside Birdie. There’s a pregnant pause that fills the room after everyone’s hellos have been exchanged, and I’m not sure how to tell them what I need to tell them next.
“Oh, my love. Who is it?” Birdie asks me, her voice immediately sad and knowing.
“Keegan,” I tell her, and my eyes well up with the empathy I feel as the sisters gasp. I can hear their stifled whimpers, and I can just picture them huddled together, hands over their mouths and tears streaming down their faces.
“And Lachlan,” I add, and I drop to my knees as I hear three of my favorite women in the world break.
Sniffles sound off in the room, and I know the loss is thoroughly sinking into the boys too, their grief churning to the surface as they hear the sisters lament the men they loved like their own children.
“Lachlan was with Keegan when he passed,” I tell them, feeling like they need those comforting details. “I was with Lachlan. He said he was ready to go and that he’d say hello to Keegan when he saw him again.”
Siah sits down next to me and pulls me into his lap as tears drip off my chin and wet my shirt. Bastien, Valen, Knox, Ryker and Sabin are huddled together, hugging and supporting each other as they wade through their mourning. I watch them for a moment, so grateful that they have each other. They all grew up with Lachlan and Keegan in their lives, and I know they’ll help each other remember the good times and the love in ways that I’ll never be able to.
Siah wipes at my cheeks, and I’m reminded that there’s more to tell them. “Sisters?” I pause and take a breath to try and control the emotion in my voice. “Fuck, I love you, and I’m so sorry, but there’s more.”
“Oh no,” Lila begs, and I instantly realize what I just said.
“No, shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that; everyone else is fine. It’s just that…Vaughn is here.”
Adelaide gives a surprised shout, and then there’s a bunch of noise on the phone like maybe it was dropped. After another second of fumbling, Birdie’s voice comes back crystal clear and determined.
“We’re on our way,” she announces, and I stare at the phone, surprised. “We should have come in the first place, but we thought we’d be in the way, and…but if we’d just gone then, we’d be there right now to hold each of you…” Emotion overtakes Birdie’s ability to speak, and Lila takes over.
“We’re on our way; we’ll let you know when. We love you all, and we’ll be there as soon as we can, okay?”
“Okay,” I agree. “We love you, and we’ll see you soon,” I confirm, and the guys all say the same thing before the sisters hang up so they can start making plans to get here. I stare at the phone for a couple beats and feel the small circles that Siah rubs at the small of my back. I feel drained. Witnessing the sisters’ pain and loss felt worse than experiencing it myself.
I look up and notice Becket wiping at his face discreetly, and I’m reminded that, despite his efforts to stay strong while we were in the cell and dealing with Adriel, he has a shit ton of hurt he’s dealing with too. We never talked about what he learned when he stayed back in Solace, and I wonder if he’s been able to talk to anyone about what happened with his dad. I make a mental note to ask him, even if I’m the last person in the world who he’d probably want to talk to.
30
Aknock at the door calls everyone’s attention, and everyone takes deep breaths or wipes at their cheeks. I watch the guys tuck away their sadness as Becket moves toward the door and pulls it open. Nash is standing on the other side, looking exhausted. His eyes get wide with confusion when he spots his coven inside, and he steps into the room.
“I was going to grab Ryker and update him on Silva and the others before I pass out,” he announces, looking at Enoch and the others like one of them is going to give him a look that fills him in on what’s going on.
“We can step out,” Ryker motions toward the door, and Nash looks from Ryker back to Enoch.
“I’ll come with you,” I tell Ryker, and I give Siah a quick peck before he helps me up from his lap. “I wanted to go check on Sorik and Vaughn,” I explain, and Ryker gives me a sweet smile and puts his hand out to me. He intertwines our fingers, and we both move for the door.
“We’re going to come check on Silva,” Valen and Bastien announce, coming with us.
“I’m going to come and check on the pack,” Torrez decides.
“We’re coming too,” Knox shouts out, and he, Sabin and Siah all rush to join us as we head out the door.
I smile and don’t blame them for wanting to leave behind the heaviness that permeates the air in this room right now. Everything that just happened was intense, and it seems like everyone could use a break. I realize in this moment that I want all of them as close as I can have them from here on out. No more solo missions to save anything or splitting up because it’s theonly way. It’s us against whatever comes at us now, exactly as it should be.
As we make our way to where the injured are, I notice that, aside from Siah, I don’t spot any other lamia. We need to talk with Siah and Sorik soon about what happens now with what’s left of this nest. I have no idea how many lamia were killed in the fighting or exactly what’s going to happen now for any of the survivors. I don’t want to be responsible for their well-being, but I don’t want to leave them to the wolves, literally or figuratively, either. Siah said there were good lamia here that didn’t agree with Adriel and what he did, and they deserve to build a life somewhere they feel safe and protected now that he’s gone. And we need to figure out how to make that happen.
We walk into a long room where mattresses have been arranged neatly on the floor. Most of them are empty, but a few have sleeping shifters in them. Ryker kisses my hand, and then he veers off to go talk to Aydin and Evrin who are in chairs next to the bed Silva is in. I give Aydin and Evrin a wave, and they return it before turning to Ryker and listening to whatever it is he’s saying.
“I’m going to go speak with Alpha Volkov,” Torrez tells me, but I grab his hand when he moves to walk away.
