“Why do I feel like we came out on the wrong end of this?” Tavia mumbled.
Lucius clutched her sides, tugging her closer. “I've quite enjoyed this journey, and I hope that it can continue. Except next time, do not undress in the middle of a yard where everyone can see you.”
Tavia laughed. “Nobody could see me, and I was quick about it, but I did leave that gorgeous gown out there.”
Lucius shrugged. “Let someone else wear it for a night. We need to celebrate.”
Tavia didn't want to celebrate just yet because therewas one thing that she needed to know.
The stars slowly receded, and a warm, beautiful hue tinged the sky.
“Lucius,” she said, “before we revel in our success, I need to go home.”
“Then let's go home,” he said and pulled the transporter rod out.
“Wait, Wiley?”
“All right, let's get the little squirrel, then we'll go.”
She nodded and gripped his hands because she was terrified of what she would find when she finally returned home.
What if her parents were really dead?
What if she had spent too much time trying to secure a new future for her family that she lost them in the process?
Lucius opened a portal back to his home. He looked over at her, grabbing her hand.
He didn’t need to say it, but she could see the worry in his gaze.
He was thinking the same thing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
She didn’t want to go home, but she had to.
Tavia needed to know if they were really gone.
“Are you ready?” Lucius asked, as they stood in his living room once again, Wiley on her shoulder.
Tavia dressed in her comfortable leathers, and Lucius in a more informal outfit. Tavia nodded and gripped his hand. Then she pressed on the rune and visualized her cottage in the woods, hitting the portal.
She gasped, and the transporter rod fell from her hands.
“No!”
Lucius grabbed the rod before it hit the ground andchased after Tavia who sprinted through the portal.
Her dreams had been real.
She fell to her knees as she gazed upon the burned-down cottage.
It happened.
They’re dead.
And I wasn’t here to save them.
There were no sparks or smoke, so the fire happened some time ago.
