We will never leave you, little one. Not until you no longer need us. And even then…
His violet eyes hold mine.
Even then, we will find a way.
A sob escapes me. I sink to my knees in the snow and wrap my arms around his massive neck, burying my face in shadow-fur that feels more real than anything.
“Thank you,” I choke out. “Thank you, thank you—”
Mouse rumbles. A purr that vibrates through my chest.
But the others must go. They have waited centuries for this moment. For you to open the Gate. For you to release them.
I pull back. Wipe my face with shaking hands.
The others.
Bob. Patricia. Finnick. Carl. Steve. Linda.
They’re still standing in their line, watching me with small movements I’ve never seen from them before.
It’s hope.
“They want to go,” I whisper.
They are tired, little one. They have served faithfully for so long. Let them rest.
I nod. I don’t trust my voice.
Behind me, I feel my men shift closer. Finn’s chaos sparking with grief he’s trying to hide. Torric’s fire banked to embers. Aspen’s frost crackling with emotion. Malrik’s shadow magicrestless. Darian’s light flickering. Kieran’s presence heavy with understanding.
They feel it too.
They love them too.
Carl moves first.
Because of course he does. He’s already halfway to the Gate before anyone realizes what’s happening, then he stops, looks back like he forgot something important, and waves.
At me. At Torric. At a rock, for some reason.
His form flickers and I see him — quick, curious, mischief written into every line of his face. A scout. The kind of person who climbed things just to see what was up there and fell out of half of them.
He salutes — sloppy, cheerful, completely Carl — and then turns and sprints toward the Gate like it’s a race nobody else knew they were running.
The light takes him.
Gone.
Steve tries to follow and immediately trips over his own feet.
He scrambles up, flickering into a young man with earnest eyes and a crooked smile. The kind of person who never stopped trying no matter how many times he failed.
He looks back at us, waves awkwardly, takes three steps, stumbles, catches himself, gives a thumbs up like he totally meant to do that.
Finn laughs. Wet and broken, but real.
Steve beams at him. Then he turns and walks into the light, only stumbling twice more on the way.
