Her hands fly upward, her voice breaking. “Please know that I bonded with you, Riot. I won’t ever take a mate.” She’s shaking her head, a sob on her lips. “Don’t… Don’t come after me.”
She beats her wings, rising into the air in a rush.
Riot can’t follow her into the sky, but for a moment, it looks like he’s preparing to leap after her before she can ascend out of his reach. He has the reflexes and strength to do it. Especially if he shifts into his panther form.
Anarchy is already at his side, her hand snagging his arm before he can move, her knuckles turning white where she holds him tightly. “No, brother.”
In that same moment, Miku’s wings give a final sweep, her power bursts around her, and she’s gone.
Riot turns on Anarchy with a hiss, but she doesn’t back down.
“Accept the pain,” she snaps, her voice savage. “We are dark creatures and we will never be anything but broken.”
He drags in a ragged breath, his biceps bunching as if he would fight her.
“Our pain makes us stronger!” Her eyes bore into his. “Accept this pain. Let it feed your dark soul. This is who we are and will always be.”
“It’s rare for dark creatures to find love. To lose it is a tragedy.”
That’s what Anarchy said only weeks ago.
In the background, Rumble and Strife are like dark guards, their mouths turned down.
My chest hurts—my heart. An ache for which I have no balm.
Anarchy gives me a firm nod before she turns to her brothers. “Darkness needs us to gather the final supplies before we leave. We should avoid the alpha dragon until he’s gone.”
Rumble and Strife give silent nods of acknowledgment, while Riot’s expression remains hollow, but he doesn’t fight her. Together, they prowl away down the beach and into the jungle. We’ve already packed extra clothing for our departure and just need food and water supplies, which I trust they’ll gather now.
Meanwhile, Lucian and the keeper remain on the beach.
I try to shake off my tension and sadness as my earspopand Ryuji appears in the sky above me. He alights on the beach, his silver scales reflecting the moonlight.
Miku must have well and truly avoided him on her path away from the island because he appears none the wiser about the friction he’s stepping into. Or he’s choosing not to address it.
I roll my shoulders, paste a pleasant smile on my face, and gesture to the training hall. “Tea?”
He shakes his head. His jagged, black hair is slicked back today, his dark-brown eyes no less ferocious despite his angelic features. His scales vanish from his skin as he fully retracts his wings. “How about we take a walk instead?”
I’m a little unsettled by the change of routine—maybe he sensed how upset Miku was?—but I don’t object. “Sure.”
I lift my hand, quietly indicating to the keeper and Lucian to stay put before I match Ryuji’s slow stride across the sand.
“It’s your final hours on this island, so I will speak clearly: You must never come back.”
I can’t be sure, but I read into his command that he did, indeed, sense Miku’s pain. I take his order as a warning after what she said about her people not understanding her feelings.
“Understood,” I say. “You won’t see us again.”
“Thank you.” He gives a heavy exhale before he stops and contemplates the ocean. “Still, I feel compelled to ask: Are you ready to leave, Veda Nostra, Daughter of Assholes?”
“No,” I say truthfully. “This is the safest and most peaceful I’ve felt in my entire life, so no… I’m not ready to leave.” I close my eyes briefly, inhaling the salty air, letting the sound of the swooshing waves wash over me before I open them again.
“You talk of peace,” he muses. “Constantly surprising me.” He gives a shake of his head. “You’re the Ultima Nostra’s lost daughter, but nothing like what I would have expected.”
I shrug. “Glad I’m not predictable.”
He nods, turning away toward the ocean again, surprising me when he says, “I lost my daughter. She’s six years old now, but I’ve never met her.”
