Understanding ripples through them. I see it in the way Gray goes still, the way Rhett’s flame flickers between his fingers, the way Jace stops breathing for just a second.
“The house,” Theo says slowly.
I nod.
The house. Where they lived together before any of this. Where I stumbled back into their lives bleeding and broken. Where the attic door appeared and the crown chose me and everything I thought I knew shattered into something new.
Where it all began.
“I want to go home.”
The word hangs in the dark.
For a long moment, no one speaks.
Then Thane steps forward.
He moves with that ancient grace, the one that used to terrify me before I understood what it meant. His silver eyes hold mine as he crosses the distance between us.
And then he does something I’ve never seen him do.
He kneels.
Right there on the hillside, under the stars, the vampire who’s lived for centuries and served on councils and played political games older than most civilizations—he kneels at my feet.
“Wherever you go,” he says quietly, “I go.”
My heart stops.
Stellan’s laugh is soft, almost wondering. He steps forward too, but he doesn’t kneel. Instead, he offers his hand—palm up, an invitation.
“If you’re going home,” he says, “then I’m already packed.”
The others don’t hesitate.
“Obviously we’re coming,” Gray says.
“Was that even a question?” Rhett’s hand finds mine.
“Shotgun,” Jace calls immediately.
“There’s no shotgun. We’re not—”
“There’s always shotgun. It’s a state of mind.”
Seth just watches me with those quiet eyes. “You shouldn’t go back alone.”
Theo’s already calculating. “We’ll need to secure things here first. Make arrangements. But Mairen and Torn can handle most of it, and the infrastructure’s stable enough—”
“Tomorrow,” I say.
They all stop.
“Tomorrow, we leave.”
I look at Thane, still kneeling. Reach down and take his hand, pull him to his feet.
Okay, okay, I tug and he stands on his own.
