Maverick glanced at him, then crossed the room to carefully shake his hand. “Yeah.”
“I’m Charlie. I’m married to your sister. I guess that makes us brothers now, right?”
“Kind of.” Maverick took in Charlie’s tall stance. “Mom sometimes reads Ava’s letters to us. You and Ez had a fight.”
“Yeah, me and Ez threw a couple of punches last semester,” Charlie joked.
“Ez annoys me, too.” Maverick nodded eagerly. “You look like you’d be good at fighting.”
“I am. Want me to show you some moves?”
“Would I!” A huge grin spread across Maverick’s face. Charlie beckoned for him to follow, and they left the room. I could hear Maverick laughing as he and Charlie horseplayed out in the hallway.
Tears dotted my eyes, and I said, “He’s afraid of me.”
“He’s really young. He needs time to get adjusted. He was really scared when he found out what had happened,” Alana told me. “He still loves you.”
I wiped away a couple of stray tears. “Mama, I need something from you. Lindsey and Miranda told me it was important.”
Mama’s expression fell into shock. “Lindsey and Miranda! How do you—?”
“I saw a lot of people in the Ancestral Lands. Grandpa Liwanu, Aunt Stevie, even Uncle Ezra,” I rambled on.
“You met my father and brother?” Daddy gasped.
“Oh, yeah. Grandpa Liwanu was a little grumpy, and Uncle Ezra was so lazy and lovable.” I grinned. “I can tell he and Aunt Stevie are really happy up there. I know this is dark, but Stevie had a way of making death funny, you know?”
Daddy gave a wry smile. “Yeah… that sounds just like them.”
“They were all so great. Lindsey and Miranda said they could help me with my prophecy, but that I needed something from Mama to help me decipher what messages they were trying to send from the Ancestral Lands.”
“Your mother’s compass,” Daddy said. Mama glanced at him. He nodded, and Mama fished in her coat pocket.
She laid a small object on my lap. The compass was lacking the traditional cardinal markings, and had a small, spinning needle. It looked ancient, as if it had been passed down for centuries through the Toaqua tribe.
“Your Grandma Haloke gave this to me during my Hawkei wife training, before I married your father,” Mama said. “It’s a very special gift blessed by the ancestors, and it has power. The compass will always point you in the right direction, to what you need most. I don’t know if I would’ve fulfilled my prophecy without it. I always carry it with me, just as a reminder of the Hawkei Civil War and what happened. It belongs to you now.”
I knew this was exactly what I needed. “Thank you so much, Mama. I’ll use it well.”
I visited with my family for the rest of the day, until it was evening and they had to leave. Maverick eventually warmed up, although I could tell by the crinkle near his eyes that he was still upset. My parents promised me they’d stay as long as they could, though they didn’t think it’d be for more than a few days. Both of them were needed back home, and they had to do their best to defend the tribe. I insisted I was all right, that they could leave.
I was strong, and I had my friends. My parents had to get my youngest siblings to safety and fight back against the angels, because I knew the Celestial Church wasn’t going to let the bombing of their city go without severe repercussions.
On Christmas morning, I woke up to a large box on the edge of the bed, wrapped in Christmas paper with a big green bow. A bunch of people were already stuffed in the room— Charlie, Kallie, Marcus, Chancey, and Ivy. They’d been waiting eagerly for me to wake up.
“Happy Birthday, Ava!” Ivy sang, throwing his hands up. He wore averyrevealing red fur dress, complete with a Santa hat and matching boots. “Mrs. Claus has made her delivery!”
Oberi barked, shaking his head. Ivy had put a Santa hat on him, too, complete with a jingle bell.
“We all pitched in,” Charlie said as he passed out hot chocolate from Commissary.
“But it was Charlie’s idea,” Kallie added. “We’ve been collecting things since November.”
A huge smile spread across my face. Ilovedgetting gifts. I started ripping apart the paper, and opened the box. Inside was an incredible collection. Unicorns flooded out of the box as I turned each item over. There was a unicorn blanket, unicorn slippers, a unicorn coin purse, a unicorn sweater, and so much more. Everything in the box was pink and sparkly and had a unicorn on it.
I’d never seen such a display of treasures. I gave a squeal of delight. “This is amazing!” I sang. “Thanks so much, you guys!”
“Well, we all know how obsessed you are with unicorns,” Kallie joked.
