“Mama! You’re okay!” Ava sounded so happy to see her. “And you’re still at the Institute.”
“I never left,” Sophia said. “You needed treatments. I just called your father and told him— oh.”
Her voice fell flat. I knew exactly what they’d talked about. She’d told him we’d decided to end life support. Liam had to be in utter agony.
“You better call him back,” I said firmly.
“I won’t be long,” Sophia said in a rush.
She fled from the room to call her husband and tell him the good news. She must’ve left the door open behind her, because several pairs of footsteps approached. Slowly, our friends came back in, and the door clicked shut behind them.
I forced myself to climb off the bed. I didn’t want to— felt like cutting myself in half, honestly— but I wanted to give Ava some space, just in case she wasn’t being honest about wanting me next to her.
“How are you feeling?” Ez asked timidly.
“Uh… good?” Ava said, though it sounded like a question. I could only imagine the pain she was in. “What happened, exactly? I remember bits and pieces, but not all of it.”
Your memories should return in time,Oberi told her.Your spirit’s just a bit shocked right now.
“We found the Underground,” Kallie said.
“Right, beneath the cemetery,” Ava recalled. “And the Elves?”
“They weren’t there,” Marcus said sadly. “We found records that showed the Warden had already moved them to some camp on the island. But Jaymin showed up with guards, and you exploded the compound to save us all.”
“That’s when Coyote Spirit showed up and took me to the Ancestral Lands,” Ava said, like she was starting to remember.
“What was it like?” Opal asked curiously.
“It was… amazing,” Ava answered in a way that made me wonder why she’d ever want to leave. “It was so beautiful. I saw a supernova explode, and this underground water tunnel— ancestors, I met so many wonderful people. You’ll never believe what they have there.A mall!”
Ez chuckled to lighten the mood. “I bet that made the decision to come back hard.”
“Not at all, actually,” Ava said, and my heart warmed. “Did I miss anything? Ancestors, how did the Darke Games go?”
“We didn’t compete, thankfully,” Alistair said. “You sort of saved us from that, too. They were canceled due to thesinkhole.”
“That’s the story the Warden’s going with, at least,” Chancey added.
“I’m glad I brought that place to the ground,” Ava said. “The Warden will have nowhere to host his experiments for now, and his inferichite crystal supply will be low, now that I buried the devil’s finger that he gets them from.”
She sounded so proud of herself, but we hadn’t even gotten to the worst of the story. But no one spoke up to tell her about the mounting war, or how the Hawkei tribe bombed the angel city. It was too much information to drop on her right now, and we didn’t want to set back her recovery.
“Wait a dick…” Ava said, like she just realized something. “You said it’s been a week. What day is it, exactly?”
“The twenty-first,” I said.
A long, dramatic silence stretched through the room as she absorbed what I’d said. Ava surprised me by breaking into sobs. “Ancestors, Charlie! It’s yourbirthday.”
“Uh… yeah,” I stated. I didn’t get why she was so upset.
“This is horrible! We had a surprise party planned, and wemissed it!” she cried. “Iruined your birthdaywith my surgery!”
“Pidge, don’t say that,” I insisted. I knelt by her bedside and took her hand. “Having you back is the best birthday present in all the world.”
“But we… I got you a gift, and I wanted to bake a cake andeverything,” she sobbed.
Ancestors, she was more worried about my birthday than the fact that she’ddied. I couldn’t give a flying fuck that my birthday was here. All I gave a damn about was my wife’s well-being, and she was okay. That was the only celebration I needed.
