They lit torches,gathering the shifters and the resistance fighters back to the clearing. Some were farther than others, slowly trickling into the clearing, drawn by the light. Sofia didn’t see Micael, but Jacinta limped over, saying she’d seen him fighting near the tents. Shesaw Carmen coming out of the trees, a cut bleeding across her forehead, but otherwise unharmed. Javi burst into tears as he hugged her.
Fox, leaning heavily on his mother, went to show Jacinta where the food and liquor was stored. It was decided they would head back into the mountains for the night before returning tomorrow to take stock of the camp and bury the dead.
Sofia couldn’t stop herself from walking the camp, closing the eyes of the shifters she found. In the end, there were so many more Dereyans left dead, but it didn’t ease her guilt. There were still too many shapeshifters and a few resistance fighters, unmoving as the fresh snow slowly hid the worst of the blood and gore.
She found Micael on his side, a sword protruding from his chest. The Dereyan that had seemingly stabbed him was lying nearby. Micael’s skin was cold already, but the snow made it impossible to know how long he’d been dead. She stood unmoving, staring down at the man who had trained her, eyes burning. But no tears fell. A hollowness rang through her, grief and sadness and simple exhaustion.
Sofia was careful to arrange him on his back, crossing his hands over his chest and closing his eyes. She took the sword that had killed him and arranged it in his hands as a shield against the death that had already come for him.
He’d been aging over the past blink, his back bowing under the stress of the coming war. Sofia had watched him, her own bones aching when his limp became more pronounced and his joints cracked. But now, looking down at him lying in the middle of the battlefield, snowflakes in his hair, he looked young again, as if it had only been the war weighing him down. He was free, the heaviness of those responsibilities gone from his shoulders, and she could have sworn he was smiling.
She said a prayer over him, body too dried out to cry, but she kissed him on the cheek before she left. No matter how many times they’d fought and how many mistakes she’d made, he had been the closest thing to a father since she’d lost her family.
She sent a message to Chalia about Micael, knowing the othersshould hear it sooner rather than later. And perhaps she also knew passing on the message this way would mean she wouldn’t need to see the others’ reactions. Jacinta would be devastated. The resistance was going to be lost without him. Though after tonight, the resistance would need to change.
The war had changed.
Sofia finished her sweep of the camp before she returned. She lost track of everyone who had died. Many of the shifters whose names she didn’t remember. She would make sure Clarita told her each and every one before they were buried.
“They knew what they were fighting for,”Chalia said, voice soft. Sofia looked around, but the dragon wasn’t in sight.“We all did.”
Sofia bit the inside of her cheek. She knew it was true. She hated that they wouldn’t be the last to die in this war.
“Come back to the clearing,”Chalia said.“We’re preparing to leave.”
Fox was already on Chalia’s back along with his mother when she returned. He helped her up, immediately wrapping his arms around her. His body was warm, and she closed her eyes, letting her head fall back, ignoring the fact that his mother was directly behind them. The steady beat of his heart thrummed against her back, and in that moment, it may have been the best feeling in the world.
At the same time, she felt Chalia, her presence resting in the back of her mind, cool and soothing. It was amazing that despite the utter horror her absence had caused, having her back felt so simple—so normal.
“I missed you, too,”Chalia said, voice nearly a whisper.
Sofia’s chest tightened.“Did you know what was happening?”
She didn’t want to ask—she wondered if it was her business. But Chalia and she didn’t have secrets.
“Yes,”she said. “I could feel everything that was happening, but I couldn’t act on my own thoughts. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever felt.”
Her voice was soft, barely there, and Sofia stretched a hand down to press into her scales.
“I’m so sorry, Chalia. I’m sorry I left you. I’m sorry I let that happen toyou.”
“I told you to go. I would have been extremely angry with you if you hadn’t listened.”
Sofia let out a laugh, unable to hold it back, and she felt Fox’s arm tighten around her.
“I’m never going to let that happen to you again,”Sofia said, her words vehement.
“You can’t promise that,”Chalia said,“but I like the idea of trying.”
She would try. The way to control the dragons didn’t die with Harlow. Luna knew—the soldiers that escaped might know. Perhaps she should have ordered Aurelia to kill them, but she couldn’t stomach it. Did that make her weak?
Fox’s hand traced a path over her hip and back in soothing circles. She focused on the warmth of his skin against her shirt and let her thoughts dissipate into the air. The snow had stopped. A thin layer covered the battlefield like a blanket, and the clouds had blown away. The stars shone above them like jewels in the night sky, the faintest green glowing on the northern horizon ahead of them. And for just this moment, she appreciated perfection.
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
SOFIA
Sofia saw her father before they’d even landed, standing among the other dragons and shifters. The snowy slope was already alight with multiple bonfires, Chalia being the last to arrive. Shifters and dragons were scattered across the wide slope as far as the darkness allowed her to see. There were so many of them. And more back in Suvi—more on the farms.
