“Fuck that. You have been and always will be my brother.”
Jaxon grinned again, and they stared at each other a long moment, and the sight had my chest swelling with emotion.
A cough rang out in the room, and we all spun toward the entrance. Julian was standing outlined in the doorway, the light behind him casting his features in shadow. He was alsowearing all black, and he pushed his large square glasses up his nose and lifted his chin.
“We are on a tight schedule, you know, and you two are late.”
A laugh burst out of me, and I was running. Julian's eyes widened in surprise as I threw my arms around his neck, a sob escaping my lips as I buried my face in his neck.
“Uh—well—Zara,” Julian stammered, but I only sobbed harder, my words muffled as I tried to speak. Julian’s arms awkwardly wrapped around me, and he patted my back as if I were some strange creature.
“I'm sorry, Julian, so fucking sorry. Please understand, please know I had no choice. I didn't want to hurt you.”
It almost seemed like he hesitated but then his arms tightened around me.“I know,” he breathed, and I let out another shaky whimper. “It's okay, Zara. Really. I know now that it wasn't actually you.”
I leaned back, and met Julian’s large, dark eyes. They were glistening with tears, and he quickly drew me back into a full embrace. After a long moment, I pulled away, trying to regain my composure.
“How about we talk about it over a drink?” Julian said, and offered me a crooked smile. His head tilted towards the light filtering in from behind him but his eyes shifted to someone past me, a wide grin forming on his lips. “Your Majesty.”
I turned to find Xavier at my back, already lunging forward to pull Julian into a hug. Tears were falling down Julian’s cheeks, and Xavier pulled away, punching him in the arm playfully.
“Is that my shirt?” Xavier asked, and Julian laughed, his grin widening.
“You aren’t using it anymore. I thought it could use a proper home.”
“I’m pretty sure he took more than one shirt,” Jaxon muttered, appearing beside Xavier.
Xavier grinned. “They are all yours friend. But maybe lend Jaxon some.” Xavier scrunched his face and turned toward his brother. “He could use some style. Must be taking notes from Soren.”
A slow smirk spread across Jaxon's face. “That's odd, considering I found it in the back of your closet.” We all burst into laughter, and Xavier turned back to Julian.
“Now what was this about a schedule?” Xavier asked, lacing his fingers with mine. The feel of him touching me sent tiny pulses of energy through me, and I had to resist tackling him again as desire bloomed.
“Julian has the entire day planned,” Jaxon muttered, and Julian glared at him.
“I figured as much,” Xavier said with a chuckle.
“Right, come on. The others are waiting.” Julian spun excitedly as Jaxon followed him out the door. We looked after them, smiling, and stepped out onto a large cliff overlooking the sea. Distant seabirds wheeled and cried overhead, their calls mingling with the roar of waves crashing against the rocks below. The grass was a vibrant green, promising a carpet of wildflowers come spring. Winding paths crisscrossed the neighboring cliffs, eventually connecting to the castle and village far below. The ocean stretched endlessly on the horizon, but it was the people standing at its edge that had my full attention.
My gaze landed on a curvy, red-haired girl first and I watched her pull away from Theo, who had just had his tonguedown her throat, looking upset that she had stopped their kiss. They were also both in black, and as Theo followed Cynthia’s gaze toward us, he practically pushed her away as he started to run toward Xavier. Cynthia cursed as she almost fell over and ran after him, using her magic to cast ice under his feet, making him fall to the ground in a cry of surprise.
Laughter erupted around us, and Cynthia flipped him off as she passed him sprawled on the ground, her body crashing against mine.
I had never hugged so many people in my entire life, but I thought I was starting to like it.
“Theo, huh?” I asked through my laughter. It was mixed with restrained sobs, and Cynthia beamed at me as she pulled away.
“Well, yeah, once he got his head out of his ass. Well, mostly anyway. He has proven to be adequate,” she said, a lopsided grin on her lips as she beamed at me.
Theo scoffed, rubbing the back of his head as he finally approached, “Adequate wasn’t what you were saying last night when I—”
“Ah! No, please, I don’t want to know,” I shouted, placing my hands over my ears. Theo smirked as Cynthia blushed and Xavier grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him into a hug as well, followed by Dedra and Aria who had followed after them.
Aria hadn’t hugged me, but she did nod toward me in greeting, which I guessed was a step in the right direction for us. She still had horrible red burns on her skin, and a lot of them were bandaged. What they had done for Jaxon…
My stomach twisted, and I asked nervously, “Agatha?”
Jaxon smiled softly, but Aria’s gaze pierced mine, and I nearly flinched. “Agatha’s pride is wounded, but she survived.” She nodded toward the opposite side of the cliff, and I sucked in a breath as I turned in that direction.
