Feniks lights up a cigarette and tells her of the name Ludo had overheard, Regan Grieves.
“Grieves?” She looks pained. “I think that must be Doyle Grieves’s son. He was a fucking piece of shit. In the human trafficking trade. He and his son moved south years ago. Chased out of Ashgrave. Anything else?”
“Not yet, but we’re working on it. I won’t rest until we free every child.”
The woman hums. “You have anyone with tech skills? I can give you a key to an online forum with a message board for information sharing.”
“Yes. We can do that.”
The next forty-five minutes is spent with our two groups cagily dodging questions and giving non-answers. Unbound circle around us, we are vastly outnumbered. I keep at Theodora’s back. We may be handing over the children to the correct people, but that doesn’t mean they trust us or vice versa.
“They’re nearly here,” Theodora announces suddenly, walking to the wide doors. Yellow headlights come into view and make their way towards us.
The van swings into the site, and Max opens the driver’s door as soon as it pulls to a halt. “All good?” he asks, eyes scanning the sea of angry men and women, looking like he might hellhound any moment.
Feniks nods. “We are all keeping calm, so take a breath.”
I walk to the back and pull open the tailgate. Willow is squatted among the pile of children. “Oh. look kids, here’s our favorite dragon-boy,” she chirps.
One by one, the kids peek out from the blankets. The tallest boy gets on to his knees, looking protectively over the smaller ones.
Suddenly the man with the long black hair—the one whose gun, and finger, Donovan shot—pushes past us. "Mika? Mika!"
The boy’s head jerks up, and he climbs forward, launching himself into the man's arms. “Papa, Papa.” The reunion makes even my cynical eyes a little moist.
The leader's hardened face finally cracks. She turns to Theo. “Thank you.”
Alexis wraps his arm around Theodora protectively. “The Conclave is going to be on the hunt, so keep them hidden. Keep them safe."
“We know how to hide," the woman says, as her rebels start unloading the cargo. She looks from Theodora, Alexis, Max, Willow and then to me. “We’ll find their families, and care for any who are alone. You have my word.”
After another moment, she puts a hand on her chest. “I’m Bea, leader of the Unbound Resistance. Thank you.” Her eyes slide in my direction. “Though I never thought I’d see the day when I was grateful for a Drakeward.”
I nod.
“Yeah, I can imagine. These are strange times indeed.”
39
It’s Tuesday and I’m still so wiped from the weekend.
Even though I slept most of the way back to Havengard City.
Not that I feel guilty about that. I’ve never learned to drive. Donovan swears he’ll get me on the road by summer, but we’ll see.
Who knows if summer will even exist for me.
My sweet Donovan. He’s snuck into my bed the last two nights and I don’t think I’d have managed to close my eyes without him.
The image of Ludo pale and bleeding out haunts me every moment.
Talking of which.
—Lu?—
—Nymph?—
—You good?—
