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Then he turns.
“We’ll rebuild.”
The men gather around him.
Nobody asks how long it will take.
Nobody asks what it will cost.
They begin planning.
Hayley stands on one side of me.
Sean stands on the other.
My backpack rests against my legs.
Addy’s letters are inside.
So are the photographs of Mae and me.
The burned corner will never disappear.
I don’t want it to.
It reminds me that Navarro tried to destroy everything I loved.
He failed.
I look across the place that will become our home again.
“I think I want to change my name.”
Sean goes still.
“To what?”
“Sage Campbell.”
His eyes close.
Hayley squeezes my hand.
“You don’t have to decide now,” Sean says.
“I already decided.”
He pulls me into his arms.
Hayley joins us.
Behind us, seven Protectors begin rebuilding Iron Ridge.
In front of us, the Nevada mountains stretch toward the sky.
And for the first time, I am not searching for somewhere to hide.
I am home.