Chapter 40
Chapter
Forty
brENTON
With the windows open, the morning sunlight spilled through them and across the wooden floorboards. Respandora had a way of wrapping herself around you and welcoming you in her embrace.
Etienne and I picked through the chaos of last night’s “slumber party,” collecting blankets and pillows like we hadn’t both fought wars and monsters.
I didn’t care because I’d gotten to hold Finley through the night, only letting her go when she went to wake Etienne from a night terror.
Outside, her laughter rang across my yard. Sharp and bright.
My hands stilled on the blanket, and for several beats, I wasn’t there.
I was back beneath Vistos’s sky. Ash and the echo of wings that didn’t beat anymore.
I forced the memory away. The dragons would still be there when we returned. The war and Zaicha would still be waiting.
But this?
This wouldn’t.
I could picture Finley without looking. Training with Everly, boots digging in the dirt and short hair sticking to the back of her neck as she threw herself into each strike. Probably annoyed and swiping at the shorter hair that got in the way.
Etienne bent to pick up a pillow, angling his head to the side when Finley laughed again. “She’s fierce.” Fondness bled through his words.
I huffed out a quiet breath. “Yeah, she is.”
And she was tired. Not the kind that sleep fixed. The kind that lived in marrow and memory.
Metal against metal clanged from outside, followed by Everly’s bark of laughter. I let myself look through the cracked door. I caught a glimpse of Finley spinning, dirt smeared across her cheek, hair a mess, and a grin wide.
My chest loosened in a way it hadn’t since dragons fell from Vistos’s sky.
I loved her. It wasn’t the clean, simple love that stories were written about.
We were flawed, both of us. But I loved that there weren’t any pretenses of perfection between us.
I loved the way she faced obstacles, as if she wouldn’t let them win.
The way her humor and wit called to mine.
How even afraid, she’d trusted the new thread of her magic and gone to the dragons, heart trembling but eager to help them.
How she never stopped choosing to get back up.
“It’s good to hear her laugh like this,” he said. “To see her this happy.”
My gaze lingered outside.
In Vistos, she carried the world. Here, she got to be part of one.
“I’ll do anything to keep her happy,” I said.
Etienne’s mouth twitched, not quite a smile. “She’s not someone to keep happy,” he said quietly. “She fights for it. Claims it. No matter how hard life swings. All you can really do is give her somewhere to land when the world isn’t kind.” I caught the rough edge in his voice.
“Yeah,” I said. “I can do that.”
“I’m sorry,” Etienne said, his gaze dropping to the pillow he clutched in his hands. “You two had to babysit me last night. Instead of—”
“Don’t.” I dropped the folded blanket on the couch and straightened. I kept my gaze on him until he met my eyes. “Teddy and Elias have done the same for me countless times. That’s what family does.”
His jaw eased.
“And she’s your family, which makes you mine. So don’t apologize.”
He nodded.
The front door creaked open, and a gust of warm air swept in, carrying laughter with it. Finley and Everly stumbled in, sweaty and red and grinning like they’d conquered all sorts of battles.
She looked like war and sunlight, and my heart did that thing where it twisted at the mere sight of her.
Alastor followed with one of the many stray cats the shifter mages brought back from the human realm, weaving through his legs. “I never realized how fast you are,” he told Finley before he turned to Everly. “Or how slow you are.”
Everly snorted as she collapsed onto the couch. “I can barely keep up with you.”
The cat walked up to Finley, and she took her time to scratch behind his ears. “Is that why you pushed me?”
“I told you,” Everly said. “You tripped.”
“I’ve never seen Finny trip before,” Etienne said.
The cat took his time strolling to each of us, meowing in demand for more ear scratches.
“Because I don’t trip.” Finley wrapped an arm around my back, leaning in to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. “You tripped me.”
“Semantics.”
When the cat curled at Etienne’s feet, he shifted slowly to kneel beside him. “Luana doesn’t mind this guy coming around?”
At the sound of her name, Luana rose from the dog bed by the fireplace. When she reached the cat, he launched into a playful pounce, then sprang back and jumped on the couch.
“They’re old friends,” I said. I turned to Alastor. “You’re looking much better.”
It wasn’t just that his complexion was better, but the way he carried himself. The exhaustion that had dragged his shoulders down seemed lighter now. Even his shadows moved more gracefully, no longer dragging at the edges.
“Being back in Respandora is healing,” he said. “Teddy’s relentless tea schedule probably doesn’t hurt either. It’s hard to die when she’s force-feeding me that stuff.”
“A couple more cups and she’ll make you immortal,” I said with a small smile.
Although he smiled at my tease, there was a heaviness in his eyes I recognized.
The same conflicting ache I’d seen during our conversation at the beach in Vistos.
“Tea and my homeland can only do so much.” Then he dusted his hands together like he was shaking something loose.
He glanced at Finley and Etienne before nodding his head toward the door.
“If you’re up for it, I’d like to show you around Respandora. ”
“Am I invited?” I asked. “Or will I have to carve a path like you did with the astral realm?”
“You’ve already carved your way through Respandora and her people,” he said, voice quieter. “Makes it easier for when she’s yours to guide.”
His words gutted me. We’d already talked about this and agreed on it. But it still hurt to hear him speak of it as a simple fact. He’d already made peace with leaving it all behind. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready for that part.
Finley linked her fingers through mine, her brows drawn together with confusion and quiet reassurance warring in her expression.
I hadn’t yet told her about Alastor’s plans for Respandora, about what waited for me after he was gone. I wasn’t sure how to without telling her he was dying.
And I wouldn’t speak of what he entrusted to me without his permission.
As Everly left for her home in Somnio, the four of us walked around Respandora, along with the stray cat and Luana at my side, tail wagging and leashless. She never needed one in Respandora. This was home in a way Niev never quite fit, and my girl knew it too.
It helped that the people here treated her as one of their own, offering her treats and water wherever we went.
My neighbor Zen spotted us before we reached the corner.
“Brent! Alastor!” He waved us over. His voice carried that same familiarity that lived throughout Respandora.
A few beats later, three of his younglings burst out of the house, barefoot and laughing.
“Look,” one of them shouted, carrying a small wooden crate.
When I peeked inside, I found a handful of chicks peeping and scrambling around each other. Just as I reached a finger inside the crate, the damn cat sneak-attacked my foot, only to spring away to hide in a nearby bush.
Etienne laughed, his gaze following the cat while Finley crouched low. The oldest of Zen’s daughters took out a tiny chick and placed it in Finley’s hand. She cradled it with such tender care.
At that moment, I would’ve brought her three dozen chicks if only to keep her radiant smile in place.
I nodded toward my mate and Etienne. “Zen, this is Finley and Etienne. Lolli, Etienne, Zen, and his family of troublemakers.”
Zen’s youngest stuck her tongue out at me, so I did the same, going a step further and crossing my eyes. I laughed when she griped and called me gross.
The group exchanged niceties with Zen, greeting them in that way of his that made others feel like they were already a part of this place.
Zen leaned against his fence. “We’re hosting the supper gathering in my yard tonight. Figured you might’ve not heard since you’ve been gone.”
Ever since the shifter mages started their once-a-month tradition, I hadn’t missed a single one.
It wasn’t only the different foods everyone brought and shared, but the camaraderie.
It was how we all came together, enjoyed each other's company, and told tales born of both fiction and fact.
It was something I looked forward to every month, and I was glad I hadn't missed it.
“Thanks, Ted didn’t mention anything,” I said.
Alastor smiled, digging his elbow against me. “She told me.”
“Yeah.” I rolled my eyes. “You’re special, and everyone’s favorite.”
“I only care to be Zayne and Caspian’s favorite.” The bastard mage grinned.
“That’s low,” I said with a grunt. “Even for you, that’s low.”
Zen chuckled. “Bring the whole crew.”
This was what I loved about this place. The people here weren’t just neighbors but a community. If someone ran out of milk, someone else filled their jar. If you were gone too long, they noticed. And when you came back, it felt like you’d never left.
We said our goodbyes and headed toward the pond where Alastor and I liked to fish, with Finley reaching for my hand.
Luana stayed at my side while the cat trailed us, tail twitching and watchful.
Suddenly, he bolted ahead only to flop down dramatically in the middle of the path and wait for us to catch up.
“Your cat’s insane,” Etienne said, stopping to scratch the cat’s head when we reached him.
“Not my cat,” I said.
“He’s one of many strays we have in Respandora,” Alastor said.
The cat wove between Etienne’s feet, both of them seeming to enjoy his little game.
“You should keep him, then,” Finley said, tapping her shoulder against Etienne’s.
Etienne scoffed, but I caught the smile he bit back. “What would I do with a cat?”
I shrugged. “Luana’s been a great companion.”