Her words had the feeling of a final goodbye. “Just like that.”

She shrugged and looked over her shoulder. Cactus and the other elementals who’d stayed were standing in a group, waiting for her. “No. I think we will meet again, Rylee. But not for a long time.” Gently, she brushed a hand over Zane’s head. He smiled up at her, his dimples flashing. “These two are going to be trouble, you know that, right?”

I laughed. “I have no doubt about it. Call on me, Lark. I will do everything I can to help you.” With my free arm, I pulled her into a hug and squeezed her as tightly as I dared. “Thank you does not begin to cover things.”

“Oh, hell,” she muttered, “what’s family for if not to get you out of a jam once in a while?”

Smiling, she backed away from me, her one hand raised in farewell. Pausing, she locked eyes with me. “Two last things. Watch the sword, Rylee. An elemental named Blackbird may try and take it from you. I suggest you hide it.” Her eyes swept past me, looking over my shoulder. “Pamela, in five years, come to the Rim.”

I turned in time to see Pamela nod, a faint, tired smile on her lips.

When I turned back, Lark, Jonathan, and the other elementals were gone.

“Goodbye, Lark,” I whispered into the air and I was sure she whispered back on the wind.

“Goodbye, Rylee. And good luck. You’re going to need it in your new life.”

CHAPTER 57

RYLEE

THE FOLLOWING WEEKS were hectic as we all tried to settle into something that resembled a normal life.

While we’d fought for the survival of the world, human technology had shut down completely. All that supernatural energy from the demons had put everything on the blink, and the humans had gone into panic mode. Three days they were without power and electricity.

Three days, and the fools lost their minds rioting and burning the shit out of things. The pox was gone as if it had never been, and a lot of people were saying that it was all a terrorist plot to wipe out whoever it was terrorists were after. Conspiracy theories ran rampant on every channel.

“What’s wrong with them?” Pamela asked once our TV turned back on and a news channel showed the extensive damage.

“I don’t know. But if this is how they react when things go sideways, it’s all the more reason to keep the supernatural from them,” I said softly.

The Tamoskin Crush went back to the badlands, Calliope in the lead and Tiomon promising to come back for Marcella when the time was right. India went with them, though I tried to get her to stay with us.

“My human family is dead, Rylee.” Her hand wove into Calliope’s mane. “I . . . I can’t go back to pretending I’m something I’m not.”

I pulled her into a hug. “We’re right here, India.”

She smiled up at me, her light auburn hair catching the light and her hazel eyes twinkling. “I will come see you often. The spirits are going to be drawn to you, Rylee. Your calling has shifted, I think.”

With a quick leap that belied the fact that she was so tiny, she mounted on one of the older unicorns. Seconds later, the Crush was gone in a flash of golden horns and thundering hooves.

To be honest, I was hoping it was going to be a long, long time before Tiomon decided Marcella needed her. Because I had a feeling that when the unicorn showed up on my doorstep, trouble wouldn’t be far behind her back hooves.

Doran stayed for a week, making sure I got the hang of my new life. “I’m your sponsor; I have to see you can handle things without me around.”

Liam snorted. “Her sponsor? This isn’t AA.”

The cheeky-assed vampire grinned at him, green eyes sparkling. “I could sponsor you, too, if you like.”

Liam shook his head and walked away, though not before I saw his lips twitch as he fought a smile of his own.

“I think one set of fangs is enough in the family, thanks,” I muttered, running my tongue over my newly acquired teeth.

Eve and Marco set up a clutch not far from where Calliope and her herd ran. They decided to raise their species together, to start fresh. Watching them bridge the gap between the age-old enemies, I knew Eve and Calliope had the hearts for it to work.

Will and what was left of his Destruction headed back to England; Deanna had been wrong about his death. Though looking into his eyes as he said his goodbyes, it was easy to see that a part of him had died during the battle. Pamela shook his hand when he moved to hug her and I fought a smile. Once he’d sent her into a blushing stammer. She’d grown up a lot, and apparently left her crush on him behind.

He hugged me gently. “Rylee. Take care of yourself.”

“You too, Will.” I let him go. Perhaps I would see him again, but I had a feeling my time across the water was done.

At least for the foreseeable future.

The Veil was once more open—minus the connection to the seventh Veil—and working smoothly. The mineshaft—after the doorways were unsealed—was an easy way to travel.

Charlie was hailed as a hero by his fellow brownies and asked to lead them, an honor he couldn’t turn down. “Yous sees, Rylee girl, they no longer thinks of me as a liability.” He tapped his wooden leg.

I blinked several times. “Is that why you didn’t have much to do with them? I didn’t realize—” All the years we’d worked together on salvages, he never spoke of his kind. I realized that to take Zane as he had to protect him would have been a monumental task. Yet he’d done it.