Chapter 41

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

ORION

I sat with Trev, Basil, Arlo, and Malorie on the corner sofa. Tilda had already left, heading back to Faery. I wanted her to stay longer, but she insisted on going home.

One day, I'd do the same.

Not long after the others left for the forced shift, we all woke up, unable to sleep. So, we shared some biscuits, taking it all in as the hours passed by.

I still couldn't comprehend this new reality, that Dawn was finally gone. We'd see what morning brought, but the constant knots inside me were loosening.

"And you found love in the apocalypse," Arlo said, delighted by Trev's gushing over Paige.

"Love at first sight," the troll said. "I'm not the only one to find it either."

Malorie smiled at me. "Was it love at first sight for you?"

"Bit more complicated," I answered, glancing at a grumpy-looking Basil sitting next to Arlo.

The weredolphin nudged him playfully. "Cheer up. It'll happen for you."

Basil glowered at him, but then did something unexpected.

He laughed, nudging Arlo back. "You are correct, my flippered friend."

"I'm your friend?"

"Indeed, you are."

"Cool." He slapped Basil on the back.

The fae took it in his stride, actually genuine, not pulling off some fine acting. "And I will love again."

"Who did you love before?"

Basil aimed a smile at me. "Orion."

Cue some gasps.

Cue me shrinking into the sofa.

Cue Trev chuckling.

Ugh.

"Does Miko know this?" Malorie wondered.

"Yes," I said. "But it's…" Oh, stars. Why did I have to blush so hard?

"Water under the bridge," Basil interjected. "I love Orion as a friend. I am happy for him and his mate. Now I must find one of my own."

"That's the spirit!" Arlo cheered.

The embarrassment over, I sat up again.

Phew.

Trev changed the subject. "What do you think they're up to out there?"

"Assessing the town," Malorie said.

I took the troll's big hand. "Don't worry, I'm nervous too."

"You're the best, mate."

"Us werewolf paramours need to stick together." I practically gagged on my own words. "Scratch that. Forget I said anything."

"You sound like him," Arlo responded, nodding at Basil.

With that, we burst into laughter, some of our worries alleviated until the others returned.

When the sun came up, we experienced our first morning in two years without pink smoke and zombie sounds.

I think everyone shed a few tears at that realization.

The next night, Miko found a letter stuck to the front door with tape.

It was from Daria, written in elegant scrawl:

Dearest of friends,

I wish to inform you of my survival and praise you for the end of Dawn.

Thank you.

Eternally.

I am unsure of our next meeting. For now, I must go underground to reflect, to mourn the loss of dear Joseph.

Until we meet again.

Daria

I hugged my man. "I wish there was something we could do to help her."

"Give her time, Ori. Give her time."

I played with Wendy for the rest of that night, grateful for getting to keep her. She might have reverted to the digital pet, but at least we were still the awesome twosome.

I couldn't ask for better than that.

We ended up settling in Dunstable, moving closer to the town center, taking over a row of houses on a street just off the main high street.

James wove his engineering magic in every house, setting up a hot water system, and even gave us electricity. All limited, of course, but my goodness what a luxury.

Paige set up a clinic on the same street, Basil and I were on standby to help with any healing should any newcomers arrive in town. Cate took over another house, filling it with weapons, Arlo helping her source supplies.

Malorie became our chef, an artist with any food we found. Stars, we ate so well considering the circumstances.

It was like Haven had been restored in a new form.

After a month of searching and waiting, we hadn't come across any survivors.

Miko and Andrew set up signs everywhere around the town's borders, and in the town itself with details of our street on them. They directed people to seek us out.

We all took turns to patrol three time a day, always vigilant for any newcomers.

One morning, I plucked up the courage to put the USB stick in a working laptop. On it, I found a brief profile of man called Stephen Wilkins—a human scientist who spearheaded nefarious research into things best left alone.

I also found a file about godly essence harvesting, how they were taken from the deepest parts of the earth. According to the text, they were fossilized fragments of a lost time, brought to life by blood sacrifice. Not full life, because sleeper blood was required to do that, but slaughtered animals were enough to activate it.

Talk about a deadly rabbit hole. Who would even know to do this? And why would you want to?

Ugh. I stopped looking. This research deserved nothing less than oblivion.

Shifters began to find us, settling into houses. None of them knew about the Wilkins Facility. Those secrets appeared to be dead along with humanity.

Some of them had followed Lance and his crazy dreams of one pack under his rule. After the factory massacre, everything fell apart for them. They scattered and prayed for an easy death or the end of Dawn.

They had been scared out of their minds like the rest of us.

Miko became the ruler of a new growing pack instead, minus the tyranny. But it did take him a while to be convinced to let those Lance followers in. Lots of his arm-folding and stubbornness met those shifters as they begged for mercy and a second chance.

Miko eventually relented with severe warnings of suffering if anyone betrayed him.

No blood magi approached, though. I wondered if they ever would and what the reception would be. If we were going to rebuild the world day by day, as was the grand plan, then we'd have to learn to forgive. And they were the last of the spellcasters, the witches were all dead—their human blood having cursed them into extinction.

Magi blood wasn't the same, having spared them from Dawn's killing hand like other supernatural creatures.

Hmmm. Where did they stand in the world now? I mean, not every egg was bad, after all. And that took a lot for me to say, given the encounters I'd endured with the magi.

We'd just have to see what happened next.

During the fourth month, three fae arrived on horseback by order of Prince Dorian, bringing a letter from him for us.

Thank the stars he made it out of the hive alive.

King Damien still sat on the throne, but had become a recluse, apparently. Dorian wasn't sure if his brother would remain king. It didn't matter, he wrote. Rebuilding Faery was his priority. Many lives had been lost, but my parents were well. They wanted me to come home. Apparently, they'd visited the palace but couldn't bring themselves to come to Earth.

Fine. That kind of hurt, though I knew they were always wary of this world.

Dorian thanked us for ending Dawn, inviting us to dinner one day. I'd have to think about that, not wanting to be in the same building as Damien—recluse or not.

"Anya sends her love?" Miko inquired. "Who's that?"

"Snow spider."

"Right. Is she at the palace? "

"No. Too hot for her," I said. "I think."

Dorian ended the letter with his eternal gratitude, wishing to discuss repayment.

"Trade," Miko said, folding the silver-edged paper. "We'll set up trade. Both realms are in this together."

We wrote back, getting an agreement in place, supplies moving back and forth within weeks, including people to help with the rebuild.

Wow. What a strange new world.

The good kind.

On July 4 th , Cate gave birth to twins—a boy and a girl.

She named them Joe and Jenny, the pair of them super adorable.

Jenny was a werewolf. But Joe was human.

Wow. Just when we thought humans were extinct, they came back into play. Would there be more human births in the future?

I guess only time would tell.

Daria showed up the night after Joe and Jenny were born.

With the new babies in bed with their parents, the vampire arrived on the balmy summer night with a smile on her face.

"Oh my stars…" I breathed, surprised to see her in the doorway of our house dressed in black.

"Hello, fae." She stepped closer to kiss me on both cheeks, offering no hug. "How are you?"

I did the kissing thing back to her. "I'm fine. How have you been? It's been so long."

"Indeed it has."

Miko appeared behind me. "Daria?"

"Hello." Cue more cheek kissing.

"Are you back?" he asked.

"If you will have me."

"Of course."

She pulled a marshmallow from her pocket. "I have been terribly lonely out there. There are other vampires, yet they all seem so dull now with their complaints over no more human blood to drink. Ever." She rolled her eyes. "I tell them to adjust, to embrace our new world. They will not have it."

I scratched my left palm with my right fingers. "Come in. Let's catch up properly."

"Thank you. Thank you so very much."

She ended up living beneath the leisure center, where we'd restored the swimming pool for Malorie and Arlo.

For the first time in nine months, I missed my family. Basil missed his, too, heading back to Faery the morning after Daria's return. He was done with Earth, ready for the next chapter.

Our goodbye was one of two men being at peace with our past, and me forever in his debt—even if he tried brushing me off whenever I said it.

He'd saved Miko's life.

He'd saved mine.

He was our hero.

I wasn't done with Earth, but my pining for home had only been muted temporarily. It was time to go back, to be a creature of both realms. Because that's who I'd become now.

A week after Basil's departure, Miko and I set off for Faery to meet my parents.

Oh, stars.