Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

“Adam, Kitten, Adam?” Firm, warm arms scooped me up off the dirt. “Hey, you in there? Baby... Adam? Fuck! Victor?”

Zee’s chatter pulled me back from a dark place, as though he’d grabbed me and dragged me from a mental pool of deep, dark mud. I felt small again, and clammy, and bruised all over. But also, mostly alive—which was a plus.

Victor was near. His radiating sense of safety warmed me through.

“Hey,” I croaked. I was definitely small, but not human . Just all of my dragon self had been packed down into my Adam suit. “I uh... blacked out, I guess?”

Now I was gradually making my way back to consciousness, the world around us had gotten loud . Strobing police lights washed over a battleground littered with crushed and burned cars. Distant helicopter blades thumped the air and emergency sirens wailed nearby.

“Hey, hey...” Zee’s big eyes filled my vision. “You’re back with us? Fuck, are you hurt?”

“Uh...” I patted my chest, expecting holes, but finding only a torn and bloody shirt. “I guess not.”

Zee’s face was in mine again. “How many horns do I have? What’s my name?”

“Two, and it’s Zee.”

“Am I the best demon?”

A wave of emotion surged through me. They were here, we were alright. “You are my demon.” I flung my arms around him and whispered, “Zee... Tell me we did it. It’s over?”

He rocked back on his heels, holding me tight. “Oh, my fuckin’ fuck, is it ever! You getting your dragon on was the most awesome fuckin’ thing I’ve seen, and I once saw a demon swallow a fifteen-inch dick.”

Victor, with his arms crossed, standing behind Zee, said, “Was that demon you, perchance?”

“How did you know?” Zee gasped, acting shocked. “Did you pay to watch it, Daddy?”

Victor sighed through his nose, but his dark-lashed, silvery-eyed gaze skipped to me. “Adam, welcome back. You had us concerned.”

“We thought you’d vanished, but turns out you shrunk yourself back into this gorgeous, highly loveable human suit.” Zee grabbed, then smooshed my face, and slapped a kiss on my lips. “I love it, I love you, I love your squishy face, and I’m done with asshole sorcerers—oh fuck, wait!” He let go, stepping back. “You don’t know.”

I rubbed my face, sweeping off the dregs of unconsciousness. “I don’t know what?”

Victor stepped in, and helped Zee lift me onto unsteady legs.

“Look,” Zee said, gesturing toward the edge of a cordoned-off area.

Beyond the flattened cars but inside a string of police tape, Gideon Cain sat in the back of an EMT ambulance, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, reeling off a statement to two police officers and several men who had the look of SSD agents.

“He’s still alive?” I croaked.

“It’s better than that.” Zee squished himself into an excited pillar and squeaked. “You tell him, Fancy Fangs.”

I gulped and checked Victor. His smile seemed to say this was good, but it didn’t look good. “With Tom Collins’s technical expertise we were able to rig the harvester below the bridge and get it working for one final extraction.”

I knew where this went. I’d seen the little needle pierce Gideon’s side. “You harvested Gideon Cain’s power?”

“All of it.” Zee squeaked. “Look at him, he’s just a grumpy old man. One hundred percent human. That’s fuckin’ karma at work, baby!”

He did look human, and grumpy. Technically, we had ruined his life. But he’d ruined plenty of others, so it seemed only fair. “Where is it... his bead?”

“We gave it to Elion for secure keeping.”

“Elion?” My insides twisted with nerves.

“They arrived right after Gideon started holding up traffic. Saw the whole thing. Dragon fight, fire, lightning, we fuckin’ killed it. SOS Hotel style. Although ... the spicy fae didn’t seem pleased. Probably because we killed a whole lot of this fancy bridge too. Humans seem real attached to it.”

The bridge behind us had an alarming tilt to it, and some of the cables had snapped. Others were frayed. It probably wasn’t safe. But it had caught my fall from its tower, and I hadn’t been small or light. All things considered, it had held up pretty well.

I leaned into Victor, and smiled at Zee bouncing with adrenalin. Wow, was it really over? Was this what a happy ending looked like?

“Let’s get you out of sight...” Victor steered me toward an unmarked black van, using it to shield us from the camera flashes and phones pointed our way.

There was no hiding now.

I lowered myself gingerly to the van’s side step just as Elion’s distinctive figure carved from the crowd of cops and glided over.

“Adam.” They nodded a greeting to Zee and Victor. “It’s good to see you’re awake. I had my concerns and was about to send over the EMTs. Victor, however, assured me you were alive.”

“Your heartbeat was strong,” Victor said. “You just needed time.” There was more to his concern. He’d been afraid Elion would have their people take me away and lock me up after that huge display of power. Just because we’d won, didn’t make us safe.

But I was alright, even if I did feel as though I’d been run over by a freight train. “Are we going to be arrested?” Looking at the destruction all around us, it seemed unlikely they’d let us go free. And then there was the fact I’d clearly lied about being human for a long time.

“Not right now. But there will be extensive questions. You’ll all need to give statements when you’re feeling up to it, although we of course have several thousand witnesses to your very public display of power, Adam.”

“Yeah.” I winced. “Kinda hard to be stealthy when you’re the size of an airliner.”

“It’s possible I may be removed from this case, as I’ve been more than personally involved for some time. However, I will make sure the truth is told. Gideon Cain will suffer the full wrath of the justice system for all his crimes.”

“I made some assumptions about you, and I was wrong,” Victor said. “I apologize.”

“We all made assumptions. When I first saw you three, I assumed you were all mad. I very quickly learned that’s only half of what you are.” Their twitching smile suggested they were joking—or not. It was hard to tell.

“May I have your coat?” Zee asked.

Elion smiled politely. “No.”

“Fair. I guess. However, I don’t know if you noticed, but I did just save the world. Adam helped. Victor didn’t do a fuckin’ thing, as usual. He has pretty privileges, so we let it slide.”

Victor arched an eyebrow and a slow smile tugged on the corners of his mouth.

“What?” Zee asked.

“You used my name.”

“No I didn’t.”

“You did. Elion and Adam witnessed it.”

We nodded. “You did, Zee,” I said.

“I’d never say that. Because if I had, it would mean I like him, and I don’t... Like him. At all. Not even a little bit.” Zee showed us just how little by pinching his finger and thumb together. He wasn’t fooling anyone.

Elion’s bemused expression caught my eye, and I chuckled. “May we go home?” I asked. “It’s been a wild night and I’m dead on my feet.”

“You may. An agent will visit in the morning to take your statements, and Adam, there will be an SSD test to ascertain your Lost One potency and risk factor to the public. It goes without saying, do not try to leave the city.”

I wouldn’t be able to lie and sweet talk my way out of that one. But that was tomorrow’s problem. Today, I was done for. I just needed my bed and my two favorite people tucked in beside me.

Elion bowed their head, swept their tinted green locks back, and turned to go.

“Oh, uh?—”

“There’s no need to thank me,” they said, all suave and slick.

“Oh. Right. Uhm. Sure.” I stuffed my hands into my pockets. “But uh, it’s just uhm ... Can we get a ride? The Love Wagon exploded and the vampires don’t much like us, for vampire reasons. We’re broke, so an Uber is out?—”

With a smile, Elion tossed Victor their car key. “For the love of all things bright and beautiful, do not make me regret letting you borrow it. Now all of you, go home, get some rest. You’ve earned it.” Elion turned away, then back again. “I found this. It’s yours, I believe.” They took a phone from their coat pocket and handed it to Victor... “It unleashed a slew of swearing.”

That’s where Tom had gone.

“Thank you.” Victor dipped his chin. “My apologies for the swearing. It’s Tom Collins’s default setting.”

Elion appraised us once more. I probably looked awful. Victor’s hair and clothes were a disheveled mess. Zee looked... good, like always—one hand on his hip, the other holding Shareen resting against his shoulder, wings back, horn-ring glinting. Elion gave a soft laugh. “You three really are something special.”

We chuckled with them, and watched them head over to Gideon Cain and the SSD agents.

“Did they mean special like we’re great, or special like we should be in an asylum?” Zee asked around a smile.

“Both, I suspect.” Victor replied. “Come, Adam. Let’s get you home before the SSD change their minds.”

We made our way to Elion’s car, and with Victor driving, pulled away from the chaos of the battle aftermath. I dozed against Zee in the back and listened to him excitedly recall all the amazing things he’d seen.

I’d been so afraid they’d fear me after seeing what I truly was, but my fears were unfounded. After everything, they hadn’t abandoned me, they hadn’t run screaming, they hadn’t even tried to kill me.

They loved me.

Maybe I was something special, after all.

Adam Vex, the Chosen One whose heart would save the world, or doom it.

If it was truly over, then what happened after a prophecy was fulfilled? What happened when the story ended? Did the characters get to go home and live normal lives?

What did normal even look like?

I dozed, listening to Zee and Victor bickering about how dangerous frogs are. As long as we were together and this was our new normal, then I could definitely live with it.