He had reached for Rory’s hand instinctively. To celebrate their victory, to reassure himself that what they were seeing was real, to… to simply share in the moment. He didn’t think about what to do when Rory’s hand turned to meet his, either, fingers clasping lightly in the taking and giving of relief and of a dangerously, tremblingly blooming sense of joy. He had not known what they had set out to do in the beginning, but he did not now regret going, leaving the safety of the barn to join his friends on a wild ride and a bitter battle against unseen foes that had turned their own hearts against them.
And every single one of them had been needed, from Rory’s summoned animals to Amalia’s clear head and true heart to Edy’s fierce strength and his own newly-fledged wings. They had almost killed each other… and they had only survived because of each other. Edy had saved Amalia, her quick thinking and mercy getting the young loreseeker to Vervain in time. Edy…
Who hung back, not meeting his eyes, but there was no time to go to her yet. Afterwards, he could, when she came forward to receive her own accolades, he told himself. He turned to bow to the bird and pick up the gift she had for him and Rory. It was hot and fierce, a talisman against the dark and a weapon of two edges, but that mattered less at the moment than the Spark Bird’s own presence, her blessing on the Sanctuary that kept the monsters at bay and brought an early dawn to the world.
He turned to Amalia, wounded in heart but healing from Ludo’s well-chosen words and fresh purpose, and though his hand slipped from Rory’s, it was because Rory’s arms were filled with a laughing, crying young loreseeker and her hand was in his and Jigano was smiling again, hope rekindled in his heart. There was just one thing missing, and he glanced around, seeking a dark head and tussled hair. ”Edy?” he called, lifting his voice above the murmurs and prayers of those gathered. But… the girl was gone, and his sense of victory grew a little dimmer for her absence.
He had her scent now, though. He could find her later. He had some apologizing to do, now that the spark bird’s light was chasing away the lingering shadows the monsters had left on his heart and mind, like greasy fingerprints, smudged and soiled, that had prevented him from fitting his broken pieces back together again. Should have wasn’t good enough when she had to have been hurting to.
For the moment, though, he would allow himself to heal, and to wrap his arms lightly around Amalia and Rory as he bent his head to theirs in a laughing embrace that Isuma Reep!ed imperiously at their feet to be allowed to join.
And every single one of them had been needed, from Rory’s summoned animals to Amalia’s clear head and true heart to Edy’s fierce strength and his own newly-fledged wings. They had almost killed each other… and they had only survived because of each other. Edy had saved Amalia, her quick thinking and mercy getting the young loreseeker to Vervain in time. Edy…
Who hung back, not meeting his eyes, but there was no time to go to her yet. Afterwards, he could, when she came forward to receive her own accolades, he told himself. He turned to bow to the bird and pick up the gift she had for him and Rory. It was hot and fierce, a talisman against the dark and a weapon of two edges, but that mattered less at the moment than the Spark Bird’s own presence, her blessing on the Sanctuary that kept the monsters at bay and brought an early dawn to the world.
He turned to Amalia, wounded in heart but healing from Ludo’s well-chosen words and fresh purpose, and though his hand slipped from Rory’s, it was because Rory’s arms were filled with a laughing, crying young loreseeker and her hand was in his and Jigano was smiling again, hope rekindled in his heart. There was just one thing missing, and he glanced around, seeking a dark head and tussled hair. ”Edy?” he called, lifting his voice above the murmurs and prayers of those gathered. But… the girl was gone, and his sense of victory grew a little dimmer for her absence.
He had her scent now, though. He could find her later. He had some apologizing to do, now that the spark bird’s light was chasing away the lingering shadows the monsters had left on his heart and mind, like greasy fingerprints, smudged and soiled, that had prevented him from fitting his broken pieces back together again. Should have wasn’t good enough when she had to have been hurting to.
For the moment, though, he would allow himself to heal, and to wrap his arms lightly around Amalia and Rory as he bent his head to theirs in a laughing embrace that Isuma Reep!ed imperiously at their feet to be allowed to join.
