Frek,Marcus growled in my mind.This is not good.
He should fucking run.I hadn’t known Havoc was following the action until that moment.
Running solves nothing,I shot to him.
He hesitated, before replying.Ace used to say that there is a time to run. And a time to fight.
He’d so rarely referred to his brother, and now he’d done it twice in the last few moments.You haven’t run from anything in your life, except me.It was a guess, but a pretty good one, I was sure.Are you going to run?
I’m not fucking answering that.
I got a glimpse of Fang sitting on his arm, her beady little eyes blinking at him.She’ll bite you if you try it again.
Yes. Damned Webspinner.But his mindvoice reflected only mild irritation.
“We’ll fight for your bloody freedom,” Anna’s Aussie mate said to Rafael. “You brought down that crazy bitch. No one else could have done that.”
“We will all fight for you.” Marcus tried to sound reassuring.
Havoc growled through our minds.If they try fucking caging him, they’ll have to deal with me.I sensed him stand and stretch his barely healed wings.
When a surge of panic pulsed through me, he said,I will meet you at the academy.
Where are you going?
I have something I need before we send Vali off.As he took wing, his mindvoice held a weight of emotion that effectively silenced me.
I’ll be back,he sent.
And as Marcus held me close, I let Havoc go.
* * *
We gathered on the beach as the sun rose.
It painted the academy walls in rose and gold, and across the meadow, flowers opened their petals to the warm rays.
We had come together to honor one of our own. Vali may not have been at the academy long, but the sadness of those I stood with confirmed that she’d touched the lives of many.
My heart ached for the Dragona who had so bravely given her life for ours. Taking Finn out of the battle had saved us all.
Kiko stood to one side of me, clinging to my arm like a lifeline. Fresh tears streamed down her face, and I was fighting hard to hold mine in check. Marcus had his hands on my shoulders, and his mental warmth wrapped around and supported me.
True to his word, Havoc had met us on the beach. He now stood on my other side, close enough that I felt his body heat. Although my heart ached for the reason, it felt right to be standing like this, with them.
Students and instructors alike spread out across the sand. Near the water rested a platform with Vali’s remains wrapped in fabric. It was heaped with wildflowers that Kiko and I had helped pick. Long ropes draped over each corner.
Cara came and placed a tiny sculpture of a Dragon next to the remains. I contributed my phone, which contained all the books I particularly loved. Kiko laid a couple of chocolate bars amid the flowers—I noticed one had a few bites taken out of it.
And then, to my shock, Havoc stepped forward. He placed a stone beside the sculpture. The dark rock had a vein running through it that shone golden in the dawn’s early rays. It was a pretty thing, and very unlike Havoc to have collected it.
Marcus was following my thoughts and leaned close. “I think that might have belonged to Ace.”
Marcus’s hands tightened on my shoulders, but he didn’t speak as Havoc rejoined us. When no one else approached, four of the Legion’s largest Dragons dropped to pick up the ropes, and they lifted the platform into the sky.
Rafael stood apart from us all. Alone. Not even once looking our way. But not far behind him stood a group of Bellatis assigned to guard him.
My heart constricted when a few hundred mini paper lanterns were released. They floated up and up—like a cluster of stars against the dawn.
