Page 60 of Ruthless Fae
My eyes met his, and a stirring thrill passed through me. Was this what happiness felt like? Contentment? A feeling of hope that you might be able to find a moment of peace and togetherness with the one you loved?
I smiled and put the flask to my lips.
The drink was both cool and spicy with a fruity tang that complemented it nicely. I took a long pull before bringing the flask down and wiping my lips.
“What is it?” I asked, handing the drink back to Vaughn.
“It’s calledThe Ronnie Special,” Vaughn said, lifting the flask in acknowledgment to Ronnie who nodded. He and Becca were sharing their own canteen. They’d been inseparable for the last few days, both using magic to help however they could. Ronnie had found a certain skill in helping create and manipulate food, which thrilled the witches and made him a hit at every meal. His buffets were legendary. Becca was amazingly adept at organization and transportation, so the Dean had put her to work pulling useful items out of the building before it was scheduled to be razed.
It had taken us nearly seven full days to complete our tasks, but now all the prisoners, mutated or not, had been healed and returned to their places of origin. The guards had been arrested and transported to the Magical Law Enforcement headquarters to have their day in court. The Habermanns went there, too, though their trial would be much more lengthy and significant. I heard the dean throw around words like “war crimes” and “genocide” but soon the language was too foreign for me to understand, and I gave up trying.
They’d be brought to justice. That was all I cared about.
As for my part, I spent my time focusing on finding where I’d be most useful. Ferrying items to boats took up a lot of my time. Helping Regina and Antonio in the caves with some of the fae prisoners was another task I enjoyed. Seeing them come back into themselves, the looks on their faces as they realized they were free, that really got me. I’d been there when we rehabilitated Wally in the fountain. I’d watched him transform from a beast into the Mohawk-wearing boy I knew.
More than the dismantling, I found myself drawn to the rebuilding. I’d known enough destruction. Right now, I wanted rebirth.
But today was a day for demolition. The witches had cleared the building of everyone and everything that mattered. Now, they wanted to destroy it for two reasons. First, so that it could never be used again. This island had a lot of powerful magic, thus the strange fountains and more we still didn’t understand, and a building like that would just invite trouble, evildoers who would seek to bend the island to their will.
Second, it was a message to the world:We will not tolerate this injustice. Try it again and watch yourself reduced to rubble.
Vaughn touched my elbow, pulling me back to the now. “It’s about to start.”
I blinked out of my thoughts and turned my eyes to the building down the hill. At the moment, it appeared as it always had, a silent fortress of concrete, large and indomitable. But soon, the ground rumbled, and the foundations began to shake.
Around the structure and at a safe distance, witches circled the building. They aimed their hands at it and shook the building to bits. Wally, with his Quake powers, stood at their side as well.
The shaking intensified until it felt as if the whole island was vibrating. Birds cawed and shot into the air and branches fell from the trees that surrounded the clearing, but my eyes remained glued on the building as it came apart.
Cracks snaked up the sides. Large chunks fell. Soon, whole walls came apart, taking the roof with it.
Then, with a mighty rumble, the entire thing collapsed into a heap.
A cheer went up from the witches and some of our group, too. I fell silent, mourning for those we’d lost. This spot would be a memorial to Daniella, Vinya, Chan, and so many more names and faces I would never know.
Vaughn put a reassuring hand on my knee. “It’s over.”
I nodded, hopeful, this time it finally was.
* * *
That nightwe feasted outside by the light of bonfires fueled by prison uniforms and bedsheets. Standing beside the blaze, we watched as the old ways burned. My eyes traced the ashes into the star-filled sky, wondering where they might end up.
Being outside with a fire roaring reminded me so much of my homeland. Even now I longed to return to a land I knew no longer existed. Faerie was gone. My parents were gone. Home was gone.
We were coming to the end of our time here, and the thought of “home” weighed heavily on my mind. The Academy had been a wonderful respite, but a hut on the outskirts of a campus I didn’t attend could never be the place I called home. This island certainly wasn’t either. It had brought nothing but hardship and death.
So where was home?
My eyes trailed across the crowd of people until I found him.
Vaughn.
He had wandered over to Ronnie and Becca and was sampling something Ronnie had offered. I watched his eyes light up in wonder and surprise at whatever he was sipping.
“It tastes just like Cap’n Crunch!” Vaughn clapped Ronnie on the back while the boy beamed.
“When do you head home?” I heard Vaughn ask as I sidled up to him. He threw an arm over my shoulder, pulling me close as he waited for Ronnie’s answer.
