Darkmoon (#5) (The Cain Chronicles)
Page 21
“I’m coming for you,” she whispered to the stars. “I promise.”
Abel’s hand tightened on hers.
It took over a week to reach the door.
“I found it!” Abel called triumphantly, and Seth and Rylie ran down the tunnel again, leaving the pack behind on the surface. Abel had burrowed straight through to the back wall and exposed dull brown petroglyphs.
But they couldn’t expose the door, because there was no door to expose. Most of the petroglyphs had been cracked. There was no open gateway to the other side; only bare rock.
The three of them stared at the broken entrance to the Haven. “Where is it?” Rylie asked, running her hands over the empty wall. “Why isn’t it open? There should be an arch here, shouldn’t there?”
Seth and Abel exchanged looks.
“Let’s go up for air,” Abel said. His voice was heavy, and his grip on Rylie’s hand was tight.
“Wait,” she said, trying to shake him free. “We found the door. We should be able to get through now.”
“Rylie…”
“No! We have to cross over!”
“Rylie,” Abel snapped, sharper this time. He pulled her around to face him, hands clenched tight on her arms. “The door is closed. We have no way to open it. There’s nothing we can—” He cut himself off with a choked sound, and he had to swallow hard before speaking again. “We can’t do anything.”
The grief hit her all at once. She sagged against him, and he held her as she cried.
“I love you, Rylie,” he murmured, softly enough that nobody else would be able to hear him. Abel stroked the hair back from her tearful face. “The twins are going to be happy with Gwyn. And they’re safe from the Union, the OPA, and everything horrible in this world. They’re never gonna know the hell you and I have known. So whatever this is? It’s not a tragedy. We’re the only ones hurting.”
She buried her face in his chest. “But it hurts so much.”
“Yeah,” he said.
They kissed again, and their joined lips tasted like the salt of tears.
“I love you, too,” Rylie said. “I don’t think I’ve told you that yet.”
Abel didn’t respond, but his eyes warmed. He lifted an eyebrow. “You can tell me more about that later.” He dropped one more kiss on her lips. “I’m going to get the Chevelle ready.”
They climbed the ramp out of the cave, and Abel drifted off to talk to Seth, who was sitting on the hood of the car. They spoke in low voices. Rylie probably could have listened in if she wanted to, but she didn’t.
She stared up at the sunlight filtering through the trees and wrapped her arms around her body to hold her broken heart together.
Abel was right. Whatever had happened, it wasn’t a tragedy. There was nobody better in the entire world to raise her kids than her aunt. And Gwyn would be fine as long as Scott was alive—he probably wouldn’t be able to resurrect any new zombies in the Haven, but his necromantic magic should be strong enough to maintain Gwyn in her condition.
They were all together. One safe and happy family.
Rylie closed her eyes, feeling the sun warming her face. She imagined her daughter running in a wild, open world as a wolf, the wind in her fur and no hunters to attack her. She thought of paws beating against the ground. The taste of spring on the air, and the invitation of endless, twilit sky.
Summer was free.
Definitely not a tragedy. Not a tragedy at all.
Then Rylie heard something scraping in the tunnel leading out of the cave—something that sounded like human motions. But the entire pack was in the forest.
She opened her eyes, wiped the tears off her cheek, and turned to see two people clamber onto the surface.
A young man and woman emerged, both of whom looked to be about Rylie’s age. The girl had long black curls. The boy’s head was shaved bare. Their skin was dark brown…and they both had silver eyes.
The young man helped the girl to her feet, and Rylie couldn’t breathe as they stopped just a few feet away from her.
Those eyes. The girl’s chin—the boy’s nose—those features were all so familiar.
Seth and Abel noticed that people had joined them, and their conversation cut off. Rylie couldn’t speak or breathe, but she instantly knew who they were. She would have recognized her babies anywhere.
Summer pushed her hair out of her face and smiled a crooked smile that looked just like Seth and Abel’s.
“Hi, Mom,” she said.
Rylie’s mind whirled with the mental calculations. It had been over a week since they were separated. How many minutes was that? How many hours? How many years?
It didn’t matter, in the end. She opened her arms wide and her kids stepped forward to embrace her. She didn’t care that they were so tall and lanky. It felt right to hold them again. They smelled like family, like pack, and she never wanted to let them go.
Rylie’s children had come home.
THIS ISN’T THE END OF THE STORY!
That’s the end of The Cain Chronicles, but it’s not the end for the gang! My next book is going to be about how the twins got back to Rylie, and you can look forward to seeing it in March 2013.
Seth deserves a happy ending, too! Can you help me decide what lucky lady will heal his heart in a future book? Tell me what you think on my Facebook: smarturl.it/sotms
And make sure to sign up for my mailing list so you know the instant the next book is out: smarturl.it/armyofevil
Author's Note
Thanks for joining me with The Cain Chronicles. You guys have all been so wonderful helping me with this story. The support for Abel was staggering! It’s been so much fun, and I can’t wait to start on the next series about Rylie and friends.
I’m a full-time writer these days, so I really appreciate all your help spreading the word about my books. If you want to get involved, go ahead and…
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Happy reading!
Sara (SM Reine)
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