by Angie West
***
In the end, we let them all go. Not everyone was one hundred percent in favor of that, even if no one was bold enough to challenge Mark about it. And so freely they left us at the northernmost edge of Grandview, bound for their home in the ice and snow. And maybe letting them go would turn out to be a mistake, but I didn't think so. The life breathers were as much victims of Kahn's dark magic as the rest of us, and who were we to decide their fate, anyway?
No, I was certain we hadn't made a mistake in wishing them well and seeing them on their way. Just the opposite; to my way of thinking, we'd forged a friendship with a new and powerful, if unexpected, ally.
The artificial shimmer had worn off and the fence that separated our town's border from the forest looked plain now, ordinary.
"Do you think the Matrons will show up and recast the enchantment around the fences?" Claire asked as we jumped over the hip-high barrier.
"Who knows?" I shrugged and we moved farther down the path that would take us back to town. We slowed our pace and men filed around and passed us on the trail. "We don't need it anymore, so?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "That's going to take some getting used to. Not that I'm not glad." She grinned.
"For sure." I smiled back, until a flash of tan and blue caught my eye. Aranu walked past, but he didn't follow the others on the path toward town. Instead, he veered off to the right, heading toward the beach and the falls.
"Go."
I swiveled back to Claire and opened my mouth but no words came.
"Go on," she repeated, touching a hand to my arm. "Go talk to him and I'll see you at home."
Home. Tears sprang to my eyes but remained unshed. My throat burned and I nodded, reaching out and snagging Claire into a fierce hug. Her hair was cool where it brushed my face and her strength propped me up, steadying me for the next step I was about to take. Family.
My arms tightened around her before I let her go and stepped back. "What if he tells me to go to hell?"
"Then we'll get drunk tonight. It'll be fine. Go."
"Okay." I nodded and watched as she ran to catch up with Mark, turning once at the bend in the path to wave and give me a thumbs-up sign.
I wasn't at all sure it would "be okay," as Claire put it, but there were some things I needed to say to Aranu. So I turned and followed the trail he'd taken, the one that led to the path I knew by heart?
