Page 122 of The Hunter's Empire

Nico glances at the offered hand before accepting it. "You don't owe me anything."

"I disagree." Keith's grip is firm but brief. "My sister is alive because of you."

Nico releases his hand. "She made surviving remarkably difficult."

The corner of Keith's mouth lifts. "I've known her my entire life."

"Must have been a very difficult time."

"I imagine she argued with every plan you came up with."

"I stopped trying to win those arguments around day three."

"I heard that." I call, folding my arms.

"You were supposed to." Nico replies without missing a beat.

A quiet chuckle escapes Keith. The sound surprises me enough that I stare at him.

He notices immediately. "What?"

I grin. "I was just wondering who you are and what you've done with my brother."

His expression immediately settles back into its usual stoicism. "Don't get used to it."

"There he is." For the first time in what feels like forever, genuine laughter escapes me. It feels strange after everything we've survived. But it feels good.

As the recovery team secures the area, medics insist on examining my ankle before allowing me aboard. I spend the next half hour answering questions I barely hear while the remaining members of Keith's team sweep the island one final time, collecting evidence and taking the surviving attackers into custody.

Only when the ship finally begins pulling away from shore do I allow myself to look back.

The island grows smaller with every passing minute. The cliffs disappear first. Then the beaches. Then the jungle that had become both our prison and our shelter.

I don't know what surprises me more. The fact that we survived it… or the realization that part of me is leaving something behind.

I glance toward the opposite side of the deck. Nico stands alone near the railing, staring silently at the fading island.

For a brief moment, our eyes meet across the deck. Neither of us says anything. Neither of us needs to. Too much happened between those trees to fit into words.

By the time Elysian Haven comes into view, the sky has begun turning shades of orange and gold. Staff members line the docks beside security teams and emergency personnel, but one figure breaks away from the crowd before the ship has even finished docking.

"Zora!"

Aurelia. She doesn't wait for permission or protocol. The moment I step onto the dock, she closes the distance between us and throws her arms around me so tightly that I nearly lose my balance.

"Easy." I laugh, wincing. "The ankle."

She immediately loosens her grip, her hands moving to my shoulders instead as she looks me over with tear-filled eyes.

"I heard the gunfire." She says, her voice trembling. "Then the call cut off, and nobody could tell me what had happened. Keith wouldn't answer his phone because he was already on his way, and I..." She shakes her head, swallowing hard. "I thought I'd lost you."

"You'd have to get rid of me much more creatively than that."

Aurelia lets out a watery laugh before immediately pulling me into another hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

She leans back just enough to cup my face in both hands. "You look terrible."