Chapter 252 Ride Into the Sunset
Envy wipes her face with the back of her hand, sniffing again as I shrug out of my jacket and drape it over Mary’s shoulders. It’s far too big on her, swallowing her frame, but she tugs it closed anyway, smiling softly. The blood on her skin gleams faintly in the dying light. I tighten the jacket’s collar around her throat, just enough to keep her warm. Envy clears her throat and takes a slow look around. The witches are gone–vanished through whatever shadows they could find. The rogues that survived have fled, although the air still hums with their panic.
“Let’s get out of here,” Envy says quietly. “This place is done.”
Layah nods in agreement, her eyes flicking over the body.
Envy glances at me, tilting her head. “You’ve got it from here?”
I meet her eyes and nod. “Yeah. Go.”
She gives a small, tired smile, then the two of them dissolve into dark smoke, vanishing through the tunnel mouth, leaving only the faint scent of ozone behind.
When it’s quiet again, I look down at Macy. “You want to portal home, or ride?”
Her head snaps up, eyes widening. “You brought the bike?”
I can’t help the grin that pulls at my mouth. “Of course I did.”
She laughs, the sound soft and hoarse. “I would really love to feel the wind on my face right now.”
I chuckle, brushing a thumb across her cheek. “Hold on one second.”
Stepping through a quick portal, I vanish into the underworld for half a breath and step back out. Marey hunks at me as I hold out a pair of dark pants.
“You might want the wind on your face,” I tell her, fighting the smirk threatening to break free, “but I’m not re you want it on your cheeks too.”
Her jaw drops, then she bursts out laughing, bright, red–faced, and alive. She snatches the pants from my band o Vagung, a blush creeping up her throat. I can’t look away Costs, after everything, after blood and Wrath and hab
váng 1 nearly desired us both, this small moment, her laugh, the enhaus in her cheeks–it weis like a mirach
I hook the scythe back across my shoulder and take her hand, guiding her toward the jagged opening that leads u
through the tunnels. The echo of our footsteps follows us softly, the only sound left in this place. The air outside
faintly cooler, touched with the scent of rain.
“It’s a bit of a walk to the bike,” I warn as we reach the incline. “Unless you’d rather I portal us.”
Macey shakes her head, sliding her fingers between mine. Her palm is small, warm, and still trembling. “No,” she
says quietly. “I’d love to walk with you.”
I glance at her, but she’s staring ahead, the corners of her mouth curving in a faint, tired smile.
“I just… want to slow time down for a little while,” she admits. “I feel like I haven’t even taken a breath yet.”
The torchlight catches in her hair, turning it a golden auburn as she looks back at me.
“I missed you, Elliot,” she says, voice small but certain. “When things were bad in there, when I thought I might no make it, I kept thinking about you. The sound of your voice. The way you laugh when you try not to. The smell of your jacket when you’d let me steal it.”
She laughs softly, shaking her head. “It sounds stupid, but it’s what got me through. I realised how much I needed you… no-” she stops, turning to face me fully, her hand still clutching mine, “-how much I wanted you. When I couldn’t have you with me.”
My heart skips, flutters and bursts all at once. I can’t find words to tell her how much that means to me. So I just squeeze her hand and smile. “Then let’s take the long way,” I say.
Macey walks close enough that her shoulder brushes mine every few steps. Her hand stays tucked in mine, her thumb tracing idle patterns over my knuckles. It’s quiet, but it isn’t uncomfortable; it’s the kind of silence that feels earned, like the world itself is finally letting us breathe. When we break through an open stretch of trees, the early morning sky opens above us. The moon is still faintly visible, with a few stars and the sun creeping out. I catch Macy looking up at it, her lips parting slightly, silver light glinting in her eyes. The glow seems to answer her. brushing her skin in soft radiance as if the goddess herself is watching. We don’t speak. We don’t need to, i just hold her hand tighter and guide her through the trees until the glint of chrome appears between the trunks My bike sits where I left it, half hidden by ferns, the black metal slick with dew.
I let go of her hand just long enough to pick up the helmet from the seat and hold it out to her. “Here,” I say
Masy takes (1, nos fingers brushing avine. Her hps wobble slightly, eyes glistening in the dim light.
“stev, bey I fill my head, searching her face. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
She lets out a shaky laugh, blinking hard as a tear spills over. “Nothing’s wrong,” she says quickly, saving angh
- it. “Not now. Everything’s right, so perfectly right.”
I frown softly, thumb lifting her chin so she’ll look at me. Her gaze meets mine, shimmering and unguarded
“It’s just…” she breathes out a trembling sigh. “It’s like I’m in a fairytale. Where my prince has rescued me from the dungeon, slayed the evil wolf, and now we’re going to ride off into the sunrise.”
I can’t help it, I laugh, the sound low and quiet, the weight of everything lifting with it. My hand slides along her jaw, my thumb brushing her cheek in slow, tender strokes.
“Yeah,” I murmur, smiling down at her. “Only this time, it was the princess who slayed the wolf.”
Macey’s breath catches, and her smile widens. She leans into my touch, eyes soft with something I can’t name, something that feels like home.
I slip the helmet onto her head, my grin returning.