“Hey, how’s it going?” Elliott asked, lying next to her on the ground, panting heavily. “Miss me?”
“More than you can ever imagine,” she replied with a crooked smile. But the fight wasn’t over yet, and a much as she wanted to lie there and chat, she had to see if her grenade had done the job.
It hadn’t—not really. She jumped to her feet, and off in the distance, she saw Holland’s dragon form flying off into the night. There was a stream of smoke trailing the monster, and she was still shrieking, but she wasn’t dead, and Cadence felt defeated. She’d ruined one of the world’s greatest treasures but hadn’t taken out the monster.
“That had to hurt,” Jamie said, coming up behind her. “It might not have killed her, but that will put her out of commission for a while, I think. I doubt she’ll be able to follow us to the next portal opening.”
“I hope you’re right,” Cadence agreed, and then tearing her eyes away from the vanishing dragon, she wrapped her arms around him. “It’s so great to have you back.”
“It’s so great to be back,” he said into her hair. Cadence didn’t get too long with him, though, because the familiar sound of sobbing was headed their direction. She stepped aside just as Ashley came flying in to hug him.
Cadence retreated a few steps and surveyed the battlefield. Off in the distance, she could hear a few shots from where Kaycia’s team was tracking some of the Vampires that had run away, but everywhere else, team members were talking, congratulating each other, sharing stories about their wounds—all of which Jamie had corrected without losing any energy himself. From what she could tell there hadn’t been any fatalities on their side, but she’d have to double check she hadn’t overlooked anything.
A few feet away, Cassidy and Elliott had their arms around each other and were talking quietly. She needed to properly welcome her other friend back, too, so leaving Jamie with Ashley she went back to where he was standing. “I hate to interrupt, but it’s my turn.”
Elliott laughed and let Cassidy go, though she didn’t stray far, and he enveloped Cadence in one of his famous bear hugs. She stood there in his embrace for so long, she didn’t even realize Cassidy was putting the structure back together until her sister had righted both of the support pieces and was lifting the rock that was supposed to go back on top into place.
“Can you do that?” Cadence asked, staring at her sister in awe.
“Damn. Sure wish I could do that,” Heather muttered standing behind Cassidy with her hands on her hips.
It took some time, and once it was finished, Cassidy had beads of sweat on her forehead. Brandon and Elliott both had their arms around her, supporting her physically so she could use everything she had to put the rock back on top. She managed it though, and when the team headed back to the SUVs, Stonehenge looked basically the same way it had for the last few hundred years.
There were lots more tearful reunions as old friends greeted the two Guardians who had been trapped inside the portal. Even Margie looked a little misty eyed when she hugged her little brother, which was something Cadence wouldn’t have expected seeing as though she’d heard the two never really got along. But then, Margie had flown halfway around the world to be there when Jamie was extracted.
Aurora threw herself at Elliott, and he opened his arms, but Cadence could tell there was a distance there. As much as the redhead wanted things back the way they were before Las Vegas, it was obvious Elliott didn’t feel the same way.
And then he saw Amanda. She’d stayed in one of the SUVs, and Cadence had left a few of the newer Guardians there to watch out for her, fairly sure Holland would have no reason to go after the only human. When she saw Elliott, Amanda took off running toward him, and he did the same, though he wasn’t going full speed or else he may have run her over. He picked her up and swung her around and kissed her so hard Cadence had to look away.
Since she couldn’t focus on the reunion in front of her, she turned her attention to Brandon, who wasn’t looking at his parents either—she couldn’t blame him there—but he did have tears in his eyes. Cadence patted him on the arm, hoping this time everything would work out and they could be a real family at last, even though she heard Aurora’s muffled sobs behind her.
“Sorry we couldn’t get Aaron out,” Cale was saying as he approached. Cadence swiveled to look at him, wondering if he was actually sorry. He looked slightly remorseful, but she had a feeling he wouldn’t mind too horribly much if Aaron was left in there forever. At least Christian had done something to try to redeem himself.
“Yeah, we’ll just need to try again. At least there’s a Vampire in there now, so as soon as it opens, Aaron and Christian should be able to run out.” She sounded much more confident than she actually felt.
The doctor nodded. “Where to then? Ireland or Iceland?”
Cadence didn’t even have to think about it. Ward had given her two options, and while mathematically speaking, it would make more sense for the portal to open in Iceland, she didn’t hesitate to say, “Ireland.” It just seemed fitting that Aaron would come back to her in his homeland, the place where she’d found him last time. There was no rhyme or reason to her locating him after Elliott had died, and this might not have been perfectly logical either, but she knew in her heart where she needed to be. If she guessed wrong, she’d have another team in place in Iceland to make sure the Vampires weren’t able to interfere, but she was confident she’d be seeing her husband again in a few hours.
“Let’s go,” Cale said with a nod, and they all piled into the SUVs, headed back to the airport in Southampton.
On her way, Cadence conferred with Kaycia who confirmed all of her people were just fine. Cadence thanked her and her team for such a great effort. She also coordinated with Sloan in Iceland and let Moira in Ireland know they were on their way. She prayed Jamie was right, and Holland would be off licking her wounds someplace. But she knew they’d meet some sort of resistance, even if it was a last ditch Vampire effort. Cadence would be ready, though. The next time that portal opened, either Aaron was coming out—or she was going in. Either way, she’d see him again in five hours and twenty-seven minutes.
