Page 64 of Raven in Midwinter

“Yes, my lady. I will be forever grateful.”

She nodded, and I got a glimpse of a smile under the hood, but not enough to know what she looked like. “Arawn was right, you are steadfast,” she said, and was then a tiny dot in the distance before, in the next moment, I could no longer find any hint of her on the horizon.

I exhaled.

“Xan!” Lorne yelled my name before he dropped down in front of me and gently wiped away the tears and dirt so he could see me.

“Are you okay?” I nearly shouted at him.

In response, he grabbed hold of my coat and yanked me into his arms, squeezing me so tight, a small yelp came out of me.

The relief at him being strong and whole brought on the same trembling that fear and awe had moments before. “I love you so much,” I murmured as he shoved his face into my shoulder. Clearly, he was a bit overwrought.

Argos was at my side too, butting his head against us.

“Oh, my boy,” Lorne rasped, picking up the cat, nuzzling his fur and hugging him. Argos rubbed his nose on Lorne. They were so sweet together.

The ground shifted under us then, and Lorne moved closer to me as I wrapped him and Argos in my arms as the earth moved, creating a circle around us.

“You fixed Corvus,” he whispered as his eyes welled with tears. “It’s all better.”

“Yes, it is,” I mumbled, then let him go and pressed my hands down into the earth.

The guardian is well, it said.

The guardian is well, I responded.

I had to take a breath.

You are well, I said.

We are well, it answered.

And now we will rest, I promised.

We will rest.

The guardian will protect you, I said.

We will protect our family, it said.

When I pulled my hands out, I laid them gently on top before breaking down sobbing. Lorne gathered me in his arms, hugging me and Argos tight, and for once, Argos let me cuddle him. We stayed there a long time, the three of us and our land.

LATER THAT EVENING…

The temperature had dropped well below freezing, but the roads had been cleared in town, including—amazingly—Cider Lane. Perhaps the metamorphosis it had gone through in the past had moved snowdrifts in the future. All I knew was that when Lorne was carrying me and Argos into our cottage and I looked to the right, I saw in the distance the lights of the Johnson Apiary, and then checking left, the lights at Wingate Farm.

“We’re in our right time,” I whispered, “and everything is how it’s supposed to be.”

“It is,” he confirmed. “And after we sleep for a week, I want to hear everything that happened.”

“I promise,” I said, kissing the side of his neck as Argos purred.

We were only inside for a few minutes when there was a knock on the front door. I was not surprised to find Amanda, Eddie, and the boys there, though we’d had no plans.

“Why are you two covered in dirt?” she asked, horrified. “It’s winter. You’re not supposed to be outside. You could freeze to death.”

I tried to hug her, but she evaded me, heading to the kitchen, where her children and her husband were unpacking food.