Page 84 of All That Has Flown Beyond
“I know I’ve been switching pronouns, but mostly ‘she’ is okay, right now. We’ll ask her when she comes down. And she wants to keep her name, too.”
“She’s been…low, for a while. I thought…she’s the only human in the pack. When Edu was born and he was a werewolf, I could tell it hit her hard. When you came and she cheered up so much, I thought it was just finding out she was a witch or having another human in the—well, around.”
“It may partly be that. But…I think this has been troubling her for a while.”
“I…I just…”
“I get it. But I don’t think guilt has a place here, because it was Isla’s own journey when to share this. She only shared it with me because I shared something of myself with her, and that was only a few months ago. Just…concentrate on the now.”
“Does she want to talk to us?”
“Yeah. To you now, to the rest of the pack tomorrow. She…she has enough courage for all of us,” Kaiyo said ruefully.
“She’s the best member of this pack,” Emil said.
“I’m not going to argue with that,” Kaiyo replied.
“Thank you,” Emil said. “For being there for her and for shutting me down so quickly. If I ever do anything…”
“Just listen to her. Just listen. Don’t question. Just listen. Give her a voice. But, yeah. Don’t worry. If you do anything, I’ll karate-chop your ass,” Kaiyo assured.
Emil laughed a little wetly. “Thanks.”
Thea squeezed Kaiyo’s hand. “Should we go get her?” she asked.
“I think it’s better if I bring her down. That okay?” Kaiyo said. They nodded.
Kaiyo knocked on Isla’s bedroom door softly, stepping inside as Isla called out a faint, “Come in.”
Isla was perched on the side of the bed as if too restless to lie down. Kaiyo sat beside her.
“You okay?” he asked. Isla looked at her hands, bunched up in her lap.
“Are they mad?” Isla asked quietly.
“Not even a little bit, Isla. Actually, your dad just said you were the best member of the pack,” Kaiyo said. Isla looked up at him.
“Really? Even with…”
“All of you, Isla. As you are. You are, by far, the bravest person I know.”
“No. I’m…I’m scared.”
Kaiyo looked at her sitting there, a small, dark bird, her shorn head and baggy clothes, her hunched shoulders and fear.
“People don’t feel brave, Isla. They feel fear. Theyarebrave.”
Isla looked at him, taking a deep, shaky breath. Kaiyo smiled at her, taking her hand.
“Let’s do this?”
After a moment, Isla nodded and slid to her feet. Kaiyo followed.
Thea and Emil didn’t waste a moment. As soon as Isla was in the living room, they sprang up to meet her. Despite Isla’s age, Emil picked her up. Isla clung to him as Thea wrapped around both of them, completing the cocoon from behind.
“We love you,cariño. Every bit of you. You tell us about you, and we will love you. No questions asked,” Emil said.
“So much, honey. We love you so much.”
