Page 99 of Storm of Stars
Ava sank down beside me on the deck with a quiet sigh, brushing a hand over the wood beneath us as she watched my brother race across the yard as fast as he could. She set her crutches off to the side with a sigh. The sun was warm on our shoulders, and for a moment, the world felt like it was holding its breath just for us.
“You’ve made something really beautiful here, Bex,” she said softly.
I smiled, brushing hair out of my eyes and looking at the scene in front of us. Jax chasing after a ball as Thorne and Briar egged him on, their laughter rising like music. “Yeah,” I whispered. “But I never could’ve done it without you.”
Ava glanced at me, puzzlement in her tired, strong gaze. So I turned to her and pressed my hand over hers. “Ava, you kept him safe. You protected him. You knew what was coming and refused to give Praxis the chance to use him against me. I couldn’t have done any of this if Veritas had gotten to him first.”
Ava offered a shy smile, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. “I was a part of the Runaways for a long time,” she said quietly, brushing a finger across the moth tattooed on the inside of her wrist. “After Nial died, I promised myself I’d do whatever I could to bring Praxis down. Whatever it cost.”
I watched her, brushing my thumb over that same tattoo. “Why didn’t you tell me?” The question came out soft, and I hoped she could hear the trust behind it.
Her voice was even softer when she spoke. “You always had more to lose than I did, Bex. You had Jax. I didn’t want you to have to choose between standing with the resistance andkeeping him safe. So I kept it to myself until you went and found it yourself.”
She glanced out at Jax, laughing as Thorne scooped him up and spun him in a circle. The sound bubbled across the lawn, filling every crack and space where pain had lived for too long.
Ava smiled faintly and shrugged. “Then you met Thorne and Briar, and I knew. The Greys are kind of Runaway royalty. I saw the way you looked at them. They way they trusted you. And then I knew it…you were always going to fight. Always going to rise. It’s who you are, Bex. The one who fights for those who can’t. The one who finds a way.”
She adjusted herself, brushing a hand down the thigh where her decades old injury still pained her. “I’ve believed in you since we were kids, Bex. And I’ve never been so proud to call someone my sister.”
I pulled her into a tight hug, brushing my nose into the soft fabric of her shirt. “I love you, Ava,” I whispered.
She gave a quiet chuckle as she stood, adjusting the crutch under her arm. “Yeah, yeah. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment to get fitted for a prosthetic.”
I smiled, brushing a hand down her arm as she started off. “Congratulations, Ava. I’m so happy for you.”
She glanced back with a wink. “Thank you, for making it a possibility.”
As she walked away, I turned to watch the trio still playing in the yard. Jax, with that stubborn streak he got from too many days trying to run before he could walk, was chasing after the ball again.
“Careful, Jax!” I called out.
“I’m fine, Bex!” he yelled back, voice dripping with the kind of sass I’d only ever heard from a certain Grey twin.
“Yeah Bex, we’re fine,” Thorne teased.
I glanced at him, arching an eyebrow. He shrugged and offered a sheepish laugh. Whatever mischief was blooming between those two was going to be a force of nature.
I crossed my arms, shaking my head with a smile as Ezra came up beside me, looping an arm across my shoulders and brushing a kiss to the top of my head. “They’re okay, beautiful,” he promised quietly. “Look at him. He’s laughing. He’s playing. He’s living.”
I glanced at the trio one more time. Briar brushing grass from Jax’s knees, Thorne tossing the ball in the air as he called for another round, and felt a wave of warmth settle deep within me.
“Yeah,” I breathed, brushing my hand down the length of Ezra’s arm. “I think you’re right.”
Then Zaffir was beside us, brushing a kiss to my cheek, looping an arm low around my waist. His long fingers brushed teasingly across Ezra’s torso, earning him a narrowed gaze that sparked tension in Ezra’s jaw. Zaffir only winked, brushing a whisper across the shell of my ear.
“I’ve got something I want to show you,” he said, voice low and teasing.
I glanced out across the lawn to where Jax was shrieking with laughter as Briar stole the ball from under his nose.
“They’ll be fine,” Zaffir promised, brushing a kiss to the side of my neck. “Come with me.”
Ezra fell into step beside us, brushing the length of my spine as we crossed the threshold and started down the long, echoing hallway.
“Where are you taking her?” Ezra called, brushing a hand down Zaffir’s shoulder.
“By all means, come along,” Zaffir replied with a crooked smirk, breaking into a slow jog as he pulled us down the corridors.
I followed, breathless, grinning as the sound of our footsteps melded together. No matter how long we spent in these towering halls, it never felt like a home. These walls still held too many echoes, too much pain, too much history.
