Xeni fucks his hand as he covers me in his release. He tilts his face toward the ceiling and pushes out a long, satisfied exhale as he sags and sits on my chest.

  “Comfortable?” I ask.

  Another wide grin spreads on his face as he glances down at me. “You’re a mess, darling.”

  I grab him and drag his mouth to mine, and he pulls away and licks the cum off my skin before kissing me again.

  “Kinky fuck,” I mutter against his lips.

  He chuckles as he rolls off me and flops back onto the mattress. We’re both sprawled out and coated in filth, melting into the mattress as we catch our breath.

  I gesture between us. “I blame this on you. I was ready to go eat lunch like a civilized person until you flaunted that ass in my direction.”

  “Oh yeah,” he snorts with a smug grin. “You ate my ass for two minutes, then came after another two. Real civilized.”

  “That was longer than four minutes,” I argue, then furrow my brow as I do the mental math and immediately regret it.

  Xeni laughs as he rolls off the bed, grabbing my arm and tugging me up with him. “Come on. We need a shower, and I require a few more minutes of your time.”

  I glance down and find his cock already stiffening again.

  I scoff, letting him lead me toward the bathroom. “Five minutes,” I warn, trying to sound firm.

  He glances over his shoulder, mischievous and absolutely breathtaking in the soft light sneaking through the curtains.

  “I’ll make it three.”

  Xeni and I walk into the courtyard hand-in-hand. Everyone mills about in small groups, and lunch cooks in the center. There are large bowls of pasta, sautéed vegetables, and cut fruits. The aromas make my stomach growl as I grab a plate and pile it with an embarrassing amount of food, and Xeni does the same without shame.

  Curious eyes follow us as we spot Cato, Ego, and Sakane sitting at a table together, their plates in various forms of empty.

  Ego leans back with a knowing grin. “There you guys are. I was beginning to think you’d become part of some sort of ritual sacrifice.”

  “And yet, you stuck around,” I say as I gesture at her spotless plate.

  She burps quietly and thumps her fist on her chest with a satisfied sigh. “Food takes priority sometimes. If we didn’t find you by, say… eh, tomorrow after dinner, I would’ve come looking for you.”

  “After a few more meals,” I deadpan.

  She grins with a nod. “Exactly.”

  “Has Sovran spoken to you guys yet?” I ask, settling into a seat.

  Xeni drops beside me, his thigh pressing against mine, and everyone at the table collectively shakes their heads.

  “He got Xeni’s vehicle ready for us,” I say.

  Cato’s brows fly high on his forehead. “How’d he manage that?”

  Xeni snorts through a mouthful of food. “Honestly? We aren’t really sure, and getting a straight answer out of him is impossible. All we know is he found it—”

  “How?” Cato repeats with genuine bewilderment.

  Xeni smirks as he glances at me from the corner of his eye. “Someone in this camp picked me up hitchhiking when I was on my way to the city.”

  “Who?” Ego asks, leaning forward with too much curiosity for my liking.

  “Don’t fucking worry about it,” I snap.

  Her eyes light up as they dart among the strangers. She’s a bloodhound on the hunt for drama, trying to scent fresh gossip.

  Xeni breathes a laugh as he takes my hand under the table, giving it a squeeze. “No one of consequence. They knew where they’d picked me up from, so I guess Sovran convinced them to take him.”

  “How’d he get it running, though?” Cato asks, still baffled, but Xeni and I both shrug.

  “More power to you if you want to drag that out of him,” Xeni says. “I had more important things to do this morning.”

  “I think he means Bash,” Ego whispers loudly to Sakane, who chokes on his drink as Xeni bites back his smile.

  “So, that’s it, then? We’re leaving?” Sakane asks, and Xeni nods. “How long is the drive to your village?”

  “We aren’t that far out of the city, so it’ll take us two days,” Xeni says. “If we leave after lunch, we should make it by tomorrow night.”

  “Will they be happy to see us?” Sakane asks with obvious concern in his eyes. Like Ego, he’d never left Atlanta, but he lacks her confidence in new situations.

  Xeni nods slowly as he finishes chewing. “The plan was always for me to convince Bash to come with me. A few extra leeches won’t be a big deal.” He tosses a haughty glance at Cato as he says it.

  Sakane’s attention shifts behind me and Xeni, and I turn as Sovran approaches. He drops onto the bench beside me, and I swear it groans under his weight.

  “You have satisfied your appetite?” he asks.

  Xeni snorts as I jab an elbow into his side.

  “Oh, yeah,” Xeni says, still trying and failing to hide his grin. “It’s been satisfied.”

  Sovran’s brows knit, but he doesn’t comment on Xeni’s giggling even as Ego snickers too. I shake my head and shoot him a look that I hope conveys my apologies for their behavior.

  “Good,” Sovran says with a decisive nod. “You will leave shortly.”

  “Oh… kay,” Ego drawls. “Way to be subtle about wanting to get rid of us.”

  Sovran fixes his eyes on her. “You eat a lot for a small human,” he finally says. “I am merely concerned about their supplies.”

  Ego shrugs, stabbing a piece of apple off Cato’s plate before he can object.

  “What will you do, Sovran?” Xeni asks. “Are you going back to Atlanta?”

  Sovran nods and stands. “There are things I must do there. Loose ends to be tied before I leave the city.”

  “You’ll leave?” I ask.

  He stares off into the distance for a moment. “My time there is at an end,” he answers, once again falling into his cryptic riddles, and this time, no one tries to solve them.

  We collect our bags and walk as a group around the corner, where Chakri and Johannes wait. Beyond them is a black SUV with a crumpled hood and cracked windshield.

  My brows fly up as I glance at Xeni. “You drove that deathtrap?”

  He pats the dented front quarter panel lovingly. “That thing took out the fence at Ljómur and kept kicking. She’s seen better days, but she’s good. Well,” he adds with a grimace, “she was, until she overheated on the drive down.”

  “The engine’s been repaired,” Johannes says as he crosses his arms and nods at the vehicle. “We have an incredible mechanic that looked her over. You won’t have any problems getting home.”

  “I could’ve fixed it,” Cato mutters.

  Xeni turns to him with another syrupy smile. “Aw, of course you could’ve,” he says in a placating tone.

  Cato scrunches his nose at him, an argument brewing on his tongue.

  I interrupt before he can get Xeni riled up. “You said there’s fuel?” I ask Sovran.

  He nods. “Fuel, food, and water. Plenty to get you home safely.”

  Xeni’s snarkiness fades as he approaches Sovran, displaying a rare seriousness as he dips his head in a bow. It’s a show of respect rarely given by their side, and always towards someone viewed as a superior.

  Considering where Xeni came from and how his parents raised him, it’s a big offering, and I hope Sovran realizes the enormity of the gratitude Xeni is showing him.

  “We owe you our lives,” Xeni says, face still pointed at the ground, before lifting it to meet Sovran’s gaze.

  That same fire burns in Sovran's golden eyes, but there’s a hint of something affectionate as a tiny smile flits over his lips.

  “Without you, those tunnels would’ve become our tomb,” Xeni continues. “My father would’ve died, yes, but we never would have escaped. Bash would…”

  Xeni trails off, then slips Sovran a piece of folded paper.

  “That is a map… a rough one,” he admits with a self-deprecating laugh, “but it shows where our village is located. Memorize it and destroy it, please, because I cannot risk the lives of my friends who are sheltered there. But if the time comes that I can ever be of help to you, I am your servant. I owe you a debt that I fear can never be repaid.”

  Sovran clasps Xeni's shoulder, and Xeni’s eye flares as Sovran dips his head in return.

  “Your actions have transformed the future, Xenesis. Your father was a plague for hundreds of years. He changed the course of history for both his world and this one. You were the only one who could stop him. If there is a debt between us, it is I who owe you my gratitude.”

  Xeni pulls his lips into a tight line as he tries to keep his composure and gives another small nod. “My offer remains, all the same.”

  “I believe we will meet again,” Sovran says, giving Xeni’s shoulder a squeeze before releasing him. “And when that day comes, I will be glad to call you friend.”

  Xeni

  Our series of goodbyes takes longer than expected. There are warm hugs from Chakri, firm handshakes from Johannes, and more cryptic farewells from Sovran. Once everyone is satisfied, we hit the road.

  The SUV bumps and bounces down the hidden roadway that winds away from the camouflaged motel. It travels for miles through thin sections of trees that offer fleeting glimpses of the wasteland beyond, and the barren soil looks particularly unforgiving when framed by the green. Dirt trails and remnants of gravel roads eventually give way to battered asphalt. It’s cracked and weathered but still serviceable, and we head north with a sense of cautious optimism.

  The drive is uneventful, the vast emptiness around us both eerie and liberating after the constant threat of the city. Ego and Sakane have their faces plastered to the windows, commenting on every fresh sight we pass—the rolling hills in the distance, clusters of resilient trees brushing against the horizon, and the occasional abandoned structures half-swallowed by dirt.

  Cato is more stoic, sitting between them with his arms crossed and his gaze fixed ahead as if daring the world to throw something at us. A few times I catch him staring at me in the rearview mirror, but he only ever glances away with a huff. The tension between us is still simmering but, for now, it remains unspoken.

  We stop at nightfall and park in a shallow valley not far off the road. Rocky outcrops provide enough cover in the darkness to feel marginally secure, though Cato insists on staying up to keep watch. His favorite knife glints on his hip as he settles on a higher vantage point.

  Bash and I stretch out on the ground with a blanket beneath us, the cool night air carrying the faint scent of dry earth and distant rain that never quite reaches us. We don’t sleep right away, though.

  My mind spins, thinking of everything that’s happened since I left the village weeks ago, and what changes might wait for me there. At this point, I’ve been gone longer than any of us planned for. I wonder what assumptions the others have made about my absence.

  Do they think I’ve been captured? Killed?

  Do any of them care?

  The thought pinches my chest with an ache of isolation too ingrained to be left behind. I turn to nuzzle into Bash, inhaling his familiar scent and allowing it to ground me.

  “We should’ve bought you more soap,” I say into his chest, the words slipping out without preface.

  “What?” he asks with a quiet laugh, pulling back to look at me in the dim starlight.

  “Those soaps you love so much. We won’t be able to get them anymore.”

  “Damn, you’re right. Better just go back and meet my fate with the army so I can smell good.”

  “You’re being an ass,” I point out with a tiny smile.

  He chuckles and pulls me in for a lingering kiss. “Seems the situation warrants it,” he teases, then cups my head and holds me against him. “You okay? Your mind is making a lot of noise tonight.”

  “Just… processing.”

  “Yeah,” he agrees quietly as he runs a palm over my hair. “I get that.”

  “It must be so weird for you to be out of the city like this. You never really spent any time out here.”

  “No, I didn't,” he agrees. “I was only out here when I was being moved between the cities and the base. It’s quiet. You can stop and listen, and the only things you hear are the wind blowing or some birds in the distance. There’s always been something making noise in my life. People walking and talking, or guards on patrol. Cars passing and doorbells ringing. The silence is…”

  “Different?” I offer.

  He shakes his head. “Nice. It makes you realize just how loud the world has been.”

  “It got quiet when I didn’t have you,” I whisper, and he pulls me into another hug, arms tight around me. “All those little noises you get used to hearing seem so trivial until you don’t hear them anymore.”

  “Oh? And what sort of noises do I make?”

  A grin tugs at my lips. “You mutter under your breath when you talk to yourself—”

  “When I need an expert opinion, you mean,” he interjects.

  “Yes, exactly,” I say with a laugh. “You tap your pencil when you’re thinking, and make this cute little humming sound when you figure something out. You pace when you’re restless, and I can tell your mood by the cadence of your steps. Fast when you’re irritated, slower when you’re calm.”

  A devilish smile spreads across my lips as I tilt my face up to look at him.

  “And then there are the times you eat spicy food and—”

  “Nope,” he says, far too loudly, as he places a palm over my mouth. My belly shakes as I try to hold in my laughter, and Bash’s smile is brilliant as he rolls his eyes and stares toward the sky. We bask in that silence for a few long minutes, and Bash plays with my hair as I soak in the closeness.

  “You asleep?” Bash asks after a while.

  I shake my head as I glance up at him. “Doubt I’ll get any tonight.”

  He hums his agreement, but he’s distracted.

  I sit up taller as his head slides into my lap. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong, just… nerves, I guess,” he says.

  “About the village?”

  He nods, then shakes his head.

  “That is a very confusing answer, Sebastian.”

  He grins up at me as I absentmindedly trace the edge of his ear, waiting for him to collect his thoughts.

  “What would you say if I asked you?” he finally says.

  I scrunch my nose. “Not any less confusing, darling.”

  He licks his lips and reaches into his pocket, and my heart stops when he pulls it out. He holds my ring between his thumb and pointer finger, his hands shaking slightly.

  “We almost died, Xen. Multiple times. And I realized I would never forgive myself if something happened to you while you had any doubts about what you are to me. What we are to each other.”

  “And what are we?” I whisper, my chin trembling as hope swells in my chest.

  He spins the ring between his fingers as both of us stare at it. “You’re my best friend, and my mate… and my husband?”

  “Are you asking me or telling me?”

  He grins as he chokes on a laugh, but the levity fades as he waits.

  I stare at the ring, then at the empty place on my hand where it belongs. “You asked me to be patient, Bash. I can wait as long as you need me to.”

  “I don’t want to wait,” he says as he sits up, putting us eye to eye. His gaze is steady, always so fucking steady, and he’s full of quiet determination. “I’m tired of being patient. I just want you. I’ve only ever wanted you.”

  “You’ve always had me, darling.”

  He presses his lips to mine in something that feels like an oath, kissing me senseless then leaning our foreheads together.

  Here, with only the stars as our witness, he whispers those same words we shared years ago.

  He renews that eternal vow we fought to keep intact.

  “I promise to love you until my very last breath. No matter where we are or what we’re doing, you’ll be my first thought when I wake and the last before I sleep. One lifetime will never be enough, but I swear I’ll make every moment count.”

  Tears blur my vision as the memory of that night merges with this one, so different, but similar in all the ways that matter.

  “Xeni, you are my mate, my heart, and my home. My chaos, and the guarantee life will never be boring.” We both choke on a wet laugh and share a teary smile. “You’re the one who makes me feel like I’m home, even when everything else is falling apart. I promise I’ll love you through the mess, the scars, the bad days… through all of it. No more running. No more silence. Just us. We’ll build the life we always wanted and together, we’ll fill all those quiet spaces.”

  My chin trembles as I swallow past the emotion, and Bash waits patiently for me to collect myself.

  “I still follow you like a lost puppy, don’t I?” I ask with a sniff.

  He only smiles and kisses away the tear that sneaks loose.

  “You are my forever, Sebastian. The calm to my chaos, and my shelter from the storms. You’re the only person who ever made me feel safe enough to stop hiding. I broke us once, and I swear to you, I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure I never do it again. I promise to love you loud, messy, and without holding anything back. I’ll hold you together when the world tries to pull you apart, and as long as I have breath in my lungs, I will fight for you. You are the great love of my life.”

  He slides the ring onto my finger, the cool metal settling into its home like it never left. The last piece of my soul clicks into place, complete for the first time in years.

  We smile like idiots at each other as our mouths meet again, and we kiss until our lips are swollen and our hearts are full, the world narrowing to this.

  To us, tangled together on a blanket in the middle of nowhere.

  Finally free.

  Xeni