Steel Lily ARC (39 page)

“Me, too?” asked Sari.

“I’m not sure how many people can fit in a twin size bed, but we can find out.”

“If there’s going to be three women in a bed, then I feel like I should be there too,” Jaxon said.

The only response he got was a punch in the arm from Alice.

I sighed. “You know, if you had told me we’d survive everything, I don’t know if I would have believed it.”

Jaxon chuckled. He closed his eyes, pulling me close to him. “When you’re ready, we’ll face this together, starting with Elemental courses.”

I leaned forward. “Elemental courses? You’ve got to be kidding!”

Jaxon laughed. “You’re back home, what did you think would happen? Just because you’re kind of a big deal, it doesn’t exempt you from honing your craft. You’ll need it more than ever, and I want to be able to hold my own. When you were out, I had them give me a little vial of your blood. We’ll see if Xander was onto something.”

“I did too,” said Sari.

Alice nodded. “And me as well.”

“Guys…” I said, shocked. “You guys shouldn’t have done that. And I thought you didn’t want to be a guinea pig, Jaxon.”

“Well, if I’m your guinea pig, I guess I’m okay with it. Let’s just keep calm and carry on.”

That sounded like a good place to start. I released my hold on Jaxon’s hand and stood to walk over to the dresser. I delicately laid down the flower and smiled as the moonlight danced off the brushed steel.

Mom would have loved to dance in the moonlight.

I turned to see Jaxon smiling serenely at me. Jaxon’s words came out in a whisper, but they were fervent and laced with emotion. “You’ll do her memory well, I know it.” He extended his arms out and waited for me to fill them. “Come here, Steel Lily.”

There was no hesitation as I allowed him to hold me, his warmth making me feel safe. I snuggled in and took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. Alice leaned into my other side, and Sari joined in.

It was a gift to have such an amazing group of friends.

Although we had a long ways to go before we were really safe, I knew that together, we could stand against anything that the Resistance could throw at us. Our strength was forged in the bonds of our friendship, and if we could hold onto that, we would win the war.

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“Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have.”

--Ronald Reagan