“That will do,” Darius said after another few minutes, despite the fact that the wound was still bleeding. “Lance will need to finish it. But I’m good enough for now.”
“Really?” I asked as I clutched his arm, squeezing tight as the panic of losing him ebbed away. I wouldn’t survive that. I needed my brother more than anything. He was my rock.
“Good enough,” he confirmed but it looked as though it still hurt like a bitch. At least the colour had returned to his face.
“Don’t scare me like that,” I hissed, punching him in the arm and he frowned for a moment before pushing himself up to sit in front of me.
“Thanks Tyler,” he murmured and Tyler shrugged like it was nothing, rising to his feet and beckoning Sofia over.
Fuck, he annoyed the hell out of me, but he’d just saved my brother and now I was grateful to him too.
“You know you’d be fine without me, right?” he said and a whinny of pain escaped me as I shook my head.
“No, I wouldn’t,” I said. “How can you say that? I’d be lost without you, Darius.”
“You’re stronger than that,” he pushed, gripping the back of my neck and pulling me forward so our foreheads rested together. “You’re the good Acrux. Father didn’t corrupt you.”
“You’re not corrupted,” I growled. “You’re the best person I know.”
He laughed dryly, letting me go. “Did you hit your head back there?”
“You’ve done bad things, Darius, but that doesn’t make you a bad person,” I insisted and he frowned, shaking his head at me.
“Bad deeds are what make bad people,” he said, pushing himself to his feet and pulling me up with him.
“No,” I disagreed. “The reason for doing bad things are what defines a person. And you’ve never done one bad thing without trying to do it for a good reason.”
He sighed, looking like he was going to keep arguing but then he gave in and slung an arm over my shoulders. “Fine, but don’t go putting ‘here lies a saint’ on my tombstone. Make sure it’s honest. Like, ‘here lies an absolute legend’。”
I shoved his arm off of me, shooting him a glare. “That’s not funny, Darius.”
He rolled his eyes, walking over to pick up the bag he’d gotten from Ignis House, sitting it on top of the motorcycle and wheeling it towards The Burrows.
“What’s in the bag?” I asked curiously as I walked with him after the Pegasus herd.
“I grabbed Orion’s dark magic equipment and I owe the twins some stuff they left in the mortal realm,” he said, his brows pulling together, then he jerked his chin at the satchel hanging at my side. “What did you get?”
“Orion’s books,” I said, grinning smugly and flipping the bag open, rifling through the tomes I’d saved. I pulled out a hardback with a cover that looked like it was encrusted with multicoloured gemstones, reading the title on the spine. Stones of the Sky.
“This is the one he wanted, right?” I asked Darius hopefully, waving it under his nose and my brother broke a grin before scruffing my hair.
“Well done, asshole,” he said affectionately, thought I didn’t miss the way he pressed a hand to the wound on his side once more. “He’s gonna turn into a kid when he sees those. I bet you fifty auras he says ‘oh my stars!’ like a boy on Christmas morning.”
I laughed, shaking his hand in agreement of that deal as we headed inside, leading the herd with us and allowing them to pass through the magical barrier.
The guards cried out in surprise as they spotted us, one of them announcing that he was going to get Hamish so that he could perform the vow with the new refugees and allow them into The Burrows.
My attention fell on Sofia up ahead as Tyler guided her along, the two of them whispering to one another, but as her gaze turned to meet mine, my stomach rippled with heat and I found myself smirking stupidly at her. It was so damn good to see her again, and now she was here, I knew I had to Fae up and tell her how I felt. It was horrifying to think she could have died today, and I didn’t want to waste a single second longer keeping the truth from her. Sure, it might blow up in my face. She might pick Tyler outright, but at least I’d know where I stood then.
I just needed to make the right gesture first. Make sure I was the best Pegasus for her possible, and I was pretty sure I knew what I had to do to ensure that.
Darius rolled the bike into the farmhouse, keeping the bag over his shoulder and I was relieved to shut the cold air out at last and feel the presence of my father finally leaving my body.