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Again, I ran.

I released the latch on each of their stables, and I let them pummel me to the ground. Laughing, I let them lick and pounce. I kneaded my fingers through their fur, almost ashamed for the fraction of joy they gave me.

Cuddling them atop the hay, embracing every moment I had with them, I shut my eyes, and I thought.

It was the first time since it all began this morning that I had the chance to do that. Everything had happened so fast, and then the grief had taken hold, and…

And now, with that burst of joy my massive, winged wolves gave me, my head was clear enough to think.

Lux was right.

Whenever we found their souls, we could put Véa into a new body. Enough people in the Land of Light adored her; someone would be willing to mother her. That was if Brynn wouldn’t want to.

Then… Then we could do the spell the boys had used on Hana and Venark. Although their memories hadn’t become clear, they were very much themselves when I spoke with them yesterday.

I could give Véa all our memories together, and then, we could have our babies again. They’d be infants instead of ten, six, and three, but ten years was nothing to an eternal.

But where was she? Where were my children?

Michael knew. Gabriel knew.

I didn’t know where Lux was, nor if I trusted him. Brynn made it clear that she didn’t want to be in my presence.

I needed someone I trusted at my side.

I needed to see if anyone else survived.

* * *

Rion and Luna’s home was first. They lived closest, so it wasn’t a far flight with Vinion and Ayla. Aside from Véa, Rion was the best friend I had. He was the one I trusted with anything.

But I smelled the fire before I made it to his home.

When I did get there, I looked around anyway, just to be sure. What if little Aurora had managed to run away? What if she was hiding in the woods waiting for someone to find her?

She wasn’t. All that was in that forest were rabbits, and boar, and bears. I just had to check.

With a heavy heart, I flew to Stella and Cere’s. Not to my surprise, they were gone as well, their home nothing more than a pyre.

I wasn’t sure what struck through me at that point, but I was on my fourth burned building now, and I hadn’t looked inside once. Something in me compelled me to check. Be certain they were truly gone.

I checked.

I wished I hadn’t.

Whatever was left of who they’d once been was nothing more than charred meat now. As much as it pained me, I checked the inside of Luna and Rion’s home as well.

Again, I wished I hadn’t.

The others all lived far away. Luna, Rion, Stella, and Cere were the closest. Ayla and Vinion didn’t do well with flying, so I returned them home. And as stupid as it fucking was, I checked at my home as well.

I had a reason though. Ayla and Vinion were alive, and that gave me hope that Sadie and Sany were too. If Brynn had let them out to piss, they may’ve run into the woods. The Angels wanted us dead, but they left Vinion and Ayla. They wouldn’t have killed my dogs, would they have?

They had.

Sany was at the floor before what I thought was Friel’s body. I couldn’t be sure. The twins were so similar in height and stature, without their faces, without their clothes, I couldn’t tell who was who, and…

Vomiting, I collapsed into sobs again. I knew they were dead, but they were my babies and I needed to hold them one more time, even if they didn’t feel anything like the children I’d held this morning.