Page 71 of Crossing Between

"All's fair in love and war," I replied, equally quietly. "My teacher taught me that."

"And which is this?" His eyes searched mine, suddenly serious despite our playful position.

I leaned down, bringing my lips close to his ear. "When I was fighting to free Ryan, I felt all of you with me. Varon's strength, Elias's healing, and your protection. I felt you praying."

He stiffened slightly beneath me. "My ancestors have always watched over me," he admitted. "But that day, I begged them like never before. Not for victory, but for you to come back to us. To me."

"They answered." I brushed my lips against his, aware of our audience but past caring. "I love you, Kenji."

The cheers and whistles grew louder as I kissed him properly, then jumped to my feet. "Class dismissed," I called to the rookies with a laugh, heading for the door.

"That was definitely cheating!" Kenji shouted after me, but I could hear the joy in his voice.

My final stop was Varon's office. Unlike Elias and Kenji, who had thrown themselves into helping others, Varon had retreated into his work. The blinds on his office windows were drawn, and when I knocked, his gruff "Enter" sounded more like a warning than an invitation.

He was hunched over his desk, surrounded by stacks of reports and evidence files. He barely looked up as I closed the door behind me.

"You shouldn't be here." The edge in his voice had softened at the sight of me. "You're supposed to be resting."

"So I've been told." I perched on the edge of his desk, deliberately pushing aside a stack of folders to make room. "What about you? Have you slept at all this week?"

Varon leaned back in his chair, rubbing a hand over his face. He looked exhausted, the kind of bone-deep weariness that even vampiric resilience couldn't fully mask.

"I filed a commendation for you," he ignored my question. "Bradley's approved it. There'll be a ceremony once things settle down."

"I don't need a commendation."

"You deserve it." His eyes, those piercing eyes that had first captured my attention months ago, finally met mine fully. "What you did out there, Zoey, I've lived for centuries, and I've never seen anything like it."

I reached for his hand, tracing the lines of his palm with my fingertip. "Scared you, did I?"

A muscle in his jaw tightened. "Terrified me. Not because of what you could do, but because..." He trailed off, looking away.

"Because what?"

"Because I thought I might lose you." The admission seemed to cost him something. "I've lost people before. Comes with living as long as I have. But the thought of losing you..."

I slid off the desk and onto his lap, straddling him just as I'd done with Kenji, but with an entirely different intent. His hands came up automatically to steady me, gripping my hips.

"You didn't lose me," I murmured, leaning in close. "And I love you, too, by the way."

His eyes widened fractionally, then darkened with desire. "Zoey."

I cut him off with a kiss, hot and demanding.

He responded instantly, one hand tangling in my hair to pull me closer, the other sliding beneath my shirt to press against the small of my back.

I arched into him, savoring the cool firmness of his body against mine, the way his control slipped just a little more with each passing second.

A sharp knock at the door broke us apart. "Sir? Bradley and the council are waiting for your briefing." Sheryl's voice was professional and oblivious to what she'd interrupted.

Varon's forehead dropped to my shoulder with a muttered curse. "Five minutes," his voice was remarkably steady.

I climbed off his lap reluctantly, straightening my clothes. "Don't tell anyone."

"About the kiss, or about the 'I love you'?" His lips quirked in a rare smile.

"Either. Both." I unlocked the door, preparing to slip out. "I have a reputation to maintain."

"Your secret's safe with me." His expression turned serious again. "But Zoey, we should talk about this. All of us."

I nodded, knowing he was right.

"Later," I promised. "Right now, you have a meeting to get to."

I wanted to visit Quilith but the silly dragon had sent me a letter, filled with hearts and flowers, letting me know how proud they were of me and that they'd be back from their realm in a few weeks now that the danger was gone.

The memorial for Ruth had been small, just as she would have wanted it. No grand church service or parade of distant relatives she barely knew. Just a handful of people who truly loved her, gathering in the community garden she'd helped create.

In that final moment, when everything was chaos and light, I had felt Ruth's soul break free.

Later that night, when things had begun to settle, I'd felt her presence wrap around me like a hug, just for a second.

It had been warm and bright and so purely Ruth.

And then she was gone, but not into darkness. Into light. Into peace.

I left the station with a lightness I hadn't felt in months, perhaps years.

The late afternoon sun painted the city in warm gold as I walked.

Around me, people went about their lives, children playing in the park, couples strolling hand-in-hand, a group of young werewolves practicing control exercises under the watchful eye of their elder.

A faery flower vendor offered me a bloom as I passed, her gossamer wings shimmering in the sunlight.

A centaur police officer nodded respectfully from his patrol route.

Two witches argued good-naturedly outside their shared herb shop, their familiars watching with feline disdain from the windowsill.

The city was alive, breathing, thriving, healing. And for the first time since my powers had awakened, I realized I wasn't just surviving anymore.

I was finally living.

Varon

I stared at the growing mountain of paperwork on my desk, the words blurring together as I leaned back in my chair.

The leather creaked beneath me, a sound that had once been a comforting constant in my centuries of existence.

Now it just reminded me how long I'd been sitting here, that I was not spending that time with my new family.

Who could have predicted what Zoey would become? What we would become because of her?

I closed my eyes, letting memories wash over me. The first time she'd stood up to me, those ridiculous bright eyes flashing with defiance. The reckless, infuriating way she threw herself into danger. The even more reckless way she'd thrown herself into my bed.

Into my heart.

"Damn it," I ran a hand through my hair.

I'd walked this earth far longer than I liked to remember. Centuries of careful distance, of calculated relationships, of never letting anyone too close. I'd built walls around myself so high and thick that I'd forgotten they were even there. Just the way it had to be.

Until her. Until Zoey crashed through every defense I'd ever constructed with the subtlety of a wrecking ball and that ridiculous laugh of hers.

My phone buzzed with a text from Kenji, another one of his incessant memes, this one featuring a grumpy cat with my face poorly photoshopped onto it. The caption read "When the coffee machine is empty." Despite myself, my lips twitched upward.

The oni had been a thorn in my side from the moment I'd recruited him.

Too loud, too emotional, too everything.

His power was undeniable, but his methods had always set my teeth on edge.

I'd kept him at arm's length for years, seeing him as a necessary asset rather than anything else, even after a few secret shared nights of passion.

Yet somehow, in the chaos of these past months, I'd found myself looking forward to his inappropriate jokes, his boundless energy, even those ridiculous pranks he insisted on playing around the office.

When had that happened?

My gaze drifted to the framed photo on my desk, the only personal item I allowed in my workspace.

It was from last month's department picnic, before everything had blown to shit.

Elias stood in the center, his tentacles wrapped protectively around both Kenji and Zoey, who were making absurd faces at the camera.

I stood at the edge, not quite smiling but not scowling either.

An improvement, Zoey had proudly declared.

Elias. The kraken had always been easier to tolerate than Kenji, his calm demeanor and analytical mind more aligned with my own methods. But I'd still maintained that professional barrier, never allowing myself to recognize what was growing between us.

I opened my desk drawer and pulled out the small velvet box hidden beneath a stack of arrest forms. The pendant inside gleamed softly in the dim light of my office, a protection charm I'd commissioned from the highest-ranking witch in the city.

Three gemstones set in ancient silver: a ruby for the oni's fire, an aquamarine for the kraken's water, an onyx for the vampires monster and a diamond in the center for the soulbinder who had somehow bound us all together.

It had cost me a small fortune and a favor I'd been holding onto for nearly a century. Worth every penny, every debt.

My phone buzzed again, this time with a message from Elias: "Dinner at 8. She's attempting to cook again. Bring fire extinguisher."

Following quickly was another text, this one from Zoey herself: "DO NOT LISTEN TO ELIAS. My cooking has improved significantly! But maybe bring wine. Lots of it."

The familiar warmth spread through my chest, foreign and yet increasingly welcome. This attachment. This affection. This love . It had crept up on me slowly, then all at once.

I had spent centuries believing that love was a luxury I couldn't afford, a weakness that would inevitably lead to pain given my immortal nature.

But she had changed that. They all had.