Page 128 of Daman

I didn’t know how to respond to that. For so long, I’d avoided bringing attention to myself. I preferred being a lone wolf so that Envy wouldn’t taint those around me. It was easier. People believing I was a hero stumped me. I’d spent a majority of my life thinking I was a villain… just like Phoenix said.

Warrin grabbed my hand. His touch grounded me. I squeezed his fingers and held my head a bit higher as we looked for my brothers.

We found Raiden first. He was playing ball with some of the children. The kids laughed and jumped on him as he ran in exaggerated slow motion toward the goal at the end of the grassy field. He then released his wings and lifted a few feet into the air, dragging them along as they giggled.

Galen watched them, brow hard and arms crossed.

“Where’s Simon?” I asked him.

“With Clara. It was too dangerous for him to be here.” The witch’s house was safeguarded against both angels and demons. Not even we could step across the threshold. It was the safest place for Simon to be other than with Galen. “Now that you’re awake, we can finally leave.”

He stormed away without another word. Yeah, Galen wasn’t the type of guy to get sentimental. Simon had softened his hard edges, but he was still a grumpy asshole, even more than me.

After we buried Alexander—who’d fallen during the battle—Lev, the twins, and Rurik took the jet back to Russia. I said goodbye to Lycus, promising to keep in touch.

“You better,” Lycus said.

“I will.” I hugged him. He was so different from the frail boy I used to tell bedtime stories to. But alike in many ways too.

“You always have a home here.”

“Tell me something,” I said, pulling back from the embrace. “Was the Great White Wolf just as awesome as we hoped?”

Lycus smiled. “Even more so. I told him about you. He saved me that day, but you were always my hero, Daman.”

My eyes watered. “Fucker. Don’t make me cry.”

He grinned, but his eyes were glistening too. “Get your ass out of here. Call me sometime.”

“I promise I will.”

We then left the village and found the jet my brothers had brought. Alastair walked to the cockpit while the rest of us settled into the seats.

“Are you excited to be going home?” Warrin asked me once the jet was in the air.

“Echo Bay’s not my home.” I linked our fingers. “My home is with you.”

“Aw, D,” Bellamy said, popping up behind my seat. “Look at you being all romantic and shit.”

“Don’t make me throw you out of this plane.”

He laughed and sat back down.

Once we landed in Echo Bay, I breathed in the saltwater breeze, one mixed with the smell of rain. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the overcast sky looked as though it would release a downpour at any moment. The sleepy seaside town would always call to me. But a bigger part of me longed for the snowy cottage I shared with Warrin.

Galen left to pick up Simon, while Castor and Kyo slid into Castor’s sleek black Lykan Hypersport. Raiden rode with them. The rest of us piled into Alastair’s SUV and drove toward the mansion.

“Who’s hungry?” Raiden asked once we walked into the house. He aimed for the kitchen, turning on lights as he went. “Pizza sounds amazing right now.”

“Cheese pizza!” Gray ran after him, dropping his luggage in the middle of the floor. “With sausage.”

“Pretty sure that’s just called a sausage pizza, smalls.”

“Hey, pick this up and take it to your room,” Alastair called after Gray, who ran away even quicker. “I know you heard me.”

I led Warrin up the stairs and headed down the hall toward my old room. It was just as I’d left it—black curtains, a deep green comforter, and art on the walls of creepy forests and haunted houses, some I’d drawn myself.

Warrin observed the room, a subtle smile at the corner of his mouth. “This suits you.”