Page 135 of Thunder's Reckoning

And then I saw them.

Zara. Malik.

For a heartbeat, I thought I was dreaming again, that my mind had finally broken. But then Zara’s little voice cracked through the stillness—

“Mommy!”

She barreled across the floor, bare feet slapping wood, too fast for Zeke to catch her. Malik followed, slower, his jaw tight, his body stiff like he was bracing himself against the world.

My arms opened before I could think. Zara collided with me, small arms wrapping around my neck. Pain seared my shoulder, but I clung tighter. I pressed my face into her hair, breathing in the sweet, familiar scent of soap and little girl sweat and innocence I thought I’d lost forever.

Malik hesitated at the edge of the bed. His eyes—still too old for ten years—searched my face, like he was testing if I was really alive. Really here.

“Come here, baby,” I whispered. My voice broke. “Come to me.”

That was all it took. He climbed up carefully, then folded into me all at once, his arms clutching my side, his face buried in my ribs.

I gathered them both against me, my children, my heart, my reason for running. Tears blurred my vision as I kissed their hair, their temples, whispering their names over and over like ifI said them enough, the world wouldn’t dare take them from me again.

Zeke stood at the foot of the bed, watching. He didn’t rush. Didn’t break the moment. His chest rose and fell heavy, like he was carrying the weight of all of us. When my eyes met his over Zara’s curls, his voice came low, rough, steady as stone.

“They’re here,” he said. “They’re yours. Nobody’s ever takin’ ‘em again.”

Zara sniffled into my neck. “I thought you were gone forever,” she whispered, her little fingers clutching the fabric of my shirt.

My throat closed. I kissed the top of her head, holding her tighter. “Never, baby. I’ll never leave you.”

Malik’s voice came quieter, steadier, but it cut even deeper. “I tried to take care of her,” he said, not looking up. “I told her you’d come back. I told her we just had to wait.”

The sob ripped out of me before I could stop it. I cupped the back of his head, rocking him gently. “You were so brave. Both of you. I’m here now. I’ve got you.”

The tears came harder then, not just fear but release. Hope. Relief.

Zeke finally stepped closer, slow, careful, as though even his shadow might shatter me. He crouched by the bed, one hand brushing my hair back, his touch reverent. “You hear me, darlin’? You rest now. They’re safe. You’re safe. And ain’t nobody in this world gonna lay a finger on y’all again.”

I buried my face in Zara’s hair, Malik pressed to my side and let myself believe it.

CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

THE CLUBHOUSE WASstill hummin’ like a body comin’down from a fight. Boots dragged across hardwood, men’s voices low as they traded scraps of the story back and forth, and downed drinks in celebration.

But even with all that noise, the air had shifted. Just ‘cause the war’s over don’t mean the ghosts vanish with it.

I found Momma sittin’ on the back porch, her silhouette cut against the moonlight. She had a chipped ceramic mug cradled in both hands, steam long gone cold. Her hair was looser than I’d ever seen it, strands of silver catchin’ the breeze. Her shoulders sloped like the years had finally settled their weight there. Buther eyes—when she finally looked up—were the same. Soft. Steady. Clear enough to calm a man.

“I figured you’d come find me,” she said, not liftin’ her gaze from the dark yard.

I dropped down on the step beside her, arms heavy across my knees, the wood groanin’ under me. “Too much in my head not to.”

We sat in the kind of quiet you don’t rush. Not empty silence, but the kind that lets the ground cool before you stir it again.

“You know everythin’,” she said after a long while. Not a question.

I nodded, slow. “Started in dreams. Then Ash told me pieces, Uncle filled in more. And tonight…” My jaw clenched. “Tonight Gabrial gave me the worst of it.”

Her fingers shifted against the mug, the tiniest tremor.

“I saw him,” I said. “The man I thought was my father. Saw him shot in my head, and you standin’ over him.”