foot was caught in an iron trap. Let me help you, she said to him, and to herself, Do not be afraid.
“‘Using all of her strength, she pried open the iron trap and pulled its foot free. The beast did not attack her. It whimpered, its leg bleeding and ruined. So she tore up her blanket into bandages and wrapped it in them. And when the beast still cried, she found herself reaching around it, holding it. And then something extraordinary happened, and at her touch, the beast turned into a lion; but still she did not let go. It became a serpent, but still she did not let go….And at last it became…’” I press my hand to my face, my throat too tight to finish. I need a moment. I need just a second to…breathe…to be brave again….
“‘…a boy.’”
Sam’s fingers dig into my shoulder so hard, it’s the only reason I know I didn’t imagine the voice. She and I both stand, leaning over him, holding each other up.
“You…gotta tell it right, Mia….”
“Luc?” I say, too shocked to move. “Lucas?”
It’s a struggle for him to open his eyes, but he does, looking between us. His forehead wrinkles. “Had…the strangest dream…but you’re both…” He turns to Sam, terror raining down through his expression. “We didn’t make it….”
She takes his hand, presses it against her cheek. “We did. We’re okay now.”
Ruby slips out of her chair, and in the second before her dark hair falls around her face, I see that her cheeks are wet with tears. Liam is there to meet her, to wrap an arm around her shoulders, kiss her forehead, lead her outside. I can see their outlines, the way their two shapes have become one. I don’t know if she is crying for Lucas, if she is as relieved and caught in wonder as we are, or if she’s crying for the Red, the one she lost. I think it’s all of these things.
“Mia…Mia.” Lucas’s voice cracks on my name.
“Let me get you some water—some—” I start to rise, shaking. Every one of my senses is overwhelmed.
His arm comes up, pulls me forward as he struggles to sit up. Sam is there to lift him the rest of the way, and suddenly I’m in his arms, and it’s familiar and strange and wonderful and unbelievable. He is here. He’s come back.
“I found you,” he’s saying, over and over, “I found you….”
“We found you,” I inform him. “Well, actually, Sam found both of us.”
“Of course she did.” Lucas chuckles, and I think, That is the best sound. “Still taking care of us, aren’t you, Sunshine?”
Sam closes her eyes, her face pink with the force of holding back her tears. “Always.”
But then he stiffens, tensing with a sharp breath. I look back as Charlie comes up behind us, plates of food in his hands. Vida trails behind him a step, arms full of water bottles. They hang back, but I can read the curiosity in their faces.
“They’re our friends,” I tell him. “And we have a story to tell you.”
I sit beside my brother, in a circle of kids who laugh and talk and joke and even sing; we are sharing food between us, making plans, seeing a future that didn’t exist before.
And I am not surprised, not in the least, when Lucas says suddenly, “I want to help you. With the others.”
The conversation skids into silence. Liam turns to Ruby for her take at the same moment she turns to him. We’ve propped Lucas up against the back of the couch, and every now and then he has to lean his head back onto the cushion, like it’s too heavy to keep upright for long. His features are still sunken, and he has these shadows around his eyes, but I feel the parts of the brother I knew surfacing, bit by bit, as time rolls on around us.
“Lucas,” Ruby begins, “are you sure? There’s a chance this could explode in our faces—Cruz might not let me have access to the Reds, and even if she does, she might insist that you have to stay at the facility with the others.”
I’m grateful she’s giving him the truth, but fear still has the power to electrify my every last nerve, until I have to bite my tongue to keep from telling him no.
“Seriously?” Sam asks, looking between them. “Lucas—”
He gives her a weak smile. “I know I’m still a little pathetic to look at, but I’m willing to take