Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,298

Mistress Stonewell being gone. I had the closure I craved, but despite everything, I felt a sense of responsibility for her. So we did the only thing we could think to do.

We went home.

“I just want to look a little while longer,” I said while taking in our ruined home. I wanted to soak in the destruction so it felt real. For so long, I dreamed of coming back here, of walking down the street and resuming my job at the bakery while spending my nights with my men. But that dream seemed so out of reach now. We had a cure to find. A town to rebuild. A sense of trust to reestablish. I looked over my shoulder at Huxley, who was standing watch, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked back at me with those challenging eyes. “I miss it,” I whispered before turning back to look at where Black Manor would have stood.

“Well, it’s gone,” Jules said to my right, kicking at a rock on the ground before spitting in the dirt. She’d come a long way from the girl that I met back in Galla just a few months ago. She was wearing trousers and a smile, looking at her burned downtown like it was a challenge, not a problem. Jules thrived. I’d never seen her so alive or so determined to hunt and fight her way through the crumbling empire. She’d changed a lot in the last few months, and our friendship had grown, too. I couldn’t tell if she was jealous or proud that it was I who delivered the deadly blow to Cavil.

I let out a slow exhale before turning to walk towards Kemper. He was rifling through a pile of trash, looking for anything that might be useful. “You okay?” I asked. He’d designed most of this town. Built it from the ground up with his bare hands in homage to his grandfather. Seeing it destroyed must have been devastating for him.

“It can be rebuilt,” he said with a simple shrug. I knew there was more behind his response. He was just as burdened by the wreckage as the rest of us. The only difference was he liked having a purpose and couldn’t wait to make things perfect again.

“Can it?” I asked. Kemper stopped sorting through debris to look at me. Grabbing my hands, he then pulled me into a hug before whispering in my ear.

“Of course it can, Ash. The only thing you can’t rebuild is a person. And the only people I care about are here.” I thought back to the bracelet they got me for my birthday, that day now felt so far away. The inside engraving had said “Home is wherever you are.” And now, looking out at what little was left of Dormas, that saying felt more authentic than ever. My men were my home. They were my safe place. I knew that Kemper was right, and as he held me there in what used to be the middle of the road of Dormas, I stole what little comfort he could provide. I let it seep through my skin and settle in my bones. There was a chill in the air, an ominous warning that winter was upon us.

"Is anything salvageable?" I asked. Jacob was standing off in the distance, looking at what used to be our home. Black Manor was nothing more than a pile of rubble. He tucked his hands into his grey pants and kicked at a fallen piece of timber. His beard had grown some, and his broad shoulders seemed even more muscular now since he’d been moving the rubble and saving anyone trapped. Every town we arrived at was always the same. Nothing was left.

"It's all salvageable. But for now, we might have to go to old Dormas," Kemper answered me.

Jules popped her neck, rolling her head around before speaking. "Didn't we leave that town because it was infected? We should probably stay away, shouldn't we?" Her voice was patronizing, a tone I had come to expect from her. Tallis made her bold and brave, but her need to be right made her anxious, like she had something to prove.

Cyler dusted his hands off on his black denim jeans before answering her. "Everywhere is infected, Jules." I stared at Cyler, who had pulled his long black hair up into a ponytail and was staring back at me. He was still tall and impressive, but it broke me to see his