The flight was agonizing.
Monroe had to stop a few times to warm Hera in his wings as the temperature continued to drop. He finally dropped them behind a small shopping complex that Hera broke into and stole a deliciously insulated jacket and some high-quality hiking boots. She felt slight guilt as she destroyed their surveillance system and returned to Monroe with a pit in her stomach.
"Will you stop complaining now?" He asked quietly.
"Easy for you to say. You don't look like you even feel the cold." She zipped the jacket up to her chin and drew the drawstring on her hood and waist. She already felt so much warmer. The pair of socks she pocketed on the way out the door brought her toes back to life, and she was so grateful.
The rest of the journey was better. By then, it had stopped snowing, and she kept out the cold by squishing her face into Monroe's chest. High winds pulled and whipped around her.
"Look down," she heard him rumble above her. She turned her head slightly and could see twinkling lights wrapped around the base of two breathtaking mountains.
"Are those?" his chin bumped her head as he nodded in confirmation.
"The settlements."
They dropped along a winding gravel road, and Hera looked around, confused. "Where are we?"
Ahead of her, she noticed a walking trail through thick brush.
"Follow the path, and you will find your family." She couldn't help but think he could have dropped her closer, so she didn't have to trudge through sopping snow.
As if reading her mind, "I will leave to get Theo now. Your stop has made me late." They both frowned at one another before Hera conceded.
"Fine. Take this." She went to remove her jacket when Monroe stopped her.
"You still have quite a walk to the house. I don't need you dying on the way there."
She rolled her eyes at him before turning serious. "He didn't betray us, you know. He was only trying to save his mother, but we failed." She fell quiet and swallowed back tears thinking of Jane's lifeless body. Monroe remained stoic, and she finished her request. "Please bring him home."
He stepped back from Hera and dipped his head in affirmation before flying through a portal directly above them both.
"Wow." She whispered to the night air. She had no idea how his power worked, but it looked cool.
She stared sidelong into the forest and rallied her courage before plodding into the dark.
She realized quickly that visibility was nil and panicked. "I can't see shit. What the hell." The path was tight but reasonably straight, and any wrong turn had a stick plunging into her eye.
"Ahhh."
She was sure she was bleeding as she finally glimpsed a light in the distance. Her heart soared in her chest as she broke out in a light jog. She didn't know how long she was running, but when she saw that house, lights on and fire burning inside, her legs nearly collapsed under her. She didn't even make it to the porch steps when the door flew open, and she was wrapped in a warm embrace.
Her eyes squeezed shut as tears poured down her cheeks and more arms joined the party. No sound reached her ears at that moment as her family surrounded her. Her father, Jean, and even Joel squeezed her in a crushing embrace. When they finally pulled back, she saw Zeke smiling from a distance, and she rushed over to him.
His arm folded around her easily, "Hello, my dear friends." He whispered into her hair.
Hi. "Hi." Hera and Juno both replied with shaky voices.
His grin was huge as he pulled back and looked into her hazel eye. "Nice to finally meet you, dear one." Hera could feel a warmth coming from Juno somehow, and she smiled. He had heard Juno's voice. Her father came to join them and went to speak when Jean fired off a million questions. She hardly had time to think and became quickly overwhelmed. Her father thankfully picked up on it immediately.
"Wait, Jean. Hera, come inside." They all piled in after her, desperate to hear her story as she sat near the fire warming her numb digits.
She threw an accusatory glance at Joel, "Did you not tell them everything you know?" He looked between Jean and her dad.
"I did, but they wanted your side, I guess." Jean rolled her eyes at him before looking back to Hera.
She didn't feel like explaining three weeks of her life if Joel had already told them most of it.
"Can you tell me everything you said to them, and I'll just fill in the blanks?" She was exhausted. Finally, all the events of her time away were catching up, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep in front of the fire. And maybe shower.
Jean didn't seem particularly happy listening to Joel repeat what she had already heard, but it was such a relief for Hera. She sat and nodded now and again, piping up to add her two cents a few times. By the end of Joel's retelling, she was happy with the information and added all the missing parts.
Jean still looked dubious about Theo, and Hera knew she would need to have a conversation with him herself to forgive him entirely, but at least she wouldn't try to kill him as soon as he arrived. After the story was complete, everyone else looked solemn. It was a hard story to hear, let alone tell everyone. Hera was sure they would want Theos version of events too, but he was still at least an hour away.
"Is there somewhere I can stay?" Hera asked her dad then. He wanted to tell her to stay with him, but she saw she needed space.
"There are two empty cabins to the left of us. Pick either one. Theo can have the other." He paused, getting up to make her a warm drink. "Jean and Ivy are staying in the first house to the right. Joel and Monroe are in the second. If you ever need anything," He added, handing her a cinnamon chai. "Come straight over."
Hera took a long sip and sighed happily, "Will do. Can someone let me know when Monroe gets back?" She asked, finishing her drink.
Joseph nodded as Hera got up to leave and made one last request, "Everyone come over tomorrow morning for breakfast. After that, we will debrief everyone about your journey, and I will show you our new home."
They shared a relieved smile as she left the house. Her peace was quickly smothered as Jean bounded behind her. "Let me walk you." She stated rather than asked. "I recommend that cabin, the beds are softer, and the house doesn't smell like old people." Both women laughed, heading to the small house. It looked like an old-fashioned cottage and had an enormous greenhouse attached to the side.
"How do you know that?"
"I like to float around. A few nights here, a few nights there. There's only so much healing talk I can take."
It was so good to see Jean again and hear her familiar banter. Hera couldn't help the smile that took over her face when she looked at her. They walked up to the front door as the rain started, and they huddled under the veranda. "Do you want to come in and wait for the rain to pass?"
Jean shook her head with a smile, "I won't melt." She turned on her heel and went to descend the steps before pausing. "Keys under the mat, princess." She called over her shoulder. She smiled to herself and turned one last time to face Hera as she got drenched by the rain.
"I'm really glad you're back."
"Me too." She replied as Jean jogged off to her little cabin, three doors down.
YOU ARE READING
Evolved
Fantasy"Do you know what you're doing to me?" He leaned his head forward and buried it in her neck, inhaling deeply before peppering kisses along her sternum. She was on fire now. Her energy had a mind of its own, intertwining with his and causing them...
