Wings Of Fire As Humans ~ 4 ~ {MOONBLI}

[21] Through the Clearing

^Moon^

It was a mess of hugs and goodbyes and kisses that were definitely under-appreciated. The triplets were angry and grumbling the whole time, indignant at the fact that they were forced to stay behind. At some point, Clover started crying, making Lilly cry, making Willow get a headache, and then we had to hurry and quiet them down.

"You three stay quiet, stay together, and most importantly, stay safe," Glory whispered, taking turns hugging each one of the triplets and smothering them in kisses. "Promise me you won't run off or follow me. Promise."

Nightfall looked away, crossing his arms. "Fine. I promise."

"Same here," Jade said, and Ember just scoffed. Glory eyed them carefully before pulling them all into a bone-crushing hug. Deathbringer dropped to a squat in front of Clover, whose cheeks were puffy and eyes were red from her previous bawling. He caressed her hair before making a quiet promise to her and then kissed the top of her head. Then he scooped up Lilly from where she sat and kissed her two. And then Glory and Deathbringer swapped and said their farewells to the others.

Meanwhile, Sundew was crouched beside Willow, stroking her hair and speaking quietly to her.

"Objectively..." Luna slowly spoke, "this scene is adorable."

"Really?" Cyclone quirked a brow, huffing silently. "I can't stand it. Tell them to hurry up before I puke." He turned so his back was facing us all.

I glanced at him, a small sensation of pity overtaking my chest. Perhaps seeing this much displayed affection triggered something for him, especially with his memories wiped and a minor identity crisis. But he was a good person, truly, and Leopard couldn't take that away like how he took his memories. Leopard couldn't control his heart or will. Leopard had absolutely nothing on him.

He was just a grubby old bastard.

Still, I did Cyclone a favor for once. "Deathbringer, Glory, we should really get going. You too, Sundew. The sooner we get this plan into action, the sooner all these people who have lost their family or friends to Leopard can return home." I said that knowing we'd have to kill a lot of people today, whether we wanted to or not. The Corrupted—they had family too. They were people too. And to avenge them, I'd make sure that by nightfall, he'd be dead.

One way or another.

And when Leopard dies, so does Clearsight. For good, this time.

"That's the hope," Darkstalker quietly hummed from some dormant place in my mind. "I mean, if say, you were to die, so would I since you're my anchor. Either that or I use the last of my animus magic keeping me here. Let's hope the same thing applies to Leopard and Clearsight."

It has no reason not to, I thought fiercely. Clearsight will die no matter what. Darkstalker didn't reply to this, however, he didn't need to. We were both caught up in the sheer determination to take Leopard down once and for all, so that's where our courage lied.

"Alright." Sundew stood, and cast Willow one last calculating glance, before walking over and nodding. Glory and Deathbringer both snapped out of it and deduced that if they kept lingering, they wouldn't have the will to ever leave, so it was better to just tear the bandaid off.

"Nightfall, seal the door up the moment we leave, okay?" Deathbringer ordered.

His son rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, Dad, I know."

And with that, we were off. Qibli tore the wooden planks off the door after loosening the bolts the night prior, and the second the door flew open, we darted. Of course, the car wasn't far at all—just parked a few feet away. Still, being out for even longer than a second was a grave threat, so we had no time to spare. The car doors were quickly flung open, and we all jumped inside. Deathbringer slipped into the driver's seat, while Glory occupied the passenger's. The rest of us shuffled into the last two rows of the vehicle.