The Legend of the Eight: The Hunted (Book 5)

21: I Love You, Goodbye

TWENTY-ONE: I LOVE YOU, GOODBYE
MAY 27
PHOEBE DOMINGO

THEY WALKED OUT OF THE ballroom holding their graduation caps high and their heads even higher. The commencement ceremony ended only moments ago and they were officially graduates of the Academy of Magic. The senior class—which had thinned dramatically over the course of a few months and was now a fraction of the starting class—exited the Main Hall and there, on the front lawn, they tossed their caps into the air. A sea of purple and red floated above them and as Phoebe watched the caps rain down around her, she couldn't help but find herself searching for one person.

Drew.

He was with Liam, Xavier, and the rest of their friends when she found him and their eyes connected for a second before Xavier pulled her in for a celebratory hug.

"We did it, Fi!" His breath reeked of the whiskey shots he'd been sneaking during the ceremony. "Bye-bye Academy!"

But if Phoebe was being honest, she didn't want to say goodbye to the Academy. Not when she knew leaving it meant leaving people that she might never see again. She looked to Drew again, begging him to find her eyes, but he looked away.

The months had not been kind to their relationship.

At the beginning of the month, Drew found out Phoebe had been in contact with her father and was considering his offer to join the Shadow Hunters. After the events of the old boarding house, she felt more compelled than ever to take down the Thieves and following her destiny as a Hunter was the only way she knew how to do that. Finn encouraged the decision—another reason Drew hated it—and their departure was set for the following days. She was waiting for the right time to tell him.

Outside Main Hall, Phoebe was busy staring at Drew and begging him to look at her when Kate came over

Phoebe was busy staring at Drew, begging him to look her, when Kate ran over with a wide smile.

"Chloe's in labor!" she squealed, clutching her phone tight. She must have just gotten off a call with Wil. Nicole followed behind her and she seemed just as happy to hear the news.

"They're at the hospital now!"

Phoebe's violet eyes brightened, excited for the new baby on the way. "Should we go?"

Liam shook his head. "Levi said it could be a while. Besides—" At his side, he showed them the second cap and tassel he was holding. Phoebe's heart beat with a pang when she realized who they were for. "I thought there was something we could do first."

A SUMMER BREEZE BLEW THE sides of her violet gown open, revealing the white romper she was wearing underneath. As she walked through the cemetery with the Eight, she adjusted the strap of her backpack hanging off her shoulder. They were still in their graduation garb from earlier and Liam led them to the gravesite where they buried Logan months ago.

There, Phoebe stared at the headstone.

Logan Michael Rogers

1 July 1997 – 26 February 2016

Loving son, brother, and friend

Phoebe kicked a chunk of grass with the toe of her Converse sneaker. She didn't know what to say luckily, it seemed they wouldn't be doing much talking. Liam took the cap and placed it carefully on top of the headstone, carefully switching the tassel from right to left.

"We did it," he said as if Logan was standing right there. "We made it through the year and we wouldn't have been able to do that without you."