After the End (Julian and MC)

9

Our group ventures back into the palace gardens, all of us alert with our guards up. Scout cautiously leads us on, growling occasionally but giving no other indication of danger. The longer we walk, the more anxious Julian gets, his hands trembling and his lower lip quivering when he swallows. He freezes in place when we come up to Portia's cottage, and for a moment I fear he'll pass out. When Scout pauses, we stop in the bushes, hidden behind the trees as we look out across the lawn.

"Scout? Is Portia in there?" I wonder aloud as Scout turns back to look at us, sitting down on a nearby rock.

She bobs her head and nods, pointing to the cottage ahead.

"We'll wait here, you go talk to your sister, Ilya." Asra tells Julian, smiling comfortingly when he turns to look at him with widened and fearful grey eyes.

I gently squeeze Julian's hand, drawing his attention back to me. "Do you want me to go with you?" I offer softly, smiling at him as I wait for his answer.

Julian swallows hard and thinks about it for a moment before shaking his head. "She's my sister, I have to talk to her and tell her why I didn't save her." He sighs, kissing my forehead before letting go of my hand and walking over to Portia's cottage.

I watch silently as he crosses the lawn, holding my breath until he opens the door and slips inside. Asra places his hand on my shoulder, and I turn to look at him. I instinctively wrap my arms around his torso, resting my head on his shoulder as I sigh. I haven't seen him in so long... It was torture, not knowing if he was alive or dead, safe or not... I'm glad to have him back.

"What happened to you after the ritual?" Asra asks me quietly, holding my upper arms as he looks into my eyes.

"Scout took me to Julian... I found him in the Hanged man's realm, he'd been turned into a demon. I stayed with him a while before he let me break him free of the Devil, and we came to find you. He's been through a lot... He's scared to lose me again, he doesn't want to fight the Devil and lose, but he doesn't want to not fight the Devil and keep going as we were." I explain delicately, frowning and looking down at Asra's chest.

Asra hugs me again before he lets me go, turning to look at his parents. "The Devil had my parents imprisoned for years, and when the ritual was complete, he let me see them before he locked us in separate cells. For a while, I'd yell out to them, and they'd yell back... But we ran out of things to talk about." He sighs, moving back to his parents to hug them again.

"Asra's told us all about you... Thank you for being there for our son, you gave him hope when he had none." Aisha smiles, holding her son as she looks over at me.

"Asra brought me back from death, he gave up half of his heart for me... And when I came back, he spent months teaching me how to talk and read and use magic again... I owe Asra everything." I tell her with a sad smile, my gaze shifting to Salim when he opens his mouth.

"Yes, Asra's told us everything, he-" He stops, frowning as his eyes move past me.

I turn to see Julian walking back to us with a teary-eyed Portia. Breathing a sigh of relief, I walk out to meet them, hugging Portia tightly when she throws her arms around me. She squeezes me tightly, and when I lift my gaze to Julian's, I realise he too has tears in his eyes. I reach out and pull him into the hug, resting my head against his chest when he slips an arm around me.

"Ready, Portia?" I ask her, smiling when she lifts her head to look at me.

She nods and sniffs, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. "Let's go beat that dumbass goat." She smiles, letting go of me and walking over to where Scout, Asra, Salim and Aisha are waiting.

I wrap my arm around Julian's waist, kissing his right cheek and gently cupping the other. Julian closes his eyes and gently holds my chin up with his fingertips, turning his face into mine and gently kissing me. We stay together for a moment before breaking away, smiling sweetly at one another before following Portia over to the bushes.

"Scout? Are you okay to take us to Nadia?" I wonder, arching an eyebrow at our guide.

Our little guide nods, though I can see the weariness in her expression.

"I promise once we reach Nadia we'll rest." I tell her, gently patting her on the head. I smile when she seems relieved, and she waves us on, leading us back through the gardens.