“BuT a BoNuS cHaPteR wOuLd NEveR fOrEShAdoW aNy PaRt oF tHe StORy iN ThE aCTuAl boOk”
“Again,” Flynn said. He eyed Ruhn. “You’re so lucky you didn’t have to marry her.” “That was never an option,” Ruhn said, but it was a half-lie. Had his father ordered it, he would have had to marry Sarhia. But his father had bigger ambitions. He’d never thought he’d be grateful for that. Declan said, “Someone like Darragh Donnall would be a good match for her. They’d make each other miserable.” “You forget,” Flynn said, “that I’d have to call that shithead my brother.” “True,” Declan said. “She’d be happier,” Flynn continued, “with some weak-spined male she can boss around.” “Plenty of those around here,” Ruhn muttered.
Ruhn’s bonus chapter, House of Sky and Breath.
“Ruhn snorted, and his presence faded from her mind just as Morven continued, “Sathia has promised me nothing. In fact, she has refused to pay my asking price. A generous one, at that: her choice between the males who stand beside her.”
“Flynn gave her another sneer that said, “ Yes,” and Bryce stepped in to spare everyone from their bickering. “Okay,” she said to Morven, “so you’re insisting that Flynn’s sister marry one of…these creeps?” Bryce gestured to the Murder Twins holding Sathia.”
“Bryce opened her mouth, rallying power to her star, but Tharion spoke from behind them. “I’ll marry Sathia.”
House of Flame and Shadow
Tell me again how a bonus can’t foreshadow anything.
Ithan, Flynn, Declan and Tharion all share one braincell between them, and it's most commonly used by Dec (who only has it because he borrowed it from his boyfriend Marc, the only one with any common sense). Ithan's only ever used it once. Tharion has never used it ever.
saw a tiktok abt sjm crossovers that need to happen and it said "azriel with the ccity frat boys" but hear me out... LUCIEN with the frat boys. I know he has a home with jurian and vassa, but does he really? just think about him with ruhn, dec and flynn: he'd thrive there and become himself again, like in the first book. and let's just imagine lucien and tharion meeting omfg they're my it boys I'd totally explode into tiny confetti pieces
it gives me so many ideas but im not a good writer to get something like this done 😭
AUTHORS NOTE: Okay you guys, this one can technically be read as a stand-alone I think but it's meant to be a part two of "LIQUID CHAOS" so I hope it makes sense to everyone :)
Also I wrote literally 1000 words for this and somehow deleted it so I apologize if this is shit, I tried to remember what I had but I don't think I got all of it, I feel like it's actually awful
LENGTH: 3954
The first thing Ruhn registered when he opened his eyes was the fact that his head was pounding. It took everything in him just to open his eyes, and even then he had to close them right away. His curtains were open, and the god damn sun was too bright.
Of all the days to be sunny and nice out, it had to be today.
He could hear birds chirping outside, the melody only adding to the headache pulsing at his temples. Though the sun was shining, a cool breeze blew through his cracked bedroom window; that was the only nice part.
A soft groan escaped him as he shifted in bed, slowly reaching up to hold his head. How much had he drank last night?
It had been a long time since he had been this hungover, in fact, he was fairly certain it had been years. He wondered if this was how Bryce felt every weekend when she had been a student.
More than anything, he was irritated with Flynn and Dec for letting him drink as much as he had. Especially because he worked the following morning, and he would spend all of today recovering from his escapades the night before.
What had happened the night before?
He remembered being late for the dance they had promised to meet (Y/N) at. He had been hurrying Flynn along for a good half hour before he finally found the tie he'd been looking for. He had wanted one to compliment his eyes or some shit. They had taken a cab to the venue, and he remembered the entirety the car ride being worried about what (Y/N) had been subjected to in their absence.
It took him a moment to recall the next portion of the events.
When they had stepped inside, they had found her dancing with a male he hadn't seen before, his hands roaming over her while she was clearly uncomfortable with the whole interaction. He remembered it had taken everything in him not to interrupt and pummel the male into the perfectly varnished floor.
Flynn and Dec had held him in place until the song ended, and (Y/N) scrambled away from the male toward them as quickly as she could in a pair of shoes he knew she didn't like. Her face had been twisted into a deep scowl, one that made him a little nervous. He knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of that look, and it wasn't good.
She had told them the male was handsy, so Dec and Flynn had taken care of it while he stood with her at the edge of the crowd, just making small talk while she glared daggers at first the male, then her shoes.
Ruhn pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to remember the rest. It was all hazy, thanks to the alcohol. He was willing to bet it had been whiskey. Whiskey was the only drink that really affected him like this.
Another series of events came to him.
While Dec and Flynn were out . . . dealing with the male, he and (Y/N) had stood side by side, the warmth of her arm against his own, as they talked about her dances and how many he would go to . . . he couldn't remember the exact details of the conversation. Then she had mentioned finding a partner.
Ruhn knew instantly then, that was why he had been drinking.
For nearly 35 years now, he had been in love with one of his best friends.
He wasn't sure when it had begun, in fact he wasn't even sure when he realized it. All he knew was that one day he was looking at her, wanting to shut her up with a bag of chocolates he knew she liked and the next he wanted to shut her up by kissing her. Ruhn hadn't seen it coming.
It was like the ocean creeping up on the shore; slow and unnoticeable, but undeniable.
He was in love with her, and the idea of her being with someone else made him sick to his stomach because he knew her. He knew this wasn't what she wanted because he knew she wasn't ready. She had even said she just wanted her parents to leave her alone. Ruhn understood that more than he wanted to.
The fact that she hadn't said she wanted to find someone, she said that she wanted to be left alone. In her exact words, maybe having someone wouldn't be so bad. Like she was trying to convince herself.
Sitting on the couch that night, that was all he could think about. He drank until he was well past tipsy, and the walls began blurring in and out of focus as he went even beyond that until the rest of the night came in brief flashes of consciousness. He could barely make sense of any of them.
Ruhn sat up slowly, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes in an attempt to block out the light. When he finally dropped his hands, he started.
The chair in the corner of his room was occupied.
Dec looked as if he hadn't gotten any sleep at all; dark bags bruised the skin beneath his eyes, which were drooping closed as he stared at Ruhn's figure on the bed. "Morning," he muttered drily, raising one eyebrow.
Glancing around the room slowly, Ruhn nodded to him. "Mornin'," he rasped.
God, he even sounded hungover.
Looking beyond disgruntled, Dec asked, "how'd you sleep?"
Ruhn stared at him for a moment, feeling as if he had to choose his words carefully. "Okay, I guess. I don't remember coming up to bed, though."
"You're welcome for that," Dec muttered. Then he cleared his throat. "So you don't remember getting up and starfish flopping your way down the hall into my room?"
A flash of a moment flickered through his mind, a very drunken thought of god damned walls, always moving in the way which made no sense to him.
He blinked twice. "Kinda . . . ?"
Dec rolled his lips inward. "Okay, so you don't remember anything else from last night?"
He was clearly hinting at something that Ruhn couldn't figure out. His brows furrowed as he tried to place it. Did I break a fucking wall? What the hell happened?
It wouldn't have had anything to do with the conversation that he and Dec had been having on the walk back to their house. Ruhn had been trying to explain why he so desperately needed a drink; Dec had told him to figure his shit out and maybe explain to (Y/N) what he felt for her.
He and Flynn had picked up on it around 10 years ago, and had been pestering him to tell her ever since. Flynn's reasoning was that they would likely be the hottest couple in Crescent City, whereas Dec simply told him that they both deserved to be happy. (Flynn then went on to say that he also meant that as well, obviously.)
The way the conversation on the walk had gone was the way it had been going on for years. Dec telling him to grow a pair. Ruhn telling him to eat a dick. Dec telling him not right now.
It was never-ending.
But he humoured them because he loved them.
The thought triggered something in him, another memory of a hazy door opening, giving way to the most beautiful female he had ever seen. He knew that it was Dec's room, recognized the scratches on the doorframe. Her hair was a tangled mess, and she was in a pair of sleep shorts and an old T-shirt she had stolen from Flynn, and she was perfect.
I love you like I don't want you to look for someone else, I want you to look for me.
Ruhn's eyes snapped over, his face twisting with horror as he looked over at Dec.
"There it is," his friend muttered, dragging a hand down the side of his face with exhaustion.
He would get on his knees and beg, plead with him to explain that he was crazy. But his stomach sank because he knew it wasn't. Ruhn choked back the bile rising in his throat. "I can't — I don't — what did she say?"
Dec leaned forward and sent his elbow on his knee and his chin in the palm of that hand. "Well, she gave you two choices." Ruhn sucked in a sharp breath. "She said you could either pretend it never happened, or you two could talk about it."
His lips rolled inward. "But she didn't — she didn't say it back." It was more of a statement than a question.
Hesitantly, Dec said, "no, she didn't."
Ruhn dragged a hand down his face, ignoring the tinge of hurt that flickered through his chest. "Fuck," he muttered, allowing his eyes to fall shut.
Mortified. He was mortified.
He had blabbed one of his most close-kept secrets in a drunken haze because she said she might start looking for a partner. He was utterly ridiculous. The sinking feeling that he had just ruined one of his most cherished relationships washed over him, knotting his stomach until he was bolting out of bed for his connected bathroom.
"Here we go," he heard Dec sigh in between retching.
From the corner of his eye he could see his friend lean against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. Ruhn wasn't sure how long he was heaving into the toilet, but when the nausea passed and he collapsed backwards so his back was against the wall opposite of the toilet, he sighed. "I'm an idiot."
"Yup," Dec said, popping the p.
"I'm never drinking again."
"Probably a good idea."
But they both knew that would last maybe a week. It was hard to avoid alcohol with their lifestyle.
Ruhn rubbed his face and groaned. "What the fuck is wrong with me?"
"You're an idiot incapable of expressing his feelings because you've got daddy issues."
"Fuck off, Dec."
He rose to his feed and strode back into his room. The first thing he did was yank the curtains closed; he'd had enough of sunshiney bullshit. Then he sat on the foot of his bed and stared blankly at the wall.
Dec took a seat in his armchair.
"What the fuck do I do," he grimaced after a long period of silence.
"Talk to her."
"I can't do that."
"Well, you seemed pretty good at it last night."
Ruhn grumbled lowly, irritated, but changed the subject. "Where is she?"
Humming as he adjusted his position on the chair, Dec said, "last I heard, Flynn took her out shopping. She was a little overwhelmed."
Guilt flooded through him. She was overwhelmed because he was an idiot. "Why didn't you stop me?"
Dec arched a brow. "I tried. We talked about it for three hours on the couch while your drunk-ass moped and grumbled about wanting to be with her until you passed out and I hauled you into bed. I thought you'd be out 'til morning, so I also went to bed. Me and (Y/N) woke up to you fuckin' face planting into the bedroom door at 4AM. I was half asleep when you opened your mouth."
That was fair. He knew it wasn't Dec's fault that he had confessed. It wasn't anyone's fault but his, and pinning the blame wouldn't get him anywhere. "I'm sorry," he muttered.
Dec's expression softened. "Just talk to her," he said gently. "She didn't say it back, but she didn't shut you down, either."
He did have a point . . . not that he even remembered the conversation happening. Maybe she hadn't been horrified.
"What if she doesn't want to talk to me?"
"Ruhn; she literally said you could forget it or talk about it. Trust me, she wants to talk to you."
Even though a part of him was hopeful, he couldn't ignore the pit in his stomach. There was a good possibility he had ruined everything because he had been feeling sorry for himself.
If he lost (Y/N) over this . . .
Well, he wasn't sure he would be able to forgive himself. He wasn't sure Dec and Flynn would forgive him, either.
As he thought about what to do, Dec left the room. He had heard the car door closing outside, and knew that Flynn and (Y/N) had come back. It felt cowardly, but he stayed in his room for quite a while.
He wasn't quite ready to face her yet.
Ruhn set his elbows on his knees and let his face fall into his hands.
This was not how he pictured doing this.
In his head, he always thought he would be alone with her, out for lunch or cooking in their kitchen or in the middle of a party. He didn't care where. It would be just the two of them somewhere, and he would be watching her do something she loved and not be able to contain it anymore.
He would say something really heartfelt, and it would probably be one of the most honest things he would ever say in his long life. She wouldn't cry over it. Not (Y/N). No, she would call him an idiot, then kiss him, and it would be the best part of his life.
And he would spend the rest of that life with her.
But he had fucked that up. One drunken decision had fucked it up completely, and there was a good possibility she would never want to speak to him again.
But she wants to talk to you, that tiny voice in his head reminded him. And she never says something she doesn't mean.
There was that.
But what did she want to talk about?
Ruhn wasn't sure how long he sat there, going over things again and again until his head was spinning.
Eventually he decided fuck it and went downstairs. He wasn't going to be a little bitch about this. It would be better once it was over and done with.
Even if he wasn't ready to lose her, even if he never would be, he would respect that choice if she made it.
But when he got downstairs, he didn't find her sitting on the couch watching Dec and Flynn play on their Xbox like he thought he would. In fact, he didn't find her anywhere.
"Where is she?"
Flynn glanced back quickly at him, then cursed as Dec killed his character in one move. "She didn't come back with me."
Ruhn blinked once. "What?"
He shrugged. "She didn't want to, said she was waiting for you to decide what you wanted and couldn't stay in the house while you did."
His heartbeat picked up slightly, a foreign nervousness settling in his chest. "Why would you leave her alone?"
Dec paused the game and met his gaze. "Because she's fully capable of taking care of herself."
It was irrational. He was being completely irrational. But he worried that because she was so distracted, she wouldn't be as vigilant. Something could happen to her.
"Where did you leave her?"
Flynn glanced over at Dec before answering. "Near the old square. Said she wanted coffee."
Ruhn rolled his lips inward. He knew exactly where she would go for coffee.
Without saying another word to them, Ruhn ducked into the kitchen and downed a couple painkillers for his headache, snatched his keys off the coffee table and a jacket off the back of the house — he was pretty sure it was Flynn's — then left the house. He was in his car seconds later, driving purely on autopilot.
What would he say to her?
He would let her talk first, he knew that much. She deserved the chance to talk before he added more to her plate. And he knew he would respect whatever decision she made, even if it broke him.
It felt like both hours and minutes later that he was parking on the side of the street outside her go-to coffee shop. As he put the car in park and glance out the windshield, he saw her sitting at one of the outdoor tables and it struck him how pretty she looked.
Staring down at the disposable coffee cup on the table as she warmed her hands on it, her hair shifting in the gentle breeze. She was dressed the way she usually was; a long skirt that reached her ankles paired with a nice blouse, a long tan pea coat pulled over top to shield her from the wind.
Beautiful.
But more importantly, safe.
Ruhn would deny the fact that his hands trembled as he got out of the car. After locking it and pocketing his keys, he stepped up onto the sidewalk and slowly made his way toward her, only stopping when his figure blocked the sun from her.
At that she looked up with soft, empty eyes and just like every time he had seen her for the past thirty some-odd years, he was a goner. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his own jacket and offered her a smile that felt morel like a grimace. "Hey," he breathed.
(Y/N) smiled faintly at him. "Hey," she murmured back. After a moment of silence, she gestured for him to take a seat across from her and he did. "I honestly thought you'd decided to pretend you never said anything," she said softly, allowing her gaze to fall back down to her cup.
Ruhn took in a shaky breath, anxiety building in his chest. But he forced himself to speak. "I don't think I could do that," he admitted quietly.
She glanced up quickly before looking back down. "I don't think I could either."
His heart lurched at that. What did that mean?
After exhaling a long breath, (Y/N) shifted so she was sitting up straighter, staring right at him. Ruhn found it difficult to hold her gaze, but he forced himself to. "Did you mean what you said last night?" She asked quietly. "When you said you wanted me to look to you as a partner?"
He didn't need to think about it. "Yes."
"You weren't just saying it as a stupid drunk thing?"
"No."
She inhaled sharply. "Okay, so um . . . I need you to be honest; what do you feel for me exactly?"
Fucking fuckity fuck.
His mouth felt dry. "I--" Ruhn drew in a shaky breath and forced himself to speak. "I love you, (Y/N)," he told her honestly, and a weight he hadn't realized was there lifted from his shoulders. "I love you, and I have for a really long time. I haven't -- I didn't say anything, I didn't want to, because having you in my life is important to me, I don't care how you in it and I'd rather keep you as a friend than lose you as a lover."
The words came out rushed, but by the time he was done he still felt out of breath.
(Y/N) was silent for a long moment, those god damn eyes staring over at him with hesitation so intense he just wanted to pull her into him and keep her there. "Okay," she whispered, biting down on her bottom lip as she disappeared into her mind in thought. It was silent for a couple minutes as she contemplated what he had said.
It was the longest two minutes of his life.
"I think--" she said finally, still avoiding his gaze. "I'm sorry, this is all just . . . a lot."
Ruhn winced. "I know, and I'm sorry you found out the way you did."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry you had to give up your secret."
All he could do was shrug. "It was bound to come out some time. I've kept it long enough. To be honest with you, I think Dec and Flynn were ready to tell you pretty soon if I didn't."
(Y/N) snickered quietly and took a sip of her coffee, pondering. "How long?"
He knew exactly what she meant. How long have you felt this way? "Thirty years," he whispered, looking down at the table.
When he finally looked back up, he found her staring at him, her eyes full of an emotion he couldn't place. "Ruhn," she said softly, and then moved one of her hands to the middle of the table while the other kept its grip on her cup.
Without giving it much thought, he set both his hands on the table and took hers in his grasp. Though he was a little cold, the warmth that spread thorough his body was better than anything a hot drink could bring him.
"I didn't want you to hate me," he whispered, staring down at their hands. He would stay here forever if he could.
(Y/N) let go of her coffee and set her hand on top of theirs. "It would take a lot to make me hate you," she told him, and he could hear the honesty in her voice.
He hoped that was true.
"Um," she said quietly, looking down at her coffee cup again. "The reason I wanted to talk about this is, uh, I 've been feeling . . . something for you for a little while now, I don't know what because I never really let myself consider anything coming of it, but I'm thinking--" she inhaled sharply "--I think I would be okay with seeing what that is."
Ruhn blinked. This wasn't real. It had to be a dream. He was dreaming.
There was no way he was hearing her correctly.
Discretely he pinched himself. It was real. His heartbeat quickened as he stared at her, a small smile blooming on his face. "You want to give it a shot. With me."
(Y/N)'s cheeks flushed pink, darkening the already wind-chilled colour present. "Yes," she said quietly, still avoiding his gaze.
It took everything in him not to yank her out of her chair and spin her around out of sheer joy. She was willing to try with him. Ruhn didn't care that she had no idea what she felt for him, and part of his was saddened to know she hadn't thought he would ever consider her this way because how could he not? All he knew was that he had a chance.
One chance, and he had no intention of squandering it. He would take things slowly, maybe start off with taking her to dinner and maybe a movie. He would do it right.
Fighting away the widest grin he'd ever smiled, Ruhn nodded repeatedly. "Okay, okay. Um, I guess I should probably ask you out for dinner then."
A smile twitched at her lips. "Only if you want to."
He couldn't help but snort. "Is that even a question after last night?"
(Y/N) seemed to be fighting a smile as well. "It kinda is, I'm not sure if you remember what you said last night but you told me you wanted me to look for you, not that you wanted me."
Little shit.
Ruhn rolled his eyes. "I've wanted you for thirty years, (Y/N)."
Her cheeks darkened further, and he promised himself that he would make it happen again because he now knew he loved making her blush. More than anything else in the world, he loved that he was capable of it.
He pressed his lips together, biting back a grin. "So we're going to give it a shot, then?"
(Y/N)'s eyes sparkled as she looked at him. "Yeah, we might as well."
Summary: Tristan and his SO are in the van working together to help Lidia, Ruhn, Hunt, and Baxian escape. It's the mission of a lifetime, and they can't afford to fail.
Word Count: 2,534
Category: Fluff, Humor, Angst
Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.
"Alright, are you two set?"
I leaned forward and picked up the radio on the dash, holding down the button to reply.
"Set."
"Good. They're on their way out now. I'll give you a signal when they clear the gates."
"Copy."
I set the radio back on the dash, then took a deep breath and started the car. A moment later, I felt a warm, familiar hand resting on my thigh.
"I heard what you said to Dec, but I feel like it's my job as your boyfriend to ask: you ready for this?"
I huffed a laugh and turned to look at Tristan Flynn, sitting in the passenger seat of the van next to me. We'd been here for the better part of an hour now, doing my least favorite part of a mission: waiting.
Our friends had been captured by the Asteri, and we'd finally figured out a way to get them back. It wasn't going to be easy, but it was a chance, and not one of us had hesitated to take it. For Tristan and I's part, we'd be providing support for our friends' getaway car. Tristan would put his Aux training to the test and provide firepower, while I'd be living up to my driving reputation behind the wheel.
If things were going according to plan, Lidia would be on her way out of the Palace of the Asteri with our friends in tow. They'd be racing through the city streets in moments, and we'd meet them there. My heart raced, mostly at the thought of everything that could go wrong, but I nodded anyway as I laid my hand on top of Tristan's.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm ready. Just... worried."
"About?"
"Something going wrong when we're still too far away to help."
I turned to face Tristan as he nodded, giving my thigh a little squeeze. We shared a small smile.
"I know how you feel. We've just gotta trust them to take care of themselves until they can get to us. And then nobody coming after us will stand a chance."
I huffed a laugh, the smile on my face growing a little more sincere. Tristan never failed to make me feel better, even in the face of ridiculous life-threatening situations that had become all too normal in the past few weeks. I shook my head.
"I can't believe we're about to go racing through the streets of the capital city as part of an insane jailbreak from the most fortified jail in the world." Tris just shrugged.
"We've done worse."
"Babe. Literally what have we done that's worse than this?"
"How about the time you came as my date to a Lord Hawthorne function and had to sit through dinner with my entire family?"
I snorted. "Okay, that was worse."
The two of us shared a smile and a little laugh, the moment fading to something slightly more sincere as we held hands, staring into each other's eyes waiting for Dec's signal. We both knew what was at stake if something went wrong today. Not just for our friends, but for each other. The Asteri were brutal, and I wasn't going to let them get their hands on my boyfriend.
The radio crackled to life. "Alright, Daybright's heading to the gate! She got everybody out, but they've already got people trying to take them out. They'll be on you in a minute, get ready to go!"
I snatched up the radio and gave Dec another "Copy" before taking the car out of park and shifting into gear. Tristan leaned over, gently grabbing my chin and pulling me in for a fast, hard kiss. He pulled back, his eyes holding mine for just a moment, his expression unusually serious.
"We've got this, sweetheart. Let's show those bastards just who they're messing with."
I nodded, heart racing in my chest, and Tristan climbed into the back of the van. I heard him getting his gun ready and moving towards the van's sliding door, ready to provide support when we met up with Lidia and the rest of our friends. I took a deep breath, getting my head in the zone.
Right on cue, I heard an engine roaring from around the corner of the alley we were hiding down. I timed my exit perfectly, tearing out onto the street and falling immediately alongside Lidia in her jeep. I nodded to Lidia as I pulled alongside her, then a little bit ahead. I heard the sliding door of the jeep open.
"Where the fuck is your hand?" Tristan shouted. I could barely make out the words over the road noise and gunfire, and frankly, I didn't really want to know who his question had been addressed to.
Even if I'd wanted to, I didn't have the extra bandwidth for it, either. A pedestrian stepped out into the street, and I had to swerve to avoid them. I popped down a side street, not exactly our planned path, but not one that would be a problem either. We ended up flanking some of the forces on Lidia's tail, and Tristan took them out one by one.
A moment later, the radio crackled to life, the next part of our plan ready to go. I took a deep breath and redoubled my focus on the road ahead of me, buildings and people flying by. We were about to burn down the Spine, starting in the Eternal City; things were going to get a little wild.
I managed to fall into line with Lidia again as we neared the end of a massive street heading straight out of the city, explosions echoing in the distance. I heard Tristan shouting again, making sure our allies knew the plan.
"We'll cover the highway. Get to the port!"
After a moment, the van door slide shut again. Tristan was climbing his way back to me, but I didn't even glance at him. My attention was otherwise occupied.
Based on Lidia's intel, Mordoc and his dreadwolves, the biggest threat to our group's success, would be coming out of the southwestern gate. Now that Tristan and I had helped with the firefight through the city, we were going to try to make some trouble for the dreadwolves.
I took a deep breath as I hit another open road, only to find the southwestern gate closing quickly ahead of me. I swore under my breath and floored it, while Tristan rolled down his window and took a few shots at the people in the gate's guard station. I grit my teeth as we neared the rapidly-closing steel. It was going to be close, but we had to make it out of this city.
"Holy shit," Tristan breathed as we squeezed through the gate, steel scraping against the roof of our car and pushing our van down to the limit of the shocks. Our back bumper hit the road as we just managed to clear the city wall, and next to me, Tristan let out a whoop. "That's right! Nice work baby!"
I laughed, unable to stop a grin at getting through our near miss. We were nowhere near out of the woods yet, though—I had a pack of dreadwolves to catch.
"How did he look?" I asked, sparing just enough attention to glance at Tristan. "Ruhn."
"Bad. But he'll survive."
I let out a little sigh of relief. I'd come to care a lot about Hunt and Baxian, too, but Ruhn had been in my life a lot longer. Almost as long as Tristan. He was like a brother, and I felt a weight ease off my chest with the knowledge that he was going to be okay.
Assuming we could all make it back to the Depth Charger alive, of course.
"Alright. Time to lap these fuckers," I said, locking back into the zone and racing down the highway ahead of us. I didn't need to look at my boyfriend to know he was grinning.
"Go get 'em, babe."
The rest of the world faded out around me as I focused on driving as fast as possible, closing distance on the dreadwolf guard ahead. We had a limited window to slow them down before we had to peel off and make our own escape, and I wanted to make the most of it.
Lo and behold, I rounded a corner and exited flat out, and the tail end of the dreadwolf pack came into view on the road ahead.
"There we go! Holy shit, I love you," Tristan said next to me. I laughed, still not taking my attention off the road.
"I'm glad you're into this. My driving scared off a couple of people before you."
"Ha. Wimps."
I smiled, working to close the gap ahead enough for Tristan to get a clear shot. We only had another few minutes before we'd need to peel off for the sub. I needed to make them count.
About thirty seconds later, we were in reasonable range for Tristan to do his part. He popped out of the sunroof, bracing himself on the seat as he held his rifle up to his shoulder. I did my best to keep the car steady and in a straight line, and a moment later, I heard the bang of Tristan firing above me.
I kept my eyes on the cars ahead. Mordoc was running with a convoy of four cars, but if we could even take out one of them, it might make the difference for our friends' getaway.
Right on cue, I saw both back tires blow on the car closest to us. I moved to one side so we could pass them, and Tristan ducked down to avoid a few errant bullets as we sped by. Luckily for us, as planned, Mordoc had decided Lidia and our friends were the bigger prize. He didn't even slow down, although he couldn't have missed the loss of one of his cars.
"Time?" Tristan shouted down to me over the wind. I screamed back up at him to make sure he could hear me over the noise outside the car.
"Our turn's coming up fast! This is your last shot, so make it count and then get back in here!"
Tristan didn't respond. We were a little closer than we'd been to the remainder of the dreadwolf pack, and we'd taken out one of the four cars. Mordoc was obviously still untouched in the lead, but he'd at least have fewer numbers trying to catch up to Lidia.
I heard Tristan's gun fire two more times, and the back tires of the third car exploded. Unlike the first car, this one knew they were under fire and started swerving the moment their back end hit the road. They were trying to take Tristan and I out with them.
Tristan ducked back into the car, throwing his seatbelt on and closing the sunroof. And not a moment too soon.
I managed to control the car well enough to avoid the rapidly-slowing dreadwolf car, still chasing Mordoc to put distance between us and the angry dreadwolves behind us. The second car, the only one left besides the lead car with Mordoc, started slowing down like they wanted to do something about Tristan and I. But they were too late.
I kept up our speed until a few hundred meters before a side road, which Mordoc's cars had already passed. Then, I slammed on the breaks, slowing us down as much as possible before lifting off the breaks and turning into the corner. The tires on the van squealed, and I swear we almost went up on two wheels, but I didn't let it slow me down. I got back on the gas as we cleared the apex, tearing off down our escape road at mach 10.
"Are they following us?" I called over to Tristan. The road we'd turned onto was much narrower, and with trees and wildlife on either side, I didn't want to risk taking my eyes off the road to look in my mirrors if I didn't have to.
"No," came Tristan's reply after a moment. "If they were following us, they'd be in our mirrors already."
I let out a long breath and leaned back in the seat, relaxing my death grip on the steering wheel just a little. I kept our speed up, but now it was normal speed, not racecar speed.
"Nice work, babe," said Tristan. He reached over to put a hand on my thigh again, giving it a little squeeze. "That was great work."
"You too, Tris. Best marksman I've ever seen."
I spared a second to glance over at my boyfriend, and I found him grinning at me, a wild look in his eyes. I smiled back. All I wanted to do was lean over and kiss him, but technically, we weren't quite out of the woods yet.
Tristan kept an eye on the mirrors and had his gun at the ready as I refocused on the road. It felt like an eternity, but finally, we made it to one of the Depth Charger's launches which would be taking us and our van back to the ship.
When we pushed off of shore, out into the ocean, I took my hands of the wheel and my feet off the pedals for the first time in way too long. I flopped over sideways, resting my head on Tristan's shoulder.
"Great work, sweetheart," he said quietly, rubbing small circles against my thigh. "Seriously. That was amazing."
"Thanks. Have you- I wasn't paying attention to the radio. Did Dec call with any updates?"
Tristan shook his head. "Not yet. But we gave them a good opening. And they're all strong as hell."
"Yeah."
We fell silent for a moment after that. I couldn't help the seed of worry burrowing into my brain, spinning out with a thousand different scenarios of ways our rescue may have gone wrong. Tristan, my wonderful boyfriend, knew me well enough to notice.
"They're okay," he said, moving to wrap an arm around my shoulders and squeezing me against his side. "I'm sure they are. They made it, and we're gonna hug the shit out of them the minute we get back to the ship."
"...How can you be so confident? Mordoc and one of his other cars got away from us. What if-"
"Nope. We're not doing what ifs. I know they made it, because they're almost as badass and capable as we are. There's no way that shithead and his attack dogs managed to stop them."
I snorted, burying my head into Tristan's chest to stifle a further laugh. Nobody else could lift me out of a funk like he could.
The two of us stayed like that, sharing a rare moment of quiet together, until the Depth Charger came into view. I sighed.
"Thanks, Tris. Now come on, we've got friends to check on."
"Can't wait until they're all healthy again and we can compare stories. We did some badass stuff out there, I don't want anybody forgetting it."
"Assuming our friends are fine, and we get the happy ending we're aiming for? I'm not letting anybody forget the time we ran down the dreadwolves and took out half their pack in a matter of minutes. Hunt and Bryce might be the magical chosen ones or whatever, but as far as I'm concerned, we're the best power couple of them all."
