Emptiness. Hollow. Bare.
Light.
The first thing Chloé noticed when she drifted from her sleep was how incredibly weightless she felt. Her chest felt open, and each breath was clear. The grass that poked against her skin was more prominent than usual. She could hear the distant chirping of birds and feel the prickle on her skin as a soft breeze blew by.
It was an odd sensation.
Why was Chloé able to feel everything so much more? She opened her eyes, squinting when her vision didn’t clear. Strange. She leaned up and rubbed her eyes. Everything was still hazy, but she could make out a burnt-out campfire and the bodies of Bunnie, Oliver, and Deveran.
Wait.
Why was she here? Where was Gerald?
Chloé’s head snapped around, searching for her father. She scrambled to her feet, hoping he was nearby, but she didn’t see any other figures. Had she dreamed everything? No, it couldn’t have been a dream. It had felt too real to have been a dream.
Chloé’s body froze as she recalled Gerald’s last words to her. She quickly reached up to her neck.
It was bare.
She reached up into her hair.
There was no ribbon.
Chloé’s knees grew weak, and she collapsed to the ground. Gerald had taken her opals. He had really meant she was no longer a part of the Gemme family. Her whole identity and lineage had been stripped, taken away from by her own father. She dug her nails into the ground, biting her lip so hard she could taste warm blood. Her shoulders shook as she silently sobbed.
Nothing. She was nothing. She was a nobody. Everything she had worked hard for had been for nothing. How could she ever face any of the Nighthawk members again? The only reason they were even with her was because of who she was and what she could do for them. And now that she was a nobody, would they cast her aside, just like her father? Was Chloé to face abandonment once again?
Gerald hadn’t just taken her opals from her. She realized the empty feeling in her chest and the blurry vision were side effects of her core having been destroyed. The unbearable, excruciating pain from before had been Gerald forcibly making her core shatter. With nowhere to go, the stamina had left through her skin. She remembered the raw, hot sensation that had threaded across her body. It had been like she was on fire.
Not only was Chloé a nobody, but she was also powerless. There was absolutely no way she could possibly still be a warrior. Elliot would surely discard her as well. Warriors needed to be strong, not weak like Chloé.
“Chloé?” Bunnie’s voice cut through Chloé’s silent sobs. “You’re finally awake. What’s wrong?”
Without looking up, Chloé shook her head. There was no way she could face Bunnie—not after everything she’d done to get her this far.
The nix heard the crunching of grass as Bunnie walked over. She dropped to one knee and placed a warm hand on Chloé’s shoulder and gave her a soft squeeze.
“Hey, it’ll be okay,” Bunnie said, her voice soft.
Chloé shook her head again. She didn’t know what to say to Bunnie. How could she confess she wasn’t who they wanted her to be? She was no longer part of the council. No longer a Gemme. No longer a warrior. No longer anybody.
“Hey, look at me.” Bunnie gave her shoulder another squeeze.
Chloé hesitated before tilting her chin up. Bunnie smiled. She delicately thumbed the small wound on Chloé’s lip.
“It’ll be okay,” Bunnie said softly. “We’re in this together. No matter what.”
Chloé’s lips quivered as she tried to hold back her tears. How could Bunnie even mention something like that? Surely the older woman knew what her missing opals meant. Did she not care?
Bunnie opened her arms. “Come.”
Chloé pushed herself off the ground and into Bunnie’s arms. She pressed her face into Bunnie’s chest, letting her cries free. Bunnie stroked her head. “You’re still important to me. To all of us. Don’t for a second think otherwise.”
Chloé’s stomach clenched at the thought of telling Bunnie she didn’t have her core and what it meant for someone like her.
But . . . Bunnie deserved to know.
Chloé pulled away, wiping her tearstained cheeks. “There’s something else . . .”
“Hmm?” Bunnie kept smiling, waiting for Chloé to continue, never rushing or urging her to speak.
“I . . .” Chloé placed a hand against her chest. “I . . .” She took a deep breath. Her heart pounded loudly against her chest. “I . . . I was disowned by my father. I saw him earlier . . . and he took my opals. But . . . that’s not all he took.” Chloé paused. “My core. He shattered it. I don’t have the ability to use magic anymore.”
Bunnie didn’t say anything. She kept her lips curled and her eyes softened.
“Is that all?”
Chloé’s eyes snapped up. Deveran and Oliver were walking over, both stretching out their arms. How long had they been awake for?
“Something like that doesn’t bother us,” Oliver said.
“You are still important to us,” Deveran said.
“B-but I can’t do what you ask of me anymore! I’m not a council member.”
The twins smirked.
“We already had a feeling the council wasn’t going to let you back in after the escaping fiasco,” Oliver said.
“I know we’ve mentioned it before, but you’ve become much more than a mere council member,” Deveran said. “You’re Chloé.”
Chloé blinked as her cheeks warmed. She hadn’t expected the mention of just her first name in a casual way to affect her like that. It made her feel . . . welcome. Like she wasn’t someone of higher status they needed to be polite to. Now, it felt like they were closer, like she was someone they could truly put their trust in. The absence of her last name did not bother her as much as she’d assumed it would.
“And there you have it,” Bunnie said. She stood, her hand outstretched to Chloé. “Simply put, we couldn’t care less about your status or your inability to use magic. I’ve actually been meaning to ask you something.”
Chloé accepted Bunnie’s hand, and Bunnie helped her up. “What is it?”
“Would you like to join the Nighthawks? Become an official member of my guild?”
Chloé’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. She looked at Bunnie. At Oliver. At Deveran. They were all smiling at her, waiting for her response. They truly did not care that Chloé had fallen from grace, and they would help her find her wings again as a member of their family.
More tears fell from Chloé’s eyes, but this time they weren’t from sorrow. She nodded. “Yes.”