There was one big part of my life that I could not give a proper goodbye to and every time I thought about it my heart ached. I knew Remy was forbidden to see me but leaving without seeing him one last time left a little hole inside me. I wanted to go to the cliff in the hopes that he might come out or even to leave him a message in the cave in case he ever went back there, but Nikolas said it was too dangerous and everyone else agreed with him. Roland paled at just the mention of it. The only one not uncomfortable going back to the place where I had almost died was me.

“It’s time.”

The three of us turned to Nikolas who stood at the top of the stairs. He had insisted on staying here as well so our normally roomy apartment felt pretty crowded last night. Roland and Peter were not happy about it but Nikolas had left us alone for the most part, letting us have our last night together. I’d barely seen him today because he’d spent most of it outside on his phone – most likely making arrangements for the pickup. I didn’t expect him back so soon and my heart began to race. I can’t do this!

Nikolas must have seen my panic. “I’ll bring your bags out. Take all the time you need.”

I nodded stiffly. As soon as he left, I turned to Roland and he wrapped me in another suffocating embrace, probably trying to make up for all the years I had refused to be hugged. I was still trying to catch my breath from that when Peter pulled me in for his hug. None of us spoke because we were too afraid of the tears that would follow. This is not good-bye, I reminded myself as I pulled away from them and turned toward the stairs.

There was one thing left to do and I dreaded it more than anything else. I put on a brave face and went downstairs to Nate’s office where he sat behind his computer pretending to work. The silence from his keyboard betrayed him and when he looked up I saw that his eyes were a little red. We had spent a couple of hours together earlier this morning and I thought it would be enough to say our goodbyes but looking at him now, I knew it would never be enough for either of us.

“It’s almost time to go.”

He sighed. “I know.” He wheeled around the desk and before he even brought the chair to a stop I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I love you, Nate.”

“I love you too.” He held me while I cried and then while I composed myself enough to pull away. Then he took my hands in his. “Nothing we say is going to make this easier for either of us. I just want you to know how proud I am of you and how proud your father would be if he was here. You’ve been through things that would break a grown man and I know that wherever you go, you’ll be okay. If I didn’t believe that, I couldn’t let you go.”

I cleared my throat. “And you will take the Ptellon nectar like I told you, three drops every month.” Nate had not reacted well when I called the vial of dark red liquid Ptellon blood and it took some convincing to make him believe it really was just nectar.

“I won’t forget.”

“I’ll call you as soon as I get there. And you promise to come for Christmas.”

“Nothing could keep me away.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.” I refused to say goodbye so I said, “I’ll see you soon.”

Roland and Peter walked me down to the black SUV parked beside Nate’s car. Behind the SUV was a white van loaded with my possessions. Two Mohiri I recognized from Portland stood beside the van talking to Nikolas and I saw Chris leaning against the driver’s door of the SUV.

I turned to give my friends one last hug when I heard a loud caw and the rustle of wings overhead. “What the hell…?” Chris uttered and the four Mohiri instantly went on alert as a large black bird zoomed toward me. I saw a flash of silver in Nikolas’s hand and knew he had a weapon ready to handle the new threat.

“Stop!” I ordered loudly as I extended my arm to Harper who landed easily and cocked his head at me like he was waiting for me to explain myself. I brought him close to my chest and stroked his head.

“Um, Sara?” Roland called from a safe distance. “Why are you cuddling a crow? Are you some kind of bird whisperer too?”

With everything that was going on, it felt good to smile. “You remember the crow I saved from Scott and his friends back in third grade? This is him.” I held the crow away from me. “Harper, these are my friends.”

The crow blinked and regarded Roland and Peter with intelligent black eyes that made the boys shift nervously. “He looks like he’s thinking about pecking my eyeballs out,” Peter muttered, taking another step back.

“Don’t be ridiculous. He’s just curious because I’ve never introduced him to people before.”

Someone cleared their throat behind me and I turned to Nikolas and Chris who watched me with cool appraisal. If they had been surprised by Harper, they certainly hid it well.

“What do you plan to do with that thing?” Chris asked in a tone that said he was not happy about the idea of sharing a car with a crow.

“Harper just came to say goodbye.” As soon as the words were out, a lump formed in my throat. “Excuse me,” I managed to say before I walked a dozen yards away to make my farewell to my old friend.

“I have to go away for a while,” I explained as he stared at me intently. “You be careful and don’t go too far into the woods where the hunters will get you. And watch the cars on the road. I know you and your friends act like road kill is an all you can eat buffet, but don’t be stupid about it, alright?”