He shifted restlessly and I stroked the back of his head, knowing this could be the last time I ever saw him. My future was so uncertain and there were lots of dangers to a wild bird, even one as smart as Harper.

Never one to stay still for long, Harper lifted his wings preparing to take off. “I’ll miss you,” I said to him before he left my hand and circled me twice before flying away. I watched him until he disappeared from sight, then I walked resolutely back to the waiting vehicles.

Ignoring all the stares, I hugged Roland and Peter and told them I’d call as soon as I got wherever I was going. Then I got into the back of the SUV. The windows were tinted and I felt invisible to the rest of the world and more alone than I had ever been. I shivered and pulled my small coat tighter around me.

The front doors opened and Nikolas and Chris climbed in. “Okay, that was one for the books,” Chris declared as he started the car. His eyes twinkled when they met mine in the rearview mirror. “All set?”

“As much as I ever will be.”

Nikolas turned in his seat to look at me. “Are you alright?”

Was I? I was heading off to God knows where to live with strangers. My future was uncertain, a vampire Master wanted me dead, and I was leaving everyone I knew. But the way Nikolas looked at me reminded me of that night in the alley when he silently assured me that I was not alone. There was something between us I couldn’t define, but I’d felt it when I thought I was dying and the moment I saw him standing in the kitchen doorway yesterday. It was more than a truce; it was like we were connected somehow after everything we’d been through together. Whatever it was and whatever was waiting for me, I knew I could trust him to be there with me like he had been through all of this. Maybe we could even be friends. Stranger things had happened.

I gave him a small smile. “No, but I will be.”

~ The End ~