He took my hand in his and led the way up the stairs. When we stepped into the living room, we found Tenn hadn’t been lying, everyone was waiting. Well, everyone that wasn’t injured. There were still far too many in the beds downstairs. I was glad to see Savannah and Emersyn were sitting on the ledge in front of the hearth. Cooper sat beside Savannah, rubbing soft circles on her back. Hunter sat on the other side of Emersyn. His aura was much lighter than it had been since I met him. I couldn’t wait to see him smile once Devon returned.

Bentley sat in the chair by the front window closest to his family while Mona sat in the other one. Her aura was worse than it had ever been. As Everest led us across the room to an empty lounge chair, I glanced around to take inventory of who was around. Tenn and Tegan were curled up together on the couch right beside the lounge chair, with Tim and Katherine seated beside them and almost just as tangled together. On the couch opposite us were Thiago, Royce, Mei-ling, and Tai. Seeing my bestie and her brother in the thick of the group filled me with too much happiness. Willow sat on the floor at the coffee table in front of Tegan and I knew that wasn’t a coincidence. At the dining table, Jackson, Warner, Lennox, Kenneth, and Landreia sat in a row facing the rest of the room. All of them were tense and quiet. Behind them, Daniel sat on a barstool at the kitchen island with Kendall and Kylie.

“Sorry to keep you,” Everest said softly, then reclined on the lounge chair with his legs stretched out and his head propped up. When everyone’s auras turned sharp and their eyes narrowed on him, he held his hand up. “I am fine, just not quite recovered from last night yet.”

I smiled and sat at his feet because I didn’t trust myself to be any closer to him when I needed to concentrate. Also, I’d never seen him barefoot, and the sight of his toes was making me giddy. It meant he was really free of his torture and could just be with us. Just as we settled in, Myrtle and Constance came up from the infirmary. They smiled at us, then walked toward the kitchen. Myrtle sat beside Landreia while Constance leaned against Daniel’s back.

Thiago cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Everest? Is it dark enough for you? I dropped a shadow around the house⁠—”

“It’s good. Thank you.”

Thiago smiled and nodded. “Where is your crew? Will they need special help getting here?”

Cooper snapped his fingers. “I was wondering where the hell they went.”

“There were things that needed doing.” Everest shrugged one shoulder. “They knew what to do. They’ll be here soon.”