Upheaval (Rise of the Iliri #8)

by Auryn Hadley

"Ayati," Kolt breathed. "When you drop a stone, it will fall. Water will be wet. Fire will be hot. Our lives will matter."

Kolt didn't move. Instead, he took a deep breath. "Zep?" "Yeah, man?" "One day, I hope I can be as iliri as you. I think you're what our people strive for."

"One, Two, Three, and then the time will be right. If you move too soon, everything will backfire. She needs to believe in herself for this to work. She needs her past to convince her none of this is a mistake. She will need you, but patience is the key. Stability is the desire. Count to three and then it's your chance. Move too soon, and the horseman will be the answer."

Just live, kitten, he thought to himself, too afraid of distracting her to send it. I do na care what ya do, just come back ta me. Broken, whole, or somewhere in between, I will always love ya, and I will do whatever it takes ta prove it. Even if that means na being there.

She was the promise that a boy chained in a tavern or a girl starving in a basement could become something more. She was true love and complete determination. She was an example to follow and a cheerleader to encourage. Most of all, she was the voice. She was the one who could see it all and show others the way through their hardships. Her place wasn't to make their decisions for them, but to show them other ways. She was the lantern in the darkness. The warm embrace of a friend when everything else had failed. She was hope.

Ran understood. I am not leaving without my little girl, even if I have to fight my way in there alone.

"Yeah," Dom agreed. "Because you sent us a woman strong enough to change not just the world, but also the future."

Home is where our differences make us the same, and strangers can become a pack. It is one thing that can never be stolen.