赤裸裸的滑稽故事

"Ash?" Caleb called to her.

"We need to hurry," she replied, immediately moving away from him, but he stopped her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said, holding her shoulders. "Before you go charging off, I need to know what's happening. I can feel how worried you are, but I need to know what's going on."

Ashleigh took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh.

"You're right," she said. Closing her eyes and taking a brief moment to calm herself. "Ok, listen, there has been an attack in Winter."

"What? When? How do you know?" he asked.

"Now, I think," she replied. "Lily's Rest, it's been destroyed. Lily felt it. That was why she screamed. It was more than just a place to her, more than where she died. It was a connection to her descendants and to her mom. But Roman sent a monster and destroyed it."

Ashleigh looked away, feeling a deep pain for Lily, knowing there was nothing she could say or do to help her with the pain.

"Ok… that was a lot of information in a short explanation, and I find I have questions," Caleb said. "The first and most pressing is about Roman being the one who did this. How?"

Ashleigh tried her best to explain everything she and Lily had discussed as quickly as possible and the repercussions of destroying the sacred space.

"All right…" Caleb sighed. "I think I understand… but now I wonder if sending our people through the gate is even safe. What if we are just sending them through to another death trap?"

Ashleigh shook her head.

"Sending them is the best option we have," she said. "The Safe Zone is far from Lily's Rest, and even if there is an all-out battle already happening, there are still far more places that they can go to keep themselves safe. Winter's terrain will keep them from being trapped the way they are here. Plus, here, we know there is an army coming. We know that army has the Dark Queen in it."

"Roman's not much better," Caleb sighed.

"No," she agreed. "But Winter has Axel, my mother, the Valkyrie… and I'm sure Alice and Myka have already come up with some crazy plans to keep everyone safe if it comes down to them."

Caleb took a deep breath.

"Besides, they aren't going alone," she continued. "You, the Crag wolves, Fiona, and me… we are all going through with them. If there is a problem on the other side, we'll take care of it. Together."

Ashleigh smiled up at him, and Caleb couldn't help but chuckle. He leaned forward and gave her a tender kiss.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she smiled. "Now, let's save our people."

Caleb nodded, and they both turned to follow the rest of the group.

It was only a few minutes later when there was a sound from one of the radios. Fiona and Caleb stepped aside to answer while Ashleigh approached the waygate.

'When you open it, remember, don't step through. Just reach your hand in. Not very far,' Lily whispered.

'I know,' Ashleigh replied, clenching her jaw.

She understood and accepted Lily's choice, but she would never like the idea of letting her die.

'I'm already dead, Ashleigh,' Lily whispered with a smile.

'Don't pretend you don't understand how I feel,' Ashleigh sighed.

Lily let out a small laugh.

'I do,' she whispered. 'And I am happy to know how much you care. But do me a favor.'

'What is it?' Ashleigh asked.

'Don't think of it as me dying,' Lily replied. 'Think of it as my chance to live again, to be reborn.'

Ashleigh swallowed. She closed her eyes and nodded.

'I know,' she said. 'And I am happy for you. I will just miss you.'

'We've said our goodbyes and shed our tears. So let's not do this again,' Lily chuckled. 'Who knew my great daughter would be such a crybaby?'

Ashleigh shook her head with a grin. She summoned one of her karambit and brought it to her fingertip as she had done in Winter.

'Maybe I won't miss you that much….'

"Ash!" Caleb called out, waving for her to join him when she caught his eye.

Letting the knife fall away, she hurried over to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she approached. "I was about to open the gate."

"We just heard from the scouts nearest to Summer," Fiona said hushedly.

Ashleigh felt a cold chill through her spine.

"What did they say?" she asked.

"The reinforcements have arrived," Caleb said with a grim tone. "The fae kind."

"Is she with them?" Ashleigh asked immediately.

"We don't know," he replied. "The scout said it was a war party. They were moving fast. We told him to get to safety. But he hadn't seen the Dark Queen yet."

"We need to hurry," Fiona said. "We need to get the civilians moving before–"

Fiona's words were cut off by the angry blaring of the alarms from the compound. The gates had fallen, and the enemy had breached Summer.

Behind them, the civilians began to cry out and panic.

"Remain calm," Caleb called out, letting his presence settle over them. His warmth calmed most of them. "We must remain calm and keep moving toward the gate. The plan has not changed."

"What are we going to do?" Fiona asked quietly. "It might take some time for the hybrids to reach us, they seem hellbent on destroying everything in their path, but when the fae arrive, they will come straight for us."

"As I said, the plan hasn't changed," Caleb replied. He lifted his eyes to Ashleigh. "Go, open the gate."

She nodded and turned to do as he said. But walking toward her were the ten wolves from Broken Crag. They walked right past her. She turned as Fiona spoke to them.

"Where are you going?" Fiona asked.

They each looked to one man, he nodded, and they continued down the path while he stopped and turned to Fiona.

"We will do what we can to give the civilians time to escape," he said.

Fiona stepped forward.

"That's ridiculous," she said. "There are too many. You'll all be killed."

The man grinned.

"Through weakness, we find our strength," he whispered before turning and following his men down the path.

Ashleigh and Caleb's eyes met. She saw the look, and she knew what it meant. Her jaw clenched, and she swallowed down the fear and worry. She gave him a gentle smile and a nod. He smiled back, and she felt his relief right away.

"Mother," Caleb said. "You need to go to the front of the line."

Fiona turned to him.

"We already know there is trouble in Winter. You and the soldiers gathered here need to keep our people safe."

"Caleb…"

"It is my honor and my duty," he whispered.

Fiona swallowed, and though hot tears gathered in her eyes, and there was a painful grip on her heart, she nodded.

Caleb pulled her close and hugged her tightly.

"I better see you on the other side," she whispered.

Caleb smiled and kissed the top of her head before letting her go.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you," she whispered back. Then, quickly turned and hurried away before she could change her mind.

Ashleigh and Caleb held each other's gaze for a long moment.

'Don't forget,' she whispered through their bond. 'We are finishing this together, so you have to come back.'

Caleb smiled.

'We still have a long life together. I'm not going anywhere,' he whispered back.

They felt their shared love and the longing in their hearts as they prepared for the task ahead.

Caleb summoned his armor and sword while Ashleigh again called her karambit.

With one last look and a smile, Caleb turned and headed back to defend his home while Ashleigh opened the way gate.