Chapter 14: Aftermath
Third Person POV
The dust settled.
The battlefield was a graveyard of craters and shattered buildings, glowing faintly under the pale light of dawn. Ash floated in the air like snow, and the air pulsed with the lingering hum of magic.
Slowly, one by one, they gathered—bruised, bloodied, but alive.
Yasha limped forward, light flickering faintly around her torn kunai. "Is it over?"
Valerie let out a shaky laugh, clutching her side where Vayden was trying to patch her up with illusionary bandages. "If it's not, then I seriously need a nap before round two."
"I need three," Gaia muttered, her fan folded against her chest. Gared stood protectively beside her, his hand ghosting near her back as if still ready to pause time again at any second.
Bailey helped Paicey sit on a pile of rubble. "You good?"
"My throat feels like I screamed into the void," Paicey croaked. "But otherwise? Peachy."
Beck transmuted a large piece of metal into a bench for them. Percy called down his phoenix to provide warmth, feathers glowing with steady heat. Yuan opened a portal to a safe zone just in case Selene's remnants stirred again.
And Reese—
She stood quietly at the center, scythe embedded beside her like a gravestone. Her eyes searched for Raiden.
He walked toward her, copying stillness in his stance, though she could see the exhaustion behind his usual smirk.
They stood in silence, the world fading around them as the others began to tend to each other. Hushed conversations filled the edges of their vision—Valerie and Vayden laughing tiredly, Gaia leaning into Gared's shoulder as he brushed dirt from her cheek, Bailey resting her forehead against Beck's, Percy awkwardly pulling Paicey closer with a teasing grin while she batted him away but didn't really mean it.
But no Ophira. No Ozaire. Just empty space where their partnership once burned.
Reese and Raiden looked at each other.
He stepped closer, eyes softer than she'd seen in a long time. "You okay?"
She nodded. "You?"
"I copied a sonic scream, gravity control, and time manipulation in a ten-minute window. I might die later."
She gave a tired laugh, nudging him with her shoulder. "Please don't. You still owe me an explanation about what you were going to say earlier?"
He leaned in slightly, gaze sharp and amused. "You bringing that up now?"
She rolled her eyes but smiled. "You'd never let me live it down if I didn't."
Raiden's smirk softened. "About that, Reese… There's something I've been meaning to say since before the fight. I—"
But before he could finish—
Both of their phones rang.
Simultaneously.
They stared at each other in disbelief.
"…Seriously?" she muttered.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You've got to be kidding me."
She fished her phone out and answered. "Yasha? Why are you calling, you're only a few feet apart from us? Huh? Yeah, we're fine—yes, I'm with him—What do you mean Mom's already planning a 'We're Alive' dinner party?"
Raiden answered his too. "Yeah, Gared, we're still breathing—why are you guys calling anyway, huh—dammit—"
They hung up almost at the same time.
A heavy pause.
"…So," Reese said, trying not to smile. "That thing you were gonna say?"
Raiden gave a lopsided grin. "You first."
She shrugged, folding her arms. "It's probably not the right time."
He tilted his head, teasing. "Then let's say it's a mutual not-the-right-time kind of thing."
"Exactly," she smirked. "We're in sync like that."
They stood there, side by side, the sun rising slowly behind them. Their hands brushed but didn't quite hold.
Not yet.
But someday...
Reese's POV
That night, silence pressed against everything.
Not the comforting kind. The kind that feels like it's waiting—watching. The kind that makes you remember every scream, every blow, every second you thought someone you loved might not make it.
I laid on my bed, arms sprawled out, staring at the ceiling like it had answers. It didn't. It never does.
My scythe leaned against the wall, still faintly glowing from the energy it absorbed. I should've wiped the blood off. I should've showered. I should've cried.
But I didn't do anything.
I just… laid there.
Yasha's bloodied smile.
Gaia's strained voice in my head.
Selene's power crackling like a storm with no sky to hold it.
Raiden's body shielding mine from a blast that could've taken my head off.
I blinked up at the ceiling. "What are we even doing?" I whispered to no one.
Then—
The door creaked.
My heart stuttered. I almost reached for my weapon out of instinct, but then he stepped in.
Raiden.
Hair damp, hoodie clinging to his shoulders, a scratch running down the sharp line of his cheek. His eyes flicked to me. Quiet. Guarded. Like always.
"…You planning to stand there forever?" I asked, voice dry.
"Wasn't sure if you were asleep."
"I'm not."
He stepped in, sat down at the edge of my bed like it was normal. Like we were normal.
I sat up, the blanket pooling around my waist. "You okay?"
He nodded, eyes forward. "No. You?"
I snorted softly. "No."
Silence again. Not awkward. Just heavy.
"Don't do that again," I said suddenly.
He glanced at me. "Do what?"
"Copy my powers mid-fight and try to block a hit that could've killed you."
He raised an eyebrow. "So I was supposed to let you take it?"
"That's not the point."
"Then what is?"
I looked down at my hands. They were shaking again.
"I couldn't breathe when I saw you fall."
He stilled. Just… stilled.
I kept talking before I lost the courage. "We joke around. We mess with each other. But if something happened to you—if I lost you—Raiden, I wouldn't know how to come back from that."
He stared at me.
And then, like the air had changed between us, he said, voice low, "You really don't get it, do you?"
I frowned. "Get what?"
"I care about you, Reese."
My breath caught.
He kept going, words quieter now. "Probably more than I should. Probably more than you realize. Hell, maybe more than I realized until today."
My heart thundered. I couldn't speak. Couldn't think.
All I could do was stare at him—at Raiden freaking Whitlock, who just admitted he cared.
And of course—
Of course—
My phone rang.
Raiden's phone buzzed too.
We both groaned at the same time.
"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered, flopping backward. "This is the third time already"
Next time, I'll break this phone.
I look at my phone and it displayed 'Mom'.
Raiden leaned in to see who's calling me, pulled back and chuckled. "Still not the right time, huh?"
I looked up at him, lips twitching despite myself. "Nope."
He leaned down just slightly, brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers lingered. Warm.
"But it will be."
I met his gaze. "Yeah," I whispered. "Soon... I hope."
The Morning After
The Everhart estate—rest house of Yuan's family—felt different.
Not in a magical-ward's-broken kind of way. Just… off. Like everyone was moving slower. Talking softer. Like the house itself knew we were all barely holding it together.
I dragged my feet into the breakfast room, hair still damp from my rushed shower. The smell of toasted bread and eggs hit me first. Then the sight of them—my sisters and the boys.
Gaia sat with a steaming mug in hand, her fan resting beside her like it had weight even now. Valerie had her feet propped on the table, spinning a gravity orb lazily above her palm. Beck leaned into Yuan, who looked half-asleep, his fingers drawing unconscious patterns on his back. Yasha was bandaged up but radiant as ever, chewing on fruit as she scrolled through her phone with Paicey curled up beside her.
And then there was him.
Raiden.
Already looking at me before I even stepped in fully. A look I couldn't read. A look that made my face burn hotter than any fire Bailey could summon.
"Morning," I muttered, grabbing toast.
"Sleep well, Kitten?" Valerie teased with a wicked grin.
I shot her a glare. "Don't start."
Yasha smirked, eyes twinkling. "She didn't even deny the nickname."
"I literally just got here."
"She's flustered," Beck added, flipping his spoon like it was a coin. "Confirmed."
"Are you all twelve?" I snapped.
Raiden bit back a grin. "You weren't complaining last night."
Dead silence.
I choked on my toast.
Yasha dropped her fork.
Gaia coughed pointedly. "Please, for the love of all things decent—context."
"I meant the part where we talked," Raiden said smoothly. "You know. Opened up emotionally. Like well-adjusted people."
"Gross," said Ozaire, sipping coffee like this entire conversation was beneath him.
Valerie cackled. "You two have so much tension you could power the city grid."
"We're not talking about this," I muttered.
"No," Gaia said softly, this time with a smile that held understanding. "But I'm glad you're both here. Safe."
The teasing faded just enough for a beat of silence.
It hung there. Heavy, quiet, sacred.
We were alive.
Selene was gone—contained for now.
And we had made it out.
But barely.
Raiden nudged his chair closer to mine. I didn't stop him.
I just stared at all of them, battered but smiling, broken but breathing.
And for the first time since the fight—
I let myself breathe too.
"There would be more battles, more darkness to face. But today, in this moment, we had each other—and that was enough."