Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Aftermath

Once Maggie dismisses the chains binding him, Nick takes his human form, and I hug him again. I smell him. Despite the overpowering scents of the battlefield, the blood and flesh that suffuses the air, I smell him, and his scent calms me. It tells me that I’m with someone who loves me.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” I sob.

“Me too,” he replies, not much more composed.

“Magic is a miracle.”

Nick chuckles. “That it is.”

In the end, more than three-fourths of the Springstorm pack lives, thanks to Maggie’s wonderful healing tendrils.

That still means one fourth of them died. Almost a hundred people, killed under my service, denied the reward we were all fighting for. It’s a lot, but I’m honestly relieved by that tally. Partway through the battle, I’d been sure we’d lost twice that many.

I also get more prisoners than I’d ever hoped; so many that it’s quickly clear that the total amount of prison space in Springwater and West Gulch won’t be able to hold all of them.