“Sure. It's as good a place as any to start out. You know, Caim. You could come back with me. I'm sure Keegan would like having you around.”
Caim was tempted. He could imagine clearing the land around his father's estate, trying to rebuild the manor house. Raise some horses, or cattle maybe. But then the ache in his chest reminded him of all that he'd been through, and all that he'd lost. And there were his powers, only half-understood and never far beneath the surface. Being around ordinary people didn't seem wise. “Thanks anyway. You ready now?”
“Sure enough.” Malig looked around. “I got to hand it to you, Caim. You took us all the way to the edge of the world.”
Kit hugged the man around his middle. “Be good, you big ox.”
Malig chuckled and patted her on the head. When they separated, he picked up the sacks and squared his shoulders. “All right. Make with the magic before I lose my nerve.”
Caim opened the portal on the other side of the campfire. “Safe journey. Until we meet again.”
Malig stepped up to the black oval. “You think it's all right to leave Aemon buried out there? In the wastes, I mean. Seems awful far from home. And Dray. We don't even know where those bastards put his body.”
“They are together,” Kit said. “And at peace.”
Caim didn't know if Kit had some special knowledge, or if she was just trying to offer comfort, but Malig seemed to accept it. With a firm nod, he took a breath and jumped into the portal. Caim let it close behind him.
“Caim, look.”
He followed her gaze as streaks of cobalt appeared in the slate-gray sky. The blue turned to orange and then to a shimmering glow of pale gold as the sun broke over the horizon. Caim put his arm around Kit, and they watched the dawn sweep away the darkness for the first time in decades.
“So,” he said. “Now what?”
She slipped her arms around his neck. “We can go anywhere?”
“Anywhere you want.”
Kit trailed her fingertips across the tops of his ears and planted a kiss on his chin. “Surprise me.”
The portal opened behind Caim with hardly any effort. Kit laughed and let go of him, and he watched the rising sun for another moment. Light was returning to these wastes, but some darkness remained inside of him. He didn't see any shadows, but he felt them nearby. Watching him. Hungering.
Then Kit pulled him by the hand, with the sunlight flashing in her eyes, toward the portal and their future, and Caim forgot his worries.
