Chapter 359

359 To My Best Friend

“You can’t know the future. And even the little of it you can detect allowed you to save me from the explosion at the reserve. I also can’t thank you enough for saving Kyle as well. It’s not something I thought I’d say... but still, I’m grateful... and,” her words were gone, swallowed up by the growing anguish that threatened to consume her.

“One moment we have a daughter and the next, we don’t... Who knew life would be that cruel?” Tom sighed, pulling his wife closer to him. At a moment when he wished he was speaking with his daughter’s physical form, his grip on Marie’s waist would get slightly tighter.

“I don’t think I follow. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve never stopped being your daughter,” the girl replied sternly before softening, “I forgot to tell you back then, but I was excited to see you guys back at the reserve. I hadn’t known when I would be seeing you again.”

“Yeah, and I forgot to tell you that I was present the whole time you fought that beta alpha. I watched you defeat him with Cole’s help. You were amazing. I hadn’t thought you’d grown that much,” Marie responded.

“I had been working on my movements a lot... but that was the last I was able to move that well I guess,” she responded, “Spoil me all you can when I return... And if at all, I find a younger sibling, I’ll spoil them rotten.”

“You better keep your word. Who wouldn’t want to have you for a big sister?” Marie replied. Thorrin stepped forward, so he was side by side with Marie and Tom.

“Don’t forget the family reunion. We’ve already waited long enough for the day to meet you as a family,” Thorrin replied... ‘So much I hadn’t done. I guess I shouldn’t have spent that week sulking,’ Katie thought to herself.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” the girl replied, “Take care of my parents for me. I think... no, I know they are really rusty.”

“We trained you, Katie. That’s not something that can be achieved by someone who’s rusty,” Marie chuckled.

.....

When the moment had passed, Thorrin spoke with a slight bow, “I won’t let them get carried away. One Chase is more than we can spare.”

Katie felt the pull to hug her parents, but thinking about the state she was in, she decided against it and floated on to someone else standing in the clearing. Sandra stood staring at the ground, unwilling to make any eye contact with her mentor. “Hey, you don’t want to say goodbye without letting me look at you?”

“No... I just don’t want to cry any more than I already have. The lion saved you and I was relieved. I thought I’d lost you then. Why couldn’t you just thank him and stand back up like someone who had been saved?” the girl asked her.

Katie thought back to the moment and remembered another dashing figure that had tried to save her in the throne room. “Oh, Sandra...”

“No, it’s fine. I knew I wouldn’t make it back then. I was glad when... but then, you didn’t get back up. Now, look at you. I always knew I would be the first between the two of us to go down in this fight,” Sandra’s voice threatened to break once more.

“We’ll both be standing when this is all over. It doesn’t matter how many times we tumble. Would you watch over Kyle for me, Sandra?” the girl requested.

“Won’t that be up to the Hunters to decide?” Sandra asked.

Katie turned to the Chase family. They’d been listening in on the conversation. Thorrin took a step to the right and then another to the left, just to confirm the ghost’s eyes were pinned on him, “Alright, fine, I’ll see what I can do about it.”

“Thank you, Uncle,” Katie replied, flashing him a brilliant smile before turning back to her best friend, “On a serious note though, Kyle will need all the help he can get. I can think of no one better suited for the task. Oh, Caden is a big help as well.”

“What about my birthday? I’ll finally be turning eighteen,” Sandra knew mentioning this to a Royal would mean a lot. After all, they had been waiting for that day. It would be the day when she’d find out the truth about her relationship with Jason. Was Katie really going to miss that? What if Jason was wrong? What then...?

Katie went silent at the mention of Sandra’s upcoming birthday. It had completely slipped her mind or she’d merely kept herself from thinking about it. She was going away for a time that wasn’t defined... However much the goddess hid the estimates of time, Katie had a feeling it was better not knowing. That still meant she was going to miss a lot.

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up,” the girl replied, letting her happy expression fall. She’d tried going for a cheery approach, but the fact that she was leaving her best friend before she’d even turned eighteen still darkened the mood, “I’m not dying, Sandra.”

“It doesn’t make it any easier, Katie. You’re being handed over to a goddess. They don’t even live in the same plane we do. You’ll be gone... like really gone. We know you’ll get better, but... we don’t know how long you will be gone...”

“If I might speak clearly for your friend, the world will feel the hole you’re leaving behind,” Thorrin spoke up, “I’ve wanted to say that as well. I heard what you did at the reserve and what you used to do here in Brigadia. Not to mention, I watched the rogue king retreat and get overwhelmed by the force of one girl. You might not be dying, Katie, but you are going to be missed by many,” Thorrin explained.

“I know that... More than you know,” the girl replied in a low tone.

'

Katie turned her attention back to Sandra and glided closer until she was right by her friend, whispering, “I forgot to tell you that you make a cool hunter,” Katie said to her friend, “I’m glad I got to see that at least. I wasn’t such a bad mentor. I’m sorry for sending you on so many unreasonable errands.”

Sandra chuckled, “You should have seen what Shaemus used to go through. You weren’t unreasonable and I loved helping you out. I was the perfect shadow. What are best friends for?”

Katie was stunned by this reply, running out of words for her best friend, “Now that you’ve got that off your chest, you should go to him. I might not be a werewolf, but it doesn’t take a mind link to tell what’s going through his mind.”

With her goodbyes done, Katie floated back to the site of her unconscious body to meet the last person she wanted to talk to. The blue-eyed king hadn’t left his spot on the ground. The red ceremonial cape was still set on his shoulders and the crown was nowhere to be seen. The ghostly silhouette knelt on the other side of the sleeping body and sought the man’s bright blue eyes.