CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
AZURA
Everyone was thrilled about the outcome of Martin’s case. Despite her doubts, Azura felt assured that through all of the turmoil of intergalactic relations and shifter developments, Martin had learned something that she could have never given him directly.
They were standing outside the courthouse chatting. The earth’s sun in the sky appeared strange after all that time on Nova Aurora.
Azura felt like she could look at her brother and see him differently, not just because he had increased in size because of his dragon nature, but because something else beautiful had shifted inside of him.
“I can’t wait to tell her the good news,” Martin said.
Azura had been daydreaming and had just caught what Martin had said to Onyx, who was grinning ear-to-ear.
She blinked heavily.
“Don’t you want to see the house? It probably looks so different now.”
Martin turned to face his sister, and it was that change in him, shining brightly in the form of maturity.
“Not particularly. I feel like it’ll look so different from when I was growing up,” Martin paused, then reached out to touch his sister's shoulder. “But if it's important to you, I will go.”
Azura felt her lips grow into a smirk. She had a quip ready in the barrel, but for the first time in perhaps ever, the young man seemed genuine.
She flicked her eyes at Onyx, who was looking at Martin with fatherly pride. She looked back at Martin, then shook her head.
“It’s okay, darling,” she said. “You go back and celebrate with your girlfriend. I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear that everything went well.”
Martin gave her a tight hug, reminding her of the hug he had given her the day after their parents had passed. It had been desperate and vulnerable. But outside that courthouse, it was just the opposite. This time the hug felt strong and certain.
They pulled away from each other, and Azura was able to plant a quick kiss on her brother’s cheek. She assumed he would wipe away with a scoff, the way he would when he was a child, but he didn’t. He touched it with a wide grin.
Azura almost burst into tears.
Two separate cars arrived for them. One would take Martin back to the wormhole that would lead him to Nova Aurora, and the other would take Onyx and Azura to see the newly renovated home.
Azura felt panic rising in her chest as they inched closer. It was a haunting feeling, like moving into the past. It usually began at her feet like water quietly rushing into a room. The fear of the flood used to suffocate her.
But she had learned that she had to let it move from her feet, up her body, her stomach, and out of her fingertips with a deep breath.
The only way out of hell is to walk through it.
The car crawled slowly over to the property, and the sight of it nearly took Azura’s breath away.
It had been enhanced to the point of sparkling in the lovely California sun as if it had been carved out of her daydreams. It took her back to her times as a child, except with an entirely fresh coat of paint, replaced windows, and a finely manicured lawn.
Azura stepped out of the car with Onyx’s help. The feeling of his hand in hers held her in place, so firm and confident, all of the sadness she had been feeling slid out the back of her spine.
“Oh, my god,” she murmured.
He held onto her as they walked forward, gazing at the stunning landscape. It looked like it had been completely redone, and Azura wasn’t aware that they had managed to raise that money.
“It looks completely different,” she said.
Onyx gazed at her, his love pulsing in Azura’s peripheral vision.
“Oh?”
She cocked an eyebrow at him as he swung with her hand, trailing over the refinished driveway.