is quiet, hushed and in awe. Timid smiles brightly, fully awake now and so is Hana, Basil sits with her hands over her mouth. Colton has stopped moving, and his feet are planted firmly on the ground, his face tilted to the sky. Duke holds Junie’s hand, and they breathe in this moment for what it is.
I know the people in this room are seeing Lukas for the first time, in the way I have always seen him, felt him. Ever since the first time I stepped foot in the Haven and felt his light wash over me. It was like I stood in sunshine, rays showering me with love and goodness. Now we watch as Lukas’s light grows brighter, as though he absorbed the words from this book in a way I clearly didn’t.
He’s accepting his destiny; I’m pushing mine away.
“Lucy, you can accept your fate. We are Rainbow Children . We’ve been brought together for a good greater than ourselves.” He stops, and walks to me, taking my hands in his, and I feel it. I feel him. Because when we connect, we are connected . In the purest way possible, in a cosmic, organic way.
In a predestined, this is reason for all of it, sort of way.
In a way that feels too big, too much. In a way I never asked for.
“Lukas.” I shake my head, my eyes filling with tears as our kaleidoscope of color returns, spreading around us and covering the room.
“You can choose to accept your fate, without choosing me to be your partner. We can do this, return to The Light, take our place as their Nobleman and Noblelady, without being Bound to one another.” He says these words with his eyes full of the tears that fill mine.
He is letting me go.
Somehow this distinction feels important, vital. Required. I can help, without forfeiting my life. I don’t exactly know what helping means exactly, but as I look around the room, full of people who believe in me, I can’t help but nod my head and agree.
“We can lead The Light,” I tell him. “We must. We are the Rainbow Children.”
With hands clasped, I’m filled with light in a way I’ve never imagined, never seen, never known to be possible.
I lift my hands, and he lifts his, and suddenly my entire body glows.
22.
Charlie
Jax leans against the tree trunk, filling me in on what I missed. A lot, apparently.
“So Reagan went nuts. Like crazy. I mean, we all knew it was coming. Whatever was left of Benjamin’s Cowboy Coalition died a long time ago, right about the time your parents stopped listening to everyone.”
“So what did Reagan do?” I look at the guy who taught me the ropes when I first moved out here to the wilderness with my parents. He was the first friend I had, and the one who got me through the loss of my brother.
“Well, one night, a few days after Colton and Junie left, he was looking for the key to the safe where he keeps his booze. He couldn’t find it. My guess is Colton stole it, you know how he is, always thinking he’s so clever.”
“Let me guess, Reagan went ape-shit?” I shake my head, knowing that man was a bad apple. “But how did you end up here, with people from Headquarters?” I look around at the group he has with him. Most everyone who was left at my parents’ house has followed him.
“No one wanted to stay with Reagan after he decided to start shooting at everything in sight. So the thirty of us left rode fast to the only place left. Headquarters.”
“How was my mom and dad?” I ask, feeling bad, for the first time, to have left them. I know how hard they worked, for how long. But it only takes a second of remembering Grandpa Benjamin’s hands on Lucy, trying to force her into the machine, to stop myself from caring. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”
“Maybe you do. They’re a mess, terrified of never seeing you again. I was too, man.” Jax looks at me, telling me without words, that bailing like I did with Lucy, Junie, and Colton was pretty messed up.
I’d been in such a rush when we left though, I guess I didn’t think it all the
I know the people in this room are seeing Lukas for the first time, in the way I have always seen him, felt him. Ever since the first time I stepped foot in the Haven and felt his light wash over me. It was like I stood in sunshine, rays showering me with love and goodness. Now we watch as Lukas’s light grows brighter, as though he absorbed the words from this book in a way I clearly didn’t.
He’s accepting his destiny; I’m pushing mine away.
“Lucy, you can accept your fate. We are Rainbow Children . We’ve been brought together for a good greater than ourselves.” He stops, and walks to me, taking my hands in his, and I feel it. I feel him. Because when we connect, we are connected . In the purest way possible, in a cosmic, organic way.
In a predestined, this is reason for all of it, sort of way.
In a way that feels too big, too much. In a way I never asked for.
“Lukas.” I shake my head, my eyes filling with tears as our kaleidoscope of color returns, spreading around us and covering the room.
“You can choose to accept your fate, without choosing me to be your partner. We can do this, return to The Light, take our place as their Nobleman and Noblelady, without being Bound to one another.” He says these words with his eyes full of the tears that fill mine.
He is letting me go.
Somehow this distinction feels important, vital. Required. I can help, without forfeiting my life. I don’t exactly know what helping means exactly, but as I look around the room, full of people who believe in me, I can’t help but nod my head and agree.
“We can lead The Light,” I tell him. “We must. We are the Rainbow Children.”
With hands clasped, I’m filled with light in a way I’ve never imagined, never seen, never known to be possible.
I lift my hands, and he lifts his, and suddenly my entire body glows.
22.
Charlie
Jax leans against the tree trunk, filling me in on what I missed. A lot, apparently.
“So Reagan went nuts. Like crazy. I mean, we all knew it was coming. Whatever was left of Benjamin’s Cowboy Coalition died a long time ago, right about the time your parents stopped listening to everyone.”
“So what did Reagan do?” I look at the guy who taught me the ropes when I first moved out here to the wilderness with my parents. He was the first friend I had, and the one who got me through the loss of my brother.
“Well, one night, a few days after Colton and Junie left, he was looking for the key to the safe where he keeps his booze. He couldn’t find it. My guess is Colton stole it, you know how he is, always thinking he’s so clever.”
“Let me guess, Reagan went ape-shit?” I shake my head, knowing that man was a bad apple. “But how did you end up here, with people from Headquarters?” I look around at the group he has with him. Most everyone who was left at my parents’ house has followed him.
“No one wanted to stay with Reagan after he decided to start shooting at everything in sight. So the thirty of us left rode fast to the only place left. Headquarters.”
“How was my mom and dad?” I ask, feeling bad, for the first time, to have left them. I know how hard they worked, for how long. But it only takes a second of remembering Grandpa Benjamin’s hands on Lucy, trying to force her into the machine, to stop myself from caring. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”
“Maybe you do. They’re a mess, terrified of never seeing you again. I was too, man.” Jax looks at me, telling me without words, that bailing like I did with Lucy, Junie, and Colton was pretty messed up.
I’d been in such a rush when we left though, I guess I didn’t think it all the
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