33. VANYA: OUR ISLAND'S DESTRUCTION

The fire was spreading fast.
Our attempts to stop it proved to be futile because of the wind. Thanks to Red’s quick action he had managed to get us out of the forest and into town which prevented us from being trapped at the house by the fire.
We might not have been trapped on the mountain but there was a possibility that we might end up dying anyway. That single fact made me push through the tiredness and pain.
I had lost track of time as we fought to keep the fire from spreading. Everyone was helping, even the few shifters who lived around town were working alongside the humans.
Their differences had been pushed aside in the fight to protect what was important to them.
I was worried about Devrim and Obsidian on the other side of the island. Ezra had tried calling when we heard that most of the island had been set on fire, but they hadn’t answered.
Tears burned my eyes. Just when I thought that we. . .I pushed the thoughts away, refusing to think of the shit we still had to face.
If we made it out alive.
They were talking about starting an evacuation but we all knew that it was going to be impossible to get everyone off the island because there was only a limited amount of boats available. And then there was the fact that this town had no harbour which meant that there were no boats for us to use.
I had left it to Ezra and Red to figure out as I went back to help the others.
“Hey.” Fingers closed around my wrist, preventing me from filling the bucket with more water. “Take a break, sugarplum.”
I slowly straightened, wincing as muscles protested, and frowned at him. There was no time for resting. We had only a few minutes left at most before the fire reaches down.
“There’s no time,” I told him as I tried to free my wrist from his hold. “Let go, Ezra.”
“Vanya”—he pried the bucket from my fingers and pulled me behind him and away from the others—“Red knows someone—”
“Don’t,” I interrupted him, “finish that sentence if you’re about to say what I think you are.”
“Please listen to me.” Ezra leaned closer.
“You listen to me. I am not leaving this island without any of my mates because then there would be no reason for me to live.”
Ezra’s eyes darted over my shoulder for a second before they locked with mine. “Red knows someone who has a plane. It can take a maximum of fifteen people and they decided to fly the women and children to the main town where they can get on the boats.”
“You want me to go with them,” I whispered.
“Yes.” He smiled at me. “I managed to get hold of Dev. They will be waiting for you.”
I swallowed as I studied him. “W-what about y-you?”
“I’ll fly with the others. Iris is already waiting at the plane.” Ezra didn’t wait to hear if I was getting on the plane or not, he grabbed my hand and led me toward the plane that I hadn’t noticed until that moment.
Everyone was gathered there.
There weren’t a lot of kids, not small kids like I had imagined. The town was smaller than mine but I hadn’t known how small until everyone had come together. Aside from the middle-aged people, there were a few teens, a toddler, and some babies here and there with a few elderly people.
One of those babies was being held by Iris, I noticed. A man stood in front of her, making wild hand gestures as he talked.
“He lost his wife while she was giving birth,” Ezra said softly. “He has few friends and none of them are interested in looking after his pup, so he asked Iris to take the pup to his family on the mainland.”
I turned towards Ezra. We were sweaty and dirty, but underneath the grime covering Ezra’s face, I could see in how much pain he was. It had been hours since he last had painkillers and despite his wounds, he hadn’t hesitated to help.
“Come with me,” I begged.
Ezra swallowed. He squeezed my hand and closed his eyes for a few seconds before he looked at me.
“They need help,” he muttered. “The fire is not so bad there. They’ve already put precautions in place to keep the fire from reaching them while they evacuate. I need you to be where I know you’ll be okay.”
“And I need you to be with me.”
Ezra’s eyes dropped.
Something didn’t feel right. My eyes darted around us. It looked like they were saying goodbye for good. I ignored the doubts flooding my mind and focused back on Ezra.
“There will be enough space—”
“Don’t make this any harder than it already is, Vanya,” he interrupted.
Ezra ran a hand through his hair and then pulled me to his chest. As his arms wrapped around me, his face dropped to the crook of my neck. He was shivering despite the heat of the fire that blanketed us.
“You’ll be save,” he whispered. “You’ll be okay and away from the danger.”
Pressing a kiss to my collarbone, he raised his head and stared down at me with pain-filled eyes.
“It’ll only be for a little while,” he told me. “I’ll be with you before you know it.”
Tears filled my eyes. “A little while.”
He nodded. “It’s not goodbye, just a see you later.”
I tried to smile but failed. Ezra swallowed loudly as he reached up to cup my cheeks.
“See you later,” he breathed before he kissed me.
I clung to him but he pushed me away too soon for my liking. Ezra nodded in the direction of the plane where people were starting to climb onto the plane.
I didn’t want to move. I had no desire to get on that plane and leave him behind. It was one thing knowing we might die together but another knowing that I might never see him again.
“Vanya,” Ezra called after I had taken a few steps away.
My hopes rose but he didn’t call me back.
“I love you.”
Letting out a sob, I threw myself at him. Ezra caught me, arms squeezing me to his body.
“I love you with my whole heart,” he croaked. “Forever and ever.”
“I love you,” I cried.
Ezra sucked in a deep breath, gripped my hips, and pushed me away from him. “Take her,” he ordered.
Someone grabbed my arm and led me towards the plane. I kept my eyes on Ezra until I was forced to look where I was going.
Once on the plane, the hold loosened. My eyes darted up and locked on the face hovering close to mine as the man pulled the seatbelt over my middle.
Our eyes locked as he straightened but it only lasted for a few seconds because he turned and walked over to the front of the plane.
Iris was seated next to me, the baby held against her chest as she patted his back softly.
Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I leaned forward to look out the small window just in time to see Ezra turning his back on the plane and hurrying away.
*Why wasn’t he staying to wave? *

As the engines roared to life, a wave of panic hit me.
“Wait!” I yelled. “I want to get off.”
“Vanya—”
“I want to get off!”
But my shaky fingers couldn’t get the seatbelt undone and the plane was already moving. A sob fell from my lips, tears streaming down my cheeks as I realized that it was too late.
Iris gripped my hand. “It’s going to be okay.”
Her words flew over my head. I tried to reassure myself that we would only be parted for a few minutes, maybe an hour at the least. A trip by airplane would be faster than a car. A few minutes and I would be with Obsidian and Dev and then I would only have to wait a few minutes more for Ezra to join us.
It was going to be okay.
Yet, the uncertainty increased the longer we were in the air. The plane was deadly silent. For the first time since I climbed onto the plane, I actually looked at the people around me.
It wasn’t just women and kids like Ezra said it would be.
My heart dropped to my stomach. Swallowing, I slowly turned my head to look out the small window. We weren’t flying in the direction of the main town. We were being flown to the mainland. My eyes stayed locked on the smoke rising from the island until it disappeared.
The image would forever be engraved in my mind, as would the date. It could be the last time I had ever seen any of my mates. Squeezing my eyes closed, I prayed that they would be okay.