The Luna Queen's Rebirth (Ellie and Dominic) novel Chapter 382

Ellie’s POV

The van arrived at six-thirty. Almost half an hour before Dominic said he would be there.

I was still drinking my coffee when I heard it pull up. Lucas, who had barely said ten words over breakfast-he was still a little pissed at me for agreeing to this, but had given up trying to talk me out of it as soon as I gave him that look-looked at the window, then returned to reading the newspaper.

“Your chariot awaits,” he muttered.

I grabbed my jacket from the hook and went out front.

The van was large and armored, made for transporting warriors, with a tow hitch at the back. Two of Dominic’s warriors were already standing in front of the house, scratching their heads as they looked at the front bumper of my car. Dominic was behind them in a dark coat, and he raised a hand when he saw me come down the porch steps.

“You’re early,” I said as I approached.

“Traffic was lighter than expected.” He looked past me at the front door. “Is everything ready?”

“All of the boxes are sitting in the hall,” I said, gesturing for him to follow.

We walked into the foyer, where two large cardboard boxes and two suitcases were waiting. One of the boxes was labeled HEALER SUPPLIES in dark marker, and the other was labeled APARTMENT-FRAGILE.

My mom’s quilt was peeking out of the top of the second one.

I’d gone back and forth on whether to pack her things to bring with me. At first, when I was planning to drive alone, I had only been able to fit the essentials. Clothes, toiletries, books, supplies. I didn’t think I would be living in Goldenveil long enough to warrant bringing non-necessities, anyway.

But now that I knew I had the extra space, I just couldn’t leave it behind. I wanted to bring a little piece of my mother with me, even if it was just a quilt and some photographs and dishes, to make it feel like she was coming along.

And I knew she would come along if she had the chance. She’d always talked about traveling when I was younger, secretly, when my stepfather wasn’t around to squash her dreams.

She would have packed that exact quilt in a heartbeat and sat in the passenger seat, excited to see mountains she’d never seen before.

Sarah arrived while the warriors were loading the van with my things. She was wearing her coat over her pajamas and carrying a brown paper bag from the local bakery, which she handed to me.

“For the road,” she said, and pulled me into a hug before I could thank her.

It said a lot of things neither of us felt like saying out loud at six forty-five in the morning in the cold. I held on for longer than I usually did. I knew I would see her again, sooner than it felt, but still.

Abigail came out of the house behind Lucas. She crossed the yard and hugged me tightly with both arms, squeezing once before letting go. She’d always been like that. To-the-point. I liked that about her.

“Call me when you get there,” she said. “Doesn’t matter how late.”

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