Chapter 143: Welcome Home

Astrid Vale

"WELCOME HOME!"

The shout hit us the second the door swung open, and I froze in the doorway, taking in the sight of the apartment transformed. Streamers hung across every available surface, balloons crowded the ceiling, and the table sagged under enough food to feed twice as many people as were actually crammed into the room. Music played softly from somewhere, and in the center of the table sat an enormous cake, frosted in careful, slightly uneven letters.

Ivy stood frozen beside me, equally stunned.

"We made it ourselves," Xander announced proudly, gesturing toward the cake with the flourish of someone presenting a masterpiece.

Reed’s expression suggested this claim needed serious qualification, but he said nothing yet, letting Xander have his moment.

I stepped closer to the cake, reading the words properly for the first time. Welcome Home, Girls. Both our names sat side by side across the top, and beside me, I felt Ivy go still.

"They didn’t forget me," she said quietly, more to herself than anyone else, her voice catching slightly.

I reached for her hand, squeezing it tight. "Of course they didn’t."

The room descended into chaos after that, everyone converging at once. Eliza reached Ivy first, wrapping her in a hug fierce enough to lift her slightly off the ground.

"Do you know how much I had to worry about?" Eliza demanded. "Two of you, missing at the same time. My stress levels have never recovered."

Camilla and Martha swooped in right behind her, fussing over Ivy with the same intensity they’d shown me earlier, checking whether she was eating properly, sleeping enough, actually recovering.

"You owe every single one of us," Josh said, grinning. "Do you know how many buildings I personally searched?"

"I didn’t ask you to search any buildings," Ivy shot back, laughing despite the exhaustion still evident beneath her smile.

Criston approached more quietly, the same respectful distance he’d given me earlier extended toward her now. "You doing okay?" he asked simply, and Ivy nodded, something grateful in her expression at his restraint.

Roshan gave her a careful smile, still visibly carrying some of the same guilt from earlier, though Ivy didn’t know the full weight of what he’d done and I didn’t intend to explain it in the middle of a party meant to be joyful.

Damien leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, a teasing smile on his face. "You two really caused the biggest disappearance Moonshade’s seen in years," he said. "Impressive, honestly."

"Sounds like you’re blaming the victims," Ivy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Just admiring the dedication," he said, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

Someone mentioned, in passing, exactly how extensive the search effort had actually been, the midnight meetings, the ruins investigation, the coordination between everyone in that room, and Ivy’s eyes glistened as the full scope of it settled over her. I understood exactly how she felt, remembering my own reaction when I’d first realized how many people had refused to simply let us go.

She turned to me, tears finally spilling over, and I pulled her into a hug that needed no words attached to it, both of us simply standing there for a long moment, grateful and overwhelmed in equal measure.

Once we’d both composed ourselves enough to laugh again, I turned toward Reed and Xander. "You actually baked this?" I asked, gesturing at the cake.

"Absolutely," Xander said, puffing his chest out slightly.

"He had help," Reed said.

"I did not need help."

"You set off the smoke alarm twice."

"That was a completely separate incident."

Ivy and I burst out laughing, and Xander’s affronted expression only made it funnier, the whole room dissolving into warmth and teasing that felt entirely, wonderfully ordinary.

Reed handed us a knife, and Ivy and I approached the cake together, both hands wrapped around the handle as we cut into it while everyone cheered like we’d accomplished something extraordinary.

"Since you two are the guests of honor," Camilla announced, "you get first pieces."

We fed each other bites, and somewhere in the middle of it Ivy managed to smear frosting across my cheek, laughing hysterically when I retaliated by doing the same to her, both of us covered in icing while everyone around us laughed along.

The music grew louder as the evening wore on, and Xander pulled me into the middle of the room before I could properly protest, spinning me around with more enthusiasm than skill while Eliza and Camilla dragged Ivy into their own chaotic dance nearby. I laughed harder than I had in longer than I could remember, my body finally moving without the constant weight of fear pressing down on every motion.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn’t thinking about Elaris at all.

Estelle found a quiet moment to approach us both, holding out the same woven basket from earlier. "I picked things for both of you," she said, glancing between me and Ivy. "Not just Astrid."

I accepted it with the same careful, guarded gratitude I’d shown earlier, the memory of that illusion still lingering somewhere beneath the surface of my trust. Ivy, carrying none of that same hesitation, took the basket eagerly and thanked her warmly, examining the contents with genuine delight, and something about her easy acceptance helped smooth over my own remaining wariness, at least for tonight.

Later, when the party had settled into a quieter rhythm, Ivy and I slipped away toward the edge of the room, watching everyone laugh and dance together across the space.

"We really made it back," Ivy said softly.

"Together," I said.

She leaned her head against my shoulder, and we stood there for a while, simply watching, both of us finally allowing ourselves to feel the relief of survival without the weight of everything else pressing in immediately behind it.

"We should do something ridiculous," Ivy said eventually. "Just the two of us. No mysteries, no curses, nothing dangerous. Just us being normal for once."

"Like what?"

"I don’t know. Painting. Karaoke. Something embarrassing we can laugh about later."

"I’m in," I said, and I meant it completely.

As the party wound down further, I caught Reed and Xander watching me from across the room, Xander’s expression carrying his usual teasing warmth, Reed’s softer, quieter, something steady and unwavering behind it.

I realized, standing there surrounded by frosting-smeared friends and half-deflated balloons, how long it had been since I’d simply existed without constantly bracing for the next disaster. I’d spent so much energy fighting to survive that I’d nearly forgotten what it felt like to be surrounded by people who genuinely loved having me around, who’d fought just as hard to bring me home as I had to get there myself.

I looked at Ivy beside me, still humming along to whatever song was playing, then around the room at everyone who’d refused to give up on either of us.

For the first time since Elaris, I didn’t feel like I was waiting for something terrible to happen next.