After Keefe's speech ended and the mourners had made their rounds to the family, the only ones still in the Wanderling Woods were the Dizznees, the Vackers, the Ruewens, Amy, Jensi, Linh, and the remaining Collective. The parents seemed engrossed in their own conversation, so that left everyone else to stare at each other awkwardly.
Wylie couldn't help but feel inadequate among the group. All these people, all the faces—they all belonged to heroes more worthy than he had been.
And Dex? He'd died because Wylie had been so engrossed in himself and his own problems. There were so many what-ifs that plagued his mind, so many scenarios in which everyone made it out alive.
But Wylie couldn't save everybody. That was the truth—but it was hard to accept when there was so much pain.
"Hey, guys?" Rex murmured, walking up to Sophie and disrupting Wylie's thoughts. He glanced at the rest of the Collective. "Can I talk to you?"
"Sure," Sophie said, leading them away from the main group. "What's up?"
Rex started to fidget. "You know... you know how Slurps & Burps was destroyed in the explosion?" He closed his eyes and shuddered. "Well, that means I don't have a job right now."
Sophie shared a look with Wylie. "Rex, you still have school to attend. It's okay to wait a little while."
His eyes snapped open. "No, it's not! Didn't you hear what Keefe said? My brother would want us to continue fighting to rebuild the Lost Cities. I know Dex would, which is why I know I need to help. I have to do something." His voice cracked, and he covered his face with his hand.
"You want to join the Collective, don't you?" asked Marella softly.
"I... Yeah. Someone needs to... to r-replace Dex."
"There's going to be no 'replacing,'" Sophie argued. "No one can or will replace Dex. If you want to do this, you need to recognize that. You're you, not your brother, and you don't have a duty to be him."
"I understand."
No one said anything for a moment, so Wylie stepped up. Rex looked so much like Dex in that moment, even tired and sniffling and grieving, that a lump rose in Wylie's throat. "What do you say, Sophie?"
"I say you guys, not me, should decide."
Wylie looked at Marella and Tam, who were standing next to each other, but also far enough away to indicate discomfort. He ignored that and raised his eyebrows in questioning.
"I think it's a great idea," Marella said.
Tam shrugged. "Why not?"
Wylie nodded in agreement, and Sophie turned to Rex and shook his hand. "Then welcome to the Collective."
Rex sniffled, but his face was hard. "You won't regret it."
"I doubt we will," Sophie replied, eyes watering as she embraced the triplet.
Wylie walked away to give them privacy. He would congratulate Rex later, but right now...
He needed to think. Keefe's speech—and his call to action—had not only affected Rex, but him as well. He, who'd thought the hero of the recent battles would be one person. In reality, everyone who'd played a part had been a hero.
But he still felt like he'd been useless.
Lesedi had trusted him with the secret in her cache—just one, detailing the complicated history and importance of Nhyonuitoufhoa—but before Wylie had figured out what to do with it, Jensi swooped in.
He knew it was stupid to want to be the hero, the one that saved the day, the one who could say he'd protected everyone he cared about. Even when Linh had warned him she could take care of herself, he'd wanted to prove to her she didn't have to—and of course she didn't. He could place all those he loved in a metal room where no harm would come to them, and he could fend off their enemies the whole day long.
But sometimes safety came at the cost of freedom, and that wasn't a price he was willing to make them pay.
The realization turned his body in a new direction, one he wasn't sure of himself until he was next to Linh. "Walk with me?"
She glanced at Tam, likely a habit now, before saying, "Of course."
He led her into the trees, not really knowing where they were going. It turned out his feet continued to have a mind of their own, and they took them down a familiar path, to a tree with red leaves and tiny purple flowers.
"Wy, I'm so sorry," Linh whispered, reaching for his hand. That was another familiarity—the warmth of her hand in his. To think he'd almost given all that up for his pride.
"Her death still hurts," he explained, "but it's been years, Linh. It's time I move on."
"You can't ever move on from your mother's death."
"I don't mean forget about it, or her. I mean... it's time I stop letting her death dictate how I treat others. How I treat you—especially you." She opened her mouth, but he took her other hand, facing her. "Please don't defend what I said to you at Solreef. I am so sorry. I was holding you back from making your own decisions by trying to make one for you. I'm the worst kind of villain, Linh. I'm one who pretended to be your friend, but I only betrayed your trust."
"Stop," she scolded. "Just stop it. I do trust you. What I said was wrong too; we were both angry, and in the heat of the moment we said things we didn't mean."
"I was just so afraid you would abandon me," he said, voice catching. "Like she did, and Dad..."
"I would never abandon you, Wylie. Never."
"I know—but fear clouded my judgment. I tried to keep you from getting hurt, but I only ended up pushing you away even further."
"Shh. I'm here now. I'm not leaving again," she murmured, pulling him close as he cried. He was so ashamed.
"I don't deserve you, Linh."
"That's ridiculous—you deserve everything, and I would give it to you if I could. You're my best friend."
He laughed a little against her shoulder. "You still want to be friends? After everything?"
She pulled away, a small smile—a smile for him—playing at the corners of her mouth as she promised, "Forever."