“How are you holding up?” He kisses the top of my head and pulls me into his side where I fit perfectly. I wrap my arm around him, comforted by his warmth.
“As good as I can be. I’m just thankful none of you were hurt… or worse.”
“Me too.”
“What about Zane? Any updates?” I ask eagerly.
“Not yet. Slader is still sifting through his mind. I’m sure Ryder will know the moment he finds something.”
“We just got him back.” It comes out as a croak and Damien pulls me into a hug where I’m able to bury my face into his chest.
Mourning loved ones say their final goodbyes before the bodies are set ablaze to drift off back to the stars. The sky fills with glowing embers as they float higher and higher into the night sky. I stay until everyone has moved on to the Heart to celebrate the lives of the lost.
“Are you coming?” Damien interlocks his hand in mine.
“There’s something I need to do. I’ll meet you later.”
He looks at me with knowing eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”
“I need to do this alone.” He seems to understand and kisses me on the forehead before leaving me to myself.
Row by row I search for my father’s name. Though his body is gone, somewhere in this cemetery is a plaque with his name on it. Left behind to remind people that he once existed. That he once mattered.
It’s quiet out here. Only a slight breeze brushes my hair against my cheek. Something about it is peaceful. Maybe it’sbecause I’m one of them. One of the dead. Only I was gifted a second chance and they weren’t.
“Two rows up and four to the left.”
I whirl around to find Ryder standing like a ghost among the dead. The white suit that is tailored to perfection along with the moonlight, makes him look even paler than he already is.
I turn back around, not bothering to say anything. Two up and four over, I see my father’s name engraved in a rectangular stone plaque. No message. No image. Just a name.
“I thought this would feel different,” I say aloud, knowing Ryder is hovering close by. “I thought I would feel closer to him.”
“It doesn’t feel like enough, does it?”
I shake my head. “He was so much more than this.”
Ryder stops beside me and one of his shadows runs along my cheek, turning my face to look at him. “You’re his legacy, Reign. Even today, setting this all up, you honor his memory.”
“You don’t have to say that.” I turn back to the stone slab marking my father’s short life.
“I’m not just saying it to make you feel better. I truly mean it.” His voice is laced with sincerity.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” he asks, shifting uncomfortably next to me.
“You lost someone today, too. I saw Roman.”
He shuffles his foot in the dirt. “He was more Jace’s loss than mine.”
I turn to him. “Don’t diminish what he was to you because you’re too scared to feel his loss.”
“I’m not. I do care that he’s gone, and it does hurt, but I’ve prepared myself for this.”
“Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
