Page 185
His sigh is a whisper on the breeze. “I’m not sure, and I don’t want to find out. There’s a huge bridge here. It’s made of light, and almost everyone who comes here crosses over it happily, it seems. It’s where they want to be. I don’t know what’s on the other side, but I’m not ready to make that journey and there are others who don’t want to either. I wonder if the reluctant souls are dragged across by the Reapers or maybe thrown over the edge. I have no idea.”
Emily gasps.
“I’m not supposed to tell you any of this. Just mentioning them is dangerous. They roam this plain looking for the lost, the reluctant, and the interlopers like me, competing for souls. And it just depends who catches you. It could go either way. They will catch me one day, and that will be the end. It’s what they do.”
“Oh.”
“Exactly. And I don’t know what they’d do if they caught you. You’re not supposed to be here. I shouldn’t bring you here. It’s dangerous.” He bites his bottom lip, a flash of guilt in his eyes. “I didn’t know I was going to make a habit of it. But you are addictive. Really fucking addictive, Beauchamp.”
“As are you.”
He plants a soft, sweet kiss on my lips, but then scans the horizon. His anxiety is palpable and contagious.
“Should we go?”
Tristan studies the mist once more. This time, I follow his gaze and see nothing but barren terrain. “We’re okay for now,” he says and holds me tighter.
“So, the light and the dark—is that, like, heaven and hell?”
He shrugs. “Maybe.”
“What about my parents?”
“What about them?”
“I saw them here, with you.”
“Yes.” He tenses, sounding guarded.
“You brought me here to see them?”
“Yes.”
“How did you find them? How did you know who they were? I don’t understand.”
“I just found them, Emily. They were new and waiting and I asked them to help. They needed to say goodbye too.”
“Oh.”
“They went where they should go,” he adds.
“To the light? The bridge?”
“Yes.” Tristan gives me a reassuring smile as I digest this information.
“Is that good?”
“Pretty much as good as it gets, I hear.”
“That’s a relief. They were good people. All three of them.” The thought is comforting.
“They were loved. By you and by each other,” Tristan murmurs, leaning his head against mine. I nod. “I should let you go,” he says.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m selfish bringing you here.”
“I like that you bring me here. I get to touch you.”
