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"Celeste," I said slowly, drawing back from her embrace. "I believe we ought to go downstairs."

She frowned.

"Downstairs? You mean to the basement?"

"Yes. I need to see my body."

"But I thought you could feel it?” she said.

"I can," I assured her. "But I need to know whether what I'm sensing is actually happening."

She looked at me for a moment and then nodded.

"Okay. Give me a minute to get myself together and we'll go."

I waited while she pulled her clothing back on and tidied her long hair, though I couldn't help thinking that she looked absolutely lovely just as she was. Her cheeks were flushed and her green eyes were shining, and there was a softness about her expression which made my heart ache when I considered that our time together was most likely drawing to an end.

I wondered if she realized how beautiful she was. Probably not, considering the foolish things she'd told me about her age and appearance. Well, I intended to make certain she knew it before she left Blackthorn Manor.

The thought of her leaving sent a sudden chill through me, despite the magical warmth still coursing through my spirit, but I pushed it aside. There would be time enough to worry about that later. For now, I had something extraordinary to investigate.

By the time we reached the hidden staircase leading to the underground chamber, the pulling sensation had grown so strong that I could scarcely think about anything else.

It was like being drawn towards an enormous magnet, though I had never experienced anything quite like it. I could feel the weight of my physical body lying on the stone table, the slow rise and fall of my chest, and the steady rhythm of my heartbeat, but I was still walking beside Celeste in my spectral form.

It was the strangest sensation imaginable—almost as though I existed in two places at once.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked as we descended the stairs. "You look kind of funny."

"Funny?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow at her. "In what way?"

"Well, you're glowing a little," she explained. "More than usual, I mean. And you keep looking down at your chest."

"I haven't felt my heart beating in a hundred years, I suppose I’m rather fascinated by the sensation," I admitted.

"Okay, fair enough," she said, smiling a little.

We reached the bottom of the staircase and entered the enormous chamber, where the eerie blue light from the Gateway still illuminated the ancient stone walls.

But I barely noticed it. My entire attention was focused upon the marble table…upon my body.

The moment I saw it, I knew that something extraordinary had happened. My chest was rising and falling slowly and steadily, just as it would have done if I were sleeping normally. It no longer looked like a corpse—it was just a man sleeping deeply.

For a moment, I could only stare, then Celeste hurried past me towards the table.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Garrik, look! You're breathing!"

"Yes," I said hoarsely. "I can see that."

She hurried to the table and studied my physical form, watching the movement of my chest with wide eyes. Then she reached out and placed two fingers against the side of my neck and the most extraordinary thing happened—I felt her touch! Not against my spectral throat, but against the physical body lying upon the stone.

The sensation was faint, but unmistakable. And when she pressed a little more firmly, I felt the pressure of her fingers against my skin.

"Oh my God!" she whispered again. "You've got a pulse!"

I felt something tighten in my chest.

"A pulse?" I repeated.