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My cousin fell down beside him to weep as my eyes surveyed the rest of the room. So many faces I recognized. Too many to count. The cost of this battle had been high.
Finally, my gaze fell on Manuel’s motionless form. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve said he was meditating. All the muscles in his face had softened and the tension that he usually held in his shoulders was gone. I fell to my knees beside him and took his cold hand.
“He was a splendid warrior.”
I looked up to see Ashley standing above me. A red scratch marred her beautiful cheek and blood stains dotted her shirt. She cocked her hip where a sword hung.
“He really was.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “I owe him my life. His training is the reason I’m still alive and that I was able to close the Hell Gate.”
She kneeled beside me, our shoulders brushing. “Then, we all owe him our lives.
We sat like that in silence for a few minutes. It felt right to honor each person’s sacrifice. Eventually, people came to collect the bodies. They took Manuel’s and I reluctantly let go of his hand.
Elizabeth was the last to go. Luke didn’t want to part with her. He shook his head to protest, but finally released his grip.
“She’s at peace, Uncle Luke,” Raquel told him, rubbing his shoulder.
He nodded, wiping away a silent tear. I wasn’t sure how to feel. I should’ve been sobbing with him, but my mom had been dead to me for most of my life. Nothing had really changed. Except now, she truly was at peace and not stuck within an immortal cage. For that, I was eternally grateful.
As we watched her go, I stood next to my father and felt the itch of a question lingering deep inside me. There was something that Elizabeth had said that disturbed me. It might not have been the time to ask, but I couldn’t stand waiting.
“Luke?”
He looked down at me, his eyes wet.
I took a deep breath and let it spill out. “Elizabeth said something as she was dragging me through the woods. She said that demons can only inhabit people who are already partly evil. That my mother wasn’t innocent. Is that true?”
A muscle in his jaw throbbed and anger filled his eyes. Instantly, I wished I hadn’t said anything. He took me by the shoulders and stared into my eyes.
“Lizzy, no one in this world is completely innocent,” he said, his voice harsh. “Humans are a broken people. From the day we take our first breath, we have to contend with a deep selfishness. A desire to only care for one’s self. But that doesn’t make someone evil.”
I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. “So, my mother...?”
“She was as complicated as the next person, but she was also amazingly kind, loving, and energetic. I wish you could’ve known her as I did. But that demon was twisting the truth, trying to hit you where it could hurt the most. Your mother had her flaws, but she wasn’t evil. And neither are you.”
He pulled me into a tight hug that threatened to squeeze the air out of my lungs. I wrapped my arms around him and closed my eyes for a brief second, feeling the relief wash over me. It was the last thing weighing on my mind and hearing Luke’s words had finally set my heart at ease.
Adam came striding in through the hallway toward us. On his arms, he wore the scars of battle, claw marks crisscrossing his skin.
“Come to the ballroom,” he said, running a hand over his short blond hair. “What’s left of the board is convening.”
We hurried after him. Just as it had been earlier today, the ballroom was alive with the residents of Westward Manor. But this time, all the humans and even the few Nephilim children were in attendance. They all turned to watch us as we strode into the room. I felt every eye fall on me and I couldn’t be sure if it was a friendly gaze or something more accusing.
“Where’s Silvia?” Luke demanded. He’d dried off the tears and morphed back into the man I knew—the man who took charge.
“She and Oscar flew the coop.” Esther stood up from her seat. Raquel ran to her arms and they embraced tightly.
“The European alliance is going to be hearing about this,” he growled. “And about Silvia’s attempted assassination of one of our own. That is an unforgivable act.”
Esther nodded solemnly. “And the Hell Gate? Is it true what I’ve heard? That it’s been closed?”
He placed a hand on my back. “It’s true. Lizzy has sealed it shut.”
A shocked murmur went through the crowd. I scanned over it to see Gabe standing in the back, leaning against the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest, a bloody lip and tousled hair acting as remnants of the battle. His intense gaze fell on me. I wanted to melt into it, make the events of today disappear. Instead, I stared back until he turned away.
“The battle is over.” Luke pulled me in closer to his side. “Rest tonight. Tomorrow, we bury the dead and rebuild.”
There was a collective sigh of relief and then the shifting of chairs as people began to rise. Dozens of people came by to shake my hand and pat me on the back. I tried to hold back my tears. They didn’t hate me. I hadn’t lost my place among the Nephilim. I still had a home.
