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“Tell me what?”
“Zweifel,” I started, making her shudder away in revulsion. “We caught him. He’s in jail, and everyone knows what he did to you. You’ve been avenged. He’s going to pay for the rest of his life for hurting you.”
“You…” Her eyes filled with tears, and she lifted her hands to her heart. “You figured it out?”
I nodded and glanced at Damien, reaching for his hand. He took my fingers, and I turned back to Thalia. “Little brother here actually tackled and fought him for you. He was a true hero.”
“He…” Glancing at him, Thalia spilled out a watery laugh and shook her head. “I always knew he was a good kid. Shy, sweet Damien. He grew up so well. His soul just…sparkles.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, only to gasp when the room suddenly started to grow unnaturally warm, and a brightness opened above Thalia’s head. “Wha…?”
“What the fuck is happening?” Damien whispered, gripping my hand as he glanced around. “Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?”
“It…” I shook my head, refusing to believe what I already knew was happening. But then Thalia started to transform. “Oh God,” I rasped. “She’s turning transparent. Why is she turning transparent?”
“Because she’s moving on,” Damien murmured, wrapping an arm around me and tugging me close.
“But…” I stepped forward to stop her until Damien tightened his grip on me, keeping me with him. “No! You can’t leave just like that,” I entreated. “Not yet. I… I just…I just met you, like,trulymet you. I need...”
I needed to stop being selfish, I guess. Because this had nothing to do with me.
Thalia merely gave me a careless shrug. “It’s my time.” Blowing me a kiss, she said, “I’m glad I got to meet you, though. And I’m confident that you’ll be good for him. I love you both…so much.”
“Oh my God,” I sobbed, covering my mouth with both hands. “We love you too. Thalia... Thank you. Thank you for bringing us together. Thank you for saving my life. Literally. I don’t… I don’t know what path I’d be on right now without you but I know it wouldn’t have been as good as this one. How can I ever repay you for that?”
“You already have,” she murmured kindly as she started to rise into the air and float toward the light, fading more and more the higher she ascended. Then she shrugged and tossed me a flirty wink. “But… I wouldn’t be opposed to you naming your firstborn after me.”
With a watery laugh, I rasped, “Deal.”
And Thalia disappeared completely.
The light promptly faded away, and the temperature in the room returned to normal.
Turning toward Damien, I buried my face in his shoulder and sobbed, “I think I just killed your sister.”
He laughed gently and smoothed down my hair. “No,” he assured me as he kissed my brow. “She was already gone. A long time ago. You just helped her go where she needed to go. Youfreedher.”
I looked up at him through tear-stained eyes and sniffed to clear my nose. “So you’re not mad at me?”
“God no.” He touched my face lovingly. “Why in the world would I be mad at you? You just saved my sister from being trapped here eternally. I’m in totalaweof you…”
When I smiled at him gratefully, big enough that I knew I was showing him those dimples he liked, he released a breath and grasped a piece of my hair to smooth it tenderly between two fingers.
“I love you, Oaklynn Vargas,” he swore. “Your soul really does complement mine.”
My tears only ran thicker. “I love you too,” I wept and threw my arms around him for a full embrace. “I’m going to miss her, though.”
“That’s okay.” He stroked my back lovingly. “I’ll be right here, missing her with you.”
When I pulled back, I looked up into his eyes and drew in a deep, fortifying breath. “Well… What now?” I asked.
His eyebrows arched briefly. “Now… We get back to living,” he reminded me. “For Thalia.”
I nodded, liking the sound of that. “Oh!” I said before I forgot. “I, uh, I kind of agreed to name my firstborn after her, as she was floating away.”
Damien’s mouth formed a small O before he hissed out a breath and flushed. “I’d always kind of thought of doing that myself.”
“Really?” Biting my lip, I sent him a shy but seeking glance. “Well…” I admitted. “I do like kids.”
