This was our home. And I could make it into whatever we wanted.
“So, what happens now?” Eliza asked.
That was a damn good question. “Now… I rebuild,” I said. I reached out with my magic and felt a flurry of souls respond, each reaching out to me in their own way. Not out of panic, but excitement. “My people are still here and need me. They’re depending on me to set things right.”
Eliza smiled at me. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and lifted her eyes to the sky. “You’ll be an amazing queen.” Then she let out a small, shaky breath. “But I’m ready to go home.”
I jerked my head toward her.Obviously, Eliza would want to go home. She’d come to help me fight my father—and we’d done exactly that. But hearing the words still hurt.
“I don’t belong here,” she said. “I can feel it in my bones.” Her voice wavered, but she didn’t look away from the twin moons. Her expression darkened. “I loved him, Lily. Whoever—orwhatever—he really was. And now it’s like there’s this giant hollow where he used to be. I need something familiar. I need space. Something that had nothing to do with him.”
My chest tightened. “Eliza…”
She quickly shook her head. “I love you, Lily. You’re my best friend. You’llalwaysbe my best friend. But I can’t stay here.”
Tears pricked my eyes, and I leaned forward to pull her into a tight hug. “I loveyou. And if that’s what you need, then I’ll get you home. But I’ll miss you more than anything.”
Her arms tightened around me, and I fought with my emotions. Fought to hide how much this hurt. I understood, though. My father had destroyed her. She needed to leave.
“You’ll visit?” she asked.
“Nothing in any realm could keep me away from you,” I promised, pulling back to meet her damp eyes. “Every month. The Wraith & Whiskey. We’ll make it a standing date.”
That got a smile from her. “Deal.”
Behind her, Calyx stretched his wings out before pulling them tight against his back until they vanished from sight. “Guess that settles my future then.”
“Huh?” I stared at him.
“Well, there’s this siren whose heart I intend to win. So if she’s going to Earth, then so am I.”
Eliza snorted. “Calyx, don’t even?—”
He lifted a hand but grinned. “No expectations, love. I just want to learn to live a life that’s worth something. Maybe that’ll include you. Maybe it won’t. I’ll take my chances.”
Eliza rolled her eyes, but the faintest hint of colour touched her cheeks.
I turned to Rathiel, my heart still heavy. “What about you?” I asked. “I willneverforce anyone to be somewhere they don’t want to be, nor would I expect someone to pledge themselves to me like my father did. I—I have to be here. I feel that deep in my bones. But you don’t. My father trapped you here for millennia. If you want to leave, I wouldn’t dream of holding you back.”
His eyes darkened, and he stepped close until our chests touched. Then he hooked a finger under my chin and lifted. “Don’t,” he said, low and firm. “I go where you go. There’s nowhere else for me.”
Relief poured through me so fast it left me dizzy. I reached up, slid my hand along his jaw, and kissed him. He pulled me closer with his good arm, his mouth warm and certain against mine.
Calyx’s dry voice interrupted us. “Get a room, you two.”
I broke the kiss with a laugh. “That sounds like a wonderfully perfect idea.”
Rathiel chuckled against my hair and held me close as the new night sky glimmered above us. Hell would be awfully quiet now without the hellspawn around to cause trouble. But I had no fears.
The wind shifted, carrying a dry, warm scent across the empty plain. Mephisar lifted his head and rumbled, a deep, contented sound.
Rathiel bent his head until his cheek brushed my hair. “This is our happily ever after,” he murmured. “An eternity together.”
I looked up at the sky and felt something inside me settle. The prophecy had spoken of balance, but the realm wasn’t the only thing that had found that. So had I—light and dark, fire and shadow, heaven and hell. All of it, at last, in its rightful place.
“I think,” I said, my voice barely above a breath, “this is what home is supposed to feel like.”
Rathiel turned me in his arms so that I faced him. “Then happy homecoming,” he said simply.
