“I’ll take good care of it. I promise. And if you ever need it back?—”
I put up a hand. “I won’t. Trust me. I’m here for the duration and I won’t be splitting myself apart ever again.” I slip my arms around Ryet’s waist and lean up onto my tiptoes. “Whatever happens now, it’s us against them.” Then I kiss him. We linger in this kiss for a little bit, but my work is not done, so I pull back first. “I’ll see you in bed in a few minutes.”
“You’re sure you don’t want me to stay?”
I shake my head. “No. This is just a place for Lucia and me.”
“OK. See you at home.” He still looks like demon Ryet, but we’re in the mist so it kinda makes sense.
I watch as he fades away, and then Lucia and I are alone. I turn to her and smile. “Your turn now. Are you ready?”
She is. I know she is, but she looks uncharacteristically nervous. And I completely understand how she feels. It’s that second-guessing you get when you make a really big, life-changing decision and you’re just about to go through with it when you start doubting yourself.
I’ve felt this way more times than I can count.
“It’s the right move,” I say, smiling at her.
Lucia doesn’t look convinced. “But I’m not you.”
“Nope. But I still think they’ll love you. I mean, look at it this way, Lucia. You’ve got all the dirt. All the tea, girl. You’ve got all the latest news. And they know nothing. They’ve been living in their little dreamwalk ice castle for thousands of years. They’re starving for outside information. They have to be. How could they not?”
Lucia shrugs up a shoulder. “They’ve evolved past petty gossip and the corrupt human consciousness?”
I scoff. “They wish.” Which makes her smile. “They’re dying for news. And you werethere. First-person account. And how could they not want news of me? I mean, I get it. I’ve been gone for thousands of years. Maybe they don’t remember how they got there, but if I were them, I’d keep that story alive. You’re the epilogue they’ve been waiting for. They’ll probably worship you before all the excitement’s over.”
Lucia spits out a laugh. “Great. That’s all I need. Pseudo-god status.”
But she smiles and I know that all my encouragement helped. So I extend my hand and she takes it. Then she holds up the mirror and we both gaze into it.
The next thing I know, we’re there. Back in that same dreamwalk she took me to. But thousands of years in the future.
The ice castle is still there, bigger and better than ever. Sunshine bounces off the walls, making it glitter and shimmer like it’s something out of a storybook.
Like it’s something right out of a dream.
I give her hand a squeeze, and I take a step back.
And when I blink, she’s gone and I’m in bed with Ryet. His arms around me. Hishumanarms around me. I turn and laugh and I know, whatever happens now, it’s gonna be OK.
We’ll get through it, because we’re together.
Maybe we only get seven years and maybe all those years will be a living hell…
But then again, maybe they won’t.
