“Andthat’swhy you sent me back?” I ask, with a mix of horror and wonder.
Catherine shrugs at my question. “You defended me. No one else did that—at least not while I was alive.” She waits a moment before speaking again. “Looking back now, I don’t know that I really meant for you to take my place. I saw you, and I was thinking of how brave you must be after what you said. How you probably would have done everything differently if you were me. And then I found myself here. Perhaps rather than my choosing you, we chose each other.”
Her words are a lot to unpack, and I’m not sure where to start.
“Do you see everyone who visits the palace? Have you been there since your death?”
“I only see people on certain days,” she answers. “Usually when I walk the gallery and sing.”
When she sings...
“You know, I’m pretty sure people can hear you sometimes,” I tell her. “They say that you’re a ghost and that your spirit is screaming and wailing as you run outside the chapel.”
Catherine leans back with an affronted glare. “That is quite rude. My singing voice is lovely.”
“I know it is,” I assure her. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing that people can hear you. It sort of made you famous.”
Her indignation gives way to intrigue. “Really?” she asks. “Am I truly famous?”
I let out a bemused chuckle. It’s good to know there’s still laughter here. In limbo? The afterlife? I still don’t know where we are. My brain jumps back to where I was all this time as I look quizzically over at Catherine.
“Did you see what I was doing as you? Back in your time?”
“Not until today,” she answers. “Up until then, it felt like I was in a very pleasant dream, and then all of a sudden I was standing here with you, and the memories were in my mind.”
I can’t help the disappointment I feel. On some level, I was hoping that she would have all the answers. I want to understand why and how this happened. “Did I do what I was supposed to do?” I ask her, still yearning for any kind of clarity.
She thinks about it but seems unsure. “What do you think you were meant to do?”
“I don’t know.” I look around the fog. For what, I don’t really know. “Maybe I was supposed to save you?”
An innocent smile crosses her face. “You did save me. And others, from what I see.”
“I didn’t save Simon.”
She smiles wider, and I don’t smile at all. “I think he would say you did.”
I can’t help the hopeful clamber in my chest as I look around into the fog once again. “Is Simon here, too? Can I talk to him?”
Catherine looks at me sympathetically. “I am afraid not. It is just you and me.”
I should have guessed that, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less. “What do we do now?” I ask.
She pulls a flower from her hair and walks up to me before tucking it into mine. “I think it is time for us to go home.”
She steps back, and my eyes whip up to meet her gaze. “You meanhomehome?”
She nods and excitedly bounces on the balls of her feet. “I believe so. I get to live my own life now. Without my uncle, the king, or anyone telling me what to do.”
She looks thrilled, and honestly? Good for her. For my part, I can’t believe I’m finally going back to where I belong. But something still feels off.
“Thank you for all you have done for me, Lily. I promise I won’t forget it.” Catherine begins to fade into the fog, her appearance turning blurry. Panic fires through me, and something inside screams that this can’t be it.
“Wait!” I call. She shifts back into focus, though she seems confused as she does. I’m speaking before I’ve decided what to say. “After what I did for you, shouldn’t I get something in return?” She steps closer to me in question, and I take a determined breath. “I want you to bring Simon back. You need to bring him back.”
Catherine averts her gaze with an understanding sigh. “What is done cannot be undone, Lily.”
I shake my head. “Are you kidding me? I literally just undid your murder.”
