Page 92 of Demonic Affliction

My chest clenches with grief as I stare down at his full lips. I wish I could kiss him—for once, for the very first time—but I don't think I'll get the chance.

A tired smile spreads across my face despite all the pain and longing bleeding out of my veins. I feel my heart stopping, my organs shutting down. But I know it was worth it. It has to be worth it.

I call out to the serafyn, but Spoon remains silent. Whether she is sleeping, dead, or too tired to respond, it does not matter. I used all of her power to heal this world, and the serafyn cannot help me anymore. She cannot heal all that has been broken.

I gaze up at the healthy, shimmering blue Welwig, tears brimming at the corners of my vision as I take it in. I remember when I first came to this world, I thought that color was so strange. I missed the hues of my world. But now… I’d give anything just to have another minute to take it in.

With the last of my strength, I turn back to my mates, counting their breaths.

Alive, I remind myself. They are alive. I saved this world.

The only cost was my life. And it was worth it.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, allowing my eyes to close as I succumb to the dark. “I love you all. So much. So, so very much…”

Someone screams my name, and everything goes black.

31

Willow

All around me is darkness. No feeling. No sound. No air. It is the absence of everything. My body is floating—at least, I think that’s what’s happening—but I can’t seem to move my limbs. I cannot blink or speak or even take a breath.

I think… I think I may be dead.

A tiny glowing red orb floats in front of me, blinking faintly, as small as a marble against all that black.

Hey, girl.

With a jolt, I realize that the orb is Spoon—or, at least, the only thing my mind could conjure to represent the thing that Spoon is.

“Hey,” I answer, my voice a weak croak. “Am… am I dead?”

The orb blinks, and as it does, a single word echoes into the nothingness. Yes.

I swallow hard. I knew it, but hearing it aloud somehow makes it worse. “Where… What is this place?”

The red light flickers faintly, almost sympathetically. This is the abyss.

“There’s nothing here.”

Spoon releases a small laugh, but it holds no humor. It does seem that way, doesn’t it?

I suck in a shallow breath, panic fisting around my windpipe and tightening. “I don’t like it here, Spoon. I’m… I’m scared.”

I know, little human. The orb floats closer, brushing gently against my cheek. It will be okay. You will not be here for long.

“Where—where am I going?”

To the after.

My fear deepens, cold spreading through whatever's left of me. When I speak, my words come out pitched and thin. “What will happen to me there?”

The orb flickers sympathetically. There are things even I do not know, little human. This, I cannot prepare you for.

“You… You’re not coming with me?” I don’t know why the thought makes me so sad. I just… I don't want to be alone.

I’m sorry, but I cannot. This is where we must part ways.