Page 136 of Horror and Chill

Garron’s jaw tightens. “He had no right.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “Oh, stop. You’re not calling your dad to yell at him for something he said a year ago. For something Iagreewith completely.” I step closer, tracing a finger down Corwin’s chest, glancing at each of them. “If I ever hurt you three, I’d deserve his wrath. And if anyone hurt you now, I’d be right at his side. So calm down, you lunatics.”

That earns a smirk from Corwin, a quiet exhale from Evander, and the ghost of a grin from Garron.

I tilt my head, voice dropping to a whisper. “Besides…he wasn’t wrong. Youareworth burning the world for.”

And standing there in the funeral home, surrounded by the scent of lilies and death and the ghosts we’ve made, I believe it.

Because this—us—isn’t an ending.

It’s the afterlife.