Page 106 of The Blood we Crave: Part Two

“No.”

“So you’re just going to drive until what? You fucking run out of gas? Dude, just come with me and Sage,” Rook offers for at least the thirtieth time.

Silas shakes his head. “I’m going to take some time. Figure out what my future looks like without her. I’ve been clinging to my revenge as a way to keep Rosemary alive. But nothing I do will bring her back, and I think I have to find a way to be okay with that.”

The reality that no matter how many people we bury or secrets we uncover, it will never mend the wound Rosemary left when she died is difficult. We each have to find a way to accept that.

“She just wanted you to be happy,” Rook says softly. “Be happy, Silas. For Rosie, yeah?”

His face doesn’t move, but his eyes, there is a smile in them.

“For Rosie.”

Lyra and I linger after everyone leaves, when the tears are finished being shed by the girls and the awkward hugs from the guys are complete.

Her arms curl around my waist, and my chin drops to rest on the top of her head as we look out at the roaring ocean off the cliff of The Peak.

“Are you sure this is where you want to stay?”I ask as the sun begins to set. The sky is a burnt orange as the end of another day comes to pass.

She nods, shaking my chin in the process, and we both laugh.

“I’m sure. Just think about how cool it’ll be when we’re old and everyone is freaked by the couple that haunts Pierson Point.”

I pull back a little, looking down at her jade-colored eyes. So expressive, full of wonder and light. All things I never appreciated before because I was afraid of what they would do to me.

“You are a strange, peculiar little thing, Lyra Abbott.”

“Thank you.” She stands on her tippy-toes, pressing a kiss to my lips. “Do you wanna leave?”

I shake my head. “I’m content where you are. Location is only semantics.”

“What about if I said to the grave?”

My darling phantom.

How does she not realize yet that I would follow her anywhere? That she will never be alone again.

My ghost.

All of those grim fairy tales had only prepared her to love me. To accept the love I give her. She is made of nightmares and crimson kisses.

If she wanted my heart, I’d give it to her. She could keep it on a shelf in one of her jars—it was never mine to begin with. Not when it’s always been hers.

“Death is trivial. He can’t keep you from me. I’ll follow you to the grave every time and find you in each life after.”

ALL THESE VOICES

TWENTY-NINE

Silas

I hate hospitals.

The smell makes me nauseous and reminds me that I need to take my medication.

I toss my cigarette onto the ground, shove my hands into my pockets, and walk through the automatic doors. No one pays me any mind as I walk through the halls.

It was far too easy to figure out which room she was in. I need to remind my dad that hospitals need better cybersecurity. Weaving through nurses and family members, I make my way down the hall until I reach the correct door.