“Well,” Adair told me over the phone, sighing heavily, “wiping out almost all of a coven is kind of big news amongst the supernaturals, but the survivor confirmed you didn’t start it and you tried to talk her out of it, so it’s not like anyone can blame you. Plus I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t intentionally go there to kill people.”
I circled the brim of my glass with my index finger. “I feel bad about their families,” I admitted. “That’s a lot of people affected by the recklessness of one woman. And the obsession of another, going back to what started all of this.”
Adair sighed again. “It is. Cassie and her family, now the witches – the witches hold some fault for their deaths, though, they went there planning to murder you and Cassie in some sort of revenge for Cassie not dying 20 years ago.”
I watched Cassie at the counter, waving at one of the waiters, forgetting for a moment that humans couldn’t see her before returning to me, frustrated. “We’re not planning to stick around,” I told him. “I’d like to catch up with you again and meet your family better, but we figured it’s best if we take some time away from Avenglade after what happened. I don’t want some of the witches’ families to get a stupid idea about revenge and just do the same thing all over again.”
“Yeah, that – might be for the best, though it’s unfortunate.”
“It’s not so bad,” I told him, watching Cassie with bright eyes, “we’re together, we’ll just keep exploring the world like we were. We’ll come back eventually, I promise. I have few enough friends that bother to stick around for more than a few decades, so I plan to come back and annoy you some more in the future.”
He laughed. “Well, I’ll look forward to that. And – Cyra, while I’m sorry Cassie was murdered and all of that, it is nice to see you happy again, with someone who can be there for you through everything. I’m glad it worked out for both of you.”
“Yeah,” I said softly, looking at Cassie. “Me too.”
She pointed at her drink as I hung up. “The wait staff ignores me, so can you please?”
I nodded, a smile flitting across my face as I collected her cup and went to the counter to get her glass refilled. Refilled drink in hand in a to-go cup now, we left the restaurant and started wandering down the streets.
“So, where should we go to next?” Cassie asked brightly. “I’m thinking a beach. It’s almost summer time, that’s a good time for the beach, right? I’m still trying to figure out how I can float enough to swim but still walk through walls if I want to. Ghost mechanics are weird. Does that mean I could adjust how floaty I am? Go down to the bottom of the sea if I want? I kind of want to know. And,” she reached over, grabbing my free hand with hers, “now we know we have all the time in the world for me to figure out that stuff. I know you aren’t thrilled with the whole immortality thing, babe, but I think – well, I hope – that maybe it’ll be better now that you have me with you? There’s a whole lot I still want to see and learn and so I kind of think it’s cool that we have all the time we want to do whatever we want.” She looked over at me, biting her lip. “Or is that insensitive of me?”
“It’s not.” I gave her a warm smile. “Actually, you’ve made me rethink a lot of things about my life – about things I could enjoy even apart from having someone with me. You did give me back my ‘spark.’ Immortality does get lonely, but…yeah, I have you now,” I lifted her hand to my lips to kiss it, “so I think you’re right. I think this will be a lot different than how things have been in the past.”
“Except the past 20 years,” she pointed out, before suddenly grabbing my arm, pulling me off the sidewalk onto the grass of a – school, maybe? – twining her arms around my neck, and giving me a long, intense kiss.
As I lifted my head, licking my lips deliberately to appreciate the taste of her drink on my lips – much to her amusement – I caught the sight of a startled teenage kid who stared at us with wide eyes before rushing off, looking almost scared. I was a little amused that the kid was that taken aback by the sight of two women kissing before it dawned on me that he was human and he wouldn’t have seen Cassie, so I probably just looked really weird to him and he thought I was crazy or something.
The downside of being with a ghost, I guess, but it was one I would happily take.
“Come on,” I told her, “let’s go find a new place to enjoy.”
Still holding my hand, Cassie sipped her drink as we walked, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
A thought occurred to me as we walked, and after not even a second of deliberation, I knew it was the right choice. Cassie – I loved her. I hoped she’d be able to stick around forever, if I could help it, and I trusted her.
So I leaned over and whispered in her ear. “By the way, my real name is – ” I dropped my voice even lower, barely murmuring the name loud enough for her to hear.
Cassie stopped to look at me, eyes wide, then threw her arms around me for another kiss, apparently delighted with my decision.
This, I realized, was what my future would hold. Sure, I couldn’t guarantee the future, couldn’t completely promise that nothing would happen to Cassie, but I was going to enjoy every minute with her anyway, whether we had centuries together or days.
After all, when the perfect person for you finds you, someone who can reignite your life and remind you of who you really are, why would you ever let them go?
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