“Sit down,” Zane instructed. “Let me see your face.”
My body trembled from the aftermath of shock and adrenaline. I sat down, folding my hands together to keep them from shaking. The cut wasn’t deep and already had begun to heal, although now that he had brought it to the forefront of my mind, it stung like hell. Zane knelt at the side of the couch, studying the gash. He pressed a cold, damp cloth to my cheek. I instinctively flinched and jerked away.
“That hurt,” I hissed through my teeth.
Zane shook his head, the corner of his lip lifting. “I haven’t even touched you yet.”
I grimaced. “It’s been a long night.”
He lifted the towel, blotting it very carefully to my face. He was as gentle as possible. “It has been, but it’s over. And now we can rebuild.” He took my hand and pressed a kiss on the center of my palm. “There, all better.”
“I can’t believe it’s really over.” The truth of it exploded inside me. It was hard to imagine what my life was going to be like. I’d grown so used to the constant fear, always waiting for the next attack or the next attempt on my life.
Zane squeezed my hip. All we could do was stare at each other.
I wasn’t the only one in need of tending. I pulled my gaze from Zane’s, searching the parlor for our group of friends. They were really okay. Warming near the fireplace, Zoe was patching Parker up. I caught his eye and he smiled.
Pure, sweet relief poured through me. He was safe.
Crash, Declan, Aspyn, and Zach were huddled near the window. Declan had his arm secured around Aspyn as she wiped at her eyes. I looked up into Crash’s tired face and he winked. There was so much to be joyous over, but I found myself thinking about all those we’d lost, including Oliver.
I swallowed back a fresh bout of tears.
It was then, as I was quashing the raw emotions that TJ wandered into the room. He took one look around and blurted, “What happened? What did I miss?”
“Your sister just saved the world,” Parker said proudly, his glasses crooked on his nose. Zoe straightened them, smiling.
TJ busted out laughing. “Yeah right. You guys are hilarious.”
“He wasn’t joking,” Declan jumped to my defense. “She really did just save us all from extinction.”
I cleared my throat. “I didn’t do it alone.”
TJ took a closer look around, seeing the cuts, the blood, and the weary expressions. “I literally miss everything.”
It didn’t matter that TJ was bummed. What mattered was he was alive, and the world wasn’t going to be overtaken by psychotic ghosts. “Trust me, it was better you missed it.”
Concern wrinkled his forehead. “Do you think we should call Dad, make sure he is okay?”
I cringed and stiffened. Damn. How could I have forgotten? I’d told TJ the truth about myself, but had failed to tell him the truth about his father. I was so exhausted, and the last thing I wanted to do was tell my little brother I was his only living relative. “Sit down,” I said, leveling my voice. “There’s something I need to explain.”
“Why you do have that look like you’re going to tell me he’s dead?” he tossed at me.
I winced again. He made it sound so heartless. “Because he is.” I laid it straight. The timing sucked, but that’s what I get for procrastinating. I had been distracted between Zane and the veil, but it was no excuse. TJ was the only family I had left. We needed each other.
“How are you so sure?” Doubt weaseled its way into his pinched expression.
“I saw him. The night before you came back to the island, he showed up.”
“As one of those ghosts,” he concluded.
I nodded, my face going still and white. What else could I say? Congratulations, you’re now an orphan?
He finally took a seat, robotically sitting on the edge of the mattress. “No,” he rejected.
I watched as his eyes worked through what I was telling him, and I felt my gut clench, blinking so hard so I wouldn’t start bawling like a baby. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “He won’t be coming back.”
The color drained from his face, and I knew I had just turned his world inside out, a feeling both of us knew well. I could only hope he would lean on me and the new family we had here in Raven Hallow.
I didn’t tell him that he wasn’t my biological father. I didn’t tell him that James had threatened to kill him. Instead, I let him remember his father as he was.
***
My hair was a mess, tangled and crusted with blood, my clothes worse, torn and disgusting. I peeled them off, discarding them into the trash as I walked into the bathroom for a long soak in the tub. I needed warmth to heat me from the inside out.
As I returned to my room, freshly showered and semi-normal, a chill coasted along the floor. I glanced up and gasped. “Zander?”
His smile widened. “I told you we’d see each other again.”
I managed to swallow the squeak of surprise before Zane came barreling through the door to check on me. Looking at Zander, even the ghost of him, brought a fresh memory of his death. It still haunted me. I smiled, tears shining in my eyes. “You did.”
Gaze twinkling, his eyes moved to my loosely tied robe. “Not the best timing, but timing never seemed to be our thing.”
I laughed, tightening the terry cloth around me. “No, it wasn’t.”
Zander was lounging on the edge of my bed. “You did it, Piper. Always knew you would save us all.”
I leaned my hip against the vanity. “You did, huh?”
He nodded. “From the first time I saw you at the bonfire, I knew you were going to change everything. Zane did too. We all did.”
“I wish someone would have told me.”
He chuckled. “What fun would that have been?”
I snorted. Seeing Zander drudged up raw feelings, and my emotions got the best of me. I couldn’t help but thing of Zane. “He misses you, ya know,” I said, rubbing my arms. “He doesn’t need to tell me. I can feel how much it pains him to not have you around anymore.”
Zander’s pale face fell flat. “It’s a good thing he has you. Take care of him. He needs you more than he would ever admit.”
I pressed my lips together. “It goes both ways.”
“The universe knew what it was doing when it paired you with him.”
“I guess,” I conceded. “But some days I’d argue that the universe has a cruel sense of humor.”
A ghost of a smile curled on his lips. “He might not be the easiest person to love, but he loves you fiercely. The almighty Death Scythe was willing to thwart the council in the name of love. He might have stretched the limits of the council’s rules, but never outwardly spurned them. What will you do now?”
“Assign new council members,” I joked, sort of.
“I think that’s exactly what you should do. Out with the old, in with the new,” he encouraged.
“And how do you think Death would feel about that?”
“Have you met my father?” he replied directly. “I would take him making Zane his heir as sign. He would welcome the change.”
I twirled with my wedding band. “Maybe you’re right.”
A smug smile stretched across his face. “Of course I’m right.”
“Things like that remind me your related to Zane.”
“He learned from the best.” His smug smile faded a little, and I knew our time was coming to an end. “Take care of him.”
I stepped forward. “Do you have to go?” I asked, thinking maybe he would like to see Zane.
He nodded, and I understood. It would be harder for them both to see each other. “No goodbyes.”
I forced a smile on my lips. “See you later.”
He grinned in return, the Hunter killer smile, dimples and all. “I’ll be seeing you, Piper.”
I watched in a sad, wistful silence as Zander’s form began to break up, flickering like a faulty lightbulb. In a matter of seconds, I was staring at the empty spot where he had been.
Dragging my feet across the floor, I collapsed on my bed, and no sooner did my head hit the pillow, tingles tiptoed down my spine. Zane sauntered into the room looking like everything I ever needed. A warrior, a lover, a friend, a savior. And he looked damn good too. Seeing his face caused a slew of emotions to materialize, including all the ones I’d been suppressing. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to hold the dam much longer.
He climbed onto the bed, lying down beside me, our faces close. “I love you,” he whispered softly.
Oh gosh.
He had no idea how much I needed to hear him say that. I pressed my lips to his, fighting back the messy balloon of emotions rising to the surface. It had been a helluva day, and now that it was over, really over, I had all these feelings I didn’t know what to do with. I was going to cry.
Yep, I was definitely going to shed hot, messy tears. Some for those we lost, some for being alive, some for the relief and happiness.
We’d defied the rules, fought back and won.
Staring into Zane’s gleaming eyes, I was feeling pretty good. We had brought an end to the apocalypse, and every ending was also a beginning. Zane and I were just about to start ours.