Page 85 of Finding Closure

Always. My family would always be my priority.

“I don’t have words for how perfect they are, Tamsin,”he whispered as he hugged me tightly.“What are their names? How are—”

“I don’t know, Dad. We’ll figure that out when we get there.”I smiled at him as I wiped away some of his tears.“I want to enjoy the journey to get there and the happiness that made us want to have them. It all works out. That’s what matters. I have my happy ending, so I’m going to be more than okay. You can go be with Mom and watch from Paradise.”

“I didn’t deserve you as a daughter,” he choked out as he hugged me tighter. “In all of my many,manyyears, you were the one thing I did best, Tamsin. You are everything I am but so much better.” He leaned away and cupped my cheek. “Never forget that, and never let any of them tell you otherwise or hurt you again.”

“I won’t,” I promised. My cheek felt freezing when he let me go, but I knew it needed to happen.

Otherwise, we could say goodbye forever and Mom would be trapped. What really would be enough to say? What would really be therightthing to say to make this hurt any less or that I wouldn’t grieve the loss?

Nothing.

Nothing could make this any less painless, so it was better to set Mom free. Dad and I had said our goodbyes and everything that needed to be said.

“Take care of him, Mom,” I whispered as I got into place.

I wanted to yell stop a thousand times. I wanted to call it off and demand he stay with me longer… But I loved him too much to be that selfish.

And another day would probably just make it hurt more when it inevitably happened. That was how guilt worked. For her. For him.

For my selfishness as I watched him fade more each day.

“I’m ready, Tamsin,” Lageos said gently when I just knelt there.

I blinked back tears and nodded, knowing he was. I built the magic and almost stopped it so I could give him one more hug, but even my magic told me it was time and not to be selfish. I let it build and build until it was enough and unfroze my mom.

“I’m sorry, Tamsin,”her voice whispered through my mind.

I nodded, not surprised she and Elora had the same last thought. I wanted to scream at the gods for not letting my telepathy download some of her memories or thoughts—even partially as I had before.

But then I realized it was a blessing. Seeing her last days of worry and fear would hurt. Seeing how she suffered more would be burned in my mind in a way no child should ever see.

“Iolas, take her,” Lageos whispered, sounding weak.

My head snapped up, and I saw Iolas take my mom from my dad since he’d caught her. Was it really happening this fast? All this time to prepare and now it was too fast.

“Tamsin, don’t watch,” he wheezed.

Stupid demigod. There was no way I was leaving him alone in this.

I scurried over to him and hugged him, promising I was fine when he tried to push me away.

“Don’t let her see this,” my dad argued.

“She would never forgive us if we took this away from her, Lageos,” Julian said gently. “Let her be there for you as you have been for her.”

“And then we’ll be there for her in her grief,” Neldor added. “Give Meira our love and enjoy Paradise. Tell my dad I miss him.”

“I will,” Lageos promised. “I look forward to meeting him.”

Of course my dad said something so kind in his last moments.

I kissed his hair and promised we would be okay, that I loved him and was glad he got to go be with Mom.

“You made our lives and love perfect,” he whispered before his eyes closed and he stopped breathing.

I laid my head against his chest to make sure. The wail of pain and grief I let out could be heard all around Faerie. Neldor tapped into my magic without me even having to say anything, and I felt the sedation rune placed on me.

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