Page 95 of Two Who Live On

“When a chimera takes a branch magic, they attach it to every fiber of its being,” Milo explained. “If you keep Finn here, store him in your mind, the chimera will return.”

“He’s right,” Finn agreed. “The second I stopped breathing, I felt the chimera’s magic intertwine with mine. If even a fragment remains, he’ll resurface. Not today, but someday.”

I trembled.

“He’ll possess you.” Milo grabbed my hand, delicate like too much and I’d shatter, but his words had already broken me. “He’ll resurrect his fallen demons, gather more, and destroy the world.”

Fuck the world. I wanted Finn back. I had him right here, in reach. “We can cleanse his soul, his magic. We can find a way to unravel—”

“No, you can’t.” Finn grabbed my other hand, gentle and guiding. “I’ve seen entire histories on demons thanks to my branch, and I’ve had the displeasure of living inside that monster. He’ll find a way back if even a tiny piece of him exists. Banish me.”

“You can’t make me do this.” I pulled my hand free from Milo, preparing to expel him from my mind.

“I can’t,” he said, smile lost and resisting a frown. “You have to decide, Dorian. The second you arrived at the trap we’d laid for the devil, this choice became yours to make.”

“You can’t make me stay,” Finn said. “Or I would hope you wouldn’t. After all, locking me away inside your mind is exactly what the chimera did.”

“No.” I released Finn’s hand. “You would be happy here. Safe.”

“I’ll be happy when you let me go.” Finn hugged me tightly, like he never wanted to let go. “I’d like to rejoin the rest of my soul. Hopefully, I’ve found peace somewhere else.”

“You don’t even know if there’s another piece of you out there.” I squeezed him back. “When you’re gone, this time, it will be for good. There could be nothing after this.”

“After everything, I’d be okay with that,” Finn said. “But I have faith there’s something more after all this. I believe one day, very far from now, I will see you and Milo again, and you’ll have a lifetime of happy memories to share with me.”

This wasn’t an embrace to hold onto forever. It was one to say a final goodbye. Bit by bit, my mind’s inner core disappeared. The walls faded, the staircase fell into nothingness, the floor below vanished, and the chandeliers dimmed to darkness until all that remained was Finn and me, holding onto each other.

Returning to the outside world, a tiny glowing wisp containing Finn’s branch quickly exploded.

“I love you both so much. I’m glad you’re the two who live on, carrying our dream, our future, and…” Finn’s final thoughts ceased, and he was truly gone.

Milo held me close, my chest pressed against his, and his arms squeezed me, keeping me upright because all I wanted was to collapse and break down. Instead, I buried my face in his tattered blazer, sobbing.

He quelled the thoughts of the outside world, and then the reason he wished for me to stay behind escaped his surface thoughts. He knew this possibility when confronting and banishing the devil. He feared me facing this decision more than the chance of channeling a hundred witches killing him. I had Finn, it was within my power to keep him here with us, yet I made the decision to release him—letting Finn die again.

ChapterThirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

Wow, these headlines kept getting more and more misleading, overlooking the finer details.

The Inevitable Future Slays Devil & Leads Charge Against Nearly 1,000 Demons!

I swiped the article notification away, not bothering to click, and lay in bed. Folks had already started calling it The Day the Devil Died—not quite as catchy as Night of the Fiend Massacre, yet it represented another momentous triumph Enchanter Evergreen had accomplished by bringing guilds together. I puffed on a cigarette, which did little to mask how badly my sheets reeked.

Almost all day and night, I’d sat in bed doing little else, aside from occasionally eating, only reminded because I had to feed the cats despite wanting to do nothing. Not shower. Not clean. Not work.All I wanted was to disappear for a bit, yet I continued reading articles and watching news reports that covered the chimera’s attack on Chicago. Everyone moved on so quickly, hardly fazed by the actual plot intended since the enchanters eviscerated every threat.

A week had passed since releasing Finn for a third time in his life. When he died at twenty-two. When he’d helped me last semester. And now, when a piece of him was bound inside that devil. I was stuck saying farewell to Finn yet again. An infinite loop of regrets. The first time I lost him, I never got to say goodbye. The second time, it wasn’t pleasant, but there was closure.

Now, it felt like I’d ripped open a scar. Each time he was lost, it was me who’d played the biggest role in failing him, letting him go, and it took everything I had not to breathe in more depression.

But I wouldn’t spend another twelve years mourning Finn. He wouldn’t want that, I couldn’t live like that, and Milo needed me. As much as it hurt, I wanted to live and live happily. It was just difficult getting started again.

Unfortunately, Milo didn’t have an opportunity to mourn. After everything he’d endured, he lacked the luxury of taking a week off for personal reasons. I got to use these days to get my head screwed back on right, but Chicago required the great Enchanter Evergreen to remain vigilant as the smoke settled. All the demons were banished, and every citizen survived unharmed. Milo spent the week attending impromptu events celebrating the success of guilds and his masterful collaborative efforts to put the demons and the devil plaguing the city to rest. It didn’t matter that his body still ached after enduring the effects of channeling a hundred fellow enchanters.

He couldn’t show it. The Inevitable Future remained an omnipotent presence, defending all the best potential outcomes.

Carlie trotted into my bedroom, meowing. Screeching, really, because I was already behind her preferred schedule, and soon, she’d starve to death.

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