Page 198 of Conquered
“I have a poem that I’d like to read, if that’s okay with you, Lilly?” he asks, and I give him a wobbly smile.
“I’d love that,” I say, my heart swelling.
He turns to face the grave, but still so that I can see him in profile and begins to read.
“‘Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.’”
He turns to look at me once again, his features soft as he takes in my tearstained face.
“It’s calledA Thousand Winds, by Mary Elizabeth Frye,” he tells me.
“It’s beautiful and perfect,” I whisper, reaching out to take his hand, bringing it up to my lips and placing a kiss on his knuckles.
Looking back up, I glance round at the people who I love, and who love me in return without condition. It feels as though my heart swells to twice its size, threatening to burst from my chest as I drink them in, the winter sunshine wrapping its chill around us but unable to touch us.
Stepping forward, I walk to Mum’s grave, kneeling down to place my hand on the headstone.
“I’m going to be alright, Mum,” I tell her, my eyes welling up once more. “They’ll look after me.”
Closing my eyes, I stay there for a few moments, hearing the breeze rustling in the trees, the birds chirping around us, the sunshine warming my face as the world keeps spinning.
Standing up, I take one last breath, gazing down at the stone.
“Bye, Mum,” I whisper, then turn around to face the others, focusing on my guys. “Let’s go home.”
They all break out into blinding smiles, obviously realising that I don’t mean the hotel, but back to Colorado. Back to Highgate Prep.
Although, they do say that home is where the heart is. And my heart is standing before me, kept safe in the bodies of four beautiful men.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
LILLY
We arrive back late, stepping off the plane into the crisp winter Colorado mountain air, the stars shining brightly above us, our breath coming out in puffs of steam. Luckily, there are a couple of days before the new term, or semester starts because my body is all kinds of fucked-up from the three different time zones.
I sleep for a solid fourteen hours, my Viking on one side, my fallen angel on the other, and wake up groggy, but feeling less exhausted as afternoon sunshine filters around the edges of the curtains in Loki’s dorm room. Stretching, I notice that the bed is empty either side of me, Jax and Loki clearly having left some time ago if the cold sheets are any indication.
