I climbed off of him slowly, reluctant to move away from the comforting vibration of his heart against mine. “Shower?”
His eyes widened, likely as he contemplated all the ways the world had once again opened up for him. He deserved this. His life before had been cut-off too soon, now he would get to live. We both did.
Epilogue
The sun shone brightly overhead as I stood at her graveside. I’d told myself before that there was no need for a funeral, not when I had no answers and there wasn’t anybody else to mourn her. It was different now.
Natalia Alswell had many secrets, in both life and death. Some of which I may never get real answers to, but maybe it was better that way. Everything had happened so fast after I’d died and Sage had brought me back—I didn’t really get the chance to say goodbye. If nothing else, that was what a funeral was good for.
It was strange to stand by a tombstone and mourn her, mourn them both, when I knew that wherever my parents were, it wasn't beneath the dirt. I could only hope that they had found peace. They deserved it.
I had found my own peace, Sage and I both. For better or worse, the manor was home and the very air on the grounds felt different. Infused with hope and light. The trees still sang to me and the moon bathed us in a glow, but we were very much alive. Alive, and dreaming.
I stood from where I’d kneeled in the grass and Sage’s hand brushed mine as we walked to another grave. There was so much death between us, but I found it didn’t bother me as much as it could have. I’d fallen in love with a ghost and had been lucky enough to get to keep him. There wasn’t much I could be ungrateful about.
We stopped by Angie’s stone and laid out a flower, clasping each other’s hands tightly as a breeze kicked up, carrying the scent of lake water and spring.
Alswell was thriving. We were thriving. And I knew that the next time we heard footsteps in the halls, it would be in service of life. Not death.