Joins us in the way we’ve dreamed of al this time.
But it’s so much better than anything that went before.
Because this is real.
This is right.
A final confirmation that we’re made for each other.
Meant to be together.
Always and forever.
Our bodies rising, lifting, soaring high, then higher stil —the moment growing, expanding, holding for as long as it wil … until we col apse into the warmth of each other, and the ceiling bursts open, and a deluge of beautiful red tulips comes raining down.
forty-four
I rol onto my side, edge closer to him, al owing my fingers to fol ow the trail from his chest to his abdomen and down lower stil . Amazed by the actual feel of him, his warm and wonderful being—wondering how I managed without it so long.
“What are you thinking?” he asks, his lips nipping the lobe of my ear.
“Oh, you know…” I smile flirtatiously, my pinkie inching back up, finding his navel and navigating the perimeter, as he laughs and pul s me onto his chest. Planting a kiss on the top of my head as my mind fil s with one single word: Content.
I am total y and completely content.
I’m also happy, relaxed, and at peace.
I have everything I could ever want.
My life is complete.
I gaze up at him, wishing we could linger, drag this out for as long as we can, but Damen has other plans, claims we’ve got somewhere important to be.
“I’l miss this place,” he says, getting to his feet and stepping over the carpet of tulip petals that kept raining down until they covered the floor.
“Don’t sound so final. It’s not like it’s going anywhere.” I smile. “Unless, we’re going somewhere? Are we going somewhere?” I peer at him, hoping for a clue. But he’s wearing his very best poker face, which means there is no getting through.
I shrug, slip into the dress I was smart enough to manifest earlier, since it’s not like I’m wil ing to wear that winged costume again.
Then as soon as we’re dressed, he grabs my hand and leads me to the window, the two of us watching the waves crash against the rocks far below.
“Do you stil see it?” He glances at me.
I nod, then, trying something I was too nervous (not to mention too preoccupied) to try earlier, I think: Do you?
He looks at me, smiles, and thinks: Yes. And, even better, we can still hear each other!
I lean against him, wondering how long it wil last. Knowing the vibrating colors, the lyrical hum of the universe wil eventual y fade.
Even when Misa and Marco and Rafe raved about the experience, it was in the past tense. Stil , though it may fade from sight, it’l never fade from my mind. Now that we know the truth of everything, the way the universe works, the world wil continue to be as magical and amazing as ever, even for mortals like us.
“Ready?” he asks, hand grasped with mine, the blur of our combined energy al the
proof that I need that we are one with each other
—one with everything.
I nod, walking alongside him as we make our way to my car. Experiencing a moment of panic when I try to start it with my mind like I usual y do, then relaxing once I remember I’d had the foresight to bring the key along, since from what I can tel , that sort of mental magick no longer works.