Page 119 of Locke 2

She gave me a funny look. “You’re not seeingme, silly. You’re going home.”

What did she mean?

My home was with her. And if it wasn’t with her, it was with—

The sound of metal groaning cut through the air. Brilliant light pierced into the room, chasing away the darkness.

“Am I dead?” I wondered as I looked up at all the brilliant light. It felt like a slice of heaven beaming down at me.

“No,” Aurora whispered. “He found you.”

“Who?”

She brought her lips to my ear. “Your man in black.”

I went to reach for her, but she was gone, and I was barely conscious. The last bit of my strength gave out at me as I saw his face appear, his dark eyes locked on mine.

“Little lion, I found you,” he rasped, his voice strained with emotion. “Mine. All mine.”

Fifty

Kali

“He’s with his Aunt now,” I said.

We’d taken a seat on a park bench in front of a pretty fountain. I breathed in the crisp Georgewel air, knowing it would be the last time. My crutches were leaning against the bench. I hated using them.

“They found his mother in a shelter in a different town, with all that money…” I shook my head sadly. “The doctor paid her off to have the boy. He did it in some slimy covert way. And she accepted in the end.”

“Are you going to visit him?” Aurora asked.

“Yes, every opportunity I can get.”

“I think he would like that.”

“I think so, too.”

“You were there for him.”

I smiled, feeling my heart warm. “He was there for me, too. So were you.”

She pointed to her chest and locked her big brown eyes with mine. “Me?”

I nodded. “You’re always with me. I carry you with me inside my soul, Aurora.”

Her smile brightened. “Then you’re never alone.”

My eyes ached. “Never.”

She studied me. “Are you happy, Kali?”

I breathed out a soft laugh. “Strangely, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I have you in my soul, and I have Jem, and I have Locke…” My breath thinned as I thought of Locke. My chest tightened. “I love him, Aurora. I think I loved him from the very start.”

“I know.”

“How is that possible though?”

“People find each other in the dark and they hold on tight.”

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