Page 121 of Nearly Dead

“I declined.I have my own methods.”

I frown.She should take the help.I’m going to make sure she has it whether she wants it or not.“Such as?”

“You’d be surprised what a lifetime of studying magic can teach you.Just because I’m human doesn’t mean I’m helpless.”Her eyes twinkle.She touches my cheek.“I was able to help protect you all those years.I think if the supernatural world wanted me dead, it would have happened by now.”

All this time, she’d been watching over me in her own way.I remember she’d bartered with trolls for the amulet Diana now wears.I think back to the butterflies that used to appear when I needed help.The strange coincidences that saved me more than once.

I put my hand over hers.“Thank you.For everything.”

“I’m going back to California,” she continues.“My life is there.But I want you to know you always have a place with me, if you want it.A mother always finds ways to help.We could be happy there, away from this city.I used to dream about you coming to live with me.You’re different now, but it could still happen.We’ll convert the basement.I’ll make a deal with a blood bank.You’ll be safe.”

“Thank you,” I say, meaning it.“But my place is here now.”

“With him,” she says, glancing toward where Costin had disappeared.

“With myself,” I correct.“I fought for so long to be normal.Now I know I never really was.And that’s okay.I know who I am now.What I can be.”

She studies me, her eyes so like mine.“You’ve found your path.”

“I’m getting there.”

“That’s all any of us can do.”She takes my hands in hers.“I’m proud of you, butterfly.Not because of what you’ve become, but because of how you’ve faced it.With courage.With heart.”

Tears prick at my eyes.All my life, I’ve wanted to hear those words from a parent who truly saw me.Not as an asset or a disappointment or a project, but as a person.

“Costin is very lucky to have you,” she says.“Don’t ever forget that.He’s the lucky one.”

I want to argue and tell her I’m the lucky one, but I don’t.“I’d invite you to the wedding, but?—”

“It’ll be a supernatural affair,” she finishes.“I understand.”

“You should visit, though” I tell her.“After.”

“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”She squeezes my hands.“Or vampires.Or werewolves.”

We talk throughout the night, catching up on everything that’s happened.I tell her about the battle, about finding balance between my natures, about the council’s offer.She tells me about her art, her friends, her quiet life that somehow intersects with the supernatural world more than I ever realized.

When she finally leaves, it’s with promises to call, to visit, to stay connected.Not a goodbye, but a beginning.

Costin finds me on the balcony afterward, watching the light shift over the city as dawn approaches.He wraps a blanket around my shoulders, though I no longer feel the cold the way I once did.

“How did it go?”he asks, handing me a glass of blood.

“Better than I expected,” I admit.“I thought I’d be mad at her for leaving me as a baby, but I realized the past doesn’t matter.Life is messy.We’re all doing our best to make it work.”

“It is good you spoke with her,” he says, a smile in his voice.“Sully called while you were talking.I didn’t want to interrupt.He wanted us to know that things are calm but not settled.His exact words were, ‘there are always shadows after a storm.’”

“That feels like a next week problem.”I lean back against him, savoring his presence.“Have you thought about where we’ll live?After everything settles down.”

“Wherever you want.”His arms tighten around me.“New York.Romania.The moon.I don’t care, as long as we’re together.”

I laugh.“The moon might be difficult, even for us.”

“Give it a few centuries.Humans will build something there, and we’ll follow.”His tone is light but sincere.“That’s the gift of immortality, Tamara.We have time to see it all, do it all.”

Immortality.The word still feels strange, a concept too vast to fully comprehend.But with Costin, it doesn’t feel like a sentence.It feels like hope.

“I was thinking somewhere quieter,” I say.“At least for a while.Somewhere we can just be, without council politics or family expectations.”

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