of you made a sacrifice, and now no one knows what to do with you.”
“I’m not sure I understand you. Both of us made a sacrifice?” I remember something Alex said right before I died. “Wait, did Alex give up his soul to save me?”
“He did, but that’s not the whole reason you’re here,” she says, facing me. “You carry the soul of another, which means Helena can’t make a bargain with just you for your soul. She’d also have to make a bargain with Alex, and he didn’t make one with Helena.”
“Am I . . . ? Am I an essence?” I turn over my arms, wondering if my appearance is going to change.
“Is that what you want?” Her blue eyes lock with mine. “Do you want to be here with me?”
“I . . .” The truth is, if I could be anywhere, I’d be with my daughter and Alex. “Do I have another choice?”
She sits down on the grass and pats the spot beside her, signaling for me to sit down. “If you choose to stay here with me, you can, but if you choose to leave, you can go back to your life.”
“My life,” I whisper as my knees buckle, and I collapse to the ground. “But why is Annabella letting me go? Why doesn’t she keep me?”
“She can either let you go or take you both,” my mother explains. “You and Alex are bonded. Take one and they have to take you both. And right now, you’re both on the brink of death.”
“But why not just take us both?”
“I know this is hard for you to understand, but not everything is evil.” She picks a flower from the ground and twists it in her fingers. “You need to understand that everything isn’t evil in the world. There is also good, and what you did to save the lives of everyone is the very essence of good. You and Alex, your daughter—that all represents good.”
“And Annabella’s good?”
“Annabella is what she chooses to be, just like you can be.”
I let it all sink in as the wind picks up, making petals dance around us. “I didn’t expect this. I thought I would become a lost soul.”
“I know. And that’s why you’re one of the good ones. You went into this blind.” She offers me the flower. “So, what will it be? Life or death?”
I stare at the flower, not ready to take it just yet. “What about you?”
“I’m right where I belong,” she says. “It’s you who needs to find your place.”
“I don’t think I can leave you,” I say, “not when I know I’ll never see you again. You took your own life to save me; why don’t you get a choice?”
“We’ll see each other again,” she promises, urging the flower at me. “This isn’t goodbye forever.”
I pick up the flower, thinking about life, about the pain I’ve been through, and how there might be more pain waiting for me when I return. Then I remember the tiniest moments of stolen kisses, of whispered promises that carry such possibilities.
I release the flower and let the wind carry it away to the unknown. “I want to go back to my life.”
She nods, rising to her feet. “One last goodbye before you go.”
I stand up and hug her with all I have in me, not wanting to let go yet knowing I have to. When I back away, she’s gone, and I feel a piece of my heart break.
“You choose life, then?” Annabella steps out from behind the tree.
I nod, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Yeah, I choose life.”
ALEX
I’m not sure if I’ve died, if Gemma’s died. All I know is that, when I open my eyes, I’m lying on the floor of the burned house in Iceland. The cry of the Banshee is nails to my ears as I push to my feet and search for her, wanting to get this over with.
When I find her, she’s curled in the corner of the room at the bottom of the stairway. She’s in her hag form, her skin wrinkled and her clothes tattered.
“I’ve been waiting for you.” She smiles at me, showing me her yellow teeth.
“Tell me she’s okay,” I say. “Tell me Gemma lived, or I’m not doing this.”
She staggers to her feet and hunches over. “I can’t believe I have you,” she says, ignoring my question. “I’ve been waiting to get my hands on a soul like yours. Not many humans like to throw theirs away