including the dumb prophecy. If I had to lose my Slayer powers in order for the apocalypse to be averted, it’s an acceptable sacrifice. After all, I didn’t have to die. I got off way easier than Buffy.
Weirdly, I miss her. I wish I could have gotten her number in that dream.
“This is so much more than I was planning to do,” my mother says. “Are you sure you’re up for it?”
“Actually, yeah, I am. It’s important. It’s more than important: It’s right. We’re going to take anyone who needs a place to live, free from fear. Slayers. Demons. Those that don’t fit anywhere else. No requirements or expectations, except that everyone protects each other. We’re calling it Sanctuary.” I pause, blushing. “Is that too pretentious?”
My mother smiles. “I think it’s perfect. And I’m proud of you.”
A while ago, I would have given anything to hear her say that. But after everything I’ve been through, I find I don’t need to hear it anymore.
It’s still nice, though.
Rhys knocks on the door. “You better come out here,” he says. I rush outside, worried that something has gone wrong. Instead, I find Artemis, her side healing up nicely, holding a motorcycle helmet. Honora, clad once again in her gray leather, is waiting with a motorcycle idling.
“Where are you going?” I say, running up to them. I’m not as fast as I was. I never will be again. I wish I didn’t have the comparison, but someday I’ll get used to being un-Slayer me again.
Artemis sets down the helmet and finger combs my hair back from my face, then pulls a band off her wrist and ties it back in a ponytail. “There.” She steps back to admire her work. “Much better.”
She’s not going for a joyride with Honora. The plea bursts from me. “I want you to stay.”
Artemis looks as lost as I used to feel. “I wanted to be a Watcher so badly. But I wasn’t. And if we’re being honest, they weren’t Watchers either. Not really. I don’t think any of us have been for a long time. I’m tired of watching, of waiting. Of biding our time until the world is about to end again and we have to figure out how to stop it. And I’m not going to sit here while you try to make some demon utopia. We know what goes bump in the night. We know what darkness is out there.” She shrugs, zipping up her jacket. “I’m going to figure out what I can do about it.”
“Artemis, I get it. I want . . .” With no words left, I throw my arms around her. I know I could make her stay if I really wanted to. But while I want her to stay, I don’t need her to stay. And what she wants—what she needs—has to come first.
She hugs me back. “Thank you for saving me. But it was the wrong choice. You should have kept your power. You got it for a reason.” She laughs, but it’s brittle, empty. “We still don’t know what reason that was. And we never will. But I didn’t get it for a reason. And I want to know why.” She steps away from me. “Take care of yourself, Nina.”
“We could use your help here. Honora’s, too, even.”
Artemis smiles at my blatant lie. “You don’t need my help. Not anymore. I don’t think you ever did. I just needed someone to need me.” She throws her arms around me again and squeezes me in a hug so tight I can’t breathe. I don’t want it to end.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“Remember,” I whisper back, “no matter where you go, you’ll always have a home here.”
She releases me and climbs onto the motorcycle, putting her arms around Honora’s waist. Honora lifts her hand up like she’s going to wave, but as soon as Artemis buries her head in Honora’s shoulder, Honora lifts her middle finger to me instead. Then she guns the motorcycle.
I stand at the edge of the grounds, watching them get smaller. And I stay there watching long after they’ve disappeared and twilight has fallen. I will never not miss Artemis. I hate that she chose Honora. But I’d hate myself more if I made her stay when I’ve held her back for all these years. She needs to figure out who she is without having to take care of me. Without having to live a calling she never asked for. Without having to compensate for