our daughter and me. I shook as I cried, kissing my baby’s soft, delicate forehead as Jared kissed mine.
“Claire?” Ryan said, holding her in his arms.
Eli calmly walked across the room, kneeling beside them. “You look a fright.”
Claire managed one weak laugh. “Really? I thought for a brush with the Devil I look pretty fly.”
Gabe joined them, evaluating her wounds. “Pretty ugly, kiddo.” He looked to Eli.
Eli motioned to Samuel, and Samuel was suddenly kneeling next to Eli, lifting Claire from Ryan’s grasp.
“Wait,” Ryan said.
Samuel ignored him, setting Claire on her feet. Her clothes were still ripped, but the gashes from her face and body had disappeared.
Gabe helped Ryan to his feet with one hand, and hooked his arm around Bex’s neck with the other. “Thank you,” Gabe said, seemingly to himself. I knew it was God he spoke to.
Ryan pulled Claire into his arms and smashed his lips onto hers, kissing her over and over. “You okay?” he said, visibly upset.
She smiled. “Just another day at work.”
He hugged her tightly, a single tear running down his dirty cheek. He breathed in quickly, and then exhaled a faltering breath.
“In case I forget to tell you later,” she said, pulling back. “I kinda love you.”
Ryan laughed once. “Just remember who said it, first.”
She nudged him, and they turned to watch Bex slowly return to Kim’s body. He frowned, trying to hold back the overwhelming sadness that we all felt.
Ryan fetched a sheet from the corner of the room, and Claire helped him to spread it on the floor. Bex lifted Kim’s body from the floor, laying her gently on the sheet. He straightened her bent legs, and crossed her hands against her chest.
Eli stood next to Ryan. “We offer Kim’s soul to you, Father. Please welcome her into your kingdom, and your arms. Extend comfort to her father and to her friends, and remind them daily that the sacrifice she made, was made in love.”
“I’m sorry,” Bex said, covering her face with the sheet.
Ryan choked, and he and Claire wrapped their arms around each other.
My emotions were so tapped that I couldn’t find the tears to cry. I just stared at her outline under the sheet in disbelief. She was really gone. I imagined the horrible task of informing her father, and Beth. How we could possible explain how she died?
“We’ll take care of it,” Jared said. “She’ll receive the burial and respect she deserves.”
“I just want her back,” I said quietly. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have left. We would have all been safe if I’d just stayed in the Sepulchre.”
Jared touched my cheek. “Anxiety is a struggle for anyone. You did what you believed you had to do in the moment, and the survival instinct is nearly impossible to ignore as a Hybrid. You didn’t want this. Kim knew that.”
I nodded, but knew the guilt would haunt me for a lifetime. The threat I felt in the tomb was very real at the time, but looking back, I let my fear get the best of me, and it cost Kim her life. I would carry that for the rest of my life.
Gabe kneeled beside me to better see his grandchild. “She’s absolutely beautiful,” he said, touching her tiny hand.
“Thank you,” I said, my eyes finally filling with tears.
“You don’t understand what you’ve done here,” he said, wiping the tender skin under my eye. “You saved her, and she will save us all.”
“That’s a big job for a little girl,” Jared said, looking down to the precious bundle in my arms. “Good thing she’s strong like her mom.”
I lifted my chin, and touched Jared’s lips to mine. His lips were warmer than mine for the first time in months. His scent mixed with our baby’s, and I felt lightness from relief that was vaguely familiar. Feeling safe was like a distant memory, and it came to me in such a surreal way, as if I couldn’t trust it. But, our family was safe. We earned a new beginning for us, for all of us, that Heaven had created. With that thought, I looked on the precious beauty in my arms. “Eden,” I whispered.
“What was that?” Jared said, nearly euphoric.
“Her name is Eden.”
Epilogue
My hands were soaking wet. I wiped them on my gown, but they immediately became moist again.
I turned to look for my husband. My eyes weren’t what they were when I was pregnant, and it was very frustrating returning to a normal human after experiencing life with abilities. An arm waving above the crowd caught my attention, and I saw Lillian smiling from ear to ear. Next to her was Cynthia. Bex, Claire, Ryan sat in a line on the other side of my mother, with Jared on the end, trying to keep hold on an excited and wiggly Eden. She was ten months old, with rolls on rolls, and wavy blond hair. Her cheeks were so chubby that they hung down like a basset hound’s. I could see her big blue eyes all the way from my seat. She stood on Jared’s lap, bouncing and waving, flashing her two gapped front teeth. It seemed to be all Jared could do to see around her, but it was her big brown bow that obstructed his view. I couldn’t help but laugh watching him try to see around it.
We had spent the last ten month is utter bliss. I finished my senior year at Brown as any other student, sans husband and child. No more looking over my shoulder. No more fear. Life was normal. Better than normal. We were living our happily ever after, and our daughter watched our absolute joy in our new freedom.
“Nina Grey Ryel,” the announcer called.
I walked up the stairs and across the stage, taking my diploma from the president. She greeted me, and I made my way across, shaking the hands of people I’d never met, but were obviously important at Brown University.
Beth and Jared, Tucker, Josh and Lisa were among my classmates, and we were all both sad and excited that we had finally made it to graduation.
After the ceremony, we made our way to the gate, and danced through the famed Van Winkle gates with the band and Bruno, the Brown mascot. Beth and I laughed and skipped all the way down the street, meeting my family at the end.
I was surrounded with hugs and kisses from my in-laws, and even from my mother. Eden reached for me, and Jared handed her to me, trading her for a kiss. Eden wrapped her chubby arms around my neck, tangling her fingers in my hair, and opening her mouth to give me a big, wet baby kiss on the cheek.
“Oh, thank you!” I said with a smile.
“I thought we could meet for dinner,” Lillian chirped.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Do we need to bring anything?”
“Nope,” she winked. “I’ve been at it all morning.” She kissed me again, and then nuzzled Eden’s cheek before kissing her children goodbye. “See you at six!”
Jared stuffed his hands in his pockets. “We might be a little late, Mom. We’ve got to make a stop.”
“Oh?” I said.
“It’s your graduation present.”
“What is it?” I said, lighting up.
Jared laughed. “You know I won’t tell you!”
I feigned disappointment. “I loathe surprises!”
“No, you don’t,” he said, hugging me to his side.
Claire winked at Jared. “We’ll see you guys at dinner. Congratulations! Bye, Edie!” She kissed Eden’s fat fingers, and then she and Ryan walked to her Exige, wrapped in each other’s arms. Bex rolled his eyes and
