Page 177 of Requiem
They tried to take our everything
But they couldn’t take the sky…”
I’m crying now, tears slipping down my face while I keep singing harder anyway, pouring every remaining shattered piece of myself into the microphone. And suddenly the grief inside me transforms into something else entirely. Not happiness or forgiveness…but something stronger.Purpose.
“We’re still burning, still alive
More than what they left behind…”
My chest aches with every breath. But for the first time in my life, it doesn’t feel like I’m dying from it.
It feels like arelease.
“If this is what it means to fall…”
I look directly at Emma while singing the final line. The woman who never gave up on me.
“Then watch us light the fucking sky.”
The final notes fade out slowly while thousands of lights sway before us. Standing there breathless beside my band, I finally understand something I spent years too numb to realize.
Maybe that was the point all along. Not toavoidthe fall, but to leave something beautiful behind when it happened.
Chapter forty-seven
EMMA EASTON
The bonfire crackles loudly against the summer night while music drifts softly from the speakers mounted beneath the porch overhang. Warm wind carries the scent of smoke and saltwater through the backyard while everyone crowds together beneath hanging string lights and stars. Everyone is out here. Micah, Heather, Finnick, Kami, Rafe, Adela, Vanessa, Rachel, and Alaric.
I sit curled against Jude’s side in one of the oversized wooden chairs surrounding the firepit, my legs draped over his lap while his fingers absentmindedly trace patterns along my bare knee. He hasn’t stopped smiling since the concert. None of us has.
His hair is still damp from a shower, messy beneath the glow of the fire. The silver rings on his fingers flash every time he moves his bottle of sparkling water beneath the firelight, and every once in a while, he leans over just to kiss my shoulder or temple. Seeing him so relaxed like this, in his black hoodie with a smile on his face, makes me happier than I could ever put into words.
Micah is laughing so hard across the fire that he nearly spills his drink all over Heather’s lap while she shoves him away with a horrified screech.
“Oh my god,” she laughs. “Dammit, Meekah.”
“Meekah?” Kami snorts. “Our little Micah has a nickname now, huh?”
Heather grins. “He sure does. And helovesit.”
Micah rolls his eyes. “Whatever, blondie.”
“I think I’m going to like living here,” Kami giggles, and Finnick kisses her cheek before taking a sip from his IPA.
“Yeah,” Finnick adds. “Plus, Ilovethe fucking mountains.”
We all smile at that. Jude nearly cried when Kami called him with the news of them moving out here.
Rafe and Adela are sharing a blanket nearby, snuggled up while he lazily plays with her fingers. “Hey,” Adela says, pointing toward all of us with her wine glass. “When you guys tour in New York again, you’re staying with us.”
Rafe hums in agreement. “We have plenty of room.”
“And I already miss you people,” she adds dramatically. “You’re emotionally attached to me forever. Plus, my favorite band is back together, and I amdemandinga song be written about our adventures.” She shoots a glare at Jude. “Got it?”
Jude laughs. “Got it.”
His chest vibrates softly against my shoulder while he watches them, and for a second, I don’t even look at the fire anymore because I’m too busy looking at him instead. At the way he lets people love him openly, and no longer flinches every time someone touches him unexpectedly.
