Page 159 of Gravehouse

“Well,” she murmurs, and her eyes find mine as she takes a slow pull of her beer. “Judging by the history between you and your lover, I’m going to go ahead and say that there’s no explanation necessary.”

I snort into my beer. “Ah, we’ve almost killed each other. Multiple times.”

She tips her bottle at me, mouth curved. “Exactly,the cursed lovers.”

I thought I could ignore the translation a little longer.

888 Veilarath Lane glows in the dark, pulling a smile onto my lips. Bodies move through gold light and steam-fogged glass. Khloe crosses the kitchen with two plates in her hands. Jord cuts behind her and says something that makes her turn and shove him with her elbow.

My chest squeezes.

“Come inside,” I say, swallowing past the lump in my throat. “Have dinner with us.”

She looks past me and to the manor, then back. “I can’t. I need to head back to Désamour.”

Fine by me. I’ve already burned through tonight’s generosity. This relationship needs a slow build.

I set my beer on the table and pull my phone from my coat pocket. “I can have Daniel take you.”

She chuckles. “I have my own Daniel.”

"Well then," I add, rising. "Get back to Désamour in one piece. I’d hate to finally meet my mother just to lose her in transit.”

She stands with me, folding one hand over the other. “I will do my best, Ivanya.”

I dip my chin once, unwilling to push my luck any further tonight. Between Asher on the mountain and trading beers with my mother over cursed lovers and inherited mob families, I’ve hit capacity.

Crossing the rest of the way, I slide the door open and pause for a moment.

Warmth settles around me as I take in the new construction of my house.

Jord is bent over the back of a chair, laughing so hard his face is red as Luce glares at him with a butter knife pointed. Punk glares at the figure near the front door. I already know who it is; Asher rarely comes without his twin. Khloe leans against the island with a glass of wine, grinning, probably the source of whatever disaster is unfolding between Jord and Luce.

And then Asher lifts his head from the far end of the table, finding me instantly.

Nonna brought this warmth to every house, every holiday. She may be gone, but she's alive wherever we exist. I know that now and I'll know it forever.

It took me a while to see it, but it's clear now. Emeric's death was never going to be as simple as a bullet. It was never about how bloody the butcher's slaughterhouse was when he took his last breath.

Emeric's death was always about irrelevance. He spent his life trying to become immortal through his creation, and in the end, he’s less than a ghost, less than a blood stain.

He simply doesn't exist. He’s a discarded script, a line of code that got overwritten, and a father tono one.

Emeric may have conditioned us to follow his command, but it's Nonna's love that always guided us home.

EPILOGUE

ASHER

TWO YEARS LATER

All the hopein the world couldn’t have her keeping to her word. I mean, shit, I’m not mad. Sitting here watching as she goes through maneuvers with the students is somewhat healing.

She’s fucking great at it. More than great.

“It’s kind of terrifying how good she is.”

Sinead leans against the railing of the patio with the expression of someone who has already placed three bets on how many bones Ivy breaks before lunch.