“Please. Just—”
Lips scraped against my neck. “Stay. There.”
And then he was gone.
I was alone in a field under a sea of stars, the very ones I’d wished upon time and time again.
And he’d done the same, hadn’t he? Or so he said.
“Why?” I asked the blue lights that pulsed around me.
Because after all that you’ve done, Leslie whispered, you deserve to have a moment of happiness before we see this through to the end.
The road ahead is made of stone, Pat said, flitting around my head. And stone always crumbles. You must remember that. This was our gift to you. For all that you’ve done.
And then I—
I OPENED my eyes.
Weak morning sunlight filtered through the slats of the barn walls.
There was a blanket covering me, thick and warm, having been placed upon me by someone during the night. I thought it was probably my mother.
I sighed, trying to work through what Pat and Leslie had given me.
This wasn’t going to be the best day of my life.
Probably a lot of yelling.
And glitter.
Maybe even some smashing.
At least I would have my best friend 5eva. He would be on my side, I just knew it.
But even as the dread circled in the pit of my stomach, there was a sense of excitement. Because they were coming. And they were going to—
A clamor took up outside.
People began shouting and rushing by the barn door.
Kevin snorted above me. “Whodat?” he muttered, blinking slowly. “Whuzzit?”
I pushed myself up onto my elbows, wincing at the kinks in my neck. “I don’t know. Something’s happening.”
Kevin’s tail twitched dangerously as he came awake. “Think Caleb delivered your message already?”
“I don’t know. I had a dream that—”
There was an explosion of noise, people laughing and cheering.
I blinked. “That’s good, right? I’m sure everything is just fine.”
“WHERE THE FUCK ARE THOSE BITCHASS MOTHERFUCKERS? I’M GOING TO SKIN THEM ALIVE, THEN EAT THEIR REMAINS, THEN SHIT THEM OUT SO THEY ARE STEAMING PILES OF MY CRAP, I SWEAR TO THE MOTHERFUCKING GODS! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY, YOU TWO-LEGGED DONKEYS! I HAVE DEATH TO DEAL TO A PAIR OF GODSDAMN IDIOTS!”
“Everything is not fine,” I said weakly.