I shot up in bed, afraid that something was wrong. “Mace,” I said, shaking his shoulder. “Mace, wake up!”

“What is it, my love?” he asked hoarsely as his eyelids fluttered.

“Something is happening,” I said, gesturing toward the window.

Darkness laughed and pulled me down onto the bed. “The land is healing too.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Look outside,” he said, sitting up in the bed. His lips curled as he folded his hands behind his head and watched me climb out of the bed.

My feet touched the cool floor as I pushed myself away from the bed. I walked across the room, approaching the window with caution. Outside, an intense, golden radiance enveloped the land in a mesmerizing display that stretched to the horizon.

“It’s beautiful here,” I said, covering my mouth.

The grasses swayed like an emerald sea, adorned with an array of blossoms that burst into a riot of colors. Trees reached toward the sky, growing fresh, bright green foliage as sunlight filtered down to the ground, casting gently waving shadows.

Butterflies danced in the air, weaving through the blooms. A sense of tranquility swept over me, taking my breath away. It was as if the entire Between had also been reborn.

Darkness stepped up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. “This is what it used to be like here.”

“It’s so amazing,” I said, biting my lip.

“It hasn’t been like this in a long time,” Darkness said with a heavy sigh. “But thanks to you, it is back. And it was worth the wait because now I get to enjoy it with you.”

I turned, looking up into his eyes. “What is it like in the Earth realm?”

“They will rebuild. They always have,” Darkness said, pulling me away from the window. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled me onto his lap. “I have something I want to ask.”

“Okay?” I said, drawing out the word, my uncertainty looming like a gathering storm.

After everything we’d gone through, I was afraid of what he might ask.

Could a more sinister fate be lurking, a task awaiting me that would demand more from me than I could give? In reality, I was far from being anything special. They may all think of me as Balance reborn, but I’d simply gotten lucky. All I’d done was throw some important artifacts into a giant crevice that had just so happened to save the worlds.

“Stay with me. Live here in the Between with me,” Darkness asked, his eyes gleaming with intense hope. “Make me the happiest man in all the realms.”

“You’re not as cold and heartless as you think,” I said, pressing my lips together.

“Please, Remy,” Darkness said, waving my words away with a single swipe of his hand.

There was a huge part of me that wanted nothing more than to say yes and live with Darkness in the beautiful Between, but there was a bigger reason holding me back. No matter how badly I would have loved to stay with the man I loved, I couldn’t.

My stomach twisted in a knot as I looked down at my hands. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

Chapter

Thirty-Two

Darkness’s smile gradually vanished. My answer seemed to have pierced him like a sharp dagger, causing him physical pain.

“I will make you happy, Remy,” Darkness said, looking into my eyes.

“I believe you,” I said, wiping the tear that gathered at the corner of my eye. “But I couldn’t do that to my Aunt Joyce. I couldn’t just abandon her. I need to go back to her. She needs me.”

Darkness frowned as he took my hand in his. “I need you too.”

“I won’t make that choice,” I said, my brow furrowing. “Please, try to understand.”

“As you wish,” Darkness said, swallowing down the bitter pill of his sadness in a single somber gulp. His demeanor shifted, growing cold and rigid from his disappointment. “How long will you stay here with me?”

“She’s probably very worried about me after everything that happened on Earth,” I said, clenching my jaw to stifle the urge to break down into tears.

Darkness gave me a quick nod. “Of course, she knows nothing of the war.”

“It wasn’t that far from her home,” I said, pressing my lips together. “I should really go as soon as possible.”

“She and anyone else in the vicinity would have thought it was a severe thunderstorm or perhaps some kind of plate shifting. Or both,” Darkness said with a shrug as he got dressed. “I’ll walk with you.”

Darkness held my hand as we leisurely made our way to the shed. I breathed in the sweet, floral air as the sunlight bathed my skin in gentle warmth.

“This feels good,” I said.

“And you could feel it every day if you stayed with me,” Darkness said, cupping my face before placing a soft kiss on my lips. He pulled back and sighed. “I am going to miss you.”

“I’ll come back,” I said, cocking my head.

Darkness met my gaze. “When?”

“As soon as I know that she’s okay. But I can’t go my whole life without seeing her again,” I said, chewing on the inside of my cheek.

“You wouldn’t have to,” Darkness said, swallowing hard. “But now, as Balance, your life will be much longer than hers.”

I drew in a deep breath. “Then she will never have to experience the grief of losing me the way she did with her son Wyatt.”

Darkness offered a single nod.

“If I stay here permanently, how often would I be allowed to visit her?” I asked, tension tightening my brow.

“As often as you like,” Darkness said, exhaling a short breath. “It is too bad she cannot see the Between.”

“She would absolutely love this,” I said, scanning the surrounding beauty.

Darkness held me in his arms. “So will you?”

“Will I what?”

“Stay here permanently?”