I bit my lip as my pulse quickened. “As long as she doesn’t need me, yeah, I think I would.”

Darkness picked me up off the ground and twirled me in an excited circle before giving me a deep, passionate kiss. A fiery inferno ignited deep inside, leaving me with an insatiable hunger for more.

“Mmm,” I uttered with a soft, longing sigh.

“I shall count the seconds until your return,” Darkness said, flashing me a seductive smirk that melted my insides into warm, luscious chocolate.

Glancing back at Darkness as I entered the shed, all I caught was a fleeting glimpse of him before I was sucked into a flash of black. It wasn’t but a moment before I tumbled onto the ground near Aunt Joyce’s house.

The sun was high in the sky, but the trees provided plenty of shadows to hide my arrival. In a nearby shrub, I spotted a pair of watchful imp eyes peering out at me.

“He didn’t think I could take care of myself?” I asked, not expecting an answer.

“I’m your guard,” the little imp whispered. “You didn’t request for me to stay in the Between.”

“Oh,” I said, pushing back my shoulders. “I didn’t know… um, well, stay out of sight, okay?”

The imp’s eyes flickered before vanishing deeper into the shrub. Somehow, I could still feel his presence, and it felt nice to have someone — even if it was just a little imp — watching my back.

I was relieved at the sigh of Aunt Joyce’s car parked in the driveway, affirming that she was at home rather than at work. The familiar silhouette of her home was like a comforting embrace, and a surge of excitement and warmth enveloped my heart.

As I approached the front door, I raised my hand to knock instead of just walking in as I normally would. I knew she wasn’t expecting me, so I didn’t want to just casually stroll inside, taking her off guard.

The familiar sounds of her moving inside echoed briefly before the door swung open. Her eyes popped wide before a warm smile appeared on her face, and she stretched out her arms. Aunt Joyce pulled me in for an instant hug, squeezing me impossibly tight.

“Oh, God! It is so good to see you, Remy!” Aunt Joyce said, leaning back and wiping away a tear. “I tried calling after the storm to let you know the house didn’t fall and to make sure you were okay, but I couldn’t get through.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, holding her hand as if I were afraid she might just disappear if I let go. “I didn’t have phone access—”

“Yes, dear, I figured as much. Apparently, there were all sorts of outages with phone service, power outages, and whatnot,” Aunt Joyce said, shaking her head. She swept her hand and stepped to the side. “Where are my manners? Come in, come in! You know you don’t need to knock… just walk in.”

I gave her a big smile as I looked around at the packed boxes. “What’s going on here? Cleaning?”

“You don’t know?” Aunt Joyce asked, raising a brow.

“Know what?”

Aunt Joyce held up a finger before walking to the coffee table, where she picked up a folded piece of paper. She waved it in the air before handing it to me.

“Go on,” she said, gesturing at the letter. “Read it. It was, after all, addressed to both of us.”

It was a short letter from Noah stating that he was leaving and that all of his money, belongings, and his home would be left in Aunt Joyce’s name. She was about to do whatever she thought was best with all of it.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Noah had an inkling as to what might happen to him during the war. He had to have prepared all of this beforehand.

“I thought you would know about all this,” Aunt Joyce said, clicking her tongue. “The man I spoke with on the phone said he was gone and wouldn’t be returning. It’s so sad. He’s okay, right?”

“I’m not sure. I only saw him once after we broke up, and I didn’t really get a chance to talk to him,” I said, studying the letter. “He didn’t mention anything about leaving to me. This is crazy.”

“The man said he didn’t have any family and that he considered you and I his family,” Aunt Joyce said, firmly pressing her lips together. She pulled in a deep breath and released it slowly. “I just hope he’s okay wherever he is. He was a kind young man.”

Noah hadn’t deserved to die, but it wasn’t surprising after what he’d done to The Oracle. I didn’t blame Darkness for reacting the way he had, but I wished none of it would have happened. Noah had always been kind, generous, and helpful to me and Aunt Joyce, but he was misled into fighting for something he shouldn’t have been involved in. Then again, he could probably have said the same thing to me. I was just lucky with the outcome, and he had suffered for his actions.

Despite everything, he had proven to be a good person. And his decision to leave everything to Aunt Joyce spoke to that fact.

“You’re moving to his home, then?” I said, turning my back to all the packed boxes.

“Indeed, I was going to tell you as soon as I got hold of you. Of course, you should come along and stay there too. It’s much too large for me,” Aunt Joyce said, rubbing her hands together. “The staff will remain and will continue to be paid somehow. This has to be a joke, right?”

I crossed my arms. “I don’t think it is. You deserve all this and more in life. I’m so happy for you.”

“For us! Oh, you’re going to love this idea,” Aunt Joyce said, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. She stared at the wall as if she were looking at a photograph. “They are going to put in a pond with fish and a waterfall along with a memorial sign in honor of Wyatt. Isn’t that amazing?”

“That sounds lovely. I can’t wait to see it,” I said, swallowing hard. It had been a long time since I’d seen Aunt Joyce filled with so much hope and joy. I cleared my throat and looked into her eyes. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Aunt Joyce’s eyes narrowed. “Is that why you seem more serious than usual? Go ahead, I can take it.”

I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to tell her about Darkness — Mace — the man I was absolutely in love with. And somewhat infatuated with. She should be able to meet him, but in reality, she probably never would be able to. Darkness looked different, and she would know instantly that he wasn’t exactly human.

“I’m leaving for a while,” I said, biting down on my cheek. “I’ll call and visit as often as I can, but I need to do this.”

“Like a trip?”

My head bobbed. “Yeah, like a really long vacation.”

“Oh, Remy. I’m so proud of you. That will be so good for you after everything,” Aunt Joyce said, beaming at me. “You’ve come such a long way in such a short amount of time. You know how much I love you, right?”

I nodded as tears streamed down my cheeks. “Yeah, I know. I love you too.”

“You must call as often as possible,” Aunt Joyce said, pulling me into her arms. “Promise me you will.”

“Of course, I will,” I said, pressing my head down on her shoulder. “I promise.”

Ralphie purred as he weaved around our legs. I reached down and scratched the soft fur behind his ear.

“You didn’t say where you were going,” Aunt Joyce said, narrowing her eyes.

“Oh, everywhere. I want to see everything and more,” I said, beaming as brightly as the sun high in the sky. “I just know it’s going to be amazing and beautiful. And honestly, I kind of can’t wait.”

“You deserve that and more. I’ll put money in your account so you won’t have a thing to worry about. I bet you’ll even meet the man of your dreams,” Aunt Joyce said, placing her hand over her heart. As she shifted her weight, she playfully wiggled her eyebrows. “Maybe now that I’ll have a little more free time since quitting my job at the diner, I will too.”

My lips curved into a gentle smile. “You will. I know you will!”

“Can you stay for a while? Or do you need to leave right away?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips. “I still have so much packing to do.”

My head bobbed. “Yeah, I can stay for a bit. I’d like to help.”

“Great! I’ll order a pizza or gyros?” she asked, shaking her head. “When do you have to leave?”