“I was a fool…I did not know what he was. I thought him a mortal man. And now, you are his, and I have died for nothing.” He let out a rush of air. “My death was pointless.”
“No, no, please do not believe that.” She wiped at her tears, but they were instantly replaced with more. “Oh, Leopold…I am so very sorry.”
“None of this is your doing.”
“But it does not matter. I—I do not know what I will do without you. I do not know how I will cope.”
“You are resilient, Marguerite. You will be all right.” He smiled mournfully. “I never did much for you, anyway. I could not even teach you to properly fight.”
“I do not know what to do.”
“Heed my warning. He is not a living man. Stab him while he sleeps. Sink a dagger into his heart. You will see for yourself.” He sighed. “I must go. I fear this state drains me.”
“Does it—does it hurt? To be dead?”
He shook his head. “It is peaceful.” He furrowed his brow. “But I know nothing else of where I was. I have forgotten it like a dream.”
Reaching up, she grazed her fingertips along where his cheek would be. He leaned in as if to accept her embrace, but she felt nothing as her fingers only disturbed the surface of his existence like she was touching the smoke of an incense burner. “I will miss you every day of my life. I will never, ever forget you. And I will try to be half as strong without you as I was with you.” She heard the door open behind her, but she did not turn to see Gideon reenter. “Goodbye, Leopold. Goodbye, my friend. I love you.”
“And I you, Marguerite. I will be at your side always…one way or another.” He shut his eyes. “I am so very tired…I would like to sleep.”
She knew she could not keep him like this, hovering in this state. But it was so hard to release him. To truly say goodbye. She swallowed down a sob and let out a wavering breath. “Goodbye…”
Like releasing the thread of a kite, she…let go.
Like smoke curling from a candle, he was gone.
Marguerite collapsed to her knees and wailed.
* * *
The evening had started so wonderfully.After she had demanded to summon the dead, he had not known what to expect. Even as he had been schooled like a child as she released Eurydice, he could not have been more proud of her.
And the sight of her performing true magic for the first time…?
He had wanted her more than he had ever wanted anyone in all his years. She was beautiful, standing in that circle, feeling the power of the world around her for the very first time. She would be unstoppable with proper training.
Perhaps he could sense it in her when he saw her—this latent ability to tap in to the beyond. Was that what drew him to her so hopelessly? Sensing a true kindred spirit?
What would it be like to make love to someone who commanded the ether in the same way as he? They could conquer the world together; he was certain of it. If she had summoned anyone else from the beyond, he would be overjoyed.
But as it was, he was kneeling on the ground beside her, cradling her to his chest, comforting her while she wept. It took a long time before she stopped, but he kept her against him, rocking her gently back and forth.
“It was good to say goodbye,” he murmured to her as her shoulders stopped hitching with the desperate attempt to breathe past her tears. “Perhaps this will help you move past his—”
“Are you human, Gideon?”
The words were strangled, broken, and raw, as she forced them through a throat wracked by sobs. She did not even lift her head as she asked him the question.
He stayed silent.
“Leopold stabbed you in the stomach to the hilt. You should be dead.” She finally lifted her head to look at him, her eyes bloodshot. She looked so very tired. Working magic for the first time—and necromancy, no less—he was shocked she was conscious. “What are you?”
His jaw ticked. “I am your husband.”
“I—”
Placing his thumb to the center of her forehead, he commanded her to sleep. The magic worked over her quickly, though she fought it valiantly. “Rest, my love. We will speak of this another time.”