Chapter 554
Cadence was glowing, holding both of her babies, one in each arm. I smiled at her and then focused on Josephina. She wasn’t crying now, but her little face was wrinkled as if she might burst into tears at any moment. Aaron had his hand on her back, beaming with pride as he looked at his little family. Jamie and another Healer, Ona, were cleaning up a tray table, but I caught his eye, and he winked at me. I hoped he could tell how grateful I was. If it wasn’t for him and his life saving blue magical healing powers, not to mention his medical skills, Cadence never would’ve come back to life.
“Where’s my new favorite lil girl?” Elliott asked beside me.
“Hey! I’m your lil girl. You’re going to have to think of something else to call her.” I threw an elbow at him.
“Oh, I’m just teasing,” Elliott assured me. “Still, she is definitely lil. And she is my girl.”
“I’m sure you’ll come up with something.” Cadence sounded exhausted, which wasn’t a surprise since she’d just had two babies. I knew she wanted to do it all herself, but I would’ve thought with her strength, it would’ve been easy. Apparently, it’s never easy.
My mom scooped up Jo, and my dad had Cadon. We oohed and ahhed over them, even though Jo wasn’t exactly clean like Cadon. When I got to hold her, I swear she smiled at me, like she knew I was going to be her favorite aunt. Cadon was asleep and just as precious as could be. I only had him a second before Mom snatched him away from me.
“You’ll probably want to try feeding them soon,” Jamie said from the foot of the bed.
That was our cue to leave, and even though it was hard to walk away from those precious bundles, I knew I’d be seeing them both again soon. I’d detected them that day in the woods, when only Cadence and Jamie knew they existed, so I’d always felt a special connection to them.
I kissed them each on the head. “Remember—Aunt Cass. Aunt Cass. You can say it. Aunt Cass.” I turned to look at my sister, who was giggling at me and smiled at her. I was so proud that she’d grown these two little humans and that she’d gotten them out safely into the world. She really was the most amazing woman I’d ever met. I was still glad she wasn’t my boss anymore, though.
Mom was crying again when we walked away. Hannah came out a few seconds later with Jo to go give her a bath, and Dad practically pulled my mom by the arm so she didn’t try to get her granddaughter again. “They’re so tiny,” Mom said, taking her seat. I imagined she’d sit there until Cadence was ready to go home, even if that wasn’t until the next day.
“Wanna get some fresh air?” Brandon asked, and I nodded, a smile still glued to my face.
A spring breeze stirred our hair as we walked out into the sunshine. I looked up at the heavens, my face to the sky, knowing that my grandma and grandpa were up there waiting for us. When Cadence died, she’d seen so many people who’d passed on before her, including both of them. Whether it was reality or not, I didn’t know for sure, but it was amazing, and since we already knew Elliott had been there before, I chose to believe it. How or when I’d get there myself, I had no idea, but it was pleasant to think everyone I loved would be waiting for me—including Alex, who apparently had a large house on the main thoroughfare near where Cadence had seen Jack pitch a baseball game and bumped into Drew while shopping. What a lovely place. We think the only reason she could remember being there, unlike Elliott, was because Heather and I could remind her of some of the things she’s experienced.
Brandon and I walked along the sidewalk, headed toward one of the green spaces where a large statue of Aaron’s first daughter, Aarolyn, poured water down from a cloud out of a giant watering can. It was seeing Aarolyn’s eyes that had made Cadence remember that she needed to come back. She’d remembered Aaron after meeting his baby daughter on the other side.
“You think we’ll ever do that?” Brandon’s question was nonchalant, easy, just making conversation.
“I don’t know,” I said, trying to match his tone. Of course I’d thought about it before. Marrying Brandon someday, starting a family. A few months ago, the idea would’ve been overwhelming to me, but seeing Cadence die was a huge reminder that nothing is promised to us. I would be lucky to have a husband like Brandon, and any children I ever had would be blessed if he was their dad. “Maybe someday.”
He sat down on the bench that runs around the fountain, and I floated up beside him, sitting close enough that our legs were touching. “If you had a son, what would you want to call him?”
“I like the name Jack,” I said with a shrug. “Maybe James—after Jamie.”
Brandon nodded. “And if it was a girl?”
“You know, Elliott can be a girl’s name. That would be fun.”
He laughed, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “What about Alexandra? We could call her Alex.”
I couldn’t help but grin at him. “You’d do that for me?”
“I’d do anything for you, Cass.”
He reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from my face, and I knew that was true. It might be another ten years, maybe more, but I was certain in that moment that Brandon was the guy for me. I didn’t need to worry about meeting someone else, someone I liked better. There was no one else in the world better for me than Brandon Keen.
“I love you, Cass.”
“Good—because I love you, too.”
Brandon tipped his head down, and I leaned up to meet his lips, glad I’d taken this journey.
It turns out my sister isn’t a vampire, but I’m half of one, and that’s pretty cool. I had no way of knowing where my next adventure would take me on this clandestine expedition, but I did know for certain there wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle, not with this team. I used to think I couldn’t trust anyone, not even myself, but I was wrong. Believe in yourself, no matter what it is you’re facing, and you’ll find a way to get through it one way or another, especially if you’ve got friends who believe in you and always have your back like I do.
My name is Cassidy Findley, and this has been my life as a teenage Vampire Hunter.
