“Go,” he said. “I will be here when you are finished.”
“I can’t—” James hesitated, and without warning, he lunged forward to capture Henry in a hug. “Thank you.”
It had been a very long time since any member of his family had dared touch him in such a way, and Henry awkwardly gave him a pat on the back. “You are welcome. Now go, before I change my mind.”
Releasing him, James gave him a boyish grin and took off down the corridor, guided by whatever power he had to know exactly where his destination happened to be. Out of curiosity—or perhaps the desire to prove to himself that happiness in the Underworld was possible after all—Henry trailed after him.
James turned into a room filled with sunshine, and though it couldn’t have been natural, a tree grew in the middle of the stone floor. Henry stood in the doorway as James approached a dark-haired girl who sat underneath the low-hanging branches. She munched on an apple and spoke in low tones with a woman who resembled her far too closely to be anyone but her mother, though the instant she noticed James, she lit up.
“James?” said the girl, her bright eyes widening. She flung her arms around him and kissed him soundly on the mouth, not the least bit bashful. “It’s about damn time. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to come get us?”
“Tuck,” he breathed, staring at her as if she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. There was something sad about the way he murmured her name, something that reminded Henry far too much of himself. Sometimes it was hard to remember he wasn’t the only one in pain.
James gathered her up, wrapping his arms so completely around her that she couldn’t have escaped if she tried. They remained intertwined for a long moment, murmuring things Henry couldn’t hear, and he averted his gaze. He would have given anything to have that. Anything.
At last they broke apart, and Tuck looked at him with shining eyes. She clearly adored him. “This is my mother,” she said. “Mother, this is James, the boy I was telling you about.”
James greeted the woman as if they were old friends, pulling her into a hug, as well. “You have a brilliant daughter. Tuck’s the most amazing girl I’ve ever met.”
“Of course she is,” said the woman, laughing. “And from what she’s told me, you’re not too bad yourself.”
The three of them talked for a few moments longer, and at last James pulled something out of his pocket. “I’ve been holding on to this for you,” he said, and he offered a small pendant to Tuck. “Thought you might like to have it.”
She took the necklace with shaking hands. “You held on to it all this time?”
“Of course,” he said, the tips of his ears turning pink. “Anything for you. I’m yours and you know it.”
As she kissed him again, Henry took his leave, stepping back out into the dim corridor. As much as he despised James, to see him find happiness despite his tragedy gave Henry something he hadn’t had since Ingrid. It gave him hope.
Pulling the reflection out of his pocket, he gazed down at Kate’s face, memorizing every feature. He would be hers as well, and despite whatever trickery the council had planned, he’d be there to watch over her. No matter her fate, she would have a fair shot at the life she wanted, even if that life didn’t include him. He would make sure of it.
He’d lost everything that had ever mattered to him, but as he listened to the sounds of James and Tuck’s laughter, an odd certainty settled over him. If Kate somehow succeeded where the others had failed—if she chose to give him a second chance—then this was only the beginning. His existence felt like an eternity, and in many ways it had been. But perhaps she would finally allow him to close the book on the worst chapter of his life. And perhaps she would be the start of the best.
Tracing her features, at once so like Persephone’s and yet so very different, he allowed himself a smile. In her, he saw possibility. In her, he saw his future.
And when she was ready for it, he would be, too.