Chapter 49 Irene
IRENE
In the end, Irene Manette Bamford would find exactly what she was searching for.
Not power. Not glory. But something intangible—a concept so ridiculous, so nonsensical, that when the magic exploded through her chest, splitting her atoms in two, ripping apart her consciousness, the only thing she could do was stand there… smiling.
She understood it clearly now. That thing that had always evaded her. The idea that had always seemed so hazy and out of reach. It wasn’t power she craved. It wasn’t glory.
It was connection.
It was fucking love.
She laughed. Somewhere, a voice called out to her. Warm hands gripped her face.
Irene. Don’t do this. Don’t you dare leave me.
But that was the thing. Irene wasn’t going anywhere. Not really.
Because in that moment, Irene Manette Bamford was the very stars themselves. She was the infinite cosmos. The light of the moon. She was the whisper of the rain. The gentle kiss of wind.
She was—and forever would be—everything.