Epilogue
James
I once again found myself in the grey space, the threshold between the mortal plane and Paradise. Unease rattled through me. I’d gone to sleep next to Edwin after a perfect afternoon of lounging about, so I shouldn’t be in here. Unless I’d died.
I better not have fucking died.
My panic abruptly receded when I felt someone clasp hands with me. I’d know that hand anywhere and instinctively relaxed as I turned to look at Edwin. If Edwin was with me, I had nothing to panic about.
Still a little worried, though, because why were we here?
“You didn’t do that spell in your sleep, did you?” Edwin muttered, looking about warily.
“Why would I do that?”
“It’s the only reason I can think of why we’re here.”
“Still, this isn’t my doing.”
A light female voice floated from the mist as she approached. “No, it’s not your doing. It’s mine.”
Ah-ha, the same angel who had spoken with me before. I had the feeling she was Vuheia’s right hand because I’d seen her so often.
“Hello again.”
“Hello,” she returned, coming to a stop in front of us with a gentle smile. “I brought you here while you slept just for a quick reassurance. James, you believe in Vuheia’s words and know your Task is done.”
“I do.” Why? Should I not?
“Edwin, however, is struggling to accept it.”
Eh? My head snapped around to look at him, only to find him grimacing and looking sheepish.
“Sorry, it’s just…I went from jumping from crisis to crisis and then was told I could stop, I was done. I’m finding it hard to accept. What if one of us dies before the other? I’m also worried about that.”
“It’s understandable,” the angel assured him gently.
“It’s why I brought you up here for a quick chat.
I promise you, Edwin, you truly are done.
The two of you are a formidable team, and when you’re on the same page as each other, you’re able to perform flawlessly.
It’s why James struggled to do things alone the first time, but you only needed half a year the second time to accomplish the same things. ”
Now that I could fully believe. I was much better with Edwin than without him. Plus, I was fairly certain efficiency was his middle name.
“And you’re not destined to die before James, rest assured. In fact, you’ll die as very, very old men, and at basically the same time. Vuheia refuses to separate you two again, not even by death.”
Edwin’s uncertainty visibly drained out of his face. “So I wasn’t supposed to die in the first life before him?”
“No, not at all.”
I realized now what really worried Edwin. He didn’t care if there was more work to be done or not, he was a workhorse of the first order.
But he was worried about leaving me alone. Overwhelming amounts of love flowed through me.
Edwin’s relief was palpable, and a feeling I shared. “I’m truly done? We both are?”
“You both are. Vuheia has declared it so from her own lips.”
“Oh.”
There was that smile I knew and loved, the one Edwin wore when he was incandescently happy. No stress lingered about his expression, and I knew this time, he truly believed we were done. No more trials, no more challenges, no more impossible Tasks to complete. We had finished.
“Thank her for me,” Edwin requested. “And thank you, for reassuring me.”
“You are very welcome.” Then, for some reason, the angel gave me the stink eye. “You’re not going to give me trouble when you die this time, right?”
I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. “No, I won’t.”
“Good. You can go to Paradise with Edwin, after all, so I don’t expect trouble, but you do drive a hard bargain sometimes.”
I could hardly apologize, as I wasn’t the least bit sorry.
“Well, good. I didn’t want another argument.” She stepped back and waved her hand in a languid way. “That’s all I needed to say. Go back to sleep, both of you.”
I did so, sure in the knowledge the future held everything I wanted.
A lifetime to love my Edwin, without troubles brewing on the horizon, and a promised future of Paradise.
I’d once told Edwin all I wanted in life was to live until I was old and grey with a man I deeply loved.
I’d fought so hard because, in the end, even battling the Demon King was for that one aim.
And now, I had it. I had the love of my life, a future stretching out ahead of us, all for us to shape as we liked.
What more could I possibly wish for?