Hush (Black Lotus #3)(82)

“This way,” Declan tells me before we turn and weave our way through the wooden vines of a berry bush. “It’s a shortcut.”

I look up at the pink berries that are as big as basketballs, and when we come to an opening and make our way out, I see Carnegie. And next to him is a bright red caterpillar.

“Pike?”

“You’re awake!”

“Pike!”

I slink as quickly as I can to him, and he does the same.

“I never thought I’d see you again,” I tell him.

“You can’t get rid of me,” he jokes as he nudges his stumpy head into the side of my tubular body. “You know, when you promised you’d do anything to get us a better life, I didn’t think we’d have to be f*cking caterpillars to get it.”

We both laugh and Declan joins in as he sidles up next to me.

“Language, young man,” Carnegie nags in his dapper British accent.

I worm my way closer to my lifelong friend. “Carnegie . . .”

“It’s been far too long, my dear.”

“What is all this?”

“Why, this is your afterlife. Nothing will ever hurt you again, because pain no longer exists. This is where dreams are reality.”

“I told you it would all be okay, darling,” Declan reaffirms.

I release a pleased sigh and lean my head against Declan.

Carnegie looks to us, asking, “So, this is love?”

Gazing into Declan’s eyes, I respond, “This is love.”

Declan and I continue to nuzzle each other tenderly while Carnegie and Pike are off by the pond’s edge. Movement catches my eye, and when I turn to a tall bush next to me, an orange caterpillar appears. It stops and looks at me curiously, and then the beady eyes widen.

“Princess?”

My body sparks in bewilderment. “Dad?”

He rushes over to me, his tiny mouth fighting for the biggest smile.

“What are you doing h—”

Oh, my God. He’s dead.

And suddenly, I see his smile drop when realization hits him that I’m dead too.

He stops moving, and when his eyes slip away from mine, he looks to Declan. “What happened to you two?”

I hold my breath, not wanting my father to feel any guilt that I chose to pay the pay the price for his past—that Declan did too. “You tell me first.”

He scoots a little closer before saying, “The brother of one of the guys I handed over to the feds ran me off the road right after I left the beach the last day we were together. He gave me a choice. He told me I could live and that he would kill you instead or he could just kill me.” My mouth gapes in shock. “Obviously, I gave up my own life.”

“There was never a choice,” Declan tells him.

“What do you mean?”

“That same man paid me and your daughter a visit with the same ultimatum.”

My dad’s eyes dart back to me, and I tell him, “I told him not to hurt you and to kill me instead.”

“You sacrificed your life for me?”

I nod.

“Sweetheart . . .”

“It’s okay, Dad,” I assure him. “Can I ask you something though?”

“Anything.”

“What was your biggest wish when you were living?”

The corners of his mouth lift. “You,” he says. “I always wished to have you in my life.”

My heart floats like a feather. “And my wish was always you, Dad.” My eyes mist over in pure delight. “Our wishes came true.” I turn to face Declan and tell him in amazement, “This is my every wish come true.”

The three of us look at one another as the truth crystallizes. We are a web of wishes come true. We no longer have to creep in the shadows of those who wish us harm. We are finally free from all that has ever haunted us. I know Declan and I would have never been able to find this kind of freedom among the living. It only exists here.

I look around at the magnificently colored flowers that wisp in the breeze above us, I see Pike riding on the back of a dragonfly—happy and whimsical, and then there’s Carnegie, who never has to be alone again because he has us now. I laugh as he watches in merriment at my brother flying around. And my dad, overflowing with boundless mirth as he kisses the top of my head.

“This is all I ever wanted,” he tells me.

I then turn to face Declan—amazed that our love was so powerful that not even death could part us. And then we kiss a kiss that’s never existed until now. It’s serene and vivacious and loving and entirely magical.

This is everything dreams are made of.

This is my fairytale.





Thank you for reading Hush book #3 in the Black Lotus series. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a spoiler-free review on Amazon.com.




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THIS SERIES WAS a labor of love, and this book in particular! It took many people who love and support me to help me see this story come to fruition. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do if it weren’t for the following people.