“His death broke my sister’s heart in two, and she intended to die as well when her body surrendered to old age. It took me a year to convince her to let Cate restore her once more. In the end, she agreed for the sake of her son, though I fear this is the last time.”
Sadness weighed on Justine’s voice, turning it husky. Even in the diminished light, I saw that her eyes glistened brighter than usual. She sniffed, and used the kerchief to dab at the moisture. “Can you believe it?” she asked, more to herself than me. “After five centuries in the human world, Sophie finally found someone she can’t live without. I’ve yet to know that sort of love, and last I heard, my brother Ronan is still searching for a companion. Two years ago he followed a young woman to Ireland, though I don’t think anything came of it. He’s not the best correspondent, and I’ve received nothing from him in several months. If we’re lucky our paths may cross while we’re there.”
Justine fell silent and watched me, waiting for some kind of response. I had none to give. She had told me the truth for the second time in our short acquaintance, and I silently thanked her for the gift. Now it was up to me to decide just what to do with it. Would I curse my luck, or Henry’s human blood? Or be thankful that I had found love—a love that would endure from this world to the next.
“It’s a lot to consider,” she continued. “But like my sister, you’ll have to choose once Henry passes on. Perhaps by then you’ll have other reasons to stay.”
The bridge split into two distinct pathways as images appeared unbidden in my head. One after another, I glimpsed the various tethers that could tie me to the mortal world over the course of my lifetime.
Children. Love for my new family. Passion for humanity.
A flood of emotions, both good and bad, overwhelmed the numbness. I belonged to two worlds, and no matter which I chose there would be much to gain, and much to lose. Even during my short life, I had learned firsthand the pain of separation when my mother, father and brother had passed forever into the Otherworld. But my eighteen years were a drop in the bucket compared to the centuries of my two aunts. Or Cate’s millennia. If life was as lonely as Justine claimed, what had allowed Cate to stay for so long to serve the humans she loved and admired? The answer came in a name.
Tom.
I knew it as clearly as I knew the sun would set tonight and rise again in the morning. Tom was her strength, and she would stay in the human world so long as he remained with her.
Another truth followed close behind. Henry was a part of me, a part of my soul. To be without him would leave a gaping wound more severe than a severed limb. When he passed, I could survive and endure each day, incomplete and stuck in a sort of half-life. But why would I ever choose such a meager existence when so much more awaited?
Justine tucked the kerchief into a pocket of her gown. “At the rate the world is changing, it will be a new place altogether a hundred years from now. Just think of the adventures you could have.”
Adventures, indeed.
There would be adventures aplenty regardless of where I happened to dwell. Quite unexpectedly, peace settled inside me from the surety of my decision. Sitting on the thin mattress with the hard wall biting into my spine, I set my shoulders and crossed the bridge to my future.
“One lifetime is enough for me.” It would have to be if I wanted to continue living.
A weary sigh drifted from the other bunk, conveying the full measure of my aunt’s feelings. “As I said before, it can be lonely to live so long.”
I remained quiet, my heart swelling and contracting from the truthfulness of her words. Choice implied sacrifice, and we each had to decide our own path.
Timid knocks broke the silence. Neither of us moved at first, held still by the melancholy mood that had settled in the room from our conversation. Several long moments passed before I found the will to push up from the bed and open the door.
Empty shadows met me. Leaning forward, I examined the passageway from side to side, only to find more shadows. “No one’s here,” I said.
“Whoever it was probably thought we were sleeping.”
“Hope we didn’t miss our chance for water,” I groused, fairly certain Captain Lynch didn’t make a habit of offering second chances.
I closed the door and returned to the bunk. My back hadn’t even found the wall when another series of knocks hit the door, a bit less timid than before. “Yes,” Justine and I called at once.
A young boy poked his head inside the cabin, and I recognized the same lad who had dropped onto the deck earlier. “I’ve fresh water for ye.”
Justine waved a hand. “Bring it in. Sorry to have ignored you the first time.”
A grimace etched his face. “Weren’t no other time,” he said, wrestling a large bucket into the cabin. Water splashed over the sides, onto the floor.
My brows rose in surprise. “You didn’t knock a minute ago?”
“No, miss.” Relieved of the duty, he stared at a puddle on the floor and fidgeted with the hem of his too-small coat.
“Curious,” Justine said. “Perhaps we’ve an admirer on board.”