Riley lifted his hands to his face, as if he could rub wakefulness back into it. He took a long, slow breath. And then he spoke:

“I choose…” He fixed me with a defiant look. “Love.”

The word fell like heaven from his lips.

“But—” I protested weakly, though before I could say anything more, his eyes seemed to snap to alertness and he looked down at me with a firm shake of his head.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” he said determinedly.

“Attaboy!” Neil laughed. “Though you’ll have to be prepared for the consequences, of course. Like that one crazy time I…” And he started going off then about eldritch monstrosities or some other stuff, but I was too lost in the look of pure affection pouring from Riley’s verdant eyes to listen to a single other word he was saying.

“Besides,” Riley murmured as he tucked a strand of my hair lovingly behind my ear, “how could I slumber now?” His perfect eyebrows rose and his perfect lips smiled down upon me. “I do believe there is a certain Ball that requires our attendance.”

My heart—his heart—soared.

Epilogue: Complete

The Annual Portsmouth Pumpkin Festival was exactly what you’d expect something called a Pumpkin Festival to be. Most of the activities were clearly meant for little kids: a straw maze, a hayride, face painting, and of course, pumpkin carving. But after nightfall the adults had the Pumpkin Ball to look forward to. Also, there was food everywhere; I spotted Bree working her way down a long table covered in various baked goods. She waved at me before getting distracted by a blackberry pie.

It was easily the largest gathering of people I’d ever seen in Portsmouth. Practically the entire town had shown up. I stood off to the side, watching my neighbors laugh and play, and shuddered when I thought of how differently this day might have gone.

“None of them have any idea how close they came to dying,” I said softly.

Riley put his arm around me. “That is for the best, don’t you think?”

I nodded. I wouldn’t wish some of my memories from the last few days on anyone.

“Do you still feel, you know… like you want to end the world?” I asked hesitantly as I glanced up at the darkening sky. Soon the stars would emerge.

“Sometimes,” Riley admitted. “The pull of the Alignment is undeniably strong. But in those moments, I simply look at you.”

Before I could really digest that information, he pulled me out of the shadows.

“Come,” he said. “This is an evening for celebrating, not fretting over what might have been.”

“Where are we going?” I questioned.

“The Ball, of course.”

The next street over had been completely blocked off. An old-fashioned folk band was set up on a platform at one end. The rest of the space was already filled with dancing couples.