She nudged him, and they turned to watch Bex slowly return to Kim’s body. He frowned, trying to hold back the overwhelming sadness that we all felt.

Ryan fetched a sheet from the corner of the room, and Claire helped him to spread it on the floor. Bex lifted Kim’s body from the floor, laying her gently on the sheet. He straightened her bent legs, and crossed her hands against her chest.

Eli stood next to Ryan. “We offer Kim’s soul to you, Father. Please welcome her into your kingdom, and your arms. Extend comfort to her father and to her friends, and remind them daily that the sacrifice she made, was made in love.”

“I’m sorry,” Bex said, covering her face with the sheet.

Ryan choked, and he and Claire wrapped their arms around each other.

My emotions were so tapped that I couldn’t find the tears to cry. I just stared at her outline under the sheet in disbelief. She was really gone. I imagined the horrible task of informing her father, and Beth. How we could possible explain how she died?

“We’ll take care of it,” Jared said. “She’ll receive the burial and respect she deserves.”

“I just want her back,” I said quietly. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have left. We would have all been safe if I’d just stayed in the Sepulchre.”

Jared touched my cheek. “Anxiety is a struggle for anyone. You did what you believed you had to do in the moment, and the survival instinct is nearly impossible to ignore as a Hybrid. You didn’t want this. Kim knew that.”

I nodded, but knew the guilt would haunt me for a lifetime. The threat I felt in the tomb was very real at the time, but looking back, I let my fear get the best of me, and it cost Kim her life. I would carry that for the rest of my life.

Gabe kneeled beside me to better see his grandchild. “She’s absolutely beautiful,” he said, touching her tiny hand.

“Thank you,” I said, my eyes finally filling with tears.

“You don’t understand what you’ve done here,” he said, wiping the tender skin under my eye. “You saved her, and she will save us all.”

“That’s a big job for a little girl,” Jared said, looking down to the precious bundle in my arms. “Good thing she’s strong like her mom.”