With one last, ragged breath, she clutched me and whispered, “The dead should not remember, but I do.” Those eyes found mine again as the light finally left them. “I remember everything.”

She slipped from our hold, fading into black mist, and was gone.

We both stared at the spot where she’d disappeared.

In those seconds, a mournful sort of blanket settled over us, deadening the crackling of flames and rumbling of stone. The entire amphitheater would collapse soon. I couldn’t bring myself to care. A knot solidified in my throat as I glanced at Ansel, as he looked back with a sad little smile.

“Good riddance.” Swallowing hard, I forced a laugh. “She was a huge pain in the ass.”

And that was a huge understatement.

“Thank you,” I continued, rambling now. “We should really look into procuring you armor for next time. Just imagine—you riding in on a white steed, undoing your helmet in slow motion and tossing all that glorious hair in the wind.” I swallowed again, unable to dislodge the lump, and—also unable to look at him—glanced down. “Coco would love it. Hell, Beau probably would too.” The fire had completely consumed his body now. Bile rose in my throat, and I tore my gaze away, fresh tears filling my eyes. Surely, this was Hell, yet I couldn’t bring myself to leave. My feet had grown roots. An inexplicable tug unfurled deep in my stomach the longer we stood there, like an itch I needed to scratch, yet I resisted its pull. It would take me away from here. Away from him. I knew it as fundamentally as I knew that, one way or another, this moment would have to end.

But not yet.

He missed nothing, shaking his head in fond exasperation. “I’ll ask again, Lou . . . what are you doing here?”

I bumped his shoulder with mine. “You should know. It seems you’ve been following us since—since—” The words withered on my tongue, and I tried again. “Since—” Fuck. I dropped my gaze once more before quickly regretting the decision. His body still smoldered at our feet. Double fuck.

“Since I died?” he supplied helpfully.

My eyes snapped to his, and my expression flattened. “You’re an ass.”

He bumped me this time, grinning anew. “You can say the words, you know. They won’t make me any less dead.”

I swatted him away. “Stop saying it—”

“Saying what? The truth?” He splayed his hands wide. “Why are you so afraid of it?”

“I’m not afraid.”

He leveled me with a frank stare. “Don’t lie to me. You can lie to everyone else, but I know better. You’re my best friend. Even if I hadn’t been following you for the past few weeks, I’d know you’re one of the most frightened people I’ve ever met.”