Something hit her right in the gut. “What? Why should that...” But she knew, knew how it all fit, knew why he'd stayed with Blythe long after her allotted time had expired. “He wants to stay, doesn't he? He wants to give up...whatever it was he was doing.”

“What he wants…is to be with you, Rosie.”

A longing stirred inside her, spread as far as the fear would let it, maybe even a little further. “He was like us once. Alive, I mean. He told me so—in his own roundabout way.” The vision Rose had that evening on the roof, after gazing into his eyes, the twin circlets aflame, jolted her with realization. That had been his memory, serving on a ship during the Battle of the Nile. He'd sacrificed himself to save his captain's life, had fallen overboard...to his death. Bellamy had given her a piece of the puzzle right there, maybe the most crucial one of all. “Whatever he's done since then, it's because he was chosen,” she mused. “You saw how he was with Hank. How he helped reassure him, set him at ease before his journey. He's a good man, Rosie. You picked a good man.”

“Who just happens to be Death? Boy, can I pick 'em or what?”

“Don't forget he picked you, too. He was ready to give it all up for you. He just didn’t know how.”

“I don't understand that part. He's not...I mean how can he give it up? He died three hundred years ago.”

“Like I said, he didn't even know if it was possible. He just knew he had to try,” explained Blythe.

“But the reason he came here—for you, I mean. Has he given you a second chance or something? Some kind of reprieve?” Rose prayed to hear the word permanent.

“He gave me some more time, yes.”

“In exchange for what?”

“In exchange for him staying with me and experiencing what it's like to be alive. He'd forgotten.”

“Yeah. I kinda noticed. But he damn sure didn't forget how to—” Rose cleared her throat, stopped herself from saying too much about what they'd been up to. “So, where does that leave us? What happens now?”

“The riddle still has to be answered.”

“The riddle of...”

“Life from death.”

“Give it to me,” said Rose, loosening her shoulders and her neck muscles in preparation. She'd always been pretty good at solving puzzles, just not when they were problems in her own life. And this had to be the most important riddle of her life.

“You love each other. Knowing what you know, do you still want to be with him?”