I nodded up at her. “Right. Sorry. So um, we’re in the middle of a war with Sweyn and I’m on a quest. She gave me this whole long prophecy but it’s whole purpose was to send me back in time. A few minutes ago, Everest, my Everest, opened the Seelie tunnel and sent me here. The lines ‘But first a soul to seek in dire need, Relieve the hole then take his lead—oh, I get it now. Relieve the hole. She sent me here to tell you that I wasn’t gone forever. She wanted me to patch the hole in your heart thinking you’d lost me.”

Keltie spoke to Everest in that language again. When he nodded, she turned to me. Without warning, she leaned forward and kissed my forehead and whispered in that language. Then she pulled back. “Be careful on your quest. Until we meet again in the future.”

“Thank you⁠—”

And then she was gone, nothing but a fading cloud of sparkly sand. I glanced over my shoulder to the water and could have sworn I saw the color shine brighter.

“Celina?”

I turned back to Everest and found him watching me. “It’s me. I’m here. I’m yours.”

He sat forward and brushed his fingertips over my face. And then he collapsed against my chest, his whole body shaking violently as he sobbed. That did it. I broke apart with him. I wrapped my arms around him as tight as I could, gripping his shoulders so hard my fingers were probably digging into his skin. Tears burst from my eyes.

Together, we just sat there and cried.

We sobbed.

Together.

It felt like forever we sat there holding on to each other and crying yet it would never be long enough to heal this pain in his heart. “I’m so sorry, Everest. I’m sorry. Forgive me for leaving you.”

He pulled back finally and looked up at me with the most shattered expression I’d ever seen, a far cry from the cold exterior of the Everest I knew. He was beautiful like this. I hated myself for dying, for breaking his heart. It was probably wrong, but I took his face in my hands and pressed my lips to his. He tasted like salt and blood and him. That cinnamon scent of his was buried beneath the stench of blood and ash in the air but it was there in the crevices. I kissed him for all the tears he cried for me. I kissed him for all the pain he would suffer for years without me. I kissed him so that on the darkest, coldest nights when he felt he couldn’t go on he would have this kiss to remember.