Epilogue
E R I C'S P O V
It's funny how big of an impact someone can have on your life, and you don't realise it until they're gone.
It's almost been two months since Ellie died — fifty-two days to be exact — and the world just feels empty. Dark. Like the sun has disappeared and plunged us into an endless blackness. I can't help but find the poetic irony in that; Ellie had believed for so long that wherever she went, she spread deadly darkness, but it was the moment that she left the world forever that the real darkness sunk its claws into our lives.
I can barely remember what happened after Ellie sacrificed herself to stop the war. except for Evie just about strangling Amphitrite with her bare hands. But what I can remember is that Ellie succeeded in her final wish. It was like the moment Amphitrite killed her, we were all splashed with a big dose of reality. I guess, in sacrificing herself, Ellie had unknowingly disproved all the lies and rumours Amphitrite was telling her followers to turn them against Ellie; what kind of cold-blooded murderer or power-hungry tyrant would sacrifice themselves to save all the people trying to oppose them in the first place?
That's when Amphitrite's followers finally realised that she had been driven completely mad by her love for Poseidon and her obsession to get revenge on Ellie and her parents for locking him away in the first place. Most of them bolted the very moment Hades and Evie lost their shit at Amphitrite, taking her off to never be seen again. Her other more loyal followers, like Alex, still stayed faithfully by her side, but were quickly overwhelmed by Spencer, myself and our nymphs; after we got over the whole shock of Ellie being murdered right in front of our eyes, of course.
And Amphitrite? Well, to give her credit, she stayed strong right to the end and didn't back down for a second; but it was that pride that was her downfall. Honestly, she was stupid to think she would be able to get away after killing Hades and Evie's daughter right in front of them, and I think the only reason she survived at all was purely because Ellie's parents were trying to honour their daughter's final wish.
But I don't think I'll ever forget the look on Hades' face as he watched his wife fall apart in his arms; his wife who was so heartbroken by Ellie's death that she was unable to even so much as look at her daughter without breaking down into hysterics again. I hadn't been lucky enough (if that's what you can even pen it as: luck) to see the powerful god in action, but after witnessing what he did to Amphitrite, let's just say that I'm glad he spends most of his time down in the Underworld.
And that I sincerely hope Amphitrite enjoys the hell-hole he stuck her in for the rest of eternity.
After that, the remaining supers who lingered out of loyalty to Amphitrite scattered. Some of them, those that we thought we might be able to trust again, stuck around, but it was only a fair brave few who stuck around. In all honesty, I didn't blame them. In the span of thirty years, both their leaders had both attempted, and failed, to destroy the world as we knew it. I knew I was speaking for a vast majority of us when I say that Poseidon and Amphitrite had lost all respect we had previously harboured for them, and it would be a long time before the world would be able to trust them — with anything — again; it didn't take a genius to figure out that mistrust extended to the supers who had followed her idiotic plans for revenge too.
The rest of them, those who were still undyingly loyal to the domineering duo, didn't manage to escape into hiding; they didn't even make it off the beach alive.
Alex was one of those nymphs.
I personally made sure of that.
And once all the rebelling supers disappeared, the supernatural world relaxed. All thoughts of civil war subsided, and myself and the other gods were able to finally regain control after almost half a decade of unrest. But it was all too late. Even though its what she wanted, its what she sacrificed herself for, none of it mattered. Because she was gone. Ellie was dead.
And nothing in this world could bring her back.
It's not often that I truly despise my existence, but after she died, forever suddenly became an agonisingly long time; especially if it's spent alone.
Unsurprisingly, I didn't see Jasmine much after everything finally ended, and in all honesty, I didn't blame her. Two of our friends had died, one had turned out to be the enemy's right hand spy, one had run away into hiding with his tail between his legs after everything fell apart on the beach, and the last one, the most important one to both of us for completely different reasons, had been unfairly ripped away from us by the stupid concoction called Fate. After all of that had happened, it didn't really surprise me that Jasmine kept her distance, from me or any of the supers except for her parents; and if I was completely honest, I still wasn't sure after all this time whether I would be able to stomach looking at Jasmine without being reminded of her.
I wouldn't be surprised if she felt the same way.
The one person I have seen a lot of, though, is Evie; quite literally the last person I thought I would ever actually enjoy talking to for an extended period of time, ever. I guess we got over our mutual hatred for each other by switching to mutually hating Amphitrite for what she did, and we spent quite a few nights together devising possible locations that her husband had hidden the crazy sea goddess; we even checked out some of these locations in the small hope that we were actually right, but given Hades had been alive since the dawn of time and most likely had thousands of hiding places we would never find, we didn't have much luck. But then Hades realised what we had been doing and just about trapped us in one of the pyramids in Egypt for going around behind his back, so made the executive decision to stop.
Apparently Evie hates mummies. I found that hysterical for all of about two seconds before I made the subconscious note to tease Ellie about it and ask her if it was a genetic thing, before it hit me.
Then it stopped being funny real quick.
Weirdly enough though, that didn't discourage Evie from coming up to the surface to visit me. Only, this time, every time she came up, she did the last thing I ever expected her to do: she asked me to tell her stories about Ellie, when she was up on the surface experiencing life for herself. The first few times, I wasn't sure if she was actually being serious; her and Hades had disappeared with Ellie as soon as Hades had dealt with Amphitrite, and none of us — including Spencer — heard from either of them for several weeks. But once Evie got me started telling stories, I found that I couldn't stop, and it felt like in a way, I was bringing Ellie back to life by retelling the stories of all the things she did, and how she found every little thing so fascinatingly beautiful for so many different reasons.
It took me a long time to realise that the reason Evie asked me to share those stories with her was because she missed out on those last, few, precious moments of Ellie's life. And I think in some ways, all those nights we spent swapping stories about her made the darkness a little more bearable for the both of us, even if it was just for a few hours.
I sigh, running my hand over my jaw as I stare quietly out across the beach from the spot we'd celebrated Ellie's birthday all those months ago. I couldn't help but find the cruel irony in all of this; I had finally, against all my good judgment and better efforts fallen in love with someone — and fallen for them damn hard — and then had to go and watch them die in front of me. After everything I'd done, after I'd spent my entire existence making sure I didn't let love affect me in the way I'd seen it destroy countless people, it had happened anyway. I had fallen in love with the one person I never thought I would ever fall for; the one person in the world who was actually selfless enough to sacrifice their own life without a moment's hesitation. I'd lost count of the nights I had spent trying to convince myself that I should hate her for what she did, for what she's done to me, but I've never been able to, not even for a minute. That's the thing about Ellie; she was so pure of heart that you couldn't just hate her. Even when she hated me, she could never stay mad at me for very long; and I wasn't so egocentric that I believed that was all because of my irresistibly charming personality. That was all her; she always saw the best in people, even when they broke her heart or were trying to kill her. I'd never met anyone like her in my entire existence, and I know I never will ever again.
She was extraordinary.
And I'm never going to see her again.
Swallowing back the lump lodged in my throat, I glance down at my hands and slowly uncurl my fingers to reveal a shining silver necklace nestled in the palm of my hand, the small prancing baby deer pendent glistening in the sunlight. Like every other time I've tortured myself by bringing out the birthday present I bought for Ellie, my breath catches in my throat, and I don't even last ten seconds before I hastily shove it in my pocket and remove it from my sight. Clenching and unclenching my jaw several times, I roughly push myself up to my feet and get off the park bench I'd been sitting on for the past four and a half hours, determined to leave this place and the painful memories it dredges up within me far behind for the last time.
But then I turn around, and I'm suddenly frozen to the spot.
It's her.
All the muscles in my body simultaneously stiffen as I feel the blood drain from my face, and all the breath is torn from my body so abruptly that it feels like I've been hit by a train. I stare at her in shock, unable to believe my own eyes.
"No." I whisper, my voice trembling. "This isn't real. This is someone trying to mess with me. This is fucking cruel."
She smiles at me, not moving a single muscle either, and the few meters separating us suddenly feel like miles. "Hello Eric."
I blink several times, my mouth suddenly very dry. "I watched you die. You aren't real; you're a ghost."
"I am not a ghost." She says, her soft voice dancing over to me in the wind. "Ghosts are figments of human imagination conjured up by unintentional experiences with my father's representatives here on the surface. They do not exist."
I laugh a little in complete disbelief, shaking my head stubbornly. "You aren't real. This is just some sick illusion my mind is making up to torture me."
"I'm not an illusion, Eric." Ellie replies, smiling at me.
"You aren't?" I echo, my voice barely above a whisper. I'm too scared that if I speak any louder, it'll somehow shatter whatever the hell is going on and I'll lose her a second time.
She nods, laughing. "I promise. And if you stopped standing there gawking at me like you have seen a ghost and actually—"
But she isn't able to finish her sentence, because by that point I've already run over to her and wrapped her up in my arms as tightly as I can. She hugs me back just as fiercely, her arms locking around me so tightly that I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move; but I didn't want to.
She felt real.
I glance down at her at the very moment she looks up at me, and the air between us suddenly turns electric. Unable to hold myself back anymore, I pull her even closer and kiss her passionately, and suddenly it isn't just the air surrounding us that sparks with electricity. It's her, as I hold her in my arms; it's my skin, every single cell alighting as she runs her hands up my back to loop around my neck; it's my very veins, the feelings of ecstatic desire running through them making me feel like I'm slowly bursting into flames from the inside, but in the best kind of way.
When we finally break away, she looks up at me, a wide smile stretching across her face.
"Told you I wasn't a ghost."
"You're alive." I whisper, disbelief still gripping me. I cup her face gently, searching her shining, bright green eyes. "How the hell are you alive? I watched you die right in front of me."
"Yes, and that was not an enjoyable experience either, let me tell you." Ellie winces a little, her nose wrinkling up.
"I'm shocked." I drawl sarcastically. "And here I was certain that being stabbed was like a walk in the park."
Ellie giggles, ducking her head, before her expression sobers up. "I did die, Eric. But when I died, I woke up somewhere else."
"Where?"
"Nemesis' castle." She replies, and my eyebrows shoot up.
"Nemesis?" I echo, and she nods. "As in the ultimate divine avenger Nemesis? Little Miss Measure-Out-Your-Life-Into-My-Golden-Scales Nemesis? That meddling puff of cloud Nemesis? What the hell did she want with you?"
"Hey. She's not a meddling puff of cloud." Ellie chastises, nudging me. I give her an unconvinced look. "She's the one who was behind this all, Eric. It was all her from the beginning; my prophecy, the civil war, everything."
"And yet you say she's not a meddling puff of cloud?" I ask, my eyebrows shooting up even higher. "Ellie, she set you up to die; hell, she basically stabbed you herself. How are you speaking in this freakishly calm fashion and acting like you're okay after all she's done to you?"
"Because I understand why she did it, Eric. She explained it all to me. I don't exactly agree with the way she went about things, but I understand the overall reason she did it."
"What was that reason exactly? Because I for one would love to know why she set you up to die."
"Some things are better left unsaid." She replies with a soft smile. "And she didn't set me up to die; that wasn't her intention. She felt bad for the hand she had in my death, which is why she offered me a deal."
"A deal?" I say, narrowing my eyes suspiciously. "What deal?"
"If I told my story, and she felt that I deserved a second chance at life, then she would grant it."
My eyes widen as the realisation clicks in my brain, but I still prompt her, needing to hear the confirmation from her lips. "And?"
"And she did." Ellie replies, her eyes shining almost as brightly as her smile. "She said it was all because of what I did that day on the beach. What I didn't realise before was that a prophecy is just an affirmation of what was already going to happen, so no matter what I did, or the decisions I chose to make, I was always going to end up on that beach, having caused that civil war. But my decision to sacrifice myself to stop the civil war wasn't prophecised at all; it was my own personal decision. That's what convinced her."
I grow quiet, breaking her gaze. "Why did you do it?"
"Sacrifice myself?" She asks, and I nod. Her expression softens, and her arms around me tighten. "Because it was the right thing to do Eric. Amphitrite wasn't going to stop at anything to get what she wanted, and I couldn't bear to see the people I care about getting hurt. At the end of the day, it was something I was always going to do, and it's something I would do again if I had to; and I know you would too. That's what we do. We make sacrifices for the people we love."
I jolt, staring at her. "The people we love?"
"Of course, you great idiot." Ellie replies, shaking her head. Then her smile falters and disappears altogether as she looks down at her feet, taking a deep breath before she speaks up again. "Eric, I never got the chance to tell you before I... well, died, but... I forgive you."
My eyes widen, and I blink several times, more than a little shocked. I never thought I would ever hear her say those words; she'd never said anything before she died. I didn't realise it until now, but the fact that I'd never really known whether she had forgiven me before she died had weighed down heavily on my conscience, and now that I finally knew, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. "Really?"
"Of course I do. Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make me hate you?" She says softly, shaking her head. "I tried to hate you, I really did. I tried to convince myself that I shouldn't forgive you for what you did, that you'd broken my trust and would never be able to regain it as much as you previously had. But I think I forgave you the moment I saw you again; it just took me a while to realise that."
"But you're right Ellie." I reply quietly. "I did betray you; hell, I was a complete asshole to you on a number of occasions. How the hell are you able to forgive me for that?"
"Because I love you, Eric. And I love you means that I accept you for the person that you are, flaws and all. You being an asshole is just one of your flaws, and I know you're not an asshole all the time. You're pretty acceptable most of the time." Her nose crinkles slightly as she looks up at me with a teasing smile. "Besides which, you're not going to betray me like that again, are you?"
"I don't know, how many times are you going to call me an asshole?" I grumble, and she gives me a look. I grin. "Okay fine, you got me. Of course I'm not going to betray you again like that."
"And why not?" She asks, and I narrow my eyes at her.
"You're getting cocky, and I don't like it. Stop that. I'm supposed to be the cocky one." I retort, and she raises an eyebrow at me. "You know exactly why not, Bambi."
"Try me." Ellie challenges, and this time I'm the one raising an eyebrow at her.
"Alright then." I smirk, stepping closer to her and eradicating any remaining space between us. Then I cup her face, in a not-unsimilar and much gentler way than I did all those months ago, and tilt my head down to kiss her a second time. Ellie melts into me, tightening her grip around my neck and kissing me back with an intensity that momentarily stuns me. I pull back and smile at her, resting my forehead against her. "That's why not."
"Um." Ellie blinks, at an apparent loss for words. I chuckle at the dazed look on her face.
"I love you, Elliana. Just in case you didn't get that from the whole amazing kiss." I say, and she rolls her eyes, unable to keep a smile from spreading over her lips. "I'm serious, El. I've never been drawn to anyone the way I have been to you; I have since the moment I saw you sitting on that bus. I never thought I would ever love someone, mainly because I was convinced that it only brought chaos to one's life, but you showed me that it's so much more than that. Basically, you restarted my cold, dead, robotic heart after I'd kept it dead for thousands of years, and I'll forever be grateful to you for that."
"Your heart isn't cold, dead, or robotic Eric."
"Oh, it is." I nod seriously. "I'm basically Tinman."
"You are not Tinman." Ellie retorts, bringing her hand forward to touch my cheek. "See? You're hot. Therefore, your heart cannot be cold, dead or robotic, and you cannot be Tinman. Besides, he had a heart by the end of the movie, did he not?"
"You're right." I sigh dramatically, winking at her. "I'm so hot, I could be Cupid."
Ellie shoves me, rolling her eyes. "You are impossibly narcissistic."
"But you love it." I tease, and she narrows her eyes at me. "Don't give me that look Bambi, you said it yourself. You can't take it back; it's out there in the air," I lean forward, whispering loudly, "Forever."
"Mature." She deadpans, before faltering slightly. I pause, watching her.
"You okay?"
"Yes, it's just..." She hesitates, biting her lip. "Have you seen my mother? When I woke up in the Underworld, she wasn't there, and my father said he hasn't seen her in almost a day."
"Yeah, she's been doing that a lot, recently. Your... death, it hit her really hard. She was actually supposed to meet me here almost five hours ago, but she never showed." I sigh.
"Wait, she was supposed to meet you? Why was she meeting you?" Ellie asks, frowning. "She hates you."
"I don't know what you're talking about. She loves me." I retort offhandedly, and she gives me a look. I chuckle, reaching into my pocket and handing her the small silver necklace. "I was going to give her this."
Ellie's eyes widen as she holds the necklace up in the air. "Why? What is this?"
"I got it for you for your birthday. Obviously I never got the chance to give it to you." I shrug slightly, and her breath catches in her throat. "Happy belated birthday?"
"It's beautiful Eric. Thank you!" She smiles, throwing her arms around my neck in a hug. "Why were you going to give it to my mother, then?"
"I was going to give it to her as a sort of memento to help her cope with your death. But hey, seeing as you're now alive, you can have it after all and be her live-in memento!" I exclaim, gesturing to her with an over-exaggerated grin. My jest doesn't have it's desired affect though, and Ellie's face falls. I smile gently at her and wrap my arm around her, squeezing reassuringly. "Tell you what, why don't we go to Spencer's and see if he's seen her?"
"Okay." Ellie nods, swallowing hard. She glances up at me, her expression tentative. "Has she... has she been okay?"
"Well, you did die, so, no." I reply, and her expression crumples slightly. "But it's okay. Hades and I have been looking after her."
"You? You've been looking after her?" She asks incredulously. "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" I exclaim, and she raises an eyebrow at me. "Okay fine, it may not quite be like that."
"She was looking after you, wasn't she?"
I stop, dropping my arm and narrowing my eyes at her. "I don't know what you're talking about. I am Eros. I am almost as old as the universe. I don't need to be looked after."
"Eric." Ellie gives me a look. "You grew a beard."
"So what? It's a lifestyle choice." I shrug nonchalantly. "You grew your hair out."
"It's the exact same length as last time you saw me." Ellie replies wryly. I glare at her in silence for a few seconds before grabbing her hand and tugging her after me.
"Shut up with your logic and just follow me." I grumble, and she bursts out laughing.
When we arrive at Spencer's house, though, the good-natured humour tinging the air has dissipated completely, and her bright smile is quickly replaced by a look of barely concealed terror. I pause in front of the door when I feel Ellie stop and glance back at her, my hand already halfway to knocking on the door.
"You okay Bambi?"
She doesn't reply, staring at the door and gulping visibly, her face as white as a sheet. My expression softens.
"What's wrong?"
"What if she doesn't want to see me?" She whispers. "You were right before; I died. What if she's mad at me for that? What if she doesn't want to see me after all this time?"
"Ellie." I chuckle softly, shaking my head as I reach forward squeeze her hand. "She's not going to be mad at you for you dying; you didn't exactly want to die. If anything, she's going to be pissed at me for being the first person you saw when you came up to the surface."
"Okay." She lets out a long breath, nodding several times. "Wait. What makes you think you were the first person I saw when I came up here?"
"Please." I scoff cockily, turning around to knock on the door so she doesn't see the smirk on my face. "I'm the first person anyone would want to see once they'd been brought back to life by the meddling puff of cloud."
She doesn't reply to that, but I can figure out from the way she kicks me what her response was.
After a few moments the door swings open in front of me, and Jasmine appears in the doorway. She does a visible double-take when she notices me standing on the landing, and her mouth drops open.
"Eric?" She exclaims, peering at me through narrowed eyes. "With a beard?"
"Hello to you too Jasmine." I roll my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "It's not a beard."
"No, you're right. It's a really pathetic attempt at one. You look like one of those models who've tried really hard to grow a beard but have failed spectacularly." Jasmine retorts, leaning against the door. I frown slightly, confused by her twisted compliment. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for Evie."
"Why?" She demands, her eyes narrowing. "She's having a pretty rough day as it is Eric, she doesn't need you opening your mouth and making it even worse."
I press my lips firmly together so I don't respond to her bitter retort, and instead step to the side so she can see Ellie standing behind me. All the blood abruptly drains from Jasmine's face.
"Ellie?"
Ellie smiles weakly, timidly stepping forward. "Hey Jas."
"You're alive?" Jasmine gapes, blinking rapidly. She glances between Ellie and I several times in quick succession. "She's alive?"
"Shoot, she's alive?" I gasp mockingly, clicking my fingers. "I didn't even notice that!"
"She's alive and you've known long enough to be able to make sarcastic asshole-y comments about it?" Jasmine exclaims in outrage, turning to me and punching me as hard as she can. "What the hell Eric?! Why have you been hiding my best friend from me?!"
"Yes Jasmine, that's exactly what I did. Ellie came back to life, so naturally I decided to keep her locked up away from you because I am a horrible person." I retort dryly, and she punches me again. "Why are you still punching me?!"
"Because you keep making sarcastic asshole-y comments about said best friend!" Jasmine cries, punching me a third time.
"Okay." I quickly grow tired of her abuse and grip her shoulders, physically picking her up and dropping her down next to Ellie, who's trying her hardest not to laugh at the annoyed look on my face. "Would you please stop abusing me before it actually starts hurting and hug your damn best friend already?"
"Oh, right. You're alive!" Jasmine squeals, turning to Ellie and throwing her arms around her. "How are you alive?!"
"It is an inordinately long story." Ellie replies, laughing a little as her blonde friend attempts to squeeze the newly-restored life out of her. "Jas, what are you doing?"
"Checking for a heartbeat. Just to make sure that you're actually alive." Jasmine replies, pressing her head against Ellie's chest. "Totally just checking for a heartbeat."
"Yes, well, if you keep checking for a heartbeat any longer I'm going to punch you." I mutter under my breath, and Jasmine pulls back just so I can see her roll her eyes at me.
"Dude, chill out. I am in a healthy, committed relationship, and she is my best friend. I don't like her in that way." She shrugs slightly. "Anymore."
"Anymore?"
"That's in the past." Jasmine waves her hand dismissively, looking back at Ellie. She smiles at the brunette girl standing in front of her, before pulling her hand back and punching Ellie as hard as she can. Ellie yelps, flinching back and giving Jasmine a wounded look.
"What was that for?!"
"Dying." Jasmine retorts, leaning forward and pointing her finger in Ellie's face. "If you ever try to be noble and selfless and save the world by pulling a stunt like that again, I'll kill you."
"Yes, because that makes total sense." I snort.
"I... I'm sorry?" Ellie blinks, looking at a loss for words.
"Good." Jasmine nods, satisfied, and pulls Ellie back into another tight hug. "I missed you so much!"
Ellie's eyes widen, and she looks at me over Jasmine's shoulder and mouthes, "Help."
I snicker, shaking my head with a small grin, and her nose crinkles up in consternation as she pokes her tongue out at me childishly.
"Jasmine?" I hear Evie's voice from inside, followed by soft footsteps. My eyes widening, I stiffen and straighten abruptly just as she comes into view. "Who's at the do—" She cuts herself off, confusion twisting up her features when she notices me. "Eric? What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you." I reply neutrally, folding my arms over my chest and leaning against the side of the house. "I have something for you."
"Oh crap, I was supposed to meet you, wasn't I? I'm sorry, Spencer distracted me with—" The sentence dies abruptly in Evie's throat as her entire body goes rigid, her face suddenly as white as a sheet. She stares straight ahead, her eyes locking on the brunette girl Jasmine's still hugging, and her hand slowly comes up to cover her mouth. "Ellie?"
I see Ellie swallow, and she steps past Jasmine to stand right in front of her mother. "Hey Mum."
"This can't be real." Evie whispers, her wide eyes growing glassy. She blindly reaches out for me, gripping my forearm and squeezing painfully. "Eric, tell me you see her too. Tell me this isn't just some sick trick."
"Already gone through this, Evie. She's real." I reply, smiling at her. Ellie nods, her own smile growing watery.
"I'm alive."
"Oh my god." Evie's voice breaks, and she rushes forward to wrap her arms around Ellie in a big hug. She holds her daughter tightly, like she's the last lifeline on a sinking ship, and doesn't stop repeating, "You're alive. Oh my god, you're alive," for several minutes.
"Mum." Ellie chokes out, tapping her mother on the shoulder. "You're strangling me."
"I don't care." Evie mumbles, hugging Ellie even tighter. "You are alive."
"Yes, but I won't be for much longer if you continue to crush the life out of me." Ellie wheezes out.
"Wait." Evie pulls back, placing her hands on Ellie's shoulders and scrutinizing her. "How are you alive?"
"It is an inordinately long story." Ellie repeats her earlier statement, wincing a little when her mother narrows her eyes at her. "Which ends with Nemesis pulling in a favour and giving me my life back."
"Nemesis?" Evie echoes, her eyebrows shooting up. "That meddling puff of cloud?"
I throw my arms up in the air and point at her. "Thank you! That's what I said!"
Ellie throws me an exasperated look over her shoulder, before looking back at Evie. "Yes. Nemesis. She pulled in a favour after she decided I deserved to live, and I woke up in the Underworld a few hours ago." Ellie grins a little to herself. "I think I actually almost gave Dad a heart attack when I woke up too. I think he cursed in Latin."
"Alright." Evie purses her lips together. "What are you doing up here then?"
"Looking for you?" Ellie replies, and I gasp, laying a hand on my chest in mock outrage. She rolls her eyes at my dramatics. "Wipe that look off your face, Eric. I love you, but I love my mother more."
"Aw, you guys said you love each other?" Jasmine coos, clasping her hands in front of her heart. She turns to me with a bright smile and punches me again, the smile never wavering. "You had enough time to profess your love for her and I still had to wait to know she's alive? You're such an asshole!"
"Okay, Jas, I respect that you're emotional right now, but if you keep punching me, I'm going to punch you back." I retort, stepping back and holding my hands up in the air. She makes a face at me and pokes out her tongue. "Oh yeah, real mature."
Ellie shakes her head at us with a small smile, glancing back at her mother. "Mum, I'm up on the surface because I'm not in any danger anymore. Nemesis told me she was behind it all — the prophecy, the civil war, everything — and when she restored my life she restored all my powers too. But when she did, she also mentioned that there was a catch."
I stiffen, Ellie's words suddenly capturing all my attention. "A catch? You didn't mention that before, Bambi."
"What kind of catch?" Evie asks suspiciously.
"She said she would restore me to my full health, so long as I remained on the surface to do my job. She said bringing a goddess back to life was no easy feat, and it would throw the harmony of the universe out of balance for several millennia." Ellie meets my gaze, her smile blossoming a little. "But if I remained up on the surface, dedicated my every moment to helping the people I was born to help, then she would be able to overlook that imbalance. It is what I died for, in the end; helping as many people as I can."
A wide grin ricochets across my face in response, and I'm barely able to contain my elation. "You're staying?"
"I'm staying." She confirms, and my grin stretches from ear to ear.
"See, I knew you couldn't resist me." I wink, and she can't help but burst out laughing.
Jasmine throws her arms up in the air, whooping loudly. "My undead demon best friend is staying!"
Evie stays silent, considerably less excited about Ellie staying on the surface than Jasmine and I. She stares at Ellie, and Ellie's beam slowly dims when she notices the look on her mother's face. "You're staying?"
Ellie swallows hard and nods, hugging her mother again tightly. "Not forever; I'll come down and visit you and Dad whenever I can. But my place is up here Mum, with Eric, and Jasmine, so I can help all the people who need me; it always has been. Surely you can understand that."
"Well, when you put it that logically." Evie grumbles, but the corners of her lips twitch up ever so slightly when Ellie gives her a look. She looks at me over her daughter's shoulder, her gaze narrowing ever so slightly. "This is all your fault, you know. You went and made my damn daughter fall in love with you, and now she's leaving me forever. I officially hate you again."
"Who do you hate again?" Spencer suddenly appears in the doorway behind us, and we all turn to look at him. "Oh right, Eric. I can't say that didn't take lo—oh my shit, Ellie?! Since when have you not been stabbed to death?" He does a double-take, staring at her. Then, in total Spencer fashion, he shrugs and waves his hand dismissively. "You know what, I'm not even surprised. People around here just can't seem to stay dead."
We all burst into laughter, Ellie actually looking slightly offended that he doesn't make as big a deal about her revival as the rest of us did. I grin and wind an arm around her shoulder, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
"I think I can honestly say I speak for all of us when I say that I'm glad she's not dead." I say, and Jasmine mimes vomiting. Ellie rolls her eyes, looking up at me with a smile lighting up her features, and I grin. "Especially me."
"Gross!" Jasmine yells, holding her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, and this time I do punch her.
Ellie laughs, her eyes twinkling teasingly. "Especially you? What, does the fact I'm an undead demon not scare you?"
"What can I say?" I grin rakishly, shrugging nonchalantly. "I've never been afraid of death."
T H E E N D
oh my god guys, it's finally here. the final chapter, to the final book of my hades series is finally here. 2 years, 4 books and 125 chapters later, this part of my life has officially ended.
i finished writing the epilogue about 1am last night, and i still don't know how to feel. there are so many damn emotions roiling around inside me right now, and i have no idea how to differentiate between all of them. these characters have been such a big part of my life for so long, and it seems just way too hard to finally let them go.
first and foremost, i want to say a huge thank you to you guys, the fans. i can so easily and confidently say that if it wasn't for you all, i would not be at this point: the series probably wouldn't have even extended past Hades. you have all been so amazing, so supportive and just all-round awesome in the way you've all supported me on this journey, and all the words in the world just can't quite sum up how thankful i am for you all. i wanna say a big shout-out to the people who have been reading ever since the beginning; you guys know who you are, you are awesome, and i love you.
so. where to now? to answer a couple of frequently asked questions, NO, i will not be writing any more books in the 'hades' series; hades legacy was really the final book. however, i love my characters far too much to let them go properly, so you can bet there will be some one-shots coming your way. if you guys have any particular one-shot ideas in mind, or if you want to know a certain aspect of a character's backstory, just ask, because i would be more than happy to write a one-shot for it!
and to answer the other frequently asked question, NO, the hades series will not be my last series! i have soooo many surprises in store for you guys, so get excited, because you'll be finding about them over the next few days!
if you guys have any more questions just ask, and i'd be happy to answer them for you. i love you all to the underworld and back; thank you so much for sharing this amazing adventure with me, i just hope you all enjoyed it as much as i did!
much love,
-caitlin. xx