Page 181 of Dead Vengeance

“Tomorrow?” I whisper.

“Kraa!” Edgar shouts.

Liam laughs. “You’ll be fine. Simon’s promised to take care of you.”

Simon sends me a soft nod, regardless of Edgar’s bitter gurgle.

This situation is somehow oddly terrifying. This room of ghosts and friends, this strange life, this being a necromancer and all the pressure of it and… Liam’s just going to take me out of it. “Two whole months?”

“Is it okay?” There’s a touch of uncertainty in Liam’s eyes, as if this could ever not be okay. It just seemed so… so completely remote a possibility that it never once occurred to me we could really do this.

My gorgeous love. My one and only love. The man who walked into my world full of death and made everything… alive.

“I love you too much.” I kiss him, then kiss him again. I slip my hand into my pocket, pull out my key and place it into his palm. But I hold my hand over it before I let him see and tell him, “This is a promise. I got this for you because I want you to come live with me. Permanently. But Liam… it’s because… I want you to… Please, Liam…” It’s so right. This could not be more right. “Please will you be my husband?”

Tears spring to his eyes. He’s already so overcome with emotion from this gorgeous day, I know it. God, I hope I haven’t upset him. Maybe he’s—

“I’d love that more than anything. Archer, I love you. Yes. Yes, please. Yes, let’s get married!”

I take him in my arms, here in our home, in front of our gigantic Christmas tree, surrounded by friends and family, and nothing—nothing could be better.

This is it. This is the pinnacle of happiness.

And, luckily for me, I know it will stay like this from now on.

I’ve found Liam. I’ve found love. I’ve found life.

Maybe it is all down to a bit of meddling from an ancient Aztec god.

Or maybe this is just the kind of magic that comes of two necromancers meeting and falling in love.

If it is, that’s even better.

The End