HERMIONE
It's been seven months.
Seven months since Nigeria.
Since Isabelle.
Since we nearly lost everything—and somehow came back stronger.
Now, the sound of crashing waves replaces the screams in my dreams.
The ocean sprawls endlessly beyond the balcony of our Hamptons beach house. It's late afternoon. Golden light dances on the water like it's teasing me to forget all the darkness that came before.
Behind me, I hear him.
Dylan.
"Still awake?" he asks, voice deep and drowsy as he steps out onto the balcony with two mugs. "You should've napped with me."
I take the coffee from his hand, smiling as our fingers brush. "I tried. You hog the blanket like a villain."
He chuckles, leans against the railing beside me, and watches the horizon.
He looks softer now. Less haunted. The permanent tension in his jaw is gone, and his eyes aren't scanning every room like someone's about to shoot him. I think we're both finally learning what peace feels like.
"Daniel and Lia are coming over later," Dylan says. "And Cassian's flying in tomorrow."
"Cassian?" I glance at him. "He barely talks to people and now he wants to spend the weekend with us?"
"Apparently, Seraphine's attending," Dylan says with a smirk. "And he's not as subtle about his feelings as he thinks."
I laugh into my coffee. "I'm still getting used to her being alive."
"Yeah." His voice turns quiet. "That was a miracle."
We stand there for a moment in silence, just watching the sky slowly shift into sunset. He slides his arm around my waist, pulling me close until my head rests on his shoulder.
"Do you ever think about what would've happened if I didn't show up to that party?" I whisper. "If we never met?"
He kisses the top of my head. "I try not to. I've had enough nightmares."
I smile. "This is the dream now."
He turns to face me, lifting my chin gently. "No, you are."
My heart swells in the way it always does when he looks at me like I'm the only thing keeping the stars in the sky.
"I was so scared back then," I admit softly. "Of you. Of the pull between us. I thought it would destroy me."
He strokes my cheek with his thumb. "But you let it in."
"You let me in."
We kiss. Slowly. Deeply. The kind of kiss that doesn't ask questions—it answers them.
And just as we pull apart, I hear a dramatic gasp from the open glass door behind us.
"Oh my God, you guys are still making out like teenagers," Claire groans, dropping her oversized beach bag inside. "Can we please keep the PDA down to a minimum? I'm tragically single and very sunburnt."
Daniel and Lia follow her inside, both laughing.
Daniel smirks. "You didn't seem to mind when Seraphine was wrapped around Cassian like a scarf last week."
"That's because they're new and disgusting. You two have been gross for ages."
I laugh as Dylan guides us all toward the outdoor lounge. Pillows and wine glasses await us. The firepit already crackling.
Seraphine arrives just minutes later, in a flowy sundress and sunglasses, with Cassian trailing behind her like a reluctant bodyguard with feelings.
"Okay, I'm here. Don't make this weird," she says, but she's smiling.
We gather on the cushioned benches as the sun dips below the horizon, turning the sky blood-orange and pink.
For the first time in what feels like forever…
There are no secrets.
No running.
No deaths waiting around the corner.
Just friends.
Family.
And love.
"So," Daniel says, lifting his wine glass. "To survival."
"No," I say, raising mine too. "To more than that. To healing. And to all the things we didn't think we'd get to feel again."
"To love," Lia adds.
"To peace," says Seraphine.
Cassian lifts his glass last. "And to the women who made sure we got here alive."
Everyone cheers softly, glasses clinking.
And for the first time since this story began…
It feels like we've earned the right to breathe easy.