Chapter Ninety-Seven
Grief
The country house. One month after the funeral. Various times.
Grief was not a straight line.
It was a circle. A spiral. A maze with no exit. Some days were good. Some days were terrible. Some days were both, at the same time, in ways that made no sense.
The original Katerina was gone.
But she was also everywhere.
In the garden. In the cottage. In the way the younger Katerina held her coffee cup—the same way the original had held hers. In the way Lilith pruned the roses—the way the original had taught her. In the way Sam laughed—the way the original had made her laugh, in the short time they had together.
Grief was love with nowhere to go.
And everyone was learning to live with it.
---
Lilith – The garden. Dawn.
Lilith knelt among the flowers.
The roses were blooming. The lavender was fragrant. The honeysuckle was climbing the trellis. The ashes had settled into the soil, becoming part of the earth, part of the life.
"I miss you," she said.
The wind blew.
The flowers swayed.
"I miss your voice. Your stubbornness. Your hunger. I miss the way you would argue with me about everything, even when you knew I was right."
"I miss the way you would sit on the porch swing and watch the sunset. The way you would close your eyes and breathe in the smell of the garden. The way you would smile."
"I never thought I would miss anyone. Not really. Not like this. Not with this... ache."
She touched the soil.
"I love you. I never said it enough. I love you. I love you. I love you."
She wept.
The sun rose.
And Lilith—the former goddess, the former hunger, the former monster—knelt in the garden and let herself grieve.
---
The younger Katerina – The cottage. Morning.
She sat in the rocking chair.
The same chair where the original Katerina had spent her last days. The same blanket across her lap. The same view of the garden through the window.
"I don't know how to do this," she said.
The room was quiet.
"I don't know how to live without you. I spent centuries hating you. Wanting you dead. Hunting you. And now that you're gone, I don't know who I am."
"You made me a hunter. You made me a weapon. You made me empty. And then you taught me how to be full."
"How am I supposed to be full without you?"
She closed her eyes.
The chair creaked.
The wind blew.
And somewhere, deep in her chest, she felt something.
Not hunger.
Her.
"I love you," she whispered. "I love you. I love you. I love you."
She opened her eyes.
The room was still quiet.
But she felt lighter.
---
Marcus and Eleanor – The living room. Afternoon.
They sat on the couch.
The fire crackled. The wine was open. The world was quiet.
"How are you feeling?" Marcus asked.
"Strange."
"Strange how?"
"Strange because I didn't know her that well. Not like Lilith. Not like the younger Katerina. But I still miss her."
"That's normal."
"Is it? She wasn't my mother. She wasn't my friend. She was just... there. And now she's not."
"Grief doesn't care about labels. Grief just is."
Eleanor leaned into him.
He put his arm around her.
"I love you," she said.
"I know."
"Say it back."
"I love you, Eleanor. I love you. I love you. I love you."
"Again."
"I love you."
"Again."
She kissed him.
"I love you too."
They sat in silence.
The fire crackled.
The world continued.
---
Sam – The bookstore. Afternoon.
She stood behind the counter.
The store was empty. The cat was sleeping. The books were quiet.
"I miss you," she said.
The words hung in the air.
"I know we didn't have much time. I know you were sick. I know you were dying. But I still wish we had more."
"More mornings. More evenings. More kisses."
"I loved you. I didn't say it enough. I love you. I love you. I love you."
She wiped her eyes.
The door opened.
The younger Katerina walked in.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Are you okay?"
"No. Are you?"
"No."
They held each other.
And in the quiet of the empty bookstore, two women who loved the same woman grieved together.
---
Maya – Her bedroom. Night.
She lay in bed.
The journals were spread around her—the ones the original Katerina had left her. She had been reading them for hours. Days. Weeks.
"You were so hungry," she said. "So desperate. So alone. I never understood until now."
She touched the page.
The handwriting was elegant and shaky at the same time.
"I'm hungry too. Not the way you were. Not the way Lilith was. But hungry."
"I'm scared that I'll become like you. That I'll hurt people. That I'll consume them."
"But I'm also hopeful. Because you changed. Because Lilith changed. Because I can change."
She closed the journal.
Turned off the light.
And slept.
---
Lilith and David – The porch. Evening.
Lilith sat on the porch swing.
David sat beside her.
The sun was setting. The sky was orange and pink and purple. The world was beautiful.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"Different."
"Different how?"
"Different because I'm not angry anymore. Different because I'm not scared anymore. Different because I'm just... sad. And that's okay."
"That's growth."
"It's terrifying."
"Good. Fear means you're alive."
She leaned into him.
He put his arm around her.
"I love you," she said.
"I know."
"Say it back."
"I love you, Lilith. I love you. I love you. I love you."
"Again."
"I love you."
"Again."
She kissed him.
"I love you too."
The sun set.
The stars came out.
And Lilith—the former goddess, the former hunger, the former monster—sat on the porch swing, held by the man she loved, and felt something she had never felt before.
Acceptance.
---
The garden – The same night.
The younger Katerina walked among the flowers alone.
The ashes had settled. The roses were blooming. The world was quiet.
"Katerina."
She turned.
Sam stood at the edge of the garden.
"Come here," Sam said.
She walked to her.
"I love you," Sam said.
"I know."
"Say it back."
"I love you, Sam. I love you. I love you. I love you."
"Again."
"I love you."
"Again."
The younger Katerina kissed her.
"I love you too."
They walked among the flowers.
The ashes settled.
The world continued.
And Katerina—the former hunter, the former weapon, the former monster—walked through the garden, held by the woman she loved, and felt something she had never felt before.
Peace.
---
End of Chapter Ninety-Seven