TWENTY THREE

LAUREL’s POV

Death comes to everyone who is born. It is the natural order of things. But as my end nears, I have to ask myself this; knowing that death is inevitable, what is most precious to me today?

The answer is painfully obvious.

Helios.

I wish to see him one last time. I wish to be able to tell him how I feel. I wish to let him know that the sun and moon rise in his eyes and that I have loved no one else but him throughout all these years.

It matters not that he already knows about this; all I want is for him to tell me face to face how he truly feels about me. Because if Diego fails to come up with an antidote by tomorrow, I will never know.

Is that too much for a dying girl to ask?

“Okay, let’s try this one,” Diego’s voice breaks my train of thoughts and I turn to face the old man. He has his beard tied into a little braid, complete with a tiny bow at the end. I would have laughed out loud at how adorable his beard actually looks if it weren’t for the dire situation we a