Chapter 52: Motherly Interlude and Epilogue

"It is done. My son married the Rasputin girl," she announced via the mirror that bore yet another crack. She couldn't afford to have it shatter quite yet. There was still work to be done.

"Just as you planned," Death declared, still wearing his tuxedo instead of his usual dark robes. He'd gone incognito as her emissary to ensure the wedding went off as planned.

Yes, planned.

Fools. The Devil and his merry band thought they'd foiled her by joining the pair. Instead, they'd played right into her hands. Her ghostly, yet manipulative hands.

All along, she'd wanted this outcome, but stubborn people, and those bound by emotion, sometimes required nudging. What better way than to forbid it? And introduce danger.

It might have been a long time since she felt love for anyone, but she remembered the sensation well. The wild, pulsing need. The willful flouting of authority.

Some things never changed.