1 DAY 246 A.F. REQUIEM, TENNESSEE FOOTHILLS OF THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS This is what I truly am. . . . Jackson stumbled back from me, making the sign of the cross. Just as I once predicted. With that one gesture, he has broken my heart utterly. —And yet I could not be prouder, Empress— seductive Death whispered in my mind. I heard him so clearly; he must be close. I had nothing left to lose, no reason to live in fear of him. Watch your six, Reaper, I’m on the hunt. A rasping chuckle. —Your Death awaits.— I started laughing, and I couldn’t stop. Jackson paled even more. I hoped he would desert me now and take the other three with him, out of my reach. Because otherwise, the Empress might just kill them all— Moisture tracked down my face. A tear? Rain. As Jackson and I stared at each other, drops began to fall between us. My laughter died when I saw him clutching my hair ribbon so tightly that his battered knuckles were white—as if by holding on to it, he could hold on to the sweet girl he thought he’d known. She