White moonlight glowed faintly, bleaching Livvy's skin as she held her hands out and turned them over, though she could not have said where it came from. Her surroundings were drenched a deep blue-black, the darkness so complete it looked almost solid, yet when she moved her arms about nothing impeded her. Somehow she could see herself as if she was lit from within, though at the same time she seemed not to be there at all.
A wisp of pale hair drifted into sight. A girl, considerably less substantial than Livvy appeared to be, the darkness permeating her delicate features so that Livvy could barely make out the colour of her eyes, or her dress.
"Go," said the girl, smiling sadly. Her hands were clasped in front of her, making no effort to show the way.
Livvy looked around. "Go? But . . ." She turned back to face the girl. "Are you . . . Jessamine?"
The girl inclined her head. "Now, go on." Still she made no gesture, only fixed her melancholy gaze on Livvy as if expecting her to walk off at any moment.
"Where am I supposed to go?" Livvy could see no path, no familiar markers, only the strange blackness that was not quite solid, and not quite air. "Which direction, at least?"
The sadness vanished from Jessamine's expression, only to be replaced with annoyance. "How do you expect me to know? Do I seem like someone who pays frequent visits to that place?" She raised an accusatory finger. "You are the one who knows."
"But I—I don't want to go. Ty—and Jules, and everyone—Helen just came back. I didn't get to say—"
"You will see them all again. Not now, but someday. I'm sure of it."
"But—"
"You have no business left in this world. You have no debts to pay, no promises to fulfil. I have watched you, you know, Livia."
Livvy felt like asking whether ghosts ever had any respect for privacy, but it seemed inappropriate.
"I have seen you with your twin brother," said Jessamine, unfazed by the look of reproach on Livvy's face. "I have seen you, always by his side, always thinking of him before yourself. You would have made a fine pair of parabatai. I have seen your courage, your quiet resilience, your kind heart, your unfaltering presence of mind. You have done all that you could for the people fortunate enough to have known you. You have done more than anyone could have asked for."
"But Jules," Livvy whispered. "He'll think it's all his fault. He'll think he failed to protect me. He needed a weapon, and I . . . only wanted to help."
"Then you may well have saved his life. There are few deeds as honourable as that."
Livvy's eyes filled with tears. "Ty—"
"Human beings cannot lead lives free of loss. But I have seldom known families as intimately devoted as yours. Besides," Jessamine smiled coquettishly, "that Christopher is quite a character, don't you think?"
Livvy couldn't say when it had happened, but the blanket of blackness had paled, and in the grey haze she could make out a meadow abloom with wildflowers, a path cutting through the long grass, though there was no way to tell where it lead.
Jessamine took her hands, fingers slender and strong. "Now, go," she said, and the faint outline of her figure faded as she released her grip, blending into the darkness.
And Livvy walked onward, her cheeks dry, her feet steady, holding herself the way she always had—modestly, assuredly, with a bright gleam in those Blackthorn eyes that would never lose its radiance.
A/N: The ending of LoS destroyed me and none of it was okay D: (though it had some of the most beautiful prose in the whole book ughhh). Livvy has been one of my favourite TDA characters since CoHF and I just had to write this. Thanks for reading and excuse me while I go cry some more