Cyril’s smile matched the menace in his wife’s. “I think that’s for the best.”
The Good Wizard disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.
Trey crouched in front of me and cupped my face again. “Hey,” he whispered, “we won.”
I wished I could feel as confident as him, but I didn’t trust the Good Wizard to leave us alone. “What if the council decides none of this should have happened? What if he resets time?”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing I’ve got this,” Trey said, holding up his left hand. On his ring finger was a black, crystal ring, an exact copy of mine. “No more time manipulation for us.”
I curled my fingers in his shirt, pulling him closer so I could whisper against his lips, “Then we’ll make the time we have together count.”
Epilogue: Wilde
One Year Later
The City of Traumstead, Formerly the Grimnight Forest
Building a New Life Together
Waking up with Treasure in my bed never got old. He was still asleep, softly snoring, mouth hanging slightly open with a little bit of drool on his lips. I grinned and tucked in closer to his side. Without missing a beat, as if he’d been awake the whole time, his arm wrapped around me and held me tighter.
I closed my eyes, happy to drift back to sleep for a few more hours—
Bang!
Thump!
Rat-tat-tat.
Clang-ching-clang-ching-clang-ching.
Treasure’s chest rose and fell in a deep sigh. “Eight o’clock already? I suppose we should get up.”
“No,” I protested, burying my head against his chest.
A low laugh rumbled through him. “It’ll just continue all morning.”
I raised one hand and waved it dismissively through the air. Nothing happened. Frowning, I did the motion again, adding a twisted sigil. Nothing. I finally raised my head and glared at my right hand before remembering it wasn’t the culprit, but my left hand—and the black anti-magic crystal ring—was currently slipped under Treasure’s shirt,pressed against his warm skin, and I wasn’t ready to part from him yet just to glare at an inanimate object.
Treasure rubbed my back in soothing circles. “What were you trying to do?”
“Sound barrier,” I said, letting my head drop back to his chest. Even this close to him, the damned construction noise outside blocked out his soft heartbeat.
“We’ll have to soundproof the walls the old-fashioned way.”
I pursed my lips in thought. “There’s an idea. Then I can make you scream all night long without worrying about the neighbors.”
He chuckled and nuzzled my neck. “You weren’t very worried last night. Maybe because you were the one—”
I clamped a hand over his mouth. “Not another word.”
He childishly licked my palm. I narrowed my eyes and shifted my grip, sliding my thumb between his lips.
“I’m not worried now, either,” I murmured. “Since no one will hear us over that racket anyway.”
Treasure gazed at me, blue eyes half-hooded, and closed his lips around my thumb, sucking it to demonstrate how we could spend our morning—
“Howcan you possibly sleep through this noise?” a cheery voice shouted from the hallway.
