Page 102 of Gilded Curses

Fred fluttered by to kiss Sahira’s cheek. “Goodbye, Toots. I’ll see you again soon.”

When Orin swatted at him, the pixie giggled before vanishing through a portal. More immortals came to say goodbye before leaving Epoch and this cursed place behind.

After most of them had left, Zeth came to stand before them. He rubbed one of his horns as he looked between them. “It’s been a journey, and I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad I took it with both of you. We’re free now because of it.”

When Sahira stepped forward, Orin reluctantly released her so she could hug the demon. He reminded himself that she was his and Zeth had a wife—or at least he used to have one—but he still loathed seeing her in the arms of another man.

“I hope you find your wife and son,” Sahira said.

“So do I,” Zeth whispered.

“You’ll let us know, won’t you? You’ll get word to us in Dragonia?”

“I will.”

“And you’ll come to visit?”

He grinned at her before awkwardly patting her shoulders and stepping away. “Of course. I’ve always wanted to see a dragon.”

“Maybe you can ride one.”

Zeth laughed. “Let’s not get carried away.”

Orin rested his hand on Sahira’s shoulder and pulled her back into his arms, where she belonged. When Zeth extended a hand to him, Orin took it; the demon clasped it in both of his extremely large ones.

“You’re not so bad, dark fae. Or I should say, you’re a lot better now than when we first met.” Zeth’s gaze flicked to Sahira before returning to Orin. “Don’t fuck it up.”

Orin grinned at him. “Is that all I get from you? You have both your hands because of me.”

“That was your choice, you fool.” Zeth’s smile vanished as he squeezed Orin’s hand. “If you ever need me, I’ll be there. Just send word, and I’ll come.”

“Let’s hope it never comes to that.”

“I agree. Now, I’m going to set the stable animals free and then find my family. I wish you both well.”

Orin snorted a laugh; the demon was a big old softy. Zeth released his hand, opened a portal, and vanished into it. Once he was gone, the brownies clambered around them, jumping and dancing as they hugged their legs before Puth finally ended it.

Pip scampered up to sit on Orin’s shoulder. “We’re going to find our family. After that, we’re coming for a visit.”

“We look forward to seeing you,” Orin assured her.

And he meant it, which he never would have believed possible a short time ago. Pip kissed his cheek before leaning over to rest her hand on Sahira’s shoulder.

“We make a great team,” the brownie said.

“That we do,” Sahira agreed.

Pip raced back down to join her brethren as Fath and Loth took turns hugging his and Sahira’s legs. When they finished, the brownies all jumped and laughed with each other as Puth opened a portal. Without a backward glance, they all ran into it.

Elsa finished showing a group of ex-servants how to open a portal and shook some of their hands before turning to them. They’d told the servants, if they ever required help, they could come to Dragonia, but Orin hoped never to see them again.

“Do you think we can trust them to be in the realms?” Sahira whispered to Orin.

“Yes… or at least most of them, which is the same for every other species. Some of us are just inherently worse than others.”

“True.”

“Is it still okay if I go with you to Dragonia?” Elsa asked as she stopped before them.