Page 217 of Tale of the Heart Queen

“This place will no longer define who we are, and I think we can leave it behind once and for all.”

“I wish Lor were here,” Willow says. “But I understand why she isn’t. I know we all lived in misery, but I think it nearly broke her the most.”

She looks at me, and I nod in understanding. Lor is a force that was never meant to be contained.

“Then let’s leave it behind,” Amya says. “They’ll start the demolition immediately, and we’ll allow the forest to reclaim this land.”

Over the past few months, Amya has made other changes, including closing down the Savahell Mine. She freed every low fae from conscription with outrageous amounts of gold in compensation. She also ordered new protections for every worker, including restrictions on hours, proper healthcare, and increased pay. The Aurora will continue to rely on its remaining mines for trade, but our security will not come at the cost of blood.

The virulence caves are currently being sealed up and hopefully forgotten forever. Beyond the trouble it caused, we also need to protect Tyr from its effects. We owe him so much.

We also cleared out the forest of my father’s unnatural creations. It didn’t take long to realize these creatures could still remember who they had been, all of them living in misery in their mutilated bodies. Though we tried, we couldn’t turn them back, and in the end, their deaths were the only mercy we could offer.

“Then let’s go,” Amya says.

My sister, the queen, who should have been the one from the very start.

We all walk out of Nostraza for the last time, vowing never to make the same mistakes again.

Two days later, we sit at a pub in the Violet District. It’s the same one where we all gathered when Lor and I were trying to find the Heart Crown. Tristan is telling us a story about the Heart siblings’ childhood when someone covers my eyes with their hands.

“Lor,” I say, immediately recognizing her scent, my magic reacting to her presence. She loops her arms around my neck and kisses me on the cheek. “Miss me?”

“Every moment,” I say, looking up at her, and she smiles. Gods, she takes my breath away every fucking time. Sometimes I lay awake at night thinking of how close I came to losing her. But then I open my eyes and reach for her, feeling her soft skin and hearing her soft breaths, reminding myself that she’s mine forever.

Etienne and Rhiannon are with her, having all just arrived from Heart. They settle around the table, and we chat for hours, toasting every single thing we can think of until we’re finally kicked out.

We trek back to the Keep with the lights dancing overhead and Lor’s arm looped through mine. We pass the square where we danced that night during Frostfire, and we both stop, staring at the space still bustling with people out for an evening of drinks and dancing.

“I think that was the moment everything changed for me,” she says. “When I realized you weren’t the villain.” I look down at her and smile. “Even if it took me a little while to accept that.”

I lean over and kiss her on the cheek before we follow the others.

Once we arrive back at the Keep, we all say goodbye to Tristan, who’s leaving tomorrow for The Woodlands to get to know Cedar and Elswyth and to prepare for his inevitable future.

Rhiannon and Etienne are staying for a few days before returning to Heart to help continue with the rebuilding. They’ve been invaluable assets to Lor and me, and we’ve been dreaming up ways to thank them.

We also say goodnight to Mael, who’s taking some time off to be with his family.

Willow and Amya bid us all farewell, and I watch them disappear around the corner. Amya has been hinting at a bonding, and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

When they’re all gone, Lor and I stand together in the hall of the Keep.

“I have a surprise for you,” I say, and she breaks into a smile.

“What is it?”

“We’ll have to fly there.”

“I’m ready whenever you are.” Her expression is open and full of trust. I worked so hard to earn it, and I’ll never take it for granted.

We head back outside, and then I fly us across the frozen tundra. She wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face against me.

I had the cabin where she prepared for our bonding ceremony cleaned up and renovated so we have somewhere to stay when we visit The Aurora. We still have the manor house, but this place will be only for the two of us.

We land gently in the snow, and her eyes widen in delight.

“What did you do?” she asks as I take her hand and lead her inside.