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Cedric sighed. “I suppose I have been hoping that more and more will realize the freedom they’ve just been granted. Their blood oaths have been unmade. There is nothing else binding them to a dark sorcerer’s wishes. Perhaps it’s naive, but—”
“It’s definitely naive,” Elyria cut in.
“Undoubtedly,” added Kit.
“Indubitably,” said Tristan.
“Oh, shut up, all three of you,” Cedric groaned, and they laughed.
“Oi, what’s this? Have I missed out on my opportunity to pile onto Ric?” Thraigg limped up to the group with a smile on his face, though the usual sparkle in his eyes was understandably diminished.
“Of course not,” Kit said, wrapping an arm around the dwarf’s shoulders and giving him a quick squeeze. “You’re just in time, my friend.”
“What was naive was thinking that becoming king meant I might actually escape this endless ribbing,” Cedric griped.
“True,” said Elyria, “but it’s nice to have hope anyway.”
The group slipped into a contented silence. The sun continued to set.
“Where do we go from here?” Cedric asked eventually. “What do we do now?”
“Ain’t ye the one who’s supposed to tell us?” Thraigg looked pointedly at the crown Cedric still held in his hands.
Elyria narrowed her eyes at the dwarf before turning back to Cedric. “We grieve. We care for the wounded. We rebuild the city you were always meant to rule. And we welcome anyone who would want to come with us.” She tilted her head, considering. “Eventually, we’ll probably want to seal up the rest of the Chasm. Chase down any lingering members of the Cult. But there’s plenty of time for all that.” She laughed then, a bright, joyous sound that had Cedric’s heart leaping in his chest. “And isn’t that just the most glorious thing you’ve ever heard? Can you even imagine? Having time for things? Perhaps if nothing else, the events of this past year will finally have cured me of my impatience.”
Cedric laughed too, though the delight that had sparked in him quickly fell away. “What if I am a terrible king?”
He was immediately met with multiple words of protest, and though the question had been born of a very real fear, Cedric smiled inwardly at the quick defense of his friends. Elyria simply seemed irritated, made evident by the way she both rolled her emerald eyes and slapped his shoulder for maximum effect.
“Please stop saying stupid things. You will be the best king Arcanis has ever seen. Lachlandris and Callum should be quaking on their thrones,” she finished with a wink.
“I don’t want to be king of Arcanis though,” he admitted. “I just want . . .”
She smiled softly. “I know. And you know the best part?”
“What’s that?”
She gently pried the crown from his hands and set it atop his head. “You and I can make it the exact kind of kingdom we want it to be. The kingdom your grandparents wanted it to be, what it always should have been. A kingdom for all.”
He searched her face, finding nothing but admiration and conviction there, layered atop the love beaming down the golden bond strung between them—gleaming stronger than ever.
“A kingdom for all,” Cedric agreed. “The future they deserved.”
Elyria’s fingers laced through his, the air filling with certainty. The last dregs of sunset spilled across the land, softly illuminating all that remained.
And there, at the edge of the field, at the top of the sloped mound of dirt that Elyria had piled over the sealed crater, over the entrance to the Line—where Malakar had fallen, where their new future had taken root . . .
Something green pushed through the soil.
A small winding sprig of merryleaf, ready to bloom.
EPILOGUE I: IN-BETWEEN
TENEBRIS NOX
Four weeks after the Battle of Kinsgaith
Tenebris Nox watched from the shadows as Kit stood on the balcony of her room at Castle Lumin, overlooking the city of Luminaria below.
