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“In a world full of men who want to hurt women . . . “ I said quietly. “I never thought I’d find someone who made memore.”
“I am sorry you have had to wade through the villains, but I’m grateful that I get to be the hero to carry you home.” Eli kept his voice light, but I knew it was only partly a joke. He was the prize at the end of my quest, the cherry on top of my desserts, the man who taught me to love and be loved.
Obviously, not all men were villains. Iggy wanted knowledge. Hell, Marcus—for all his going about it the wrong way—wanted to protect his people and marry Allie. And of course, my best friend Jesse was nothing if not reliable and kind. There were plenty of good men in the world, inElphametoo, but the monstrous ones always seemed to harbor an unfathomable hate for women with opinions or power.
I wanted all my friends to find their own princes—or princesses—too. Embarrassingly or not, I had become that person so blissfully in love that I wanted to be a matchmaker.
Eli paused in his steps as we entered what had once been a playground before the Ghost Zone was abandoned. “Bonbon?”
“Mmm?” I snuggled closer.
“If thedraugrare yours to command when your indomitable grandmother passes, that makes me your consort . . .”
I opened my eyes. “Hush. Beatrice will never die.”
He grinned. “I rescinded my claim to the throne, but unless Alice marries my uncle and gives him an heir, we are looking at two thrones.”
“Not today.” I shook my head. “I’m looking at a nice quiet life with my tavern-keep husband. Maybe a quiet stroll through the graves here and there. Dinner with friends. Maybe even a big fruit bowl so I get tipsy and throw myself at you . . .”
Eli caught my mouth in a kiss when I paused.
Then he carried me toward home. I felt the dead out there in the dark, watching. I felt the dead in and atop the soil where they had fallen and been left to decay. The world wasn’t perfect, but that was fine.
I didn’t need perfect when I had a reasonably safe life with a loving spouse, good friends, and the weirdest family I could have imagined.
In the distance, the lights of my home flickered, and behind us, nature chirped, peeped, and howled.
“If thedraugrare going to behave, what do you think of building a home out here?” I whispered.
“I think it’s a good idea,” Eli said quietly. “Not for every day but . . . if we can be in nature part of the time, I think we’d both be happier.”
I paused. “You know some of them won’t obey. I’ll still have to patrol.”
Eli gave me a look. “You wouldn’t be happy without challenges, bonbon,”
Sighing, I let go of my worry and stress. My husband knew me, and he still loved me. It was the one dream I never thought I could have, and with Eli, I had it and a near eternity to enjoy it.
