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The binding commands had eased to a dull ache in my back and a mild headache that sat at my temples. I was thankful for his discretion now. Another mention of Randsin and his whereabouts and I’d likely melt to a puddle if I resisted.
“Were you ever worried about Barthalow?”
“What is one Fae to the group we have inside this castle?” King Windre smiled.
“Thank you,” Red sighed, her eyes fluttering closed.
“She needs to rest, but she should be up and standing by the morning, though I imagine it will hurt,” the healer said with pursed lips, clearly not approving of what we were about to do. I didn’t approve of it either.
Cautiously, I stepped back and sat on the edge of the cot next to King Windre. We sat there for some time before the King was called away and left me alone to watch Red sleep. Every rise and fall of her chest felt like hope that would never be fulfilled. She was here, she was alive. For now.
My mind kept circling around a question. The same question that everyone asks when they lose a loved one too young, I supposed.
Red was gifting me what I’d always dreamed of. What I’d wished for since the day I joined Queen Atarah’s ranks. Red gave me the ending to the hardest chapter of my life and the beginning to the rest of my life.
Where was Red’s happily ever after?
Chapter27
Ryker
It was funny how the end of one story always felt a lot like the beginning of a new story. Everything was better. The chance for a new adventure, hopefully something less filled with violence and abuse, awaited at the end of this day.
When the moon fell to the horizon, Dace and I would be back in the Twinity Court. I’d make that place my home. I’d marry him and the daydreams I created of lounging in bed all day with only a sheet to cover me and Dace surrounding me, wouldn’t need to be dreams any longer.
Shavarra was heading home too. More than a few Nymphs who lived those five years within the refuge wanted to return with her. Though she hadn’t said anything to me, I overheard Graceson bragging to his near-silent friend that Shavarra planned to write him letters, should he write to her first.
The Heathern Court remained crownless. Many, many meetings were already scheduled with both King Windre and Queen Maggie to discuss the rebuilding of the lands and to whom the crown would belong. Each gathering was a promise of a visit with my sister.
I held onto the promises of tomorrow now because today felt so much like a goodbye.
We’d already sent off the man from Tierasia and the Nymph girl, Red. She seemed to be doing well since the attack on the lawn. More than that, the glint of excitement showed in her eyes as they left. Red was prepared for a journey of something new and unknown. Milo’s gaze, from the little I’d seen of it, was still sorrowful. That left me to wonder at what it cost him to return home empty handed? Maybe one day we would meet again, and I’d listen to his tale and find out what was to come of Tierasia.
For now, though, we had all gathered together on King Windre’s lawn. The blood of the previous weeks' attack was already washed away. Hattie hooked an arm around me, leaning her head down to rest on my shoulder. The twist of her well-kept bun tickled my cheek.
“You stink of Dace,” she whispered in my ear.
“Dace smells lovely; I should take that as a compliment.” I shrugged, bouncing her head off my shoulder. My hand was curled around the token. My thumb rubbed the swirling design repeatedly in a nervous habit.
Dace cut across the lawn, unsurprisingly late, as he laughed with Graceson. Today something was lighter about the way he walked, his shoulders less slumped, and the joy on his face less forced. It was a new beginning for him too, one where he healed from his trauma.
“We should get together sometime. I know a wonderful bar that would host us. And now that I’m King, it would be even easier to host a private party with a full tap,” Dace offered as the two men parted. His white hair was pearlescent under the full sun, a stark contrast to Graceson’s hair, which burned even redder as he stood next to King Windre.
To our right, a large tree with brown and yellow leaves shaded Randsin and the woman I’d come to know as his mate. Her name was Eydis and she looked far too delicate for Randsin’s bruteness. She’d borrowed a dress from what I assumed to be Hattie’s closet, which was fully stocked by King Windre. A deep reddish-brown fabric that clung to her tiny waist and drifted loosely to her ankles.
Eydis drew her fingers over Randsin’s exposed chest, speaking softly with a blush creeping up her neck and cheeks. Randsin grimaced. Or could it have been a smile? A flash of light lit up the shade, revealing the other half of the token now in Eydis’ hands. The tattoo it had been contained in was gone. Randsin slipped back into his shirt, covering the scars and the ancient beasts that still lived within him.
Dace reached for my hand, interlocking his fingers with mine, still watching as Randsin and Eydis strolled up to the group. It was as absentminded a motion as watching him push back his hair or rest his palm on a dagger. Being with me was becoming natural to him.
It had always been natural to him,I thought with sudden realization.He held back because I wasn’t ready to let a stranger into my heart.
I squeezed his hand, feeling my heart swell with love. Dace glanced down at me, shielding his face from the sun, and grinned. A devilish smile. It dared me to ask what he had planned for us later.
“It’s done,” Eydis said softly. Even her voice was dainty and graceful.
“Are you ready?” King Windre asked around Hattie, looking at me.
It was time to say goodbye, to close up the portals between our worlds, and to rebuild everything that had been broken over the years.
