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"What next?" I whispered, blinking.
The others were quiet for a moment as we absorbed the shift. Birsha was gone. Our lives were our own again. But what did that mean?
"I was in the middle of a book before you arrived," Laszlo said. "I might finish it."
Conall groaned and stretched, turning back to the castle. "I could use a nap."
"It feels as though I haven't had a minute of leisure in decades," Asterion admitted. "Might just…go for a walk."
I smiled and turned to Hywel, whose gaze was distant and unfocused. His eyes slid slowly to mine, a sheepish blush on his cheeks. I tipped my head, waiting to hear his plans.
"I've received word from the puck," Hywel said slowly. Laszlo's breath hitched, and Hywel swallowed before continuing, "About a bit of treasure in Portugal."
I grinned and wheeled back to the road, staring at the horizon. "I've never been to Portugal," I said.
There was a pause, a ruffle of feathers, and an itchy excitement in my chest from Conall.
"I'll pack a bag," Asterion said.
I laughed, squealing as Conall hauled me up and spun me toward the castle. "An adventure is just what I was thinking of," he cried.
I glanced over his shoulder and sighed at the picture of Hywel's head slightly bent, his lips against Laszlo's. They parted softly, and Laszlo turned and granted me a wink.
"I'll read my book on the way."
EPILOGUE
MANY YEARS LATER
Asterion groaned as I pulled the hat from his head, revealing his horns at last. They'd grown slightly in the past century or so, starting to regain their curves at the corners, but they still irritated him under the disguises we used when traveling. He hitched me up off my tired feet and carried me as I combed my fingers through his dark curls.
"It's good to be home," Hywel sighed, the castle gates swinging shut behind us.
"You say that now. You'll be itching to go again in a month or so," I teased.
Asterion huffed, nostrils flaring. "I say we send Conall and Laszlo with him then. Have the place to ourselves."
I hummed. "Perhaps. Although I missed them this month. Perhaps our next adventure is a vacation?"
"Our life is a vacation,blodyn bach," Hywel laughed.
I grinned and shrugged. So it was. I had no complaints.
"But we do owe Amon and his little flock of vampires a visit," Hywel mused.
"You promised him no treasure hunting in Egypt," I reminded Hywel, whose lips twisted in annoyance. "You can't, Hywel. I'll miss Esther if I have to go thirty years without seeing her again."
"Oh, I promised and I meant it. But when it's forsalein a marketplace…?"
I ignored the question and gasped as bright golden wings appeared in the opening door of the castle. Asterion let me down, and I took off like a shot, racing toward my gryphon.
Laszlo caught me in a firm embrace, both of us groaning as we filled our lungs with the scent of each other. "How was your flight?"
"Going through customs with Hywel is a nightmare, but planes are much smoother than travel by dragon," I murmured in his ear, and Laszlo laughed. "I brought you a present."
"You always bring me a present."
I scoffed and leaned back. "Are you saying you don't want it?"
