Bonds Eternal (Fae Hearted #4)

Epilogue

Fifteen years later…

“Twyla’s pregnant again,” I say to my mates, Oakes and Eldrin, as I enter my suite.

I chuckle to myself about the fact that they congregate in my rooms even when I’m not there.

Jaden helps me with my cloak before removing his own. We have just returned from a brief visit at the portal with Twyla.

“This is her third now?” Eldrin asks absentmindedly as he looks over a stack of paperwork on my desk.

“Yes. She has a ten-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl. Rhys is ecstatic about another addition. I sense another girl on the way,” I say with a smile. My sister loves her growing family beyond measure.

I’ve been working on my mage abilities with Neven and it seems I’ve a knack for prophecy and visions… at least the futures for other people. So far, my Sight hasn’t revealed my future yet. Perhaps because some part of me worries that the blessings I have will be taken from me, and I don’t wish to imagine a realm without my mates at my side.

I walk up behind Eldrin and rub his tense shoulders. “Why are you working so hard?”

Eldrin turns his head to give me a sweet kiss on the lips. “Another kingdom is finally coming around to the idea of species equality.” He wraps an arm around my waist, pulls me to him, and gazes up into my face. “It hasn’t been easy to convince the last of the holdouts of the benefits.”

“They just need to look at how well it has turned out for you.” Oakes sets down his book and pats his knee for me to sit down on his lap. “In all of Elfhame, you are the most beloved monarch in a millennium.”

I smile at that sentiment and kiss Eldrin on the cheek, then skip to Oakes. Jaden smirks at my playfulness.

“Perhaps, but you know as well as I do, it took a while for the elves to fully accept that they weren’t at the top of the hierarchy any longer. I suspect they will all come around eventually.” Jaden blows a kiss to me as I settle in Oakes’ lap.

Eldrin sets his papers aside. His eyes soften as he looks over at me from across the room. “It doesn’t hurt my popularity that I have a beautiful and treasured queen at my side, bridging the two realms and keeping the peace.”

“I believe Twyla has something to do with that peace as well,” I scoff. “Twyla and Rhys have kept King Nathaniel from allowing any encroachment on Elven territories.”

“Besides the pregnancy, how is she faring?” Eldrin asks, his stormy gray eyes locking onto me, his concern apparent.

This topic makes me uncomfortable.

“Twyla is beginning to age, unlike our Wyn,” Jaden answers before I can. He sits down in a plush chair next to Oakes. “Which makes it easier for Twyla to feign her human status.”

“Although some human soldiers are now wondering why I haven’t aged in the slightest during these past years.”

I pick at my dress, feeling guilty for taking the gift of Twyla’s Elven longevity. When I realized Idril’s magic gave me an Elven lifespan, I offered to see if I could return it. She refused, wanting to age with Rhys. My eyes sting with my next thought.

“I don’t know if I will be able to visit Twyla for much longer, since the mortals believe I’m supposed to be completely human.”

“We could tell the humans a version of the truth, that an elf blessed you to have an extended lifetime.” Oakes pulls me tighter to his chest.

“It is true, twice over.” I nod. “As far as Twyla’s life span is concerned, Neven believes Twyla will age just as a human does.”

“Try not to be too sad.” Jaden strokes my hair. “She wants to grow old with Rhys.”

“I know, but I will have to mourn the loss when she passes. And one day, I will likely watch her children do the same.”

Eldrin clears his throat nervously. I feel a spike of apprehension within my mate bonds.

“Speaking of children and the future, we want to ask you something,” Eldrin says with a seriousness that I don’t like.

I know what they are about to bring up, and I’m afraid.

“We would like to have children with you,” Oakes says and kisses me behind the ear to soften the statement.

I squirm as my fears about having children bubble inside my chest. “But what about what Idril said? I’m going to be The Mother of Monsters? ”

“Wyn, you know that Mage Neven told us she had the same vision,” Jaden reminds me. “And it isn’t like that. Neven doesn’t see them as monsters, just another species. In her opinion, it doesn’t matter if you are the first to give birth or not, it will still happen. Our mate bond has already shifted the magic to allow for elf-human hybrids to be created. She has had visions that elves and humans will mate, eventually. From the species joining, a new world will be born.”

“But—” I protest.

“Of course, we will respect your wishes,” Eldrin says, “but please take the time to consider if you want children, regardless of what Idril predicted.”

Unbidden, my magic stirs in my heart. I know that I’m finally having a vision of the one path I have refused to look down before now.

Closing my eyes, the world falls away, and I’m in the future. I see three babies, one conceived with each of my mates.

A blond boy, a black-haired boy, and a chestnut-haired girl swarm around my mates and me, giggling and playing. I can’t believe how beautiful they are—so much like their fathers. I ache to bring them into being. My heart swells with how much love I feel for them, even if they are only an idea at the moment.

Then I travel further out in time, and our children are now adults.

Eldrin’s boy has his father's influencer magic, but he draws in his magic by taking blood. I see him with a mate, who willingly offers her neck for his need.

I see Oakes’ girl, now a stunning young woman. Her magic is tied to emotions. She feeds off potent feelings and sexual energy, pulling others to her with her lyrical voice. I see our daughter finding a man of vast power who can keep her fed so that she won’t have to drain anyone else.

Finally, Jaden’s son has his father’s heightened senses. He also inherited his transformation ability. Our son can shift his own form into another. I watch in awe as he changes into a giant wolf. Blissfully, he races through the forest with a lover who is able to transform as well.

In a quick flash of the distant future, I see many generations to come. And I will be there for most of my descendants, as will my mates.

Our children will be happy and healthy, even though they are what some might consider dangerous and fearsome. I know that our paths and our children’s paths will not always be easy. But when has life ever been easy? Of course, there will always be challenges, but at least I know I can be there for my kin.

Then I see one of my progeny. She will know heartache and strife. Born to parents who see her as a means to an end. I sense if she embraces her power and her potential mates, she will find solutions to the problems that her future world will face.

The vision fades, and I’m overcome with emotion. So much was shown to me in mere moments—happiness and pain, fear and joy. I will witness most of it in my lifetime—generations of the new races—my future.

I open my eyes and gaze at my gorgeous mates. Each one of them is beautiful in his own way. Their magic and essence are about to create a new world with me.

And because of our bond, other Elven-human couplings will create more unique beings just like our offspring.

I no longer have doubts about having our children.

I wave my mates closer. As they stand shoulder to shoulder, I thank the goddess for my blessings. My elves are more loving than I have ever dreamed of.

With eager anticipation radiating from their curious gazes, their adoration fills me to the brim.

They sense my answer to their request, but wait patiently for me to confirm what they feel through our bond.

Gently, I kiss each of my mates. “Our love will echo throughout the ages.”

THE END…