Epilogue
Iblinked my eyes open as sunlight poured into the room—Loch’s room at his castle in the water court. We’d arrived late last night, and I hadn’t even had a chance to meet his family yet. He’d ushered me here, and we’d fallen into a deep sleep.
I sat up in bed, looking at the empty space beside me. But now, in the early morning light, he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he was meeting with his family before the conclave later today.
I glanced around the room. The walls were made of white rugged stone, the floors smooth and gleaming.
And that view. I gasped and twisted my neck to better see it.
I hadn’t been able to last night when we’d arrived, but it was breathtaking. The sapphire sea stretched out as far as the eye could see, glittering under the sun like jewels, matching Loch’s eyes. He hadn’t lied. His court was beautiful. Even better was the warm breeze brushing through the open windows, so different from the icy chill of Valoris.
A knock sounded on my door. “Come in,” I called out.
The door clicked open, and I expected a servant or maid or even Loch. My mouth dropped open when instead, three women strode into the room.
Each was so beautiful, I could barely focus. One had shoulder-length black hair with piercing green eyes, the next had long blond hair that fell in beautiful waves, and the last one, well, I recognized her immediately: she had the same shade of auburn hair as her brother, except hers was plaited into a neat braid and instead of Loch’s blue eyes, hers were a light shade of brown.
“Hi,” the woman with the black hair said warmly, “my name is Liliath.”
As in Queen Liliath. Oh my. I suddenly felt very faint.
The blond woman stepped forward, her blue dress swishing around her ankles. “And I’m Seraphina.”
The queen of the fire court. Breathe, Poppy. Just breathe.
The last one smiled. “I’m Princess Gabrielle.”
Loch’s older sister.
“May we sit?” Gabrielle gestured toward the couch and chairs in the opposite corner.
“Of course.” I looked down at my nightgown, face flushing as I got out of bed and snatched a thin white shawl, draping it over my shoulders before I padded back to my bed and sat on the edge. “How can I help all of you?”
“Actually.” Seraphina leaned forward. “We wanted to know how we could help you.”
Gabrielle flipped her braid over her shoulder. “We wanted to let you know how excited we are to get to know you, the future queen of Valoris.”
The title still didn’t sound right. A future queen. Gran would be proud.
“I don’t know about that,” I said. I hadn’t even spoken with my father since I’d seen him at the tower. He’d said he believed me, that I was his daughter, but that didn’t mean he’d accept me as the future queen.
“It’s okay to be scared,” Seraphina said, peering at me like she knew exactly how I was feeling. “I was scared too.” She smoothed out her dark blue gown. “I’m still scared, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a good queen. Not a good leader for my people.”
“Thank you,” I said, glancing around the group of women. “I know I can do this.” I sighed. “But the doubts...”
“Will always be there.” Liliath leaned forward, her ink-black hair grazing her shoulders. “Don’t listen to them.”
I tugged my shawl tighter around my shoulders and shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know how to be a queen.”
Gabrielle’s eyes crinkled. “Well, that’s funny, considering you were raised by one.”
That stopped me as I stared at the three women sitting in front of me. So Loch must’ve already filled his sister in on everything that had happened.
She was right. I had been raised by a queen, and like I’d told Loch, she’d spent her entire life preparing me for the role. From the books I read to the stories she told to the lessons she taught me. Now as I sat in front of these three powerful women, I saw something of myself in each of them.
“You really think I can do this?” I asked.
They all looked at each other, then back at me.
“We know you can,” Gabrielle said. “But it’s not about us. It’s about you. You have to believe it as well.”
I was actually starting to.
Before I could say so the door burst open, Loch standing there, crossing his arms with a brow raised. “Gabby, I told you to wait for me to introduce you. Why can’t you ever listen?” His gaze swept to Seraphina and Liliath, and he tsked. “And you two, going along with her.”
Gabrielle stood, raising her chin. “We wanted to meet her, this mysterious woman who captured my wayward brother’s heart.”
My own heart melted as Gabrielle walked up to Loch and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She turned to face us and threaded her arm through his. “Thank you for saving him, by the way.” She smirked. “I heard you did quite a lot of saving on your journey together.”
Loch rolled his eyes as Liliath and Seraphina stood.
“We’ll give you two some privacy. It was so nice to meet you, Princess.” Liliath nodded at me, and Seraphina squeezed my shoulder as she passed by me and walked toward the door.
Gabrielle unthreaded her arm from Loch’s. “I’m excited to get to know you more. Today you get to meet my mother. She already loves you, by the way. You did something no woman has done before.” She shot Loch a mischievous grin. “Won the heart of the playboy prince.”
“Okay,” Loch said, then shoved her toward the door as she laughed. “Get out. All of you. We have a conclave to prepare for in case you forgot?”
The women left, all of them shooting me a final backward glance before the door closed.
Loch blew out a breath and strode toward me. I rose just as he reached me and swept me up in his arms.
A breath escaped me, the same way it did every time he pulled me to him.
“Well, I was planning on getting you some breakfast from the kitchen and bringing it to our room, but then I overheard some of the servants talking about how the two queens and the princess were headed straight toward my room. I didn’t make it here fast enough to intercept them.”
I tilted my head up. “It’s okay. I’m glad I met them before the conclave. They gave me a... new perspective.”
He shot me a curious look but didn’t ask me to explain.
“Are you ready for today?” he asked.
“I think so.” My hand went to Gran’s necklace, still around my neck. “I’m ready to tell everyone what happened with Gran, the truth of the shadow king. I’m ready to bring the courts together so we can fight this threat.”
I thought of the bone collector, the stolen bolt. “I wonder if Driscoll and Leoni have reached Emory yet.” The white rabbit. This whole time I had no idea she was infamous throughout the courts, had a nickname, people who were after her. I worried at my bottom lip. Leoni had seemed so confident she could convince Emory, but I had my doubts. Emory would go in a heartbeat, but her husband? He would never allow such a thing.
“Hey.” Loch drew me in closer. “They’re going to find Emory, and they will get that bolt from the bone collector.”
“I hope so,” I said. “Meanwhile, I’ll do my part today. I will convince everyone that it’s time to unite and face the threats looming over us.”
“That’s my girl,” Loch said.
I bit my lip. “After the conclave, you know my father will want me to go back to Valoris.” I searched Loch’s face. “I think I want to go back with him. I want to learn how to be a queen.” I hesitated, but I wouldn’t cower from asking the question that burned through me. “Will you come with me?”
He cocked his head. “I thought you’d never ask.”
My mouth dropped open. “But you’ll have to leave your home.”
“You’re my home,” he said simply. “Where you go, I follow, remember?”
My heart warmed as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“You think you’re ready to be king of Valoris?” I asked.
His lips tipped up into a grin. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
My mouth dropped open as I sputtered.
“Not the most romantic proposal in the world.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “But my answer is yes.”
“You are insufferable,” I said, for the millionth time since I’d met him.
“You like it,” he said back, also for the millionth time.
He wasn’t lying. I did. And with him by my side, I felt ready to take on this momentous task of bringing the courts together. Not just ready but worthy. Worthy of being Loch’s. Worthy of being heir. Worthy of being a queen.
THE END
If you want more of Poppy and Loch’s epic love story, then check out this bonus spicy chapter.
To findout if Leoni and Driscoll find Emory—and the mysterious bone collector—you can now preorder book four in the series and keep reading for a sneak peek!