Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Kadaric Castle
Three nights later, Saskia was lying wrapped up with her lover under her familiar quilt, her cheek resting securely against his warm chest and dancing golden lights flickering like stars in the darkness around them, when a sudden, urgent alarm sounded from the small mirror-box that she had created in her last meeting with Ailana.
“Ugh!” Groaning, she forced herself up from the comfort of the bed and the even deeper comfort of Felix’s arms.
As much as Saskia might value her privacy, even she had to admit that if the Queens of Villainy were to maintain their alliance against an increasingly dangerous emperor, they would need to be able to get in touch immediately, from now on, for any crisis.
Felix sat up in bed as she left, extinguishing the golden lights that he had cast for them earlier with a murmured counterspell that warmed her with pride. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, based on the newspaper reports, that magical counterattack on Estarion’s high general must have been cast by her—but the two of them both knew the truth.
As always, her lover was ready to take on a new challenge. Now that they were safely home, he was turning his keen attention to learning and practicing the magic that he’d studied as her librarian for months, in preparation for the next time they were called upon to do battle.
He stayed back now, giving her space, but she could feel his watchful concern like an embrace as she yanked her crimson dressing gown around her naked body and then pulled open the mirror-box to reveal the lovely face of Nornne’s ice queen.
“Ailana?” Saskia swept away the thick locks of hair that had fallen over her own face in the last half hour. “What’s amiss? Is there news from the Emperor’s meeting with the Golden Beacon?”
The expectation of that meeting had guided the schedule of their whirlwind trip to Estaviel City and, this afternoon, their thankful return to Kadaric Castle. She and Felix had been greeted with worried lectures and delicious pastries from Mrs. Haglitz, calm words of welcome from a visibly relieved Morlokk, cawing and shrieking delight from Oskar, and half a dozen new stories about experiences they’d missed from Krakk and the other goblins.
Still, her awareness of that upcoming event had been a thrumming source of anxiety all day long.
“Not… exactly.” Ailana’s face looked uncharacteristically pinched with tension. “Have you heard from Lorelei at all in the last few days?”
Saskia frowned. “Not a word. Why? Should I have?” In the whirlwind of meetings and travel, it hadn’t even occurred to her to expect any such communication.
“I had hoped—well, never mind.” Ailana released a heavy breath. “The Emperor and the Golden Beacon did not meet today after all.”
“Why not?” It was Felix who spoke, stepping up to lean over Saskia’s shoulder. “Has some other crisis erupted on a different border?”
“According to official reports,” said Ailana, “the Golden Beacon has ordered his troops to take a long rest before the Ferian mountain pass. However, according to my spies, there is good reason to believe that no one has actually seen the Golden Beacon himself in at least two days.”
“So, what do you—? Oh. ” Saskia sucked in a breath, turning to meet Felix’s widening eyes. “You don’t think…?”
“Exactly,” Ailana said tightly. “No one—including any of my spies—has caught any sight of Lorelei, either.”
“Elva preserve us,” Felix murmured.
But as Saskia knew, there were some things a goddess couldn’t control. The incorrigible fae queen was undoubtedly among them.
“It could be only a coincidence,” she said, without any real hope.
“Perhaps.” Ailana grimaced. “Do let me know if you hear from her?”
“Of course.” Gently closing the lid of the box, Saskia looked up at her consort and let out a weary sigh. “I suppose I ought to start casting for her now—but if she’s using her own magic to hide herself, it won’t be easy.”
“I’ll help you,” Felix promised, “but not yet. You’ve done more than enough for today. Let yourself have a full night’s sleep first. We’ll work together on it tomorrow morning.”
The Witch Queen of Kitvaria had never believed that she needed any tenderness or care in her life…
But as she closed her eyes five minutes later to fall asleep in the warm curve of Felix’s arms, she couldn’t help sending up her first true prayer to Divine Elva.
Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
Two nights earlier, in a private hunting lodge in an enchanted woodland deep within Balravia, shielded with ancient fae magic from even the most powerful of prying eyes…
Tedious, unimaginative people always threw around words like “reckless” or “foolhardy” when confronted with Lorelei of Balravia’s most brilliant schemes and lightning-swift instincts. Naturally, she’d never allowed their disapproval to bother her for an instant.
But as she looked down now, through the darkness, at the infuriatingly beautiful figure of the Empire’s beloved Golden Beacon, cast under an enchanted sleep and chained with ropes of twining ivy to his prison bed, Lorelei found herself wondering, for the first time, whether she might have finally gone too far.