Epilogue
LORELDA
“He was her dark fairytale and she was his twisted fantasy. Together they made magic.”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald
T he spell Lorelda casted on Cole was powerful, binding his will to hers—but something unexpected happened.
Lorelda watches in fury as she finds them, her heart racing with anger as she sees the dagger buried in Cole’s chest.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Cole was supposed to be her perfect weapon, an emotionless puppet under her control.
As Davina cradles his lifeless body and then plunges the dagger into her own heart, Lorelda’s anger boils over into a dangerous rage. She finds Davina’s death amusing, whereas Cole’s death is a waste of potential.
“You fools,” she hisses.
Her plan has been so perfect, so meticulously crafted.
Yet here they are, defying her.
Her jaw ticks as she sees the light fading from Cole’s eyes, Davina’s body slumping against his. She steps forward, ready to ensure that Davina’s death is going to be as painful and drawn-out as possible.
“Poor thing,” she murmurs mockingly, raising a hand to cast the final spell.
The air around Lorelda shimmers with dark magic, the power she wields crackling with intensity. She reaches out towards the dying, foolish couple.
But something stops her.
As she struggles to channel her magic, the ground beneath her feet trembles. She frowns, pausing mid-incantation.
The earth seems to shiver, as if responding to some unseen force, an unexpected breeze rippling through the air. A dark energy, the very essence of her malevolence, begins to swirl around her, growing in intensity. She tries to command it, to harness it, but the magic has a will of its own.
Lorelda’s eyes widen in shock, her smug expression faltering. “What is this?” she hisses, her voice filled with irritation.
She glances down at Davina and Cole, expecting to see them crumpled and lifeless. They are still, but there’s a soft glow emanating from their joined fingers. A blinding light erupts from their bodies, forcing Lorelda to shield her eyes.
The light is pure, radiant, and utterly overpowering.
It’s love and hope; every good thing that she made sure to destroy.
Lorelda tries to retreat, but the light follows her, enveloping her in its brilliance.
The magic is a force she underestimated.
“No!” she screams, her voice raw with panic.
Nora watches, her own strength waning as she gasps for breath.
The ground splits open beneath Lorelda, and she stumbles, her own magic faltering. She reaches out, trying to grasp onto anything solid, but the light is relentless. As the vortex tightens around her, Lorelda feels her power draining away, sucked into the void.
“ No , this cannot be happening,” she shrieks, her voice echoing with desperation and fear. “This isn’t over!”
But it’s too late. The light intensifies, and with one final, agonizing cry, Lorelda is sucked into the vortex, and her words are cut off as darkness engulfs her, pulling her into its depths, the last remnants of her form vanishing.
The vortex collapses in on itself, then bursts outward in a wave of energy that sweeps across the land.
Nora crumples to the ground, gasping for air.
The air grows still, and the kingdom seems to hold its breath, the echoes of Davina’s and Cole’s death lingering in the air. They lay together, their bodies still entwined, as if even in death, they refuse to be parted.
In the end, it’s neither the love nor the curse that defined them, but the choices they made in the face of both.
And as tragic as it seems, their sacrifice is not in vain because, for a moment, the stars seem to shine a little brighter.
Life begins to stir, vibrant flowers start to bloom, and the trees, once twisted and gnarled by Lorelda’s dark magic, now stand tall and proud, their bright green leaves rustling gently in the night breeze.
The dark magic that plagued the kingdom is dispelled, and the land seems to heal.