Epilogue
THORNE
(Two Years Later)
In a world full of darkness and hatred, embroiled in a fight for power, seek joy, hope, and growth.
I recall my father’s words as if they were just spoken. Maybe it’s because they’re just as relevant now as they were then, only the stakes are completely different, and the positives, for the first time ever, outweigh the negatives.
Taking a deep breath, I think about that fateful day two years ago and wonder how it was ever even the same lifetime.
My chest aches with contentment. It’s a feeling I’m still adjusting to as my life continues to shift around me, today more than ever.
She doesn’t know I know, but I can see it in her eyes that she does. Now it’s my turn to give her a big surprise.
Two years.
Two years since everything as we knew it shattered into a million pieces.
Two years since we finally got a sense of peace.
Two years since my prophecy came full circle.
They will rise with fire in their bones and ruin in their wake, step the shadows that you reap and give more than you shall take. Blood shall bind you, love shall break you. Only in the face of death shall the path be clear; the world mourns with the final tear.
The destruction of the Emberlock left the ruin and fire in its wake, and the rest is history.
With The Vale gone, right along with Jude’s world, our lives are beyond different.
Kael’s parents, along with Odie, Ellie, and Rikard, brought democracy to the supernatural world.
No segregated realms, no obnoxious control, none of it.
Instead, they’ve started to lay roots throughout the world, offering safety to all, including those with what Jude considered extra special powers.
There’s a long road ahead of us, but the weight of that doesn’t rest squarely on our shoulders. It’s a collective burden, as it always should have been.
Rion, in the free time he has when he’s not utterly devoted to Elodie, is working through the demons from his childhood, while also working with packs throughout many countries, creating undeniable bonds.
He’s finally showing the world what it means to be a loyal wolf; replicating nothing of his father, just as he likes it.
Kael has slowly been rekindling his relationship with his parents, who have begun to realize that The Obsidian Circle isn’t the only thing worthy of their attention.
Watching him soften in their presence is almost comforting, but it’s the way he constantly shows his growth that has us all in awe.
We found a mage a while back, someone who can help ensure the mental marks left by Jude heal.
He’s quiet after those sessions, Elodie being his rock, but the progress is impressive.
Ocean is possibly the greatest witch I’ve ever met.
Her strength and desire to learn is almost obnoxious, but I’m pretty sure it only looks like that to piss Rion off, and it’s highly amusing to watch.
She’s the sister the others never knew they needed, and nothing like the one I lost, but a sister no less.
Although, if she continues to sneak Elodie away for girls’ nights, I might have to disown her.
She is, however, the lead witch of an eighteen-month-old coven.
The Psychotics. Her title choices are no surprise, but their name is growing strong among the community, and I’m low key proud. I just can’t tell her that.
I, on the other hand, have taken comfort in the lands that were once my own.
They don’t take up all of my time, but when I’m there, I make sure to aid in its growth, one small step at a time.
Odie helps too, and we both take solace in watching it come back to life.
It’s healing the part of my soul I thought would be broken forever.
The other part of it is whole now, thanks to Elodie, who continues to be the most beautiful person, both inside and out, that I’ve ever met.
Since the scythe’s vault was lost in the fall of The Vale, she and her mother have dedicated themselves to restoring their heritage and taking pride in their origin.
She belongs. Now more than ever.
With a true family around her, she’s never been stronger. Although, her secret keeping is something we need to work on, but that’s fine.
That’s what today is about anyway.
Rolling my shoulders back, I close my closet door and step into the bedroom to find the woman in question freshly dressed, out of the shower, and smiling with a softness I’m growing to love about her.
Every day I take her in, I’m in awe when I think about her life path. She went from victim, to survivor, to our whole damn purpose.
“How do you look even more beautiful than I remember?” I breathe, and she rolls her eyes at me.
“Than you remember? I saw you twenty minutes ago,” she amuses, and I shrug.
“It’s been a long twenty minutes,” I state, and she shakes her head, but I don’t miss the pinch to her shoulders.
“Are you okay?” I ask, hurrying toward her, and she nods as I wrap my arm around her, pulling her in close.
She breathes me in, and I do the same, taking a moment to feel grounded before she speaks. “I saw something earlier and it made me think.”
“About what?” I ask, and she smiles, despite the hint of darkness in her eyes.
“It had me thinking about my life before all of this and it made me realize that things were tough for a reason, and it was meant to be that way,” she explains, and before I can push for more, she offers it freely.
“I couldn’t save myself from the past because I needed the energy to save myself now.
Well, more recently.” She brushes a hand through her hair, which is a rich chestnut shade, another color she’s explored, and it only makes her marbled eyes look even more stunning.
I stroke my thumb over her cheek and she smiles softly.
“So, what’s the surprise?” she asks, and I wink.
“You’ll see,” I rasp as the sound of the door creaking behind me confirms we’re ready to go.
“Petal,” Rion murmurs, separating us, but we don’t make it far before he grabs both of us in a bear hug. I groan as he chuckles, enjoying the sweet sound of Elodie’s laugh too. “The portal is ready,” he adds after squeezing us half to death, and I mumble my thanks as Elodie eyes me suspiciously.
We don’t use portals often, opting to enjoy the world around us and the somewhat mundane modes of transport it has to offer in comparison, but today makes the portal necessary.
Making our way downstairs in our home, we find Kael waiting in the office, Ocean beside him.
She beams as we approach, swiftly wrapping her arms around Elodie’s neck, who frowns in confusion at her best friend's presence.
“What’s this?” she asks, and Ocean leans back with a wink, releasing her from her hold before mimicking the action of sealing her lips. It earns her an eye roll from Elodie as Kael approaches.
“Where are we going?” he asks, sneaking Elodie from my grasp. I consider putting up a fight, but really, I want the best vantage point of taking her in when we get there, and I know it will be better from afar.
“I haven’t travelled via portal in a while,” she murmurs, and I smile.
“I know, but it will be worth it, I promise.”
She laces her fingers with Kael’s, an adjustment we’ve made when it comes to portal traveling, one we should have made a hell of a lot sooner, but we got there in the end.
Elodie doesn’t travel alone. I’m pretty sure that, unless we’re in our home, she doesn’t step over a damn threshold without touching someone.
We’re all scared by how easily she was able to slip through our fingers two years ago, and we’re silently determined to ensure it doesn’t happen again, even if there isn’t a greater threat.
Peace of mind wins every time.
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I nod a silent thanks to Ocean before. Stepping through the portal first, I lead the way, and what greets me has changed even more since even yesterday.
I gulp, trying to contain my emotions. Due to how much effort and energy I’ve been putting into this place, one simple seed gets planted and it effortlessly flourishes.
Lush green trees dance in the distance, flower beds growing in a riot of color in every direction, while the sound of the flowing river threatens to bring me to my knees.
But it’s the elegance of the castle that takes my breath away.
The cracks are gone, the haunting memories along with it as it stands tall and proud.
It’s hardly recognizable.
“What is all of this?” Elodie blurts, hand leaping to cover her mouth.
I relish in the unshed tears that tremble across her lower lashes and the way the pink hue dances over her cheeks, teasing at the corners of her eyes.
“How are we here while we’re awake? And with…
” She waves frantically at Rion and Kael, and I smile, eliminating the distance between us as I place my hand on her stomach.
Her gaze darts to mine, alert and wide.
“I know,” I rasp, and she blinks at me as her hand falls over mine.
“You know?” she breathes, a single tear tracking down her face, and I nod as Kael clears his throat.
“What do we know?” he asks, eyebrows furrowed as he glances between us in confusion.
“Listen. You’ll hear it,” I murmur, and a second later, Rion gasps.
“She’s pregnant,” he blurts, and Elodie loses the pretty glow to her cheeks as panic takes over.
“I… how did you know?”
I beam at her, cupping her cheeks in my hands as I stare deep into her eyes. “Because you, Elodie Silverthorne, are the princess shadow fae. Odie told me something a while ago. I thought he was bonkers, but then all of this appeared before me and it seems he was right after all.”
“You’re talking in riddles,” Kael grunts, and I roll my eyes, making Elodie smother a giggle.
“He said, ‘with the next heir the shadow realm will be restored.’” My words take root, settling in the air around us before Elodie takes a nervous breath.
“So you’re not mad?”
“At what?” I reply, confused as hell as she waves her hands at her stomach.
“Well, we weren’t trying,” she grumbles, and Rion scoffs, his head tilting back as the sound comes all the way from his gut.
“Oh, I was definitely trying,” he declares, and I snicker before taking a step back.
“Try your magic, just like we were practicing in our dreams,” I insist, and with a wary nod, she does just that, and the three of us bear witness to the purple tendrils that collect at her hands.
A scythe and a shadow fae.
“I’m home,” she breathes, and Kael runs his hand over her arm when she lets her magic fall away.
“We’re home,” he clarifies, and she beams at him.
“You were always our home, Petal,” Rion adds, and my heart aches with the possibilities the future holds for us.
“We love you, Echo,” I croak, and she rubs her lips together nervously.
“What does that mean? Echo?”
I shrug, my emotions storming inside of me as I offer her the truth.
“Whenever you were near, you made my heart beat so wildly it echoed in my ears,” I explain, and she offers me a watery smile, but it’s another’s hand that lands on my shoulder. Rion. He squeezes for good measure.
“Who knew you were so soft on her?” he muses, and I roll my eyes again.
“We’re all fucking soft on her,” I correct, and neither of them can argue the fact.
Rion brings everyone in close, the four of us standing in a small circle as we take each other in.
“Forever?” Elodie asks, the prospects of our future wild and free, and I grin, speaking in sync with Kael and Rion as I vow it all to her; the girl, the victim, the survivor, the soon-to-be mother.
Our everything.
“Forever.”
If you loved Elodie’s story, buckle up for Ivy’s. She had the world until her fated mates rejected her. Now, two years later, she stands before the gates of Neverbound Academy, and they’re waiting for her.