Epilogue
Reign
Three Months Later
The ceremonial tunic itched. Which, considering it had been hand-stitched by the most revered Light Fae tailors in the realm with actual threads of moonlight and shadowflame, felt like some sort of celestial joke.
I tugged at the collar again as I stared at my reflection in the looking glass. My shadows buzzed across the fine fabric, as desperate to be free of it as I was.
“Touch that thing one more time,” Ruhl muttered, “and I’m going to personally punch the new King of Night in the throat.”
I shot him a glare through the mirror’s reflection. “You’d hit a crowned ruler of Aetheria?”
“I’d hit my fool of a brother, and the crown can watch.”
Despite everything, I smiled as I faced Ruhl. “You’d have to catch me first.”
“You forget,” he said, folding his arms and leaning against the carved stone wall, “I’m faster than you. Always have been.”
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the mirror, attempting to adjust the high collar once more before giving up. My shoulders sagged, along with my shadows.
It was happening. This wasn’t a vision or a fever dream. In less than an hour, I’d be crowned the King of Night. Beside the Queen of Light.
Me… Tenebris’s bastard. I was never destined for the throne, but it had been thrust onto my shoulders all the same.
Gods help us all.
“Are you okay?” Ruhl’s voice had dropped to something quieter, gentler.
I nodded slowly. “It’s just… strange. I always thought you'd be the first to be crowned. The next Shadow King.”
He snorted. “I still might be. Eventually. Though I suppose I’ve got a few things left to prove.”
I glanced over at him. “The Ritual of the Shadow Throne?”
He hesitated for a beat before nodding. “It’s custom, as you know.
Shadow Fae heirs have to pass the trial before they can rule.
With everything that’s changing, I thought it right to maintain this one time-honored tradition.
You’re lucky you got out of it. On account of saving the entire realm and becoming a bonded god-child of the Tetrum Cordis or whatever. ”
I grinned faintly. “Surprisingly, the Night Fae have no such barbaric traditions.”
“Mmm, shocking, indeed, given their blood-thirsty nature.”
My grin widened. Gods, how I’d longed for this when we were young. The easy banter of brothers. Who knew we would find it all these years later after setting the entire realm ablaze?
Ruhl’s smirk faltered. “Do you ever wonder,” he said slowly, “if the throne will actually accept me?”
I blinked, giving him my full attention. “What?”
“In the vision I saw in the trials…” He trailed off, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “It said I would never take the throne.”
I stilled. “That doesn’t mean what you think it does,” I said carefully. “Visions are just glimpses. They’re never the full story.”
“I know,” he muttered. “But still. What if I’m not worthy? What if the throne refuses me?”
“You held Feywood during the battle with the Night Fae,” I said.
“You saved Kin. You never gave up, even when the gods themselves seemed to. You offered to walk away from it all, to assume my blood vow for the good of Aetheria. For my cuoré. That throne will recognize what you are. Shadowborn. Loyal. Stronger than anyone knows.”
His jaw ticked, but something in his shoulders loosened. “You’re certain?”
I crossed the room and clasped his shoulder. “Yes, there is no doubt in my mind. And anyway, you’ve got me now. We rule together. You’re my blood, Ruhl. You’re the only reason I survived half of this madness. The court wouldn’t just be lucky to have you, they’d be fools not to follow you.”
He swallowed hard, blinking fast. “You’re really getting sappy in your old age, brother.”
“I’m thirty.”
“Ancient,” he deadpanned.
I shoved him, and he punched me lightly in the arm.
“Besides,” I added, quieter now. “Everything turned out exactly as it should. Maybe not as we expected. But exactly right.”
He nodded, his voice rough. “Yes. Perhaps, it did.”
A knock sounded at the door. One of the guards peeked in. “Highness, your Queen is ready.”
I turned back to Ruhl. “Wish me luck?”
He smirked. “You don’t need luck. You’ve got her.”
I exhaled slowly, the weight of what was coming finally settling over me. Not just the looming crown. But the life we were building. Together.
With one last nod to my brother, I stepped out of the chamber.
Toward her.
Toward forever.
Aelia
Sunlight spilled through the grand arched windows of my chamber, casting ribbons of gold across the marble floor and the trailing hem of my elaborate gown. Outside, bells rang in the valley below the Castle of Ethereal Light, their song rising like a prayer to the gods.
Three months had passed since the war. Three months since we defeated my traitorous uncle, Elian. Since we banished the last of the twisted kings and watched the light return to Aetheria.
And now, somehow, I was here. Coronation day.
“Stop fidgeting,” Rue scolded behind me, hands busy in my curls, pinning tiny golden stars into the waves. “You’re going to ruin the braids. Do you want to look like a feral Wolvryn for your coronation?”
“Is that not the aesthetic?” I asked dryly, tilting my head to catch her eye in the mirror. “Queen of Light and Shadows with a dash of feral woodland chaos?”
Rue grinned. “Honestly? It wouldn’t be that farfetched.”
I laughed, but my stomach twisted with nerves.
Lifting my hand, I stared at the sparkling gem that now adorned my ring finger.
Reign had crafted it from a shard of the crystals etched into the hilts of my daggers.
Like my new fiancé, its presence steadied me, anchored me against the gathering storm.
“It’s beautiful,” Rue crooned.
“I know.” I couldn’t help the smile from splitting my lips.
It had been less than a month since Reign dropped to one knee in front of the old cottage Aidan had raised me in Feywood and asked me to be his wife. It almost felt redundant, as if what we had was already much grander. After all, we were infinite. Forever.
Still, I’d squealed with joy and thrown myself into his awaiting arms.
Folding my hands in my lap, I focused on the shimmering threads of my magnificent gown. It was spun of white and silver silk, threaded with glittering strands of rais and was impossibly heavy. The pressure of what today meant settled on my shoulders like a second crown.
Today, I would become the Queen of Ethereal Light.
And Reign, my cuoré, my future husband, and the prince born of darkness and wrath, would be crowned King of Infernal Night beside me.
Two thrones. One court. United.
The thought alone made me want to both cry and throw up at the same time.
“Hey.” Rue crouched beside me, mischief softening into something gentler. “You’ve already done the hard part, you know.”
“Which part?” I asked. “Surviving Helroth? Killing a monster made of nightmares? Bargaining with ancient gods? Bringing Reign back from beyond the Veil?”
She shrugged. “All of it. You’ve proven you deserve the crown a thousand times over. And the Fae know it. Today is just the formality.”
“And the pomp and circumstance,” I added, glancing down at the intricate embroidery at my waist. “Gods, who knew court seamstresses could be this extravagant?”
Rue straightened with a dramatic toss of her braid. “It’s your moment. Let them be extra. Besides—” her grin turned sly, “—this gown is only for part one.”
I blinked. “‘Part one’? What do you mean?”
Before she could elaborate, there was a knock at the chamber door. A Royal Guardian entered, bowing low. “Your Majesty, His Highness requests your presence in the Glass Garden.”
Rue clapped her hands once. “Perfect! I’ll finish your hair outside. Come on.”
I frowned. “What’s Reign doing in the garden before the coronation?”
Rue offered an exaggeratedly innocent shrug. “Maybe he’s nervous, too.”
But something tugged at my instincts, telling me it was more than that. Still, I followed.
The halls of the castle were awash in golden light, the banners of both courts, sunburst and obsidian hellfire, hanging side by side. Guards bowed as I passed.
The garden bloomed ahead, sunlight dancing across the reflective crystal tiles and blooming moonflowers, Reign’s favorite. Phantom and Solanthus lounged lazily near the reflecting pool, both cleaned up and awaiting their grand entrance for the ceremony itself.
It seemed only right to include them as they were as much a part of me as Reign was.
Then I saw him.
Reign stood at the far end of the garden, dressed in obsidian and silver with violet stitching lining his collar. A crown rested in his hands. Mine.
But it wasn’t the crown that stole my breath. It was the expression on his face. Wonder. Love. Nerves.
I stepped forward, heart thundering. “I thought I wouldn’t see you until the coronation.”
“I couldn’t wait.” His voice was rough with emotion as he took me in. “But… there’s something else. I mean, it’s not the only reason I’m here.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Reign…”
“I’ll see you in a little bit.” Rue slipped away behind me, humming under her breath. Suspiciously smug.
“Three months ago,” Reign said softly, “I thought I would never get another moment with you. And now, we have lifetimes stretched ahead of us. A thousand sunrises. A thousand shadows.”
He stepped forward and took my hands. “I didn’t want to wait anymore. For courts. For politics. For gods. I want to be yours, now. Today. Not just as King of Night, but as your husband.”
My breath caught. “Wait… Reign—what are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” he said, reaching into his cloak and revealing a pair of thin, woven rings, one of infernium veined with shadowsteel, the other braided light and silver, “that this isn’t just a coronation.”
He dropped to one knee. “This is our wedding.”
My heart nearly stopped.
I looked down at the male who had begun as my captor, then my professor, my shadow, my shield, my protector, and finally, my love.
“Will you marry me today, in front of our friends, our family and both of our courts?”
I drew in a breath, all the oxygen suddenly evaporating from my lungs. “Yes,” I whispered. “A thousand times yes.”
He rose, placing the rings between our pressed palms.
Then, beneath the glowing moonflowers and beside the dragons who were our soulmates, Reign’s lips found mine. This kiss was sweet and reverent and filled with so much hope my heart grew wings.
Our kingdoms would rise, and the empty thrones would be filled once again.
But in that moment, it was just us.
Light and shadow.
Starlight and storm.
King and Queen.
Forever.
Saying goodbye to Reign and Aelia was sooo hard!
I’ve absolutely loved writing these two and this moment is so bittersweet.
Sometimes it’s hard to find the perfect ending to really do the characters justice.
With these two, I felt like I could keep writing and their story would truly never end. But alas… it must.