Epilogue
The next day…
Merrill stared at the field where he had killed the entity, the same one in which he had seen Katla dead. And the place he had died. The ground was white with snow. The blades of grass sticking up were iced.
Some might believe this was the place where everything changed. It was an important location, but the change had occurred earlier. The instant he decided to follow Katla . That was the catalyst. It’d sparked an entirely new journey that showed him his darkest fears and greatest joy.
His head turned to the side to look upon Katla , who stood next to him. She was swathed in a long, gray coat that matched her eyes. Thick fur lined the collar, lapels, and cuffs. He gazed in wonder at the incredible woman beside him. Her chin was lifted, her expression serene as she stared out at the grassland. She was searching for any sign that the entity might have survived.
Stormy gray eyes lifted to his. “ I don’t see it.”
Con walked up on her other side. “ Do you see anything that would lead you to believe it still lives?”
That’s what this trip was all about. Merrill knew he had destroyed the being, but would it stay dead?
Katla said nothing as she walked forward. Her footsteps left tracks in the snow as she headed toward the location where he had ripped the entity in half. There , in a nearly perfect circle, the snow melted as soon as it landed. Brandr was there, squatting at the edge as he studied the ground.
Merrill hadn’t seen anything drop from the being, but something must have. It was the only explanation for the area to be affected.
Katla stopped at the edge of the circle. “ There are no remnants left behind. No bones or anything.”
“ Your sparks allowed me to see it being torn apart. I felt it, too,” Merrill said.
Brandr lifted his gaze. “ If it didna have a body, how can we know if it’s dead?”
“ We can no’. And that’s the problem,” Con replied.
Merrill frowned as he stared at the spot. “ It spoke.”
All three turned to look at him.
Merrill twisted his lips. “ I’d forgotten until we returned here.”
“ What did it say?” Brandr asked as he straightened.
“ At first it just screamed.” Merrill touched his temple as the screech echoed in his head.
His eyes closed as he searched for the memory. His mind resisted. Did he really want to return to that night and the fury? Cold fingers of fear reached for him, clasped his heart. This was what he feared. To return and get a glimpse of perfect happiness only to have it snatched away.
Small hands took his free one. Merrill drew in a deep breath. Katla was his anchor. She showed him how to find his way when the darkness came. He had a long road ahead of him to be able to do this on his own, but he wouldn’t be alone. He had his mate and his family. And with them, he could do anything.
He searched his recollections again. This time, when his mind resisted, he pressed onward, casting aside all doubts and fears. The memories had large holes of information missing, but he kept looking. It was important that he remember what the entity had said.
Merrill dug deeper, combing through every moment of their battle. And then he found it.
His eyes snapped open to collide with Katla’s . He dropped his arm to his side. “ I remember.” Merrill looked at Brandr than Con . “ The entity claimed we destroyed its planet. Us and the Star People .”
“ So , it was after revenge?” Brandr asked.
Merrill nodded.
Con’s black eyes sizzled with fury, his nostrils flaring. “ It wasna any of us.”
“ Exactly . Why go after Merrill ?” Brandr asked.
Merrill recalled the hostility aimed at him. “ I was an easy target because I no’ only left the canyon, but my anger was out of control.”
Con glared at the spot where the entity had died. “ If there’s any truth to this, we need to know.”
“ Bloody hell,” Brandr murmured. “ You want to ask Villette ?”
Katla twisted her lips. “ She did say some of the dragons they tried to extend their life went insane and destroyed worlds. The entity’s might have been one of those?”
“ I’d like to know if it was. And if there are more of them out there,” Merrill said.
“ I was really hoping there was only one of them,” Brandr said.
Con glanced at the circle. “ If there were, you’d think they would’ve banded together.”
“ True , but we should keep an eye out, just to be sure,” Merrill said.
Brandr dipped his chin. “ Agreed .”
“ One more enemy down.” Con ran a hand over his mouth.
Katla put her back to the circle. “ Does that mean we’re done here?”
“ Aye .” Brandr looked at each of them. “ I’ll see you back at Iron Hall .”
He was gone in a blink. Being half Fae , Brandr could teleport, just not vast distances like a full Fae or a Star Person could.
“ Ready ?” Katla asked.
Merrill saw her and Con exchange a look. He didn’t have time to ask what it was about before Katla jumped them. Merrill tensed the moment he realized they were at Cairnkeep . His gaze shot to the sky, ready to protect Katla should any dragons come for her. When he didn’t see any, he swung his head to Con .
“ It was my idea,” Con said. He slapped Merrill on the shoulder with a smile and walked away.
Merrill watched him for a moment before he looked at Katla . “ What’s going on?”
“ The final question.”
He looked up at the steep incline and the cliff above where they had been mated. Then he looked at the valley. He spotted the stacked stones that marked the Fae doorway that would take them to Earth .
“ We don’t have to try if you aren’t ready,” Katla told him.
Merrill shook his head. “ I need to know.”
That didn’t stop the swell of fear, though. Scotland was in his blood. To never lay eyes on his beloved land, fly between the mountains on Dreagan , or walk the halls of Dreagan Manor would be unbearable. But he would endure it because he was alive.
He wasn’t the only one going through—if he could. Merrill looked at Katla . “ Are you ready? It’s a vastly different world.”
“ I’ll readily face anything with you by my side.”
Merrill grinned. “ You might go through alone. If that happens, just turn around and return. Or stay.”
“ I’m not going without you. Either we go together or not at all,” she stated.
He licked his lips and looked at the space where the door was. He couldn’t see it, but it was there. “ All right.”
“ Go first.”
“ We go together.”
Katla gave him a smile filled with love and slid her hand into his. “ I’m a half step behind.”
Just in case he couldn’t go through. His heart was thudding against his ribs, his breaths coming quicker. The magic had chosen him as a Dragon King . It wouldn’t reject him now.
Katla squeezed his hand. Merrill swallowed and stepped between the stacked stones. There was no resistance, nothing blocked him from passing through. One moment, he was on Zora . The next, he stood in the Dragonwood . A heartbeat later, Katla was beside him.
“ Oh , it’s warm,” she said.
Merrill stood within the forest and lifted his face to the sun as he drank in the magic of the realm. Excitement swept through him as he tugged Katla after him. “ There is so much to show you, and so many people for you to meet.”
Her laugh filled the Dragonwood as they started running toward the manor.
Sian set aside the glass tub and yanked off her gloves. She couldn’t concentrate on anything since Katla and Merrill had told her about running into Jenefer . It had been so long since she had last seen her. Sian told herself to be patient, that Jenefer would return when she could, but she was tired of waiting, tired of worrying.
She left her lab and strode out of the double doors into the canyon. Usually , Sian was content to stride through the canyon, but not today. Something pressed her to get to the top. It wasn’t an easy climb, even with the hidden rope ladder Cullen had fashioned.
Sian slapped away vines and large leaves as she made her way up. She was out of breath by the time she reached the summit. Her boot got caught in one of the vines and it made her stumble getting off the ladder. She fell to one knee. She was yanking her foot to get it out of the vines when she caught the flash of metal. Suddenly , she was free.
Sian lifted her head and stared into a face she feared she might never see again. “ Jenefer .”
Jenefer grinned and helped Sian to her feet. “ You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”
“ I have an idea,” she said.
They fell into each other’s arms then, their lips meeting in a passionate, hungry kiss. Someone cleared their throat. Jenefer ended the kiss, and they pressed their foreheads together.
“ I missed that.” Jenefer caressed her face. Then she straightened and turned to the side. “ Sian , this is Narin .”
Sian stared at the beautiful Amazon . Jealousy flared for an instant until she saw the love in Jenefer’s gaze directed at her and not Narin . Sian gave Narin a welcoming smile. “ Let’s get both of you inside.”
“ We have a lot to tell everyone,” Jenefer said.
“ Merrill mentioned something about a girl you were looking for.”
Narin shook her head. “ We lost her.”
“ We’ll look for her again, but I wanted to get home,” Jenefer said.
Sian couldn’t stop smiling. Jenefer was home. Everything was just as it should be.
Villette stood at the edge of the Ferdon Woods and looked out across the field. She watched the two Amazons with the other woman disappear into the canyon. A mighty civilization had once called it home.
Now she knew where the Dragon Kings were.
Thank you for reading DRAGON MARKED . I hope you enjoyed Merrill and Katla’s book. I’m so happy Merrill finally got his HEA .