Epilogue #2
Cosmo noticed the new arrivals and his screech of joy nearly shattered Connal’s eardrums. He ran toward them and leapt at Koios’s mate. “Ben!”
Ben chuckled and untangled both Cosmo and the decorative vines the consort wore from around his person. “Hey, Cosmo.”
“Come with me. You’ve got to meet Gomez. He’s like…me and Ollie combined. You’re going to love him.”
Ben’s eyes widened and sent a slightly terrified look behind him as Cosmo dragged him away. “Combined?”
Before Connal could decide whether Ben required rescue, Silenus spoke. “You found something.”
“Possibly.” Koios opened the folio and removed several pages covered in symbols Connal did not recognize. “The anchor was not the source of the gate’s power. It received magic from elsewhere and gave that power shape.”
“Can you determine where it came from?” Zer asked.
“No. Whoever created the connection routed the magic through several layers before it reached the anchor.” Koios tapped one of the symbols. “That was deliberate. The path was designed to collapse with the gate and prevent anyone from tracing it backward.”
Asterius’s usual smile disappeared. “So the one who commanded those warriors expected us to recover what remained.”
“Or considered the fragment harmless once the route was destroyed,” Luke said.
Koios inclined his head. “Either is possible.”
Connal looked down at the sigil circling his wrist. The mark had remained silent since the rooftop, even while Koios and Silenus examined the fragment. No pull. No light. Nothing to reveal whether the staff had powered the gate or merely shared some connection to the Queen’s magic.
Luke covered the mark with his hand. Reassurance moved through their bond, followed by the quiet certainty that Connal did not have to face the mystery alone.
Connal turned his hand beneath Luke’s and linked their fingers.
“We will continue studying it,” Silenus said. “But tonight, the danger is contained and our people are safe. The rest can wait until tomorrow.”
Koios closed the folio. “I was hoping you would say that.”
Cosmo returned to Koios’s side and handed him a silver goblet. “Good. You are officially off duty.”
“I do not believe that is your decision.”
“I’m the king-consort. Almost everything is my decision if I sound confident enough.”
Silenus gave his mate a look that suggested this was not the first time he had made such a claim.
The musicians began a livelier song, and Asterius’s attention shifted away from the fragment. His gaze found Tyson standing near the edge of the dancers.
A slow smile spread across his face.
Asterius had already complimented three courtiers, accepted a flower from a fourth, and convinced one of the musicians to play a song he claimed was written about him. His interest in Tyson should have appeared no different from the attention he gave everyone else.
Connal knew his brother better than that.
Asterius crossed the hall and bowed with enough flourish to draw several curious glances. “Dance with me.”
Tyson looked from the hand extended toward him to Asterius’s expectant expression.
“No.”
“You did not consider it.”
“I considered it before you finished crossing the room.”
“Then you had ample time to recognize the brilliance of the idea.”
“I recognized something.”
Asterius’s smile widened. “Was it my charm?”
“Your inability to accept a simple answer.” Tyson turned and walked away.
Asterius remained where he was, his hand still extended as if he expected Tyson to reconsider before reaching the far side of the hall.
He did not.
But just before Tyson disappeared into the crowd, he looked back.
The change in Asterius was slight. His smile remained, and when a passing courtier caught his abandoned hand and pulled him into the dance, he followed without protest.
His gaze stayed on Tyson.
Luke stepped closer to Connal. “Was that progress?”
“For Asterius?”
“For either of them.”
Connal watched Tyson vanish behind a group of laughing pixies while Asterius allowed himself to be swept farther into the dancers.
“Ask me after one of them admits what he is doing.”
“So never.”
“Most likely.”
Luke laughed. The music shifted around them, the lively rhythm softening into something slower. Couples moved closer as the dance changed.
Luke looked toward the center of the hall, then held out his hand.
“Come on.”
Connal placed his hand in Luke’s. “You wish to dance?”
“I survived the fight, the mating claim, and Gomez becoming a ceremonial official. I think I can manage one dance.”
“You may regret such confidence.”
Luke drew him toward the waiting music. “Then you’d better make sure I don’t fall.”
Connal led him into the first turn.
Luke followed more easily than Connal had expected, adjusting to each step with the same quick attention he brought to every unfamiliar challenge.
“You have done this before,” Connal accused.
“I know how to follow a lead.”
“That is not the same as dancing.”
“It is if the lead is good.”
Connal drew him closer. “Then you have nothing to fear.”
Luke’s amusement moved through their bond before his smile appeared.
Around them, the celebration continued with very little regard for order.
Gomez had convinced Fred to try on his jeweled circlet while Balthazar laughed.
The pixies flew patterns above the dancers while Avaneel directed them from Zer’s shoulder.
Cosmo pulled Silenus into the music despite the king’s attempt to remain dignified, and Keir stood at the edge of the floor pretending he had not noticed several interested glances.
Asterius danced with someone else.
He was still watching Tyson.
Connal looked back at the man in his arms.
Luke had survived a world that taught him to trust no one. He had crossed into a realm he had every reason to fear, faced magic without possessing any of his own, and chosen to remain when the danger passed.
He had chosen Connal.
The bond between them carried no hesitation now. Luke’s happiness moved through it alongside affection, desire, and the quiet contentment Connal had once believed fate alone would provide.
He understood better now.
Fate had shown him his mate, but their choices had built the bond between them and the life waiting beyond tonight.
Luke rested his forehead against Connal’s. “You’re thinking too loudly.”
“You can hear my thoughts?”
“No. But I know your face.”
Connal smiled. “Then you know I am happy.”
“I do.” Luke curled his fingers into the front of Connal’s formal coat. “So am I.”
Connal kissed him beneath the shifting lights while music and laughter filled the hall around them. Luke remained in his arms by choice, and that choice felt stronger than any promise fate could make.
Want to know more about Cosmo? Read about him and Silenus in Cosmo and the King.
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