Epilogue #2
Movement catches at the edge of my vision.
A short woman in her forties, wearing glasses.
At her side is a tall man who looks like a retired athlete.
Jade and Peter. I know them by reputation, not by face.
They were Clo’s former closest friends, the ones who slipped away before she let corruption take over.
After the gala, Jade and Peter told us how they’ve been ghosts for years, pulling strings in the background, trying to undo some of the worst that Clo’s caused.
Months have passed since then. With their help, we’ve fixed a lot of things, but not everything. We’ll eventually get there.
But right now, Jade’s holding up a canvas. It’s a painting of the wedding. Of Elle standing at the altar, light glowing around her like a fitting spotlight. And of me too, staring at her like she’s the sun.
I hadn’t noticed Jade painting during the ceremony. That alone tells me how far under Elle’s spell I’ve fallen. I want to sink into her spell even deeper. I don’t ever want out.
Jade steps closer and holds the canvas out for Elle to take.
“Congratulations,” Jade says with a proud grin.
“This moment deserved to be captured. We’re so happy we could be here for you two.
I know my brother would’ve loved to see how his daughter grew up to be the incredible young woman you’ve become.
The one you were always destined to be.”
“Oh, yeah, he would’ve loved this,” Peter adds, clapping my shoulder lightly. “Well done, you two.”
Elle cradles the painting to her chest. We thank them, and they slip back into the current of the party.
My wife excuses herself to find a temporary home for our new painting. She should expect me to always follow her. And I do, even if it’s hiding under the shade. My stealthy steps trail after her with no hesitation.
When she quietly sneaks into the empty church to store our first wedding gift, I cover her mouth and press her front against the corner wall, my arm coiling around her waist.
“It’s me,” I whisper.
She hasn’t made a sound, but then she laughs silently, her shoulders shaking with excitement I didn’t expect. But I’m glad she finds this thrilling.
I smirk, pressing my lips on the shell of her ear. “The honeymoon starts now,” I growl.
“Sterling,” she scolds weakly.
“Elle,” I say back, kissing her hair. “I can be quick.”
She doesn’t say anything, but she lifts her dress up. Fuck, yes.
I know she doesn’t deserve a quick fuck in a dark corner. But god, do I need to feel her.
Preparing her to take me makes my heart sing. Hearing her beg sets my nerves on fire. Sliding myself inside her feels like coming home. Feeling her flutter around my cock and squeeze me like a vise makes me bite back a groan.
And when she comes apart with my fingers on her wet clit, I follow her over the edge, filling her with every drop I have. I made a vow that I’d follow her wherever she goes. I’m fulfilling it.
***
Later, once the food’s mostly gone and the sun starts dipping low, Lukas, Naomi, and Kai approach Elle and I together, moving with the old muscle memory of a unit that survived more than its fair share of wars.
Lukas shakes my hand with a stoic face that could mirror mine. Naomi hugs Elle, whispering with a warm voice that makes my wife smile. Kai smirks, holding out a heavy, black key hanging from a dark silver chain. “For Darkhaven,” he says. “It’s yours, son.”
I stare at the key for a long moment. I thought Kaye would inherit that city. She deserves it after carrying the Knights on her back for so long.
When I glance at her, she’s leaning into Damon’s side, a flute of fizzy soda swinging lazily from her fingers. She’s smirking like she saw this coming a mile away.
“Better you than me, my dear broody half-brother,” Kaye says. “I’m retiring hella early. Gonna find a beach somewhere with this charming fella.”
She throws a thumb at Damon, who smirks like her and kisses her cheek before whispering something I’m glad they’re not saying it out loud with how filthy Damon’s gaze looks. Ugh. God.
Across us, Stan hoots with laughter. “I call bullshit, Kaye. You’re allergic to boring.”
Kaye smiles wide, one hand brushing lightly over her stomach before she snags Damon’s spoonful of fried rice. “Not boring,” she says, chewing. “Just switching things up.”
I close my fingers around the key and turn back to Elle. She’s already looking at me, the glow of the slow sunset in her hair, her smile easy and whole.
Darkhaven was built on blood and betrayal. Now I can rebuild it to be better. For her. With her. The way she rebuilt me.
Elle and I can build the city better. Make it stronger. Make it another home for us and for others. So long as she wants to.
It’ll be a new safe haven. For us. For our family.
Yeah… We can build a family there. Our very own.
The plan’s solid in my mind. A smile stretches across my face, earning a surprised look from my father. Guess he’s never seen me smile.
“Thanks,” I say to Kai, then turn to the Knights. “I’ll take care of Darkhaven.”
It’s a tender moment, one I never expected with my biological parents. Only it’s ruined by the sound of Stan wincing loud enough to turn heads. “Yikes,” he hisses. “Being a bad guy in that city’s gonna suck so much ass.”
I would’ve punched his smirk off if his ridiculous comment didn’t make my wife giggle.
***
The evening stretches long under the setting sun. The reception’s still buzzing. The humid air in the tent is heavy but tolerable, the air-conditioned section is still packed with guests trying to escape the heat and indulge in replenished desserts.
Damon doesn’t stray far from Kaye, hovering like a soldier guarding a stronghold. Staring at them, I wonder if that’s what I look like around Elle. Never more than an arm’s reach away and ready to rip the world apart if she so much as frowns.
Kaye, meanwhile, is brandishing the cake knife at Stan. “If you take another slice,” she warns, “I’m going to carve your name into this table, using your bones.”
Stan grins around a mouthful of cake. “Hot.”
Damon silently glares at him. Stan chuckles and scurries back to his table where I’m sitting.
He’s balancing two plates, stacked with tons of food. His abandoned frozen coffee is dangerously close to his end of the table. I eye it, pushing it a little closer to the edge with one finger.
Stan catches the movement. “You knock that over, Silver,” he says, pointing his fork at me, “and I’m telling everyone you’ve got black cat energy.”
I push it a fraction further.
Stan raises an eyebrow. “One more inch, and you’re getting a spray bottle to the face.”
I groan and sit back, leaving the coffee teetering dangerously at the edge but still upright on the table. Barely.
“Nice try,” Stan mutters, smirking as he sips his drink. “But look, you got the girl. Let me have this shitty consolation prize.”
I grunt, almost smiling. Then I reach the inside of my jacket pocket.
Stan tenses up. He’s scared. That’s hilarious. But then the fear in him turns into shock, when I pull out his old phone. It’s cracked to hell, the screen spiderwebbed. I toss it onto the table toward him. It almost knocks his coffee off the table.
Stan picks the phone up, turning it over before giving me a look like I just handed him a dead animal. “Real classy, Silver,” he mutters. “Nothing says happy ending like returning property back, all broken with bloodstains.”
I shrug, unapologetic. Hey, at least he got it back with the picture still in there. Yeah, maybe, I’m rubbing it in. Who cares? It’s better than punching his lights out.
Across the clearing, Elle’s sitting at one of the long tables, barefoot now, her dress loose around her knees, her scars catching the sunset without shame.
She’s laughing with Jade, a second slice of cake on a plate in her hand.
Her hair’s tangled from the humid air. Her smile outshines the damn horizon.
I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I’ve been earning it everyday.
***
By dark, the tent’s thinned out, most of the guests have moved toward the beach or retired for the night. I cross the shore without thinking, zeroed in on her.
Elle looks up, her smile breaking over her face like she’s seeing me for the first time. Like she did when I removed my mask for her.
She rises before I can even reach her, fitting into my arms with a soft sigh that melts all the burdens I’ve ever carried.
The music drifts, low and slow. I drag her close, my hands slipping to the small of her back, and we sway together. Her arms loop around my neck, her cheek resting on my chest.
Somewhere nearby, I hear the faint sounds of Damon’s deep growl and Kaye’s wicked laugh. I glance sideways to see them standing a few feet away, caught up in their own world. Damon’s mouth is tight, but Kaye’s grinning at him like she already won whatever argument they’re having.
Elle pulls back slightly, her fingers in my hair. “Do you realize,” she whispers, “we reunited at their wedding reception half a year ago?”
I feel the memory hit low, brutal but somehow hope burned through. “Not quite the same sort of party,” I mutter.
“No,” she agrees, giggling. “But it was still the start of everything.”
I tighten my hold on her and breathe her in. “You’re the start of my everything, Elle.”
She brushes her mouth on mine, sweet and devastating. “I know,” she breathes. “You’re mine too.”
Around us, the world spins on, but none of it touches us.
She leans into me, her heart beating against my chest. “I love you, Sterling.”
“I love you too,” I whisper. “Always and forever, Elle.”
She laughs easy.
I smile bigger than I ever have.
We sway together while the world slips into silence. And I know—across fire or sea—I’ll find her. I’ll love her. I’ll keep her in my arms any way that I can. Because she’s mine. All mine. And I’ll always be all hers.