Epilogue 1
CHARM
This was the day I’d been waiting for. I hadn’t known it when I first met Maize—back then I hadn’t known much of anything. But this was it. The moment I’d been chasing without realizing it.
Honestly, I couldn’t believe we’d lasted this long without marrying her. Six months.
It would’ve happened sooner if reality hadn’t nearly collapsed—or so we’d been told.
Something about gods, music, and the kind of power that could bend time and unravel the seams of existence itself.
While we’d been tasked with protecting the Horde, Queen Gray and her guard had gone to war alongside forces from all different realms, pulled together by two women who’d somehow managed to bring the chaos to a halt.
Thanks to Lorcan and Nova, when the dust finally settled, the realms were still standing.
After everything we’d been through, that was far too much action and more than enough information for me.
I wasn’t sure our universe would ever truly be calm, especially with the future predicted for Maize’s brothers, but for now…it seemed quiet. Peaceful.
Except for the sound of our wedding and me trying not to have a full-blown heart attack.
“You good?” Chait asked, his tone tinted with amusement.
I shot him a dark look. “Just marrying the love of our life,” I said with a shrug, trying for nonchalance and failing miserably.
“It does seem to be taking longer than necessary,” Valerio muttered from just ahead of me.
The seven of us stood in a line as we waited for our bride, and the air around us was dancing with nerves. I could feel it thrumming through our bond—every flicker of anticipation, every heartbeat out of rhythm.
Not from Maize, of course. Her energy was calm, steady, serene…which did a hell of a lot to keep the rest of us from completely losing it.
“After this, I’m going to need a drink,” Maddox grumbled, earning a few quiet sounds of agreement.
“We don’t need to worry,” Cannon said, his eyes on the house with sharp focus. “I can hear her coming down the stairs.”
My head snapped toward our home. Inside, Maize was getting ready with Queen Gray and Brielle—her bridesmaids—and everyone else was already seated, facing us as music filled the air.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around how the forest behind our home had been transformed in a single week. What had once been familiar woods was now something out of a dreamscape.
Above us, through the canopy of trees, the twilight sky stretched in shades of periwinkle and violet while floating lanterns drifted lazily between the branches.
Flower-lined paths framed the ceremony space, petals stirring gently in the warm summer air as the distant sounds of forest creatures created a peaceful ambiance.
Rows of pale wooden chairs curved in a crescent before the altar, each one wrapped in silver-lit vines.
Guests filled them, a mix of murmured voices and rustling fabric—royalty, soldiers, and fae alike dressed in colors that mirrored the evening sky.
From the reception clearing just beyond, music drifted through the forest, an array of instruments weaving together in a melody that felt familiar.
“They did amazing work,” Philip said. “I think Maize is going to be as surprised as we are.” I nodded in agreement.
“If there weren’t so many wars, I could see the group of them starting a party planning business,” Zed added with a small smirk, earning a laugh from me.
He wasn’t wrong. Maize’s closest friends—namely Brielle and Gray—had completely taken over the planning, leaving us time to spend with our fiancée. I hadn’t minded one bit.
They’d also been thoughtful about the guest list.
It was complete, but intimate enough to feel comfortable.
My father sat in the second row, his smile easy and relaxed as he spoke with one of his captains.
Despite everything he’d endured with my mother, he hadn’t hesitated to take time away to meet Maize when we announced our plans.
We hadn’t seen one another in a while, but he looked good.
A little tired and older, sure, but there was a new lightness in him that I hadn’t seen in years.
I couldn’t help wondering if it had something to do with the woman beside him.
I didn’t recognize her, but the captain’s uniform and the familiarity in their gestures told me they’d known each other a long time.
He wasn’t the only family member in attendance, though.
Valerio’s mother and aunt sat a few rows back, whispering as they held their handkerchiefs to their chests, already on the verge of tears.
Cannon’s brother and Princess Luna were near her fathers, laughing quietly about something as they tried—and failed—not to draw attention.
Naturally, everyone from Commander Edwin to Cirdan had shown up too, taking up several rows with their teams and looking far too serious for a wedding.
Although I suppose that was to be expected when you brought together this many dangerous and powerful individuals in one place that wasn’t a battlefield.
One of the more surprising additions? Cethlenn and Balor.
They hadn’t been on the guest list and had appeared only an hour ago, both faintly glowing as they kept their distance, standing on the balcony of our home overlooking the ceremony.
I had a feeling they weren’t truly here in the flesh—more like watching through some divine projection.
The only explanation we’d gotten for their sudden appearance—and for Balor’s ability to stand again—was that Oberon’s defeat had finally allowed him to rise from his long rest. Which was good news.
Their presence would probably be shocking to Maize, if she didn’t already know. Though considering the weight of their power humming in the air, I wasn’t sure how anyone could miss it.
“It’s almost too much,” Chait murmured under his breath.
“And this is before any of the celebration has even started,” Philip added with a low laugh. “Just wait until someone starts drinking—it’s way too much damn power in one place.”
He wasn’t wrong. There would be plenty of drinks at the reception, along with enough food to feed half the Horde. Knowing Maize, she’d been too busy today to eat more than breakfast, and I was already planning to make sure she didn’t forget again.
Suddenly, the music shifted, and every thought in my head came to a screeching halt. The composure I’d been clinging to disappeared, and the air left my lungs in one sharp rush as I caught my first glimpse of her—our bride. My birdy.
The path leading to us curved around the house, bathed in the soft glow of lantern light.
Maize turned the corner and stepped into view, a vision of moonlight and perfection.
Her gown looked almost unreal, woven in shades of the palest blue, the bodice dusted with tiny diamonds that caught every glimmer of light.
The reflections danced across her unfurled wings, which fluttered with relaxed magic as she began her walk down the aisle.
The dress’s delicate fabric left glimpses of her scars visible along her wrists and back, the silvery lines catching the lantern glow.
Instead of hiding them, Maize wore them like jewels.
As proof of everything she’d endured and overcome.
Her strength wasn’t something she needed to speak about; it radiated from her with every graceful step.
Each movement forward seemed to coax the earth itself awake.
Flowers along the path bloomed brighter in her presence, their petals lifting toward her like she was the sun.
The music deepened, slow and reverent, falling perfectly in sync with the rhythm of her stride.
The whole world seemed to hold its breath just to watch her move…
Or maybe that was just me.
The closer she came, the less my brain seemed to function. Maker, she was perfection. My chest ached just from looking at her. I was such a lucky bastard.
I glanced at the men beside me. Every single one of them wore the same expression, completely wrecked by Maize in the best possible way.
It was also the moment when it hit me just how much she’d changed us all. How much she’d saved us without even realizing it.
Valerio had finally learned to open his heart while realizing that strength didn’t always mean silence.
Cannon figured out that the people who loved him weren’t going anywhere, no matter how hard life hit.
Maddox stopped hiding behind that lazy indifference of his and let himself care again, really care, about something beyond survival.
Zed found faith—not in gods or destiny—but in himself and in the good he saw in others.
Philip learned patience by turning his fire and passion into something that could warm instead of burn.
Chait broke the chains of his past and stopped letting them define who he was.
And me?
I learned that a mate bond wasn’t a prison sentence—it was freedom.
It was compassion.
It was love.
And the closer Maize came, the stronger the pull grew to go to her, to sweep her up into my arms. We were supposed to head to the Light Fae territory after this and spend nearly a month there.
But how was I supposed to think about paradise when it was standing right in front of me?
All I wanted was my birdy—her laughter, her warmth, her in my arms with no end to it.
That was the point of all this, wasn’t it? Forever.
Her gaze locked with mine halfway down the aisle, and everything else fell away. She smiled, and with that single breathtaking expression, every battle that had scarred us, nearly broken us, simply stopped mattering.
When she finally reached us, the officiant—Palo, brother to one of Queen Gray’s royal guard—started to speak, but I barely heard a word.
Just one truth that burned through every part of me—Maize wasn’t mine. She was ours.
And my birdy would never have to fly alone again.