Epilogue
Those fluttering wings have never stopped their vibrations in my chest. I feel them every time I catch him doing something that makes him happy and occasionally when the dark and broody side of him comes out of habit.
It’s typically around Mavros and Ruaan, especially when the two are together. Which has been a lot these days.
“Is this what Queens do? Just watch their husbands tend to their horses with a huge smile on their faces?” Cole asks, and I grin, looking over at her.
“You tell me, is that what we’re doing?” I ask, smiling slightly at my best friend.
She looks out toward the men in the rebuilt stables.
Since Kyros and I took our rightful places as King and Queen, we decided that the kingdoms would be best merged.
And so that’s just what we did. It hasn’t always been a simple transition, but people are coming around, and we finally have peace.
“Touche,” Cole says, rolling her eyes and shrugging, and I laugh a little.
It makes me happy to know we rebuilt from the ground up, and what better place than the bordering territory between both of the previous kingdoms?
It’s been a long process, but we finally have a castle standing in the capital of our new kingdom, in Aithne.
The city, especially Beckett, welcomed us with open arms. Diemos and Eathian are now just territories within a united kingdom, and our new and rightful reign is finally widely embraced.
“Do you think they are ready to head to the dunes yet?” She asks without turning toward me.
“Probably not.” Zinya interjects as she comes to a stop, standing right next to Cole.
“I think they could stand out there tending to the horses for hours.” It has been hours.
I know, because I have been sitting here for the same amount of time watching them.
Ever since that last battle in the old Eathian palace, I have taken life slower.
I no longer want to run from it, but hold on to every moment I can just a little bit longer.
“Hey! What are you guys doing up there?” Mavros’ voice booms across the bailey to where we relocated the one tree I had to climb in Eathian.
It's much happier here in the less harsh climate anyway.
I find myself here often now, on the hill overlooking it all.
I watch the kingdom we have created thrive.
“Waiting for you to stop preening your feathers so we can get this party going, obviously!” Zinya calls out.
It's taken awhile to get her back to her usual joking self. After what she went through under Connard’s command, she was in a dark place when she finally woke up.
But no one with Mavros at their side day in and day out could stay in the darkness of their own mind forever.
I see Mavros' eyes darken with the challenge of her words, even from here.
His magic whips out from his arm like a lasso, and he renders a portal, hopping in and standing right in front of us in the next breath.
Cole laughs at Zinya's expense as Mavros lifts her from her feet with a spin.
When he sets her back down, his hands bracket her face, bringing them nose to nose.
“Would you rather me be preening your feathers?” He asks devilishly.
His portaling abilities were always there.
Apparently there was a lot that Phaedra was hiding about magick, and with the help of Shayd and Rowan, we have been uncovering as much as we can and offering school for those who are gifted from the divine to help them harness their abilities.
Gone are the days of hiding magick and living in fear.
“Oh, divine. Well, that's my cue.” I laugh, hopping from the branch I was perched on. I shake my head, smoothing my sheer maroon kaftan and flowy pants as I walk out toward Kyros and the others. Kyros is lost in thought as we approach, running a bore brush over Kohl’s powerful neck and whispering praises to his horse.
I can’t help but smile as I watch the softness he gives the animal.
That smile only widens when I see Shayd is standing near Edolia watching as we approach. He’s always watching.
Shayd has turned into the father figure I never had.
There were difficult conversations once the wreckage Phaedra caused finally settled enough, but it was healing for all of us.
Shayd made mistakes, but what one of us hasn't?
Mistakes are part of being human; it's how you move forward that determines whether you become a villain or not.
Without Shayd we might still be wandering aimlessly through the darkness of not knowing. The elusive umbra.
Through him, I've finally got a glimpse into what my real parents were truly like. Their epic and forbidden love, and even though he doesn’t talk much about it, I see the pain of it all in the way he looks at me.
I am a reminder of everything he lost, and not a day has gone by where he doesn't show me what it means to him that he gets the chance to be there when they can't be.
“Hello, beautiful.” Ruaan says, eyes locked on Cole’s, and his hands come out to cup around her growing belly.
Kyros finally realizes he has company, and he turns to face us.
I can feel his eyes on me as I watch Ruaan and Cole’s exchange.
“How’s my princess?” He smiles down at Colette's bump, and I do the same. She’s due any day now; I’ve been teasing her that my niece and I will share birthdays.
She will be born on the Shula Morana like me, and she will be my new best friend.
“Why don't you ask her?” Cole laughs. Seeing my best friend, a handmaiden that my—Connard—deemed unworthy to be my friend, rise to become the Queen of Pyraxia, was one thing, but watching her and Ruaan prepare to be parents has been something else entirely.
The King of Pyraxia drops to his knees, looking up at Cole, and he whispers into her belly.
“Happy Shula Morana, little Sienna. Are you ready to come meet Poppa yet?” His eyes go round and they jerk up to meet Cole's huge smile. “She kicked me in the face!”
“Good, she has her mother’s fire then.” Cole laughs again, and I can't help but join her. When my eyes finally trail away to give them a moment to themselves, I find myself lost in the umbra of Kyros’ intense stare.
“Shula,” He says in greeting, tucking my hair behind my ear and trailing the tips of his fingers along the line of my jaw. We’ve been apart all day, as we both had tasks to get ready for the burning of the pyre.
“Are you ready?” I ask, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“More ready than ever.” He smiles down at me, kissing me softly before lifting me into Kohl’s saddle like he has so many times before. Leaning forward, I give Kohl the same affection that Kyros does, and the horse chuffs happily before Kyros joins me. As he wraps his arms around me, I am happy.
Everything has changed since the last time we stood at this pyre, though it’s at the same location.
Many more people now gather at the desert amphitheater.
We’ve created a bigger area for the people to gather, just for this day.
Today is different from the rest, though.
This is the first time our kingdoms have fully united, and we are finally at peace.
Something not many can say they’ve seen in their lifetime.
Some people say that the prophecy never came to fruition because the sea never regained its waters, but I know in my heart the tide was figurative, not literal.
It was the change we brought to the new kingdom and its people.
Today when we light the pyre, it signifies a new era under our reign.
Magick is fully restored, and we encourage not only its use but also the knowledge of its past, because without respecting the history it keeps, you can't fully understand the vastness of its power.
I'm proud of Mavros and Rowan. They’ve been crucial by stepping in and helping make sure that our youth doesn't grow up like we did. They have been ensuring that the children learn all they can about our history and how to harness their magick. Even Kyros sometimes teaches lessons on discipline in sparring. I’ll never forget how important his training sessions were for me, and I’ve been encouraging him to do it.
My days, though, are spent slower. I am intentional with the people of the kingdom that Connard failed.
I’ve been doing all I can to welcome the people that Shayd rescued with power like mine and let them feel as though they have a home here with us.
The shadows that I wield are lighter now, wisps of smoke to compliment the fire that I’ve now fully accepted.
The dark markings on my skin are completely gone.
We are still trying to figure that one out, but we at least have a safe place for the Kres-born, and many more have felt safe enough to come forward again.
Any spare time that I have, when I'm not tending to the needs of the kingdom or spending quality time with Kyros, I’m in the kitchen with Maisy or climbing that damn tree at the high point of the bailey watching over the kingdom with Zuri.
To say I was shocked silent when the white Creshian raven landed on my shoulder the night that Kyros and I wed was an understatement, but Kyros only smiled and said, ‘Finally where she belongs.’
Now, I stand hand-in-hand with Kyros as our people grow quiet.
He makes quick eye contact with me through the shadows, the flame in my chest flaring with his love.
Unlike last time we were here, everything feels right.
He lifts the unlit torch, ready to send the messages to our dead.
Using my magick, I ignite the end of Kyros’ torch with the divine fire of the fallen—the gift bestowed upon the Kres-born by the God Evara himself.
We are surrounded by the family of our choosing.
Drabek sits on Kyros’ shoulder, and Zuri on mine as we address our people with the prayer of the Neer at our first Shula Morana as a kingdom finally healing.
“May the gods guide you in a way that men have not. May you burn in the divine fire and be reborn in the ashes of Runerth.” Together, we light the pyre and send the flames skyward to Runerth, to our dead, and to bless the future we each will hold.
My eyes track over the flames as it catches and on one of the far away dunes.
There in the distance, I see the outline of the manticore watching over the divine fire just as lore says.
The mystery of the beast still remains, but I suppose that's how he became a monster of legend; his lore, like history, remains to be explored.