Epilogue
In the aftermath of both realms adjusting to new policies, Darrius eventually took some of the wards down, and new trade agreements between Everlea and Oryndhr were negotiated.
While Roshan is no longer king, he still advises the new council in an official capacity, which works well for everyone.
It’s the start of a prosperous, mutually beneficial, peaceful relationship between two formerly feuding realms.
The hope is that magic will eventually return to Oryndhr.
My Starkeeper magic also came in handy to build a permanent portal bridge between the palace in Kaldari and the one in Verisia.
It’s like walking from one room to another, and the convenience is wonderful when it comes to practicality and accessibility.
I did the same from Kaldari to Coban so that my father and Amma can always visit.
Now fully recovered thanks to Nuadar—who despite my groveling still hasn’t quite warmed up to me, though I’m determined to win him over one day—Papa has announced that once things settle down and go back to normal, he and Amma will be getting married in Coban.
And finally, after weeks of preparation, the time of the wedding has arrived.
I’m excited to have Darrius visit the place where I grew up, for Roshan to see it anew and certainly not while under the influence of a dark god. Needless to say, the village is in a fraught state now that the king and former king of two realms will be in attendance.
When Darrius arrives, he causes quite a few young women and men to swoon, which isn’t surprising.
Those dark good looks, his onyx crown over moon-kissed hair, and his towering build will weaken the legs of anyone with a working pulse.
I restrain my territorial urges to snarl at anyone staring too long, and instead try to behave like the gracious queen I am.
You’re not fooling anyone, pátnī. His honeyed rasp makes shivers coast down my spine. I can feel your jealousy down the bond.
I am trying to be a demure, well-behaved lady.
Even from where he stands on the other side of the crowded square with the alderman of House Aldebaran, his eyes glimmer gold. You know I like you wild.
My blush is impossible to hide. Yes, I do know that.
When Roshan arrives, the fanfare is just as uncontrolled, perhaps even more so—he’s their former king, now simply just a prince, who saved their kingdom. With his thick dark hair, tawny-golden eyes, and athletic form, he doesn’t even need a crown to look regal.
My prince greets me warmly, lifting me up and spinning me around. “Gods, starling, I’ve missed you,” he says reverently, kissing me without care for anyone watching. He has made his claim of the Starkeeper more than clear.
“Ro, I was gone for two hours,” I say, blushing at the scandalous thrust of his tongue and hoping my father isn’t anywhere in the receiving room.
He grins. “That’s two hours more than I could take. When can I get you alone?”
“After the reception. Now be a good boy or the magical tendrils will come out.”
“Promise, promises.” Roshan cants his head, but his eyes glint wickedly, making me let out a laugh. “Where’s Nightsong? Ah, never mind, I see the fawning crowds over yonder.”
“You know they’re fascinated by him,” I say. “The nightmare king of Everlea. He has a terrible reputation.”
“One he secretly adores,” Roshan says, lifting my hand to nibble my fingertips.
“Stop that,” I tell him breathlessly, though the feelings spawning in my core definitely don’t want him to stop. I love when he touches me like this. “Come on, we need to go.”
The chapel is small, and only family and close friends are in attendance.
Darrius joins us to sit on one side of me, while Roshan sits on the other.
I hold both their hands as I watch my father marry my aunt, and as they promise to love and cherish each other, I can’t stop the tear that slips down my cheek at how happy they seem.
My father is handsome and dashing in his formal clothing, and Amma looks like a goddess in red and gold.
I feel something brush my brow, and I smile at the gentle touch, knowing that my mother is watching with the other Royal Stars and that she approves wholeheartedly that these two are finally taking the leap.
It’s about time, I think I hear her say, her laughter like bells.
Amma must hear her sister, too, because a radiant smile blooms over her lips.
When the service is over, we congratulate them and make our way to the reception hall, which is really the market square right outside the Saab Inn covered with tents and fabrics since so many people are here.
Everyone wants to celebrate one of the most beloved couples in Coban.
We feast, drink, and dance until my stomach is ready to burst and my feet feel like they are going to fall off.
It’s a far cry from a fancy ball at either palace, but so much more significant.
By the end of the night, Darrius has lost his crown, his shirt is unbuttoned, and his silver hair is deliciously tousled from dancing. He doesn’t seem to care one whit that he’s shredding his cold king reputation with every genuine smile that creeps across his face. And there have been a few.
Roshan is flushed and bright-eyed in the middle of the remaining dancers, and his old golden crown has been appropriated by Amma of all people.
She deserves it—she can be queen if she wants.
Darrius joins me where I’m sitting in my quiet corner and hands me a glass of water.
He nuzzles my neck and draws me into his lap, kissing away my mumbled protests of propriety and prying eyes.
But no one is paying us much attention. After hours of festivities, most of the crowd has dissipated, with only a few determined stragglers remaining to celebrate to the very end.
Laleh would be among them, if she were here—she would have stayed to the last. I lift my glass and toast my best friend, hoping somewhere she, too, is watching and happy.
A sweaty Roshan comes to flop beside us and plants a sloppy kiss on my lips before stealing my water and guzzling it. “Hey! That was mine.”
“What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is yours.” He glances up at Darrius. “His, too, I suppose.”
Darrius snorts. “Not yours, Acharia. Only hers.”
Gods, he can still be so growly and possessive, and I love it. Another glass of water appears in a whorl of shadows. “Thank you, páti.”
I feel his delight at the endearment. “You’re welcome, Starbright.”
I take a sip and then hand Roshan the glass, which he accepts with a sheepish grin.
After quenching his thirst, he turns me sideways and lifts my legs, drawing them over his knees while I’m still sitting on Darrius.
Then he removes my slippers and proceeds to rub my sore feet, which I relish with a silent, appreciative groan.
I danced too much tonight, and while I could have easily used magic to heal them, sometimes it’s good to feel things fully .
. . even the uncomfortable things. Sore feet are a marker of my time well spent.
“Should we return to the palace?” Roshan asks, glancing over at us. “Sura wants to go to Kaldari tonight. She has a surprise for you, Nightsong.”
An imperious eyebrow arches. “For me?” Darrius asks.
I nod, turning my cheek into his chest and breathing in his delicious smoke-and-oud scent.
I love how they both smell so different, and yet, each of them feels like home to me.
Roshan’s scent makes me think of warm forges and hot summer days, and Darrius’s makes me think of starlight and crisp winter nights. My sun and my night sky.
“Yes, we want to show you Nyriell, and the underground aqueduct.”
Your special aqueduct? Darrius asks silently, his surprise filtering down the bond.
The very same, I say.
Isn’t that important to the two of you? I can hear the uncertainty in his mental voice. I wouldn’t want to . . . intrude.
It was Roshan’s idea.
“Shall we depart then?” Darrius asks aloud, his voice thick with emotion.
“Soon.” I watch my father draw Amma into his arms, their eyes only for each other as they spin beneath the twinkling stars of the night sky. “I’m so happy for them,” I murmur. “I’m glad they have each other.”
Easing to my feet, despite both their protests, I stand and walk over to the far side of the market square, climbing the steps to a terrace where I can just see the dawn’s rays cresting over the tops of the highest dunes. The coming sunrise already has the promise of being majestic.
A familiar presence materializes beside me, and though they take no earthly form, I can feel them just the same.
“Ve,” I greet my old guardian.
The ethereal outline inclines their head. “Setareh Framātāram.”
“I was hoping I’d see you tonight.” I turn to the glimmering Royal Star. “I wanted to thank you for not giving up on me. For helping me find the place I was always meant to be.”
I sense their smile. “You found your own way, child. And we are so proud of who you have become.”
I lift my palm, staring at the slightly glowing marks. “I suppose you were right about my destiny. Love is such a strange thing, isn’t it? Those fated to us and those we choose . . . love at first sight and love after a lifetime . . .”
Ve peers at me. “Like anything worth keeping, love takes trust, patience, and communication. It can challenge you, break you, and test your every limit, but the journey is worth it in the end.”
My grin is wide. “My, my, look at you, Ve, talking without cryptic riddles for once! Seems like we’re both finally finding our way.”
“Always so cheeky.” They giggle, and I feel a playful pinch on my cheek and then the loving warmth of their embrace. “Be happy, child. In the end, that is the only thing that matters.”
After Ve leaves, I think about what they said about love.
I think of Roshan and our tumultuous path, and despite the heartache, I wouldn’t change a moment of it, because our love has been forged in fire and blood, like a sword hammered and folded until it’s nearly unbreakable.
And my beloved Darrius, who fought so valiantly to reject our soul-fated bond for years, simply to protect me from being tied to a monster.
Though he’s not a monster—no part of him is.
I feel a lighthearted growl through the bond and I grin. Well, Dare might be . . .
But together, we fought the real monsters and we won.
Biting my lip, I glance over my shoulder at each of my loves—my chosen and my soul-fated—one touched by light and the other born in shadow.
My silence and my storm . . . my beating heart and my starlit soul.
My simurgh flexes her wings in utter contentment, and the tricolored runes on my arms—silver, obsidian, and gold—shimmer.
We are bound by the earth and the sky, blessed by akasha, and we will forge a new path forward, one of our own making.
A future we deserve . . . one we are worthy of.