Epilogue - Nicholas
One Month Later
The map on the dining table is covered in sticky notes, circles, and highlight markings, but the only thing I’m really focused on is Donna, her hand resting on the gentle swell of her stomach as she leans over the table.
The curve is small, delicate, but unmistakable.
Seeing it still knocks the wind out of me every time.
My mate, my wife, carrying our pup.
That pride swells my chest.
Donna brushes a strand of hair out of her face as Sean pins another sticky note to the board. “So, the name Merlin Grimes came up again when we cross-referenced the old Golden Tree Sisters coven archives,” he says. “There’s one place in Maine that keeps coming up.”
“Swans Island…” Dominic says, eyes narrowed on the note Sean just added, and Donna and I exchange knowing nods.
“Swans Island is practically abandoned,” Tyler mutters, brows furrowed. “The last census listed twelve residents.”
“Which means the dark lord could be using it as a base,” Delilah adds. She’s standing with Cecelia, who rests both hands on her lower stomach.
Cecelia is pregnant at the same time as Donna, only a few weeks apart. The sight of both of them glowing with life should be heartwarming, except for the reason we’re all still meeting like this.
“We need to scout it,” Dominic says. “If this place is tied to Grimes before he was corrupted, that could give us something to work with. Anything.”
Donna nods, her fingers absently tracing her belly. “It’s the best lead we’ve had in weeks. We have to go.”
I stiffen immediately. “We?”
She looks up, expression flat, already anticipating my reaction. “Yes, Nicholas. We. I’m a witch. My visions are only getting clearer. And I’m not sitting back while everyone else is risking their lives.”
“You’re pregnant.” My voice comes out calmer than I feel, because the instinctive part of me wants to drag her upstairs and lock every door behind us, but we have company. “I’m not putting you anywhere near a place the dark lord might be hiding.”
Donna lifts her chin, eyes flashing a lighter shade of brown. “You’re not putting me anywhere. I decide where I go, Nick.”
A murmur of awkward tension circles the room. Tyler coughs, Gwen looks at the floor, and Sean suddenly finds the coffee mug very interesting.
Cecelia steps in gently. “Donna…sweetheart, maybe we should consider—”
“No.” Donna’s voice is steady but not harsh with her best friend, her sister-in-law. “If this war is connected to my lineage, then I need to be there. And you all know it.”
I exhale measuredly through my nose, keeping my eyes on Donna. “You’re not invincible. I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t.” She steps closer, placing her hand on my chest, right over my heart. “You won’t, Nicholas. I’m not reckless. I’m not going to run into danger head-on. But I’m not fragile either.” Then, quieter: “Let me choose how I show up for this fight. It’s my fight, too.”
Dominic clears his throat, clearly trying to help. “Maybe we take a couple of days to think things through. Do recon. Get more intel.”
“Exactly,” Donna agrees, squeezing my shirt. “It’s not like we’re leaving tomorrow. We’ll plan it carefully.”
I can’t argue without making a scene in front of everyone, so I force my jaw to unclench. “We’ll talk about this later,” I murmur so that only Donna can hear me.
The meeting dissolves after that, and one by one, everyone heads out into the cool night air toward the guesthouse, until the main house is quiet again, lit only by the warm glow of the fireplace.
Donna turns toward me, that soft smile forming, one that always knocks every argument out of my head.
“You’re mad,” she observes in a teasing tone.
“I’m terrified,” I correct, holding an arm out. “Terrified of losing both of you.”
She steps into me, arms sliding around my waist. “I know. But I need you to trust me, Nick.”
I sink my face into her hair, inhaling the soothing mix of her scent and the sweeter undernote that’s appeared since she became pregnant—a scent that I’d only become aware of when she told me the news last month.
“I do trust you,” I whisper. “It’s myself I don’t trust. My instincts…
they’re louder now. Stronger. I feel like if I blink, something will take you both from me. ”
Her hands smooth along my chest. “Then don’t blink,” she says lightly. “Come upstairs with me instead.”
The shift in her tone is subtle, but unmistakable.
Donna never needs to seduce me. All she has to do is breathe near me. But when she laces her fingers with mine and tugs me toward the stairs, hips swaying in that deliberate, knowing way…
Yeah. She knows exactly what she’s doing.
By the time we reach our bedroom, I’ve already forgotten why I was arguing with her in the first place.
I scoop her up as soon as the door clicks shut. Donna squeals softly, hands flying around my shoulders. “Nicholas!” she giggles, her cheeks turning pink. “You can’t carry me all the time!”
“You’re pregnant,” I remind her. “I’m carrying you everywhere.”
“You’re ridiculous.” But she’s smiling, cheeks flushed, eyes warm.
I lay her gently on the bed and crawl in beside her, immediately resting a hand on her stomach, no longer terrified of losing them when feeling the small swell beneath my palm makes something primal and tender unfurl inside my chest.
I’ll protect them until my last breath, and that’s something I’m sure of. It’s why Donna doesn’t mind going on missions; she knows I’ll be there by her side, to protect them both and ground her.
“How are you feeling?” I ask gently, and Donna sighs.
“Tired,” she murmurs. “Hungry. Emotional.” She brushes the pad of her thumb along my jaw. “Loved.”
“You are loved,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to her temple. “More than I’ll ever know how to say.”
She curls into my side, and I wrap my arms around her, letting her settle against the pillow, her belly warm against my ribs. The quiet between us is peaceful in this moment, not heavy or silent with the strain of battle from weeks ago.
This kind of silence feels like possibility. Hope.
Donna tilts her face up and presses a slow kiss to my jaw. “I’m going to help you guys win this war against the dark lord,” she whispers. “And when it’s over, we’re going to raise our pup in a safe world.”
I swallow hard. “You already won the hardest war I ever fought…” I admit in a nervous whisper. “The one inside me.”
Her eyes soften as she stares up into my face…then suddenly, they widen.
And then they glow like deep, bright pools of gold.
“Donna?”
I sit up instantly, my heart slamming against my ribs. Her pupils dilate, her breathing stops, and she stares past me, through me, like she’s seeing into another world.
“Sweetheart…? Donna…? Is it happening again?”
But she doesn’t reply or even blink, as if she’s gone somewhere I can’t follow. I’ve never visited the place with her, but I know she goes there to get secrets through visions.
The last one she had was two nights ago, foretelling the discovery that Merlin Grimes is linked to Swans Island. I shouldn’t be fearful when she goes into a trance, but I’m wary because I’m afraid to blink.
Donna’s fingers clutch the sheets, her knuckles paling. A small gasp leaves her throat before her vision crashes back into her body, and her eyes focus on me.
“Oh my Goddess…” she whispers, breath shaking as she snaps into reality fully.
I cup her face, brows arched. “What did you see?”
She blinks, tears forming. “I saw her,” she says, voice full of awe. She swallows hard, a tiny squeal leaving her lips. “Nicholas…I saw the fifth witch.”
My heart stops, and my stomach lurches. “Who?”
Her voice is barely a breath when she says, “Emily.”
Shock registers first, then comes confusion, understanding because it makes sense—Emily was our medic during black ops, healing was second nature for her—and finally, there’s a sense of hope.
Emily.
Not an enemy, nor a stranger, but a friend so close to home.
If anyone can turn the tide, it’s her. Since that night in Montreal, we’ve all silently been dreading something we’ve only spoken about once.
What if Donna has to sacrifice herself like Arianna’s grandmother did in the past?
Now that we have five witches—the five witches from the prophecy who will take down the dark lord—there’s no reason to fear losing Donna.
She grips my hand tightly, her eyes still shimmering gold. “We’re going to win this,” she whispers with certainty that feels like sunlight. “Because we’re not alone.”
I press my forehead to hers, letting relief wash over me.
“No,” I murmur. “We never were.” I lift my head and smile at my mate. “We had each other, and we have our friends.”
For the first time since this war began, hope doesn’t feel like a lie, and when I tell Donna I love her, I see it shine in her eyes with remnants of gold still present, and she says it back. “I love you, too, Nick.”
“And we both love you, baby…” we say in unison through the mind link, smiling at each other and looking forward to our future together.
*****
THE END