Epilogue
ALARIC
The day of our wedding finally dawned. Elandor woke me, from his pure excitement spilling over into my emotions, well before the birds were up. And when I rolled out of bed, I was right there with him.
Our wedding.
To our mate.
Was today.
From this day on, she would be ours forever, and we would be hers.
Elandor and I had lost all sense of embarrassment when it came to how we felt about Everly.
We’ll always be sappy for our mate. I think it’s an unwritten rule that we should be.
Agreed. Also, I’m glad your excitement woke me up early. I forgot that the whole world is here to witness the wedding, and I need to be out there early for hosting and kingly duties.
Surely just half the world is here…
Ha ha.
Elandor chuckled, and I smiled as I got ready for my wedding. My stomach was in knots, so I skipped eating.
Three hours later, when no one could find my fiancée, I was regretting that lack of sustenance.
“What do you mean no one has seen her?” I demanded.
Shay gave me a look. “I know you’re big and bad to most other people, Alaric, but I can still take you. Calm down. We’ll find her.”
I ran a hand through my perfect, wedding-styled hair—ruined now. “What if one of the guests stole her?” My mind was flashing through so many horrible possibilities, I couldn’t breathe. “I mean, she is a powerful Dreamseeker.”
Alaric.
“King Garyyk is also missing…”
“He’s what!”
Shay glared at me as he checked if he still had hearing in his left ear.
Alaric!
“I can’t believe you didn’t start with that! Didn’t I tell you he had all the makings of a prankster? He could have spirited her off somewhere, laughing uproariously at the thought that I’ll be standing alone in front of half the world, not getting married to the love of my life!”
Alaric!
What!?
I know where our mate is. All you had to do was ask me.
All the stress left my body in one big whoosh. I put a hand to my head and rubbed my temples.
You could have said something, I complained.
I tried, Elandor said dryly.
Well? I said when he didn’t immediately lead me to her.
She’s in the stables with the dragon, Elandor said, and then, reluctantly, King Garyyk is out there also.
I looked frantically around the great hall. “Where’s my sword?” I demanded, stalking toward a very sharp one decorating the far wall.
Shay ruined my attempts at homicide by wrapping me in a silver bubble that I couldn’t break out of without going dragon, instantly stopping me in my tracks.
“Uh-uh. It’s impolite to maim the guests. What’s wrong?”
I glared at him. “King Garyyk is in the stables with my fiancée, that’s what’s wrong!”
Shay shot me an amused look. “I hardly doubt he’s kissing her senseless, Ry. He’s probably just checking on the dragon.”
The dragon we didn’t know the story behind, and we didn’t know the name of, because they’d only woken once or twice and then instantly fell unconscious again.
Shay had indicated it would take a long time for the dragon to heal and regain its energy, even though Shiloh and he had both poured a lot of magic into it.
My eyes went wide as a sudden, bursting awareness zinged through every particle of my being. I stared at my best friend, feeling like the bottom had just dropped out of my stomach.
“He’s woken up,” I whispered.
The dragon was finally awake.
Everly
Today was my wedding day. Only… I was terribly late.
I wasn’t in my wedding dress. I wasn’t even showered. Because—
The dragon had finally woken up, and I was explaining how he’d come to be here, at Dragonspire Keep.
“So, Alaric, Shay, and I brought you here so Shay could heal you somewhere safe, somewhere with a bed nearby. He’s poured a lot of magic into healing you.
And when that failed, Shiloh, the resident shifter unicorn, finally relented and came to pour as much of his healing magic into you as he could. ”
The dragon was gorgeous now that he was regaining his health.
He had an azure and black body that started as a brighter blue at the edges of his wings and then darkened to black as it neared his shoulder blades.
His body was the same, with azure blue at his snout and then varying shades of darker blues until his tail, which was all black.
His scales shimmered—which I did not know was something dragons did—but Vyseris assured me it was true.
At least, full dragons did, not the shifters.
I sat on a stool by his head as we talked and enjoyed the steam coming off him on this frosty morning.
Did Alaska ever warm up? Or was that all lies meteorologists told me to keep me hoping?
Maybe after Alaric and I were finally mated, I could borrow some of his and Elandor’s heat. They’d told me I’d be able to, but at this point, I was afraid to dream.
I am very grateful for both Shiloh and Shay’s help. I hope I will get the opportunity to thank them before I leave.
“Before you leave? But—but you just woke up! You’re not completely healed yet!”
The thought of something happening to him made a cold pit open in my stomach.
Vyseris nudged my cheek with his warm snout.
I appreciate the care you’ve given me, little queen, but I am being called. It’s what has awoken me.
“Being called to where? To who?” I asked in confusion.
My Kindred Bond is calling me. She needs me.
“But… how do you even know she exists, or that she needs you?”
He breathed warm steam on me again. I just do. It is an ancient bond between dragons and another of the two-legged races. In this case, she is a troll maiden.
King Garyyk stepped out of the shadows then, and I almost fell off my stool.
“Where did you come from?” I asked, looking around him. Had he just… popped out of nothing?
I put a hand to my chest, trying in vain to stop my racing heart. When would I ever stop being surprised by paranormals? Probably not for a very long time.
King Garyyk gave me only a passing glance. “What do you mean she is a troll maiden? Is she hurt?”
She is, Vyseris said with a slow nod. And more, she is alone. She will die without me.
“Take me to her,” the king demanded, striding closer to Vyseris.
I will not, Troll King. She is, or will be, my Kindred Bond. That bond is sacred among dragonkind. If she desires, I will bring her to your troll city, Vaerath Deep. But only if she desires.
King Garyyk paced and ran a frantic hand through his hair. His starburst eyes looked pained. Finally, he faced Vyseris again and nodded.
“If you need anything—anything—please call for me.”
Vyseris nodded and slowly rose to standing. When he was sure he would not fall over, he started slowly making his way outside. Stablehands flattened themselves against the stone walls as we passed, not wanting to get a tail to their faces. I followed behind, squeezing my hands in worry.
“You won’t have any help, though, Vyseris,” I said. “What if you need something? What if she needs something?”
He turned his gigantic head and looked at me with soft, kind eyes. Then I will call for help.
I nodded, tears running down my cheeks for no discernible reason. I sniffed and wiped them away.
I am sorry for your pain, little queen, Vyseris said without turning, finally making his way out into the courtyard, where the sun was flooding everything, making the gleam off the patches of snow blinding. I would stay for a while if I could.
“But she needs you.”
He nodded, lifting his head to the sun, then closing his eyes. It is good to feel the sun on my face again. I never thought the day would come again when I would.
“Vyseris? What… happened? It looked like someone had cursed you, at least that’s what Shay said. Why would someone do that to you? You’re a good dragon.”
Vyseris lowered his head so it was closer to mine and looked at me for a long moment before he shared, I had another Kindred Bond a long time ago.
But a warlock maiden who was obsessed with him didn’t like the bond between us and was jealous.
She found a way to mute our bond, so I had no knowledge of where he was, then lured me to that system of caves with the lie that my Kindred was in trouble.
When I arrived, she cursed me with a foul-smelling ring before I could kill her.
My mouth opened and closed soundlessly. How could anyone be so cruel? The thought broke my heart.
More tears ran down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Vyseris.” I touched his snout. “I’m so, so sorry.”
He brushed his nose gently over my head, then warned us to step back. A moment later, he unfurled his wings. For an instant, he struggled to lift off the ground—but then he rose, slowly, majestically, higher and higher, until he was only a speck in the bright sky.
Alaric joined me then, wrapping an arm around my waist as we both watched him disappear into the horizon. King Garyyk was nowhere in sight.
“He’s gone?”
I turned to my mate, wrapped my arms around his middle, and sobbed into his shirt.
Fortunately, I didn’t spend my entire wedding and mating day sobbing.
I eventually got showered and dressed and met Alaric in front of half the world so we could say our vows to each other.
After our wedding, I was crowned queen, and, standing before our people with my scepter and my ball of everlight, the people’s cheers were so loud I’m convinced all of Alaska heard them.
Later, Alaric changed to his dragon form, and we flew to the cabin where everything had started for us.
Inside, there were candles and rose petals by the dozens, and on the kitchen table were two perfectly frozen ice-cream sundaes.
Sadly, we never made it to the sundaes.
Some things are more important.