Epilogue
Kyryl sat on the beach bathed in moonlight, cuddling his nephew close as he watched his mate laughing and talking with their friends and family near the large bonfire that had been constructed in a stone firepit.
While he wanted time alone with her, he knew that was a selfish wish. And seeing her so happy pleased him enough to push his own desires aside.
“I bet you are sitting here wishing us gone,” Jais declared as he took a seat beside him on the sand.
“You would be right.”
“Don’t worry. We are leaving in a few days.”
“Which is why I can continue to endure your company patiently,” Kyryl quipped, making the other male laugh.
It had been two weeks since they had arrived on Evo and Kyryl and Charm had completed their bonding ceremony. During that time, it felt like he rarely had a chance to be alone with his mate without one of their friends or a family member seeking them out.
It had gotten so bad that Kyryl had wanted to build a new private home for him and Charm away from the sanctuary. But even then, he hadn’t been able to escape his sister or cousins meddling in his business.
The palace they had created was the only structure on the private island he had claimed from the Artanes. While it was a smaller version of the palace he lived in back on Ilius, it was much larger than the mushroom tower Charm had been calling home.
It was not too far from the main island, but it was more secluded than the private residences back at Wonderland. Since they could transport themselves anywhere on the planetoid using magic, distance wasn’t an issue.
But privacy was still hard to come by when other magic users were around.
Despite his teasing, Kyryl enjoyed having his family and the rest of the Exodus crew around. But vacations couldn’t last forever, and they had their own lives to return to back on Earth.
He was also eager to settle into his own life with Charm.
As if she could sense him thinking about her, she turned and smiled at him. Walking across the sand to join them, she took a seat beside him and held out her arms for the baby.
“Since they are leaving soon, I need my fill of Jyn before they head back to Earth.”
The baby continued to sleep peacefully through the transfer, making Jais sigh.
“I can’t believe you managed to learn how to control your magic better than me already,” he complained. “It’s just embarrassing.”
Charm grinned at him. In truth, she was still learning how to use her magic, but remaining calm wasn’t a problem for her. Perhaps that came with constantly multi-tasking and dealing with several issues at once.
Since she had mated with Kyryl, she was learning how to relax more. She still worked too much. That was a bad habit that was going to take a lot longer to break. The difference now was she had his full, silent support, no matter what happened. While she ran the sanctuary and worked on her projects, he also had a plethora of things to do to keep him busy.
People of all races were naturally drawn to Kyryl. While that made her want to claw some people’s eyes out, it was usually for a nonsexual reason. Her mate had become the go-to problem solver at the sanctuary.
People sought him out for advice and mediation for all kinds of problems and disputes. Since she used to handle those types of issues, having his help freed up a lot of her time. She had to admit that he was better at it since he was far more patient and understanding than she was.
It had gotten so bad that people kept asking for his office hours, though that was something he refused to do. He liked to freely wander around the sanctuary, and if he came upon a problem, he was more than willing to help. But setting meeting times and sticking to a schedule really wasn’t for him.
Sometimes he would suddenly appear by her side when she was dealing with a problem. At first, she hadn’t been sure what to think about the way he simply stepped in and took over, but she realized he did it because he loved her. He wasn’t saying she wasn’t capable of handling it on her own. He just did whatever he could to help in order to make her life easier, providing whatever she needed without asking.
And she loved him even more for that.
Sometimes she felt like it was an anomaly in the divine directive that her calm and composed mate had gotten stuck with her. Even if it was a mistake, she was never letting go of him.
And she would kill anyone who tried to take him from her.
“You are making the baby restless with those thoughts, mate,” Kyryl murmured against her ear.
“He’s just hungry,” Alestra corrected as she came to collect her son. “Jade and Rogan have decided you need a pergola on the water over there.”
Charm glanced over in the direction Alestra had nodded in. Sure enough, the Dragon Warriors were busy constructing a new project. They had certainly come in handy creating the new female-only structure at Wonderland, but she was a little more confused about why they kept building stuff on her and Kyryl’s private island.
“What about a dock?” Jais asked as he got to his feet. “I think they could use a dock, too.”
As they walked away, Charm leaned her head against Kyryl’s shoulder. “Hasn’t anyone told them about the deadly sea creatures? Do they really think we are going to be sitting out there where we could be eaten by one of those things?”
“I won’t let them eat you, little one.”
“Thanks. Why do they keep building us stuff?”
“I think it is their way of showing affection. Let’s just leave them to their fun.” He glanced around. “No one is paying attention to us right now. Why don’t we go have our own fun?”
“I like the way you think, mate,” she said with a chuckle.
Only a few short weeks ago, she had scoffed at the idea of dreams and wishes. However, as they transported away from the party, she now had to count herself amongst the believers. She had a job she loved, amazing friends, a crazy but wonderful family, and a beautiful, kind mate to call her very own.
Sometimes, if one was very lucky, dreams really did come true.
The End