Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
“Maeve?” Titus called.
“In the office.” My brow creased as I nudged the carved, wooden desk an inch to the left, my hands glowing as my light obeyed my direction.
Satisfied, I let my power fade and looked around the room.
Two desks sat in the middle back-to-back, while the couch from Fen’s old office bordered the opposite wall.
Panels of green wallpaper alternated with panels of shadows, both glowing softly in the afternoon light from the windows.
Flecks of gold, silver, and black sparkled in the void beyond. An office for us both. Finally.
“Looks good,” Titus said from the doorway.
Marcus followed him into the room, a smile on his face. “The new Training Room is set up. And a couple of Tempters are going over the rest of the rooms to make sure everything is clean and in place.”
“They didn’t need to do that.” I bit my lip.
“I said I’d take care of it.” If moving Fen and me into the rooms behind the throne room on the bridge hadn’t become an urgent need, I’d have been busy elsewhere.
With the state of things, none of us could afford the time for a project like this, but me sleeping in Fen’s bed and living in his castle was making my Judges nervous.
I refused to sleep in my predecessor’s bed, even if Fen came with me, so moving us onto the bridge was the best solution.
“Hey.” Titus put a hand on my arm. “They wanted to help, just like we did.”
“It won’t take them long,” Marcus said.
I nodded. They’d insisted on putting the new Training Room in order, and since they spent plenty of time there with Fen, I’d allowed it, though it wouldn’t have mattered if I hadn’t. They wouldn’t have taken no for an answer.
“We’ll see you later.” Titus gave my arm a gentle squeeze and then left.
Marcus gave me a nod and followed.
I took a deep breath, trying to loosen the overwhelm that followed me everywhere these days. Now that our rooms were ready, I was late for a meeting.
Turning my attention to our bond, I felt Fen in the throne room, a few rooms away. Since solidifying our Death Chord, locating each other had become easy.
Fen’s attention shifted my way, irritation giving way to desire.
Another effect we’d discovered of solidifying our bond—the desire to be close to each other at all times.
Mostly without any clothing to separate us.
Daphne assured us it was a phase that would pass.
Titus told us to get a room, though he was one to talk.
He, Daphne and Marcus had spent plenty of alone time together since I’d healed him.
I considered light-stepping to Fen, but he wasn’t alone. I’d found it disturbed people when I popped out of thin air, so I walked the short distance to the throne room.
Fen, Daphne, Bea and Alec, one of my few remaining senior Judges, stood at the base of the dais.
My eyes drank in the sight of Fen’s broad back, even though it had only been hours since I’d last seen him.
His deep red tunic showed off his powerful frame, the silver embroidery on the collar glinting in the afternoon light.
The sleeves of his black shirt were rolled up, showcasing his muscular arms. A wave of satisfaction rolled through me that he was bonded to me.
Fen’s head turned, his eyes darkening as I strode towards him.
I may have put a little swing in my step, the fabric of my skirts swishing around my feet. I’d taken to wearing flowing dresses more. It surprised me how much I liked the way they made me feel soft and feminine. Especially when it made Fen look at me like he wanted to devour me.
“The trainee tests have all been eliminated. It’s only fair to give those who had to take them and failed a second chance, if they want them.” Daphne said.
I intended to move to a model like Fen had for the Tempters—giving everyone as much time as they needed to become a Judge, while everyone shared the burden of running the castle.
Alec stood with his arms crossed, a skeptical look on his face. “If they failed the first time, they’re clearly not Judge-material.”
“Only because they were never given the chance to be.” I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice as I stood next to Fen.
He immediately threaded his fingers through mine.
Alec frowned, but he nodded his head respectfully. “It’s an admirable wish, but we don’t have the resources. With the new rubric, it’s all we can do to judge souls. We can barely manage the trainees we have now.”
After the challenge, I announced there would be a new method for judging souls.
Much like when Fen had ascended, we lost a quarter of my Judges, all electing to go to their final rest in the After instead of serving under me.
It meant the remaining Judges had more souls to weigh.
We’d been using Tempters to fill the gap, but those Judges that remained were resistant.
I understood. We’d all been running ourselves ragged trying to keep things going. Trying to change things was hard when it was all we could do to keep up with the flow of souls, but it needed to happen. Otherwise, it never would.
“All the more reason for us to change our training program.” My tone was mild, but my expression was not.
“I still don’t understand how Tempters are going to train Judges,” Alec said.
I bit back a retort. We’d had this same conversation ten times at this point.
“You don’t have to,” Daphne said. “You’re in charge of weighing souls.”
“What if the new Judges aren’t up to the task?”
Fen’s thumb began to draw circles on the back of my hand. The movement went straight to my nipples, which hardened in anticipation and made me ready to be done with the conversation.
“Alec,” I said, my voice sharp. “Have you changed your mind? About staying?”
“No.” He looked stricken at my question.
“Then you need to trust us. If there are issues with our new systems, we’ll deal with them. But this is happening.”
“Of course.” He bowed his head again.
“How many servants have expressed interest?” I asked.
“Three quarters of them,” Bea said, looking at the list in her hand. “The rest are happy where they are.”
“I’ll meet with them tomorrow,” Daphne said.
“Is that everything?” I asked, anxious to be done.
“Yes.” Daphne and Bea gave us a knowing look as they ushered Alec out of the room.
Fen pulled me in the direction of our rooms, but I resisted.
“Wait. How are your cravings?” I hadn’t had a chance to ask him that yet today, and I didn’t want to miss my chance.
His expression went somber, and shame and anxiety buzzed in our bond, like they always did when we talked about his addiction. “They’re manageable. Three out of ten.”
I nodded. I could sense when they got bad through our bond, but I always asked him rather than assume.
In order for us to help him, he had to willingly participate.
He no longer siphoned pain from souls at all, but on the days he rated his craving over five out of ten, he stayed out of the Dungeon completely.
Even though we were short-handed. We all agreed; the temptation wasn’t worth it.
“Thank you.” I squeezed his hand. Talking about it was never easy. I was proud of both of us that we didn’t shrink from it. “Come. I have something to show you.”
His brow furrowed, but he followed me across the room. “Did you have any trouble moving our furniture?”
“No. Everything’s in place.” Lifting my skirts, I pulled him up the stairs to the balcony. “Titus and Marcus put the new Training Room in order, so you’ll be able to pummel each other to your heart’s content.”
“As long as you and I can christen it first.”
I laughed. “Don’t tell Titus and Marcus that.”
“What they don’t know won’t hurt them. Besides, Titus would probably insist they get to take a turn with Daphne if I did.”
When we reached the top, Fen drew me back against him, his arm banding across my waist as he nuzzled a spot behind my ear that he knew made me go molten. “And our bedroom?”
“The first thing I set up.” My voice was breathy, and I almost let myself melt into him. “Stop distracting me.”
“What are we doing up here?”
“You’ll see.” I threw a smile over my shoulder, grabbed his hand, and pulled him to a spot at the end of the mural. “Look.”
His eyes went wide as he took in the new addition.
We both stood looking out at the viewer, my hand in his, his other hand just visible around my waist. We were dressed in our castle colors, though my dress had more green and gold in it than white. The all-white look was something I only wore when absolutely necessary.
“When did this appear?” he asked, his eyes bright.
“I found it this morning.” My nose burned as I felt his wonder and joy flow through our bond.
Wrapped up in our daily struggles, I’d forgotten about the mural.
I didn’t need to see us on the wall to feel like our partnership was real.
I felt it every day in the way we worked and lived together.
But after so many decades alone, I knew how much it would mean to Fen to finally be recognized as a pair by the In Between.
“Do you like it?” I asked.
“It’s perfect.” His kiss was tender but quickly turned hungry.
I clung to him as he plundered my mouth, his strong hands holding me close.
After a few breathless moments, he swung me up in his arms and shadow-stepped us to our new bedroom.
“We have work to do,” I said as he laid me down on the bed. “People need us.”
“They can wait.” He busied himself with his laces. “Mom and dad are busy.” The singular focus I felt from him in our bond made me giggle and squirm.
Giving in, I reached for the sleeves of my dress, settling into the blissful feeling I always got when we were together. The sense that I was exactly where I was meant to be.