Epilogue - Jake
Two weeks later
“Hi.” The barista greets, and I’m surprised to see a familiar face behind the counter.
“Reese? No more working at Fern?”
He laughs. “Nah, I am. I picked up some shifts here for some extra money.”
“Well, now you’re working at two of my favorite spots in town.”
“You moved here recently, right?”
I nod. “As of last week, yes. I had to grab some of my items from back home, but I’m on the east side of town now.”
Reese’s eyes widen. “Oh.”
I grimace, but try to hide it with a smile. The Council announced demons are welcome in our realm again, and people are cautious. It’s going to take time for that to be the new normal for most.
“It’s a big day, though. It’s my first day on the Council.” I beam, changing the subject to why I’m here. Coffee. I need copious amounts of coffee for our day-long meeting today. It’ll be the first time myself and Marisole are in the room with the other Council members.
Reese opens his mouth to say something, but it’s at that moment that Jasmine and Marisole come through the front doors.
It’s like the scene from the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 where Sonic and Tails enter a bar, looking for shelter, but everyone stops what they are doing to look at them because they are the out of place.
“Sorry, Reese, just a black coffee to go,” I say to him, but he’s too busy staring at the two demons. “Reese?”
Saying his name twice shakes him from some thought and he nods toward me, then turns the screen around for me to pay.
Once I have my coffee, I walk to the front of the shop where Jasmine and Marisole are sitting.
“I hate everything.” Marisole groans, resting her head on her palms.
Jasmine widens her eyes toward me, then returns her attention to her sister. “You’re being emotional. It’ll get better.”
Marisole groans again, mumbling phrases no one can understand.
“Ready for your first day?” I ask.
Marisole lifts her head and stares at me. “Does it look like I’m ready?”
“Yeah?” I look at Jasmine who is shaking her head. “No?” I return my gaze to Marisole who is still giving me a death stare. She hasn’t been taking her addition of human emotions well. “At least Kyrian will be there to help you adjust to our realm,” I say, which was not the correct thing to say.
Jasmine sighs. Marisole stands from the table and exits the cafe.
“What just happened?” I ask Jasmine.
She stands and wraps her arms around my torso, pulling me into a hug. “She hasn’t felt emotions for decades and is having a hard time adjusting. I’ve tried talking to her about it all, but she shuts down.”
I press a kiss to her forehead and give her a squeeze. “She’ll come around.”
“I hope so.”
A moment later, she leans back and rises on her toes to press a kiss to my lips. My lips curl into a small smile.
“Ready for today?” Jasmine asks.
“I think so. I talked to the previous werewolf representative last night to prepare and ask questions. He didn’t have a lot of advice, but told me it’d be a fairly boring first day since all they do is dump a ton of information on you.”
“You’ll have a great first day. I’m sure about that.” Jasmine chuckles, then interlaces her hand in mine.
Marisole and I share a car service to get to the Council meeting today. Kyrian is already waiting for us when we get inside the building.
“It’s about time you two got here. I thought I was going to have to chase you down,” he says.
Marisole grumbles and attempts to shove past Kyrian who only smirks when she passes him.
There’s something going on with them, but I’ve been afraid to ask.
Kyrian and I have gotten closer over the past few years.
I didn’t expect for him to move to Fernhollow to be near me, but since he volunteered to help assist Marisole’s transition, it made more sense to have him here.
“You ready for today?” Kyrian asks as we walk down the hallway, following close behind Marisole who is a few feet in front of us.
“It’s still a little surreal that this is happening.” I laugh. “I’ve dreamed about being on the Council for a long time, you know?”
“Um, yes. I remember how you’d wish for a Council spot for your birthday when you were a teenager.”
I groan. “Let’s not bring that up when we get into the room, please.” I laugh. “But you’re right. I’m ready to make a larger impact. And to help the demons feel safe in our realm.”
Marisole scoffs, and I know it’s on purpose.
She doesn’t care what people think about her, which makes her the perfect person to take this spot on the Council.
Every other member is old. How old? I’m not sure, but they’ve held their spot for as long as I remember.
They’ve only ever known a Council without demons.
When we enter the assigned space for today’s meeting, the room goes silent. I look over at Marisole who only rolls her eyes and walks to her seat on the left-side of the room. The seat next to her has my name and designation.
Once we are all seated, Logan, the witch representative, introduces us to everyone.
Besides him, there is Julian, the vampire representative, and Dan, the human representative. They’ve all been here for over a decade and let Marisole know they are looking forward to getting to know her and are excited to mend the feud between our species and theirs.
And what does Marisole do?
She gives them a thumbs up, leans back in her chair, and says, “Cool.”
I have to bite my cheeks to prevent myself from laughing. Kyrian has his work cut out for him.
“Okay, can we get started?” Logan asks, and the meeting begins.
Even with all the information being thrown my way, and seeing how much they’ve hidden from the normal population, I haven’t been happier. I’ve been in Fernhollow for over a month and now that I’m a resident, I’m living the future I’ve always wanted. My dreams are unfolding in real time.
With every passing hour, my mind alternates between thinking about what Jasmine and I are doing for dinner or lunch or some date and the paperwork in front of me. Focus isn’t coming easy right now, but I find myself not caring because of where we’ve all found ourselves.
The last month wasn’t easy, but I also wouldn’t change anything about it.
We’re finally on the other side of the demon infestation problem, and with Jasmine’s previous bargain complete and her new bargain in place, we can move on with our lives. We can plan for the future.
I’m smiling to myself, skimming some paper about the history of the Council, when the door bursts open.
In comes a shifter, who whispers something to Kyrian. He furrows his brows and nods.
“What is it?” Logan asks.
Kyrian looks at me with the same look he gave me the night the rogue wolves ambushed us: fear. Even though my story ended happy and I’m in love with my best friend, the small town of Fernhollow has a lot of challenges to face.
Kyrian stands tall, turns to face the room, and says, “There’s been a string of murders.”
The room erupts into chaos. Every Council member is shouting at one other, trying to get a word in, arguing about what to do with this new complication. Dan stands from his chair and before he speaks, I know it’s only leading to trouble.
“It’s the demons,” he says, like he’s in on some secret and has already solved the problem.
All eyes turn to Marisole, who hasn’t uttered a single word since we started this meeting.
She grimaces, then says, “Fuck.”
Read Marisole and Kyrian’s Story in A Demon’s Assistant, publishing in 2027