Epilogue
“King of the Dawn Dynasty, what do you think of our new room?” I murmur, stepping up next to him on the balcony as the light of dawn pours down on my mate.
He is shirtless, a purple and orange blanket wrapped around his waist as he watches the sea.
The sea is warm here and as I join his side, I decide I’m going to spend the morning swimming in it, hopefully with my mate joining me.
Hunter and I have tried six different rooms in the castle, trying to decide which one is going to be our home.
It’s taken nine years to build this castle from scratch with the help of my parents and many people whose input helped the Dawn Dynasty thrive along with its new people.
We focused on building a town first for all the refugees who stayed in the Moon Dynasty temporarily until they could be relocated here.
The Dawn Dynasty has never looked as bright, with its new crest of purple and orange, with the sun and the sea.
We chose a small island, big enough to call home and for our people to grow.
Alliances have been drawn, and there is no risk of war for many generations to come.
Laughter fills my ears, and we both look down, spotting my cousin Hettie carrying a pile of books from our libraries, with one of the new librarians at her side who I’m sure she has a crush on. Hunter finally tugs me to his side. “I love this room.”
“Me too.” I admit. Something felt right about this room from the second we slept in here. It’s not the biggest room, or the grandest, but it feels right. “I think we are nearly done with the grand libraries.”
Part of the draw of this vast castle we built from ruins was the many, many libraries.
There were no books in the ruins, but the stone bookcases mostly survived.
We repaired it all, adding orange stone to the castle as we built.
Mazzis oversaw where we stored all the books of the world, and we make it possible for anybody to come here to learn and study.
We want to make ourselves better in this world and help others with the books and knowledge here.
Eventually we want the castle to become almost like an academy, a place of learning about dragons, magic, vampyres and fae.
“Two more need some work before we put any books in them, but you’re right.
There will be nothing left to do but hold court and enjoy my mate soon.
” He kisses the top of my head softly, his eyes still on the sea.
“I wish my family were here to see it,” he whispers.
“I wish they were here to meet you and see our future. I wish they had been there when we got married and seen a crown on my head again.”
I hold my mate tightly. “They were there in spirit. I choose to believe we aren’t alone, even if their souls leave their bodies.
” He wraps his arms around my waist as I try to make him smile.
“And more books have been rescued from the sea by my parents’ castle, and they are being carefully restored.
I am hoping the book that you and your mother wrote will eventually be found.
My parents have gone travelling for a month, but they have left people in control of the search. ”
“We can rewrite the book.” He taps his head. “I haven’t forgotten a word about the god marked. That book was about you, and my mother didn’t even know she was writing it to be a guide to her daughter-in-law one day.”
I lean up and kiss him, letting the warm dawn light wash over us as we embrace. Our future. Our ending.