EPILOGUE I
“Daddy, will you tell me the tale of Uncle Killian and Aunt Aimee?”
“Akaoree, again?” I chuckle, ruffling the tuft of pale golden curls on top of my daughter’s head. “Haven’t you heard it a million times over?”
She wrinkles her cute button nose, her baby-blue eyes pleading.
“But it’s my favorite story, Daddy. Please.”
She looks so much like her mother, although the blood running through her veins is not our own.
“Tell me how they defeated the evil bitch, errr, witch.”
“Akaoree Mortenghail, that’s no way for a seven years old to speak,” I say in feigned indignation, and the tips of her pointed ears turn bright pink. She reminds me of Aimee sometimes, with her streak of stubbornness and occasional slip of the tongue.
“Sorry, Daddy,” she says with an impish smile. “But that mean lady really deserves the B-word.”
I can’t argue with that. Or the fact that she gets a lot of her attitude from me.
“Your aunt and uncle loved each other very much. Across hardship, across lifetimes, even in other bodies, their souls yearned for each other and found each other.”
“Other bodies? Like Akaori and Aeon?” she asks, her golden eyebrows scrunching in concentration as she recalls the story. She doesn’t quite understand yet the concept of reincarnation, always asking how her uncle was male, yet also female before that.
“Yes, little princess. Their love was the strongest in the entire realm, and it lived on for many, many years. Waiting for them to reunite.”
“But the mean lady who I can’t call the B-word because it’s not nice, she wanted to break them apart?”
Her little foot kicks a pebble that goes careening into the depression before us. We’re at the edge of the former castle, a steep slope covered in snow, the only remaining sign of the destiny-shaping battle that occurred here.
“Yes, little one. She was jealous of their connection and tried very hard to end it. You see, some people have so much hatred in their hearts, they’re only capable of evil. They want everyone to suffer, just because they can.”
“But she failed, Daddy, didn’t she? Their love was stronger than her hate,” she says with a dreamy lilt, throwing more pebbles into the crater.
We left it void of life, a memorial to all the lives lost and the sacrifices made. The new Sangeries stands proud in the middle of our rebuilt capital. A beam of hope and endurance where all races are welcomed with open arms as long as they come with a light heart.
“Indeed, it was, my princess. For as much as she tried, Morweena couldn’t destroy their bond. Good will always win over evil, Akaoree, always remember that.”
My daughter nods pensively before her heart-shaped lips form a little circle as if a thought just occurred to her.
“But if they defeated the bi—I mean witch, why are they not here, Daddy? Shouldn’t they be the Vampire King and Queen? Instead, you and Mommy are.”
I chuckle, ruffling her hair more. Nothing escapes her curious mind.
“It was their time to move on to Eimiryia, little one. To find peace. They’ve left me and your mommy in charge of Imiryion.”
She huffs, straightening the lavender bows adorning her curls, the same shade as her periwinkle dress and thick wool cape.
“I still don’t understand where this Eimiryia is. Why can’t we visit them, like we do with Uncle Soren and Aunt Nella?”
“Because Soren and Nella live in the province of Ryawarath, here in Imiryion, while Eimirya is not on the same plane of existence,” I say the words slowly, trying not to confuse her.
“What’s a plane of existing, Daddy?”
“Imagine this,” I say, hovering my palms in the air, one on top of the other.
“Eimiryia is a mirror realm of Imiryion. Much like our own, but better. Like when you look into the mirror while Mommy brushes your hair, and you see the reflection of yourself. Only there, people are not mere reflections of themselves. They are their truest form. Happy. Free. At peace. Surrounded by all their loved ones.”
I’m not sure she understands yet, but she will one day.
Eimirya is true immortality.
I used to think that vampires lived forever here, in this world, but now I know the truth. This is just a phase in the grand scheme of things. The place we are born into and where we have to prove our worth to gain access to our ever afters.
And Killian and Aimee proved their worth wholeheartedly.
Ereshkygall too, finally reunited with her Alektriona.
Even K’haram, no longer the only dragon alive, surrounded by others of his kind, soaring the skies of Eimirya with his little hatchlings.
“But, Daddy, how do you know for sure?” she asks, unconvinced.
“Because, my darling one,” I answer, taking her up in my arms and twirling her until her giggles light up the sky, “I often see them in my dreams.”
“You do?” she asks in awe. “Can Mommy too? Can I? Oh, I want to see them too.”
“No, baby, only I can. You see, when your aunt and uncle crowned me King on the battlefield, a little piece of them remained behind with me. Our souls are intertwined for all eternity, and that’s how I know they are happy and safe.”
I turn my palm toward Akaoree to show her the jagged scar left there by their former daggers, now the crown resting atop my head.
“A part of their powers stays with me, and one day, whenever that might be, we will reunite.”
“In Eimiryia? Will I go there too?”
“Yes, princess, we all will. As long as we do good in this life, we’ll be rewarded.”
“There you two are,” comes the sweet voice of the female that is, together with the little one in my arms, my entire universe. Sariah approaches regally, her pale blue cloak swirling at her ankles as she hugs her daughter, who squeals in delight.
“Mommy!”
“How come whenever I lose sight of you lot, I find you here, conspiring about higher planes?” Her voice sounds stern, but the mischief sparkling in her eyes sings another tune. She presses her lips against my own, jasmine filling my lungs, and I hum contentedly in response.
“Daddy was explaining that if I’m a good girl, one day I’ll get to meet Uncle Killian and Aunt Aimee.”
“Was he now? And is your daddy a good boy?” Sariah asks with a smirk that elicits the most delicious reaction in my body. Oh, how this female knows to keep me on my bloody toes.
“He is the best, Mommy,” Akaoree giggles, playing with the ribbons tied at Sariah’s neck. “He could be better though, but he forgot to pack sweet treats for our walk.”
“Oh, no, that is a grave mistake on his part,” Sariah whispers in false shock. “Does Daddy deserve a little punishment for his misdeed?”
She throws me a tantalizing look under pale lashes, and I choke on my spit. Fifty years and it still feels like day one. Like I’m the arrogant fool who went to kidnap Aimee’s friend only to get his ass handed to him by the most beautiful and maddeningly clever creature that walked this realm.
Only now I wear my lovesick fool badge with pride and honor.
“Hmm,” Akaoree hums, tapping her chubby fingers against her chin. “Maybe a little one, yes. Oh, I know. He can get me a new set of hair bows as punishment.”
Sariah’s giggle chimes like crystal bells as she kisses our daughter, taking her from my arms.
“I will make sure Daddy never forgets your sweet treats, baby. Now come, Soren and Nella will arrive here soon, and we should prepare for the feast in their honor.”
“Nella doesn’t need a feast, Mommy,” our daughter says, rolling her pretty eyes. “She drinks blood like Daddy, duh.”
That attitude will be the death of me, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Are you coming, Blaise?” Sariah asks over her shoulder, already walking hand in hand with our daughter.
“In a minute, moonlight.”
She nods, her eyes crinkling at the edges.
“Tell her I miss her every single day.”
“She knows, little pixie, she knows. She misses you too.”
They are a splash of color in the snowy landscape as they glide effortlessly through the old castle gardens, Akaoree’s childish laughter making the place feel lighter, full of hope for the brighter future we all wanted for Imiryion.
A pull from within the edges of my scar signals their presence. Soft tendrils of crimson and black curl around my fingers playfully, coiling around each other in an eternal chase.
A light breeze tousles my braids, carrying the ghost of a whisper in that layered voice I always hear, in my dreams and waking moments, too.
“You did well, Blaise.”
My smile broadens as I caress the shadows with my thumb.
“We all did.”