Epilogue #2
The space between us isn’t far, but it feels like crossing through a portal. With every step I take, it’s like allowing the moments we’ve kept secret and private to become a little more visible, coaxing them out of the shadows and into the light. And it feels good.
He watches me, his gaze never faltering. He doesn’t move to meet me, just waits there in the doorway, stoic and sturdy and without doubt the sexiest man in this room.
When I reach him, I don’t stop short. Instead, I press my body against his and capture his lips with mine, drawing a small breath of surprise from him. For a brief moment, he hesitates, his muscles going taut. Then one of his hands finds my waist, his fingers firm and steady.
As I pull away, I look up into his crimson eyes and say, “No more hiding, right?”
His jaw flexes beneath his pale skin. I see the decision in his eyes. He nods once. “No more hiding.”
I smile. “Then dance with me.”
Taking his hand, I begin leading him toward the dance floor.
Stares follow us, whispers floating through the guests who know Severin as the rigid Coven Crest history professor.
But he doesn’t falter, doesn’t try to pull his hand from mine.
Instead, he holds my fingers tighter, his shoulders straightening, his conviction in this—in us—unwavering.
The orchestra has just finished a song and is about to start another one.
Lyra is laughing at something Cairn did, pressing up as high as she can onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to his blushing cheek.
And Raelan and Alina are still dancing, swaying together even though no music is playing.
When we approach, they finally break out of their trance to look at us.
Alina’s pale blue eyes widen, just for a moment. Then she blinks and says, “Maeve. Professor D—”
“Just Severin is fine, Your Highness,” Severin says from beside me, his fingers still twined with mine. He lowers his head to her.
Alina’s lips curve up in the corners. “Severin. Thank you for coming.” She puts a hand on Raelan’s chest. “You’ve met my fiancé, Raelan.”
“Indeed.” Severin holds out a hand, and Raelan grasps it.
“You weren’t quite so composed last I saw you,” Raelan says, mouth lifting into a small smirk.
Severin flexes his jaw. “I prefer my feet on the ground, precisely where they belong.”
Raelan tips his head. “I thought vampires weren’t afraid of anything.”
“And I thought dragons were extinct.”
Their humor has a bite, but warmth rumbles beneath their words. And over the men’s clasped hands, Alina and I meet each other’s eyes and smile.
The orchestra prepares for another dance, and Alina says, “Join us?”
I nod, then turn and catch Poppy’s eye across the room. Waving to her, I mouth, “Come dance.”
Aric sees me, and he immediately takes Poppy by the hand and guides her toward us, coaxing her through her shy reluctance.
They join us on the dance floor, as do Lyra and Cairn.
Alina turns to Raelan, her hand sliding into his as naturally as breathing.
Aric takes Poppy by the waist. Lyra grins up at Cairn.
And I shift to look at Severin.
His red eyes are vibrant in the candlelight, his jaw as smooth and hard as polished granite. But inside my chest, our thread of connection is warm, flushed with life.
As the music starts, Severin steps closer to me, one hand slipping into the dip at my waist while he takes mine in the other.
“You look gorgeous,” he says, his gaze sweeping down the length of my body. “Though perhaps dangerous is a better word.”
Our feet start to move, and Severin guides me across the floor with flawless precision. I should’ve known he’d be a great dancer.
“You look quite handsome yourself.” I move my hand up the slope of his shoulder and curl my fingers around the back of his neck. “Though I think I’d prefer that suit on the floor.”
His lips twitch. “Do not tempt me.”
I smile, leaning in just slightly as we dance, the room shifting into a blur of movement and light.
The music carries us across the dance floor, and everything that has brought us here—every choice, every stumble, every moment of uncertainty—seems to settle, like a gentle snowfall in early winter, or the way leaves twirl to the ground in the autumn.
And it all feels right.
So I smile some more, and I dance in Severin’s arms, and I feel perfectly at home as my best friends swirl around me.
We just experienced an ending of one chapter in our lives, and now it feels like we’re in the turning of the page, suspended momentarily as the parchment flutters down. I’m not sure where we’ll all be when it lands, when the next chapter starts, but there is one thing I know for sure.
Moving closer to Severin, feeling his breath on my neck as his smooth cheek presses to mine, I lift my lips to his ear and whisper, “I love you, Severin D’Arques.”
His fingers tighten around my waist, and our bond sings its pleasure.
He brushes his lips across my cheek, then whispers into my ear, “And I will love you until my last breath, Maeve Vandermere.”
Hearing the words, I know in my bones that they’re true.
Not caring that my fellow graduates and some faculty and my parents are in this room, I tip my face back, rise up, and capture Severin’s lips in mine.
His mouth is warm, inviting. And just beneath his lips, I feel his fangs.
The same fangs that pierced my flesh, that drew my blood away and created something between us that will be everlasting.
Eternal. Perhaps the one thing in my life that I can depend on not to change.
The music slows, the song coming to an end. We all stop dancing and take a moment to applaud the orchestra. Then my friends gather around me again, our eyes all shining in the glimmering candlelight.
I shift my gaze to Alina and Raelan, watching the way they gaze at each other, and I ask, “So, when’s this royal wedding? I think it’s about time you two tie the knot.”
Lyra arches a brow at them and crosses her arms. “Seriously. We’ve only been waiting three years.”
“Can I be one of your groomsmen?” Aric asks, giving Raelan a lopsided grin as he pulls Poppy close. “I swear I won’t embarrass you.”
Alina shifts closer to Raelan, putting a hand on his chest. “We did say we’d get married after I graduated . . .”
“And we’re all dying to call you Prince Raelan,” I add. It garners me a brief look of horror from Raelan, his dark eyes going wide, and we all laugh.
Beside me, Severin eases his hand around my waist, and I turn my face up to him. His red eyes catch the candlelight, and he smiles down at me, the gesture easy and warm.
My heart thrums. Because this is all mine—my life, my choices, my power.
And my vampire.
The future feels wide and unknown. But it’s not something I have to face alone.
Not now. Not ever.
Whatever comes next, I know something for certain: I’m ready for it.
THE END
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