Epilogue
One Year Later
The stars are exquisite tonight.”
Erebus and I stood on the balcony outside our chambers, savoring a peaceful evening after a day that had felt like a whirlwind.
It had been one year since Raelion’s defeat, and our waking hours tended to be busy, blurry, and overflowing with Weaver duties.
But our nights were different. They were slower.
Quieter. Erebus ensured they were made for us.
They’d always be for us.
We were both dressed for sleep, garbed in matching billowing robes and not much else, and I was enjoying the way his thumbs were tracing patterns on my arms. He was standing behind me, anchoring me against his chest, and even though I couldn’t see his face, I could sense something was troubling him.
His thumbs started tracing faster. Faster. Faster. Definitely anxious.
Strange.
There wasn’t much to be anxious about these days.
The once-bitter sea of poisoned dreams was now a vast iridescent blue, shimmering brightly in the distance.
The Dream Realm had flourished since Raelion’s defeat, blooming into life beyond our wildest hopes.
Gone were the demons of fear and chaos; now the land pulsed with vibrant, living magic, each domain embodying its own distinct beauty, a reflection of the Weavers who governed them.
Citadel Evernight, returned to its former glory, would soon be taking its first class of dream scholars since its demise, and Citadel Firstlight, the peaceful jewel of Istralla, was now governed equally by Erebus, myself, and the rest of the immortal Weavers.
We had become the architects of a new world, not in a state of war, but at peace, generating new possibilities, new dreams, with every passing day.
“More exquisite than usual?” I asked, looking up to the stars. They were always bright these days. Always glowing like jewels scattered across a velvet sky. I felt his arms leave me. “I think—oh.”
While I was distracted, Erebus had dropped to a knee.
“Esmer.” He said my name as if it were precious treasure, holding me tight with his gaze.
Shadows were positively dancing in his silver irises.
“This world is ours now. And it will continue to grow, to flourish, because of us. But there is one thing I still desire that will complete this eternity we have built together. And I hope you desire it, too.”
My breath hitched, anticipation stirring in my throat.
One thing I still desire?
“I know I can be irritable. And vengeful. And generally unlikable at times.” He raked a hand through his hair, making a low, frustrated sound as a flush spread across his face.
“You see me, all of me. And you love me still. So, if you’ll have me, I vow to be with you in darkness, in light, in dreams both beautiful and broken.
” His lips grazed my left hand, lingering over where a ring might sit.
When he looked up again, his eyes were shining.
“Will you marry me, Esmer Havenfall? Be my partner, now and forever—through this dream and the next?”
The question hung in the air between us, fierce in its tenderness. I knew my answer immediately; it was leaping from my throat before I could even blink.
“I would love to marry you,” I said, unable to keep from smiling. He exhaled heavily, his mouth forming into a lopsided grin. He looked so happy—so relieved. “To the end and ever after, yes.”
His smile grew even wider as he slipped a ring onto my finger. The delicate band was made from whorls of living shadow, and the large oval stone was starlight crystalized.
“I love you,” I said, guiding him to stand.
“My fiancé,” I added coyly, looking pointedly at my sparkling ring.
I’d never seen any adornment more beautiful, and I had no idea how he’d hidden it from me.
Perhaps he’d conjured it just now, for this exact moment. “It’s perfect… and looks just like us.”
“Good,” he said, clearly pleased with himself.
“I have a replica already made for when we’re awake in Noctis.
” He gently lifted my chin so that our eyes met.
“I love you desperately, Esmer. You’re my reminder that light exists within every shadow.
My joy, my home, my starlight. My everything.
” Then he whispered heatedly, lowering his lips to mine, “My fiancée.”
His hands landed on my waist as he pulled me close.
Unexpectedly, a burst of laughter—of people clapping—resounded from far below. We jolted away from each other, thoroughly startled. I peered over the ledge. Elliot, Sorren, Ceveon, and a host of other dreamers were cheering for us.
Then came the chant: “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
And so we did, becoming so lost in each other that we didn’t notice when their cheers shifted into astonished gasps. Something was growing brighter. The sky or the Nocturne, I supposed, continuing to kiss Erebus without a care in the world.
But then the light made itself known.
It wrapped around us like a warm embrace, alive with a glow so pure and so whole it could only be that of Mithras. The Light Bringer had come to celebrate with us, too.
Only, the light hadn’t manifested from nothing. My eyes snapped open.
No, the beacon had a face. It was coming from one beaming, radiant little brother.
Elliot was clapping excitedly for us, jumping and shouting as his sister committed herself to the love of her life, who would thusly become his brother.
The Dream Realm’s new Light Weaver, celebrating us with unadulterated joy.
I laughed in surprised delight, throwing my arms around Erebus and kissing him again.
To the end and ever after.