Epilogue Cass
Three Months Later
Water sparkled on the Aegean Sea, the brightness of it forcing me to lift a hand to shield my eyes.
It was warm, sunny, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
The breeze made the seagrass dance, the leaves making a sort of droning white noise that I’d come to love over the past few months.
Nerion’s little cottage in Greece was a dream.
And being there with Linden, well, that made it almost perfect.
“Sparks!”
I turned to see Linden striding toward me, a folded piece of paper clutched in his hand.
“There’s a letter from Elder Briar Hall,” he said, trudging through the sand to join me on the beach. “I didn’t want to open it without you.”
I felt my heart skip a beat. Three months we’d been waiting for news, three months of uncertainty about what was happening back home. About the Elder Council, about the grove, about everything. And now, finally, something.
“Open it,” I said, moving closer to him. The sand was warm beneath my feet, and I could still taste the salt from the sea air on my lips.
Linden carefully unfolded the letter, his green fingers trembling slightly. I wrapped an arm around his waist, needing the contact as much as he seemed to need it. His magic hummed against my side, a familiar comfort that had become as essential to me as breathing.
His golden eyes scanned the page, and I watched as his expression shifted. It started as confusion, then something that looked like cautious hope.
“What does it say?” I prompted when he didn’t speak.
“Read it,” he said, passing it over. “I’m not really sure what to make of it.”
I took the letter with both hands and turned it to the sunlight.
Dear Linden and Mr. Reed,
I apologize for not writing sooner. As you can imagine, the attack on the Elder Council has caused quite an uproar. And I’m afraid I don’t have much good news to share with you.
Firstly, five of the Elder Council members were killed in the attack.
One, Elder Voss, is related to one of your friends, Theodore Voss.
I believe she was his aunt. I imagine he’ll be hearing from the family soon on that matter.
This significant loss of leadership has caused a vacuum in the Elder Council and stopped any potential recruits from stepping up to fill their positions.
As such, the Elder Council has temporarily issued a state of emergency and unanimously given Elder Thaddeus, our oldest and wisest member, full control of the council until the Purity Front can be stopped.
Needless to say, I urge both of you to stay on your guard. The Purity Front doesn’t look kindly upon mixed relationships like yours. There are many witch families that would report you in an instant should they have connections with the Purity Front.
Please rest assured that both Elias and I are alive and well and working toward a solution that will benefit the entirety of the paranormal world.
As for my good news, I’m happy to say that Elder Thaddeus has agreed to give Linden full control and ownership of his grove once more.
After the death of Jackson Rose during the attack, Rose Development has come unraveled.
Their company, sustained by no small amount of magic, fell apart within days of his death.
That means the land is no longer contested.
For your benefit, I have already transferred the deed to the land into your name and attached it to this letter.
Please be sure to pay your property taxes to the correct human governmental agency so this doesn’t happen again. Perhaps I could suggest a PO BOX or a small house so you can receive their mail on the subject.
You may reach out to me at any time via letter, although, with the state of the world right now, I can’t promise a swift answer. It was nice getting to know you and please take care of yourselves in the coming turmoil.
Be safe,
-Elder Wilderain Briar Hall
P.S. Widdershins Academy is set to resume in the fall under heavy security.
“Wow,” I breathed, looking up from the letter at Linden. “This letter is… whiplash.”
“Yeah,” Linden nodded, shaking his head. “I’m not sure if I’m relieved, terrified, or both.”
“Both,” I said, squeezing his waist and feeling the same uncertainty. “Definitely both.”
The deed was tucked safely into the folds of the letter, and I could see the official seal of the Elder Council stamped across it in silver ink. The grove was his. After everything, the attack, the uncertainty, the months of waiting in limbo, Linden’s home was finally, legally his again.
“You got your grove back,” I said, the words still feeling surreal as they left my mouth. “You can go home now.”
Linden turned to face me fully, and I could see the conflicting emotions playing across his features. Relief, yes, but also something darker lurking beneath the surface. The reminder that the Purity Front was still out there. That we weren’t safe just because his legal battle was won.
“We need to tell Nerion and Teddy,” he said finally, folding the letter carefully. “And we need to talk about what comes next.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, though I thought I already knew. The grove was his, but it was also partially destroyed. Rebuilding it would take time and effort. It would require him to go back, to assess the damage, to start the long process of restoration.
“I mean that I can’t stay here forever,” he said gently, taking my hand. “The grove needs me. The heartwood needs me. I have to go back and start healing it, start bringing it back to what it was.”
I felt something clench in my chest. I’d known this was coming, and had prepared myself for the possibility. But hearing him say it out loud made it real in a way that was harder to process.
“When?” I asked.
“Soon,” he said. “But not alone. I need you with me, Sparks. I don’t think I can do this without you.”
I looked out at the Aegean Sea, at the brilliant blue water that had become my sanctuary over the past three months.
We’d been safe here, hidden away from the chaos and uncertainty of the world.
But safety was a luxury we couldn’t afford anymore.
Not when there was work to be done. Not when Linden’s grove was depending on him.
And really, despite everything going on, we still had to find time to live, to build a life together.
The grove was the only place in the world where doing that made sense.
“Okay,” I said, turning back to him. “Then we go back together. We rebuild the grove together. We figure out what comes next together.”
Linden pulled me close, his massive frame enveloping mine as his magic hummed against my skin. I could feel the relief in that embrace, the gratitude, the love that had sustained us through everything.
“I love you,” he murmured against my hair.
“I love you too,” I replied. “Good thing I spent an entire semester learning how to do glass work. We’ll need those skills to build a house.”
“Build a house?”
“Yeah,” I chuckled. “In the grove. You didn’t expect me to sleep under a tree for the rest of my life, did you?”
Linden smiled back at me. “No, I know… I just…”
I held him tight, waiting for him to find the words.
“It just feels so real now. You and me.” His eyes met mine, his skin sparkling with gold in the sunlight.
“At school and here in Greece, it just felt like it could be a dream. Like I might wake up at any moment and find out none of it had ever happened.” He leaned in close, his lips only inches from mine.
“But building a house with you, in my grove… it feels so much more real and solid than I expected.”
“That’s the whole point,” I said, tilting my head up to meet him halfway. “We’re not dreaming anymore, big guy. This is real. You, me, the grove. All of it. And yeah, it’s terrifying as hell, but it’s also the most wonderful thing I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”
I kissed him then, slow and deliberate, the promise of everything we were about to build together. His hands came up to cup my face, his thumbs brushing gentle circles across my cheekbones. The magic between us crackled and danced, responding to the emotion flowing through both of us.
When we finally broke apart, I was breathless.
“We should tell them,” Linden said, but he made no move to leave. He was content just holding me here on the beach, with the sea stretching out endlessly behind us.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But give me another minute with just us.”
He nodded, pressing his forehead against mine.
We stood like that for what felt like both an eternity and only a heartbeat, suspended in the perfect stillness of the moment.
The seagrass danced around us, the waves crashed gently against the shore, and somewhere in the distance, I could hear the cry of seagulls wheeling through the brilliant blue sky.
Three months ago, I was standing in an Elder Council chamber watching people die. Three months ago, I’d run an icicle through a man’s chest without hesitation. Three months ago, the world had felt like it was ending.
But Linden was right. This felt real in a way that nothing else had.
Not the attacks, not the uncertainty, not even the initial rush of our new relationship back at Widdershins.
Standing on a beach with a dryad who loved me, holding a letter that gave him back his home…
That was the solid, tangible proof that we could survive anything if we did it together.
“Come on,” I said finally, reluctantly pulling away from him. “Let’s go find Nerion and Teddy. We have a lot to talk about.”
Linden tucked the letter carefully into his pocket, keeping the deed close to his chest like it might disappear if he didn’t hold it tight enough. I kept my arm around his waist as we made our way back across the beach toward the cliff, our footprints trailing behind us in the sand.
The cottage was exactly as we’d left it, small, charming, with white-painted walls and blue shutters that perfectly matched the sea.
Nerion was probably in his studio, working on one of his oil paintings.
Teddy was likely ten feet from Nerion in his beanbag, buried in a book as usual.
But they’d both want to know about this.
We had things to celebrate, and things to mourn.
As we approached the door, I felt Linden’s hand tighten around mine.
“What if we can’t do it?”
“Can’t do what?”
“Rebuild the grove?” He paused, his brows furrowing. “What if the Purity Front wins?”
“Then we’ll fight,” I said simply, squeezing his hand back. “We’ll fight like we did in that council chamber. We’ll fight like we’ve been fighting since the moment we met. And we’ll win because the alternative isn’t acceptable.”
Linden stopped walking, forcing me to stop with him.
When I turned to look at him, I could see the fear still lingering in those golden eyes, but there was something else too.
A kind of steel that hadn’t been there before.
That day in the Elder Council chambers had hardened something in him.
Made him more aware of what he was capable of.
He wasn’t just the gentle giant everyone knew anymore.
He was a true dryad, a guardian, of the forest and the things he held dear. And he’d do anything to protect them.
“You really believe that?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, and I meant it with every fiber of my being. “I do. Because I’ve seen what you can do, Linden. I’ve seen your magic at full strength. And I’ve seen what I’m capable of when I’m fighting for something that matters. Together? We’re unstoppable.”
He leaned down and kissed me again, quick and fierce, like he was drawing strength from me. When he pulled back, some of the tension had drained from his shoulders.
“I love you, Sparks,” he said.
“I love you too, big guy.” I pulled him toward the cottage door. “It’s time to get started.”