EPILOGUE 1
SASHA
Iadjusted the silk of my gown one more time, watching my reflection smooth the fabric over my hips.
The past month had been wonderful in ways I’d never imagined when I’d first arrived at this court.
The gardens thrived, emotion-responsive flowers blooming brighter than they had in years.
Court members walked through the halls with true joy rather than forced cheerfulness.
We’d sealed the hillside entrance three days after the festival, filling it with earth and stone until no trace of the chamber remained. Only we knew what had been down there. Lady Featherby had sworn to keep the secret.
Dominic emerged from the bathing chamber, fastening the buttons on his formal tunic. The deep green brought out his eyes, and I caught myself staring.
“See something you like?” he asked, grinning.
“Maybe.”
He crossed to me, his hands settling on my waist. “We could stay here. Send our regrets.”
“And miss the celebration your mother spent weeks planning?” I raised an eyebrow. “She’d never forgive us.”
“True.” He gave me a quick kiss. “Though watching you at formal events is nearly as entertaining as keeping you to myself.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but he stepped back, reaching into his pocket. His expression shifted, nervousness flickering across his face.
“Before we go down,” he said, pulling out a folded piece of parchment, “there’s something I need to do.”
My pulse picked up, and I waited for him to speak.
He cleared his throat. “I laughed through my vows at our wedding. I never got to tell you what I actually wanted to say.” His fingers tightened on the parchment. “I wrote them over the days before the ceremony, and I’ve been carrying them around ever since, waiting for the right moment.”
Tears prickled in my eyes. “Dominic—”
“Please. Let me do this properly.”
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
He unfolded the paper, his hands steadying as he began to read.
“Sasha, in the dance of our worlds, I stand before you hoping for what I’ve searched for my entire life, someone who sees past the outer shell to the man beneath.
I vow to be your partner in truth, not just in title.
To stand beside you in crisis and celebration, to trust your strength while offering mine.
I promise to value you always. Together, we can build something neither of us could create alone, a partnership based on real connection rather than courtly expectation. ”
My vision blurred. I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling my locket warm beneath my palm.
“I love you,” he said, lowering the parchment. “I would’ve said my vows on our wedding day if I could’ve. But I can say them now.”
“I love you.” The words came out thick with emotion.
He pulled me close, and I buried my face in his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent. We stood there for a long moment, holding each other while my racing heart settled.
When I pulled back, he wiped the tears from my cheeks with gentle fingers.
“We should go,” I said, even though I wanted to stay here with him instead. “My sisters will come looking for us.” I stepped back before I could change my mind.
“Exactly why we’re going downstairs.” He offered me his arm, and I took it, smiling up at this man I adored above everyone else.
Savory swooped through the open balcony door as we started toward the door, landing on my shoulder with a flutter of wings.
Two trees that once stood alone now share roots deeper than stone, she said. The forest sings your joined names.
I smiled and shared her words with Dominic, who nodded in agreement as we descended the grand staircase.
“Your companion is getting more poetic,” he said.
“She’s been spending time with Lord Primrose.”
“That explains everything.”
The ballroom doors stood open ahead, music and conversation spilling into the corridor. Servants moved past us, using magic to levitate trays of food and drink, their faces bright with happiness.
We paused at the entrance.
Enchanted lights floated near the ceiling, casting everything in a warm gold.
Emotion-responsive flowers lined the walls, their petals shifting through blues and purples and brilliant reds as they reflected the happiness of the gathered crowd.
Tables laden with food curved along one side while musicians played near the other.
My family stood beside the refreshment table.
Cyrene spotted us first, her face lighting up. She wore a flowing gown in pale yellow that complemented her joy witch nature perfectly. But what caught my attention was the way she gently stroked her belly. Her complexion glowed with something beyond her usual cheerfulness.
“You’re pregnant,” I said the moment we reached her, then clapped my hand over my mouth. “Sorry. That was—”
“True.” Her smile widened. “We were going to announce it tonight, but apparently I’m not subtle.”
Kieran appeared at her side, his vampire king intensity softening when he looked at his wife. He stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning close to kiss her cheek.
Adele and Raoul joined us, my weather witch sister looking relaxed in a way I’d never seen before. When he handed her a glass of wine before she’d even asked, she accepted it with a smile that suggested him anticipating her needs happened all the time. I loved that for her.
Victoria rushed over, her eyes bright with excitement. “Sasha. You have to tell me everything about the plant magic integration you accomplished here. I’ve been reading about emotional-botanical synthesis, and the applications could be revolutionary for—”
“Victoria.” I caught her hands, my low laugh ringing out. “We can discuss research later. Tonight is for celebrating.”
She blinked, then grinned. “Right. Celebrating. I can do that.” She paused. “Though if you have even five minutes to explain the theoretical framework of—”
“Later.”
Grandmother Elizabeth materialized beside us with the uncanny timing she’d perfected over decades. She wore deep purple robes embroidered with silver stars, and her eyes sparkled as she surveyed us.
“Three successful matches,” she said, her voice full of satisfaction. “Three strong alliances.” Her gaze slid to Victoria, who was already distracted by something across the ballroom. Calculation flickered in Grandmother’s eyes, there and gone so quickly I almost missed it.
“Don’t,” I said quietly. “Victoria needs time.”
“All my granddaughters need time,” Grandmother said. “Until they don’t.” She patted my arm. “You’ve done well, Sasha. Better than I dared hope.”
The words settled warm in my chest. Grandmother’s approval had always been hard-won, and hearing it now meant more than I wanted to admit.
When a hush fell over the crowd, I turned to see why.
A man stood at the entrance to the ballroom, and the word “imposing” didn’t begin to cover it.
He wore a fur tunic that emphasized broad shoulders and raw power barely contained.
His dark hair gleamed in the faelight, falling to just above his collar.
But it was his intense, assessing eyes that caught me as they swept the ballroom, his chiseled face wearing with a scowl that suggested he’d rather be anywhere else than here.
“The wolf shifter king,” Dominic said by my ear. “I’m surprised he accepted our invitation.”
The shifter king’s gaze moved across the crowd again, dismissing most people before they’d even registered his attention. Then his eyes locked on someone, and his entire body went rigid.
I followed his line of sight to Victoria, who stood frozen mid-reach for a pastry. Her face had gone pale, her eyes wide with shock as she stared back at the wolf king.
The air between them practically crackled.
“Oh no,” I breathed.
“Oh yes,” Dominic said, sounding much too amused.
Grandmother Elizabeth moved over to stand beside Victoria’s, her expression serene despite the tension suddenly filling the ballroom. She said something too quiet for me to hear, and Victoria jerked her attention away from the wolf king, nodding mechanically at whatever Grandmother was saying.
The shifter king’s scowl deepened. He strode into the ballroom like he owned it, his presence demanding attention even as people instinctively moved out of his path.
“I should go intervene,” I said, already stepping toward my sister.
Dominic’s hand on my arm stopped me. “Let’s see what happens first. Your grandmother seems to have this handled.”
“That’s what worries me.”
But he was right. Grandmother was already guiding Victoria toward a quieter corner, away from the shifter king’s intense gaze. But I noticed she was smiling, wearing that expression that said she’d just seen another piece fall into place.
“Your family is going to give me gray hair,” Dominic said.
“You love my family.”
“I love you. Your family is a complicated bonus.”
I laughed, some of the tension easing from my shoulders. “Fair enough.”
The music resumed, and conversation picked back up as people processed the wolf king’s arrival. He’d positioned himself near the far wall, accepting a drink from a servant while radiating ‘don’t approach me’ energy so strongly it was almost visible.
Victoria was doing all she could not to look his way.
“Want to escape?” Dominic asked, nodding toward the terrace doors.
“Desperately.”
We slipped through the crowd, weaving between dancing couples and clusters of conversation until we reached the doors leading to the gardens. Cool night air washed over us as we stepped outside, the sounds of the celebration fading to a pleasant background hum.
The gardens we’d saved together spread out around us, their pathways lit by softly glowing flowers throbbing with light.
We walked until we reached a tinkling fountain. Dominic settled on the stone edge, urging me down beside him.
Around us, flowers bloomed despite the darkness. Vines that had been withered and brown a month ago now climbed the fountain with bright green leaves. Even the grass beneath our feet felt more alive, responding to the emotional connection flowing between us.
“What do you want for the future?” Dominic asked quietly. “I know we have duties and responsibilities, but what do you want for Sasha?”
I’d spent so many years avoiding that question, terrified that wanting anything beyond duty would make me weak. But sitting here with my husband in gardens we’d saved together, the answer came easily.
“This.” I gestured to the space between us.
“Partnership. Someone who sees all of me and doesn’t ask me to be less.
” I paused, gathering courage. “Children, eventually. When we’re ready.
A court where people can feel deeply without fear.
” I met his eyes. “To keep growing. Not despite our differences but because of them.”
His smile could have lit the entire garden. “That sounds perfect.”
“What about you? What do you want?”
“Everything you just said.” He kissed my forehead. “Plus watching you work your plant magic without that look of guilt you used to get.”
“I never looked guilty.”
“You absolutely did. Like you were indulging in something frivolous rather than using an incredible gift. I love watching you embrace it now.”
Warmth coasted through me. Not long ago, I would’ve deflected the compliment or changed the subject. Now I accepted it, letting it settle into the spaces where doubt used to thrive.
“I spent so long believing I had to choose,” I said. “Strategy or emotion. Strength or vulnerability. Being the protector or being protected.” I looked up at him. “You showed me I could be both, that being all of myself made me stronger, not weaker.”
“You showed me the same thing.” His hand found mine, lacing our fingers together. “I’d been performing for so long I’d forgotten who I actually was underneath. You saw through it all. You demanded the real me.”
The plants around us blazed brighter, feeding off our connection. This was what Lady Featherby had been trying to accomplish with her remedies. She’d just gone about it completely wrong.
“Do you think Victoria will be alright?” I asked, unable to completely let go of my protective instincts. “That wolf king looked awfully intense.”
“Your grandmother won’t make arrangements if she doesn’t think they’re a good fit.”
“That’s what worries me.”
Dominic laughed, the sound echoing through the garden. “You can’t protect her forever. She’s going to have to figure out her own path.”
“I know.” I sighed. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“You’ll be there when she needs you, but by watching and waiting, you’ll also give her space to grow.” He tilted my chin up and gave me a lingering kiss.
When I’d first arrived, I was afraid of being vulnerable, of giving complete trust to anyone. I thought opening my heart would distract me from my duties and leave everyone I cared about unprotected.
Instead, it had made me stronger.
“I love you,” I said, the words coming easier each time I spoke them.
“I love you too. Thank you for taking a chance on what appeared to be a frivolous fae king.”
“You’re anything but frivolous.”
“Are you sure about that?” He stood and scooped me up, spinning me around until I laughed.
When he came to a stop, he placed me back on my feet and kissed me.
Then we held hands and continued walking through our gardens.