Epilogue #2
"Wait, what are you talking about?" I ask, frowning.
"One of my trainees told me his honeymoon phase ended around the four-month mark. I told him to eat shit because that wasn't going to happen to us, but if it's happening to us—"
I can't help it. I start laughing.
How can I help it when my half-demon is so off the mark?
"It's not happening to us," I promise him, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him hard.
Pulling back, I smile. "I've never been this ridiculously happy, ever.
Seriously, I can't thank the gods or fate or khaos or whatever else enough for dropping your four on my front porch four months ago.
The only thing I'm disappointed about is… that I got a period at all."
He understands immediately and awws, hugging me closer for a second.
"Don't worry. It'll happen, Candy." Then he pulls back with a wicked smirk. "And you've gotta admit, we're really all fucking good at the trying part. If you want, we'll just skip the thing at the Amatos tonight and try all night long."
I laugh at his hopefulness. "Tempting, but we shouldn't."
It's a year to the day since the Entity fell. Some people are calling this new holiday Netherbloom, since it's the day the Nether could finally start to bloom again after it was freed.
Zak is starting to protest when a loud bang and a crash sound at the front of the house. Asher shouts my name, and both of our eyes widen as we realize just how panicked our keeper sounds.
I dart into the living room, where Jessica and Athanis are both hovering with wide eyes at the sight of the panicked bounty hunter.
"I'm okay! I'm okay, Zak was just—"
"Oh my fucking gods," Asher croaks, wrapping me up in his arms. He glares at Zak. "What is wrong with you? Do you know what kind of hell I was living in for the last few minutes? You dumbassed, shitheaded, infernal motherfucking son of a—"
Zak looks at me. "You're getting all this, too, right? I swear, he just doesn't know how to stop flirting even when he's not interested."
"Stupid backwards-ass demon culture," Asher grumbles before checking my face, gently caressing my birthmark. "Are you really okay?"
"Yes," I promise before stepping out of his arms to twirl. "What do you think?"
"So cute!" Jess claps before looking at Athanis. "Not to whine, but I'm getting really tired of wearing the same dumb bloodstained clothes."
"As am I, but at least we have learned how to remove them now," he muses, giving her a once-over.
She gasps. "You saucy, scandalous little priest, you. I like the way you think now that I've infected your brain."
"I think I'll rip that to pieces, getting it off of you once we get back tonight," Ian's voice says from the front door, pulling my attention away from the ghosts in the room.
My thrall holds up a couple of grocery bags. I sent him and Asher to the store earlier to get a few things for a new recipe I've been working on for Devil's dog treats. While Ian sets the bags down in the kitchen, Kaenon gets back, showers, and dresses in record time.
When he comes out and notices me in the new dress, he smiles.
"Your beauty commands my very soul."
Aww. Who knew I would marry a poet?
"You clean up nice, too," I grin, kissing his cheek.
I grab one of the big plates of cookies I made earlier, and Kaenon grabs another. Once we're all ready to go, including the ghosts, we gather around Asher on the front porch.
"This time, try transporting us to the house, not half a fucking mile away from it," Zak suggests.
"You know, Dev really doesn't mind the taste of demons. I bet he'd like a half-demon even more," Asher grumbles before glancing into the woods. "Speaking of which, he should go play with his cousins."
He whistles once, sharply. A second later, the loveable, giant black hellhound comes bounding through the woods, stopping near the porch. He leans over to nuzzle my shoulder, and I grin.
Then the transportation magic washes over us.
Once the world stops turning inside out, we're left standing a very short distance away from the Amatos' big house in the Nether, not far from the Gateway.
Even in the middle of summer, it's more temperate here.
Gods, I can't believe how green and gorgeous it is now, compared to my time spent imprisoned in this once-colorless place.
We must have gotten here at almost the exact time the Baird quintet transported, because they're already walking away from us, passing Maven's motorcycle parked in the driveway on their way to the front door.
Asher tells Dev to go play in the backyard with Blizzard and Marshmallow, adding a very firm don't play too rough warning before Dev barks happily, loping away from us. When we reach the front porch, Kenzie spots us and squeals.
"Oh my gods! I haven't seen you guys since your wedding—which was so cute, by the way —and also thank you for inviting us to it, because it fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine to go to a human wedding.
I mean, I'd seen them before in movies and stuff, and obviously I loved my bonding ceremony with my quintet even though it was during the Upheaval and things were so chaotic—but I'd always dreamed of going to a real human wedding with all those cute traditions.
Yours was just so perfect, and that dress!
Oh—let me see the rings again. I know Asher got his all magically tattooed on, but yours was just stunning, and—"
Oh, wow. I always forget how rapid-fire and bubbly she is until I'm in the line of fire. Sometimes I cannot figure out how she and Maven became best friends, but it's still the cutest thing ever.
Before I can respond to any of it or show Kenzie my ring, the front door opens and Baelfire flashes a bright smile at everyone, welcoming us all inside.
"Cookies can go in the kitchen with everything else," he adds before looking at me hopefully. "Wait—are those the butterscotch chocolate chip oatmeal ones?"
"Yep."
"Thank gods. I hope one of those plates is just for me, because those cookies kick ass."
"See? Goodest Golden Boy understands me," Jessica sighs to Athanis. "I swear, those cookies will haunt me in the Beyond."
Bael offers to take the plate of cookies I'm carrying, bringing them into the kitchen with Kaenon as they start chatting.
The rest of us move into the spacious living room area, where the rest of the Amato quintet is talking with a few other Decimuses who made it for this little celebratory Netherbloom get-together.
I sit on one of the couches just as Maven glances up from where she's sitting near Crypt, breaking into a smile at the sight of the twins being held by the Baird quintet members. I grin at them, too.
"Cutest babies ever," I tell Kenzie as she sits down.
"Aww, thanks. Gods, that pregnancy was rough, and labor was a total bitch because I bled so damn much after delivery, but—" she begins.
She's cut off by Vivienne, one of her quintet members, who sits beside the lioness shifter while gently rocking one of their twins.
"Ah, ah, ah—language, Kenz. Remember? Little ears," the air elemental cautions.
Kenzie apologizes and kisses her air elemental on the cheek before gazing down at their daughter with nothing short of total adoration. I don't have to reach out with my abilities to sense how much love resonates around them.
So precious.
Luka is standing nearby, holding the other twin. When Felix calls out something to him from the kitchen, the vampire leans down to pass the adorable, squishy little Baird to Maven, since she's close to him.
"So damn rolly," Maven grins, smiling openly down at her godson.
"Language," Vivienne reminds her.
"My bad. I meant so fucking rolly."
Vivienne sighs while Crypt starts laughing from where he's sitting on Maven's other side. He leans over and boops the baby's nose with his pinky.
"That's because Caleb and Chloe drink more milk than should be physically possible for any four-month-olds, ever," Kenzie sighs before grinning at me again.
"So, how has married life been? I know a bunch of people online got way invested when they heard that the Asher Douglas was getting married to Everett's sister.
People were just dying over how cute your wedding pictures were, but I hope people have been leaving you guys alone and—hey, no!
Bad monk. For the last time, no weapons around the babies! "
Maven looks up from where she was just offering a sheathed knife to Kenzie's son to play with. "But it's in a sheath."
"It's a fucking knife," Asher reiterates from where he stands behind the couch I'm sitting on, looking at the demigoddess like she's insane.
Vivienne again grumbles about the foul language, covering her daughter's ears.
"A sheathed knife," Maven repeats, clearly still mystified about their concern.
I laugh along with several of the others at the exchange. Kenzie sighs and takes her son from Maven, informing him that his godmother is a sadist and that he's not allowed to play with weapons for a long time.
Everyone in here is relaxed, chatting, and having a good time. I look around, letting the barest amount of my empathy abilities seep out so I can feel all the happy, warm, familiar contentedness here.
Things were rough for a while earlier this year. But, besides getting bound to the best quintet in the history of ever, other things have been going a lot smoother lately.
Noah and some of the other fae who were part of the excavations into the Nether started giving interviews and speaking up online about what really happened.
It made headlines until most people stopped believing Marwood.
The fae elders launched their own private investigation into him before they declared him corrupt and a poor example of fae valures.
He was finally stripped of his title and influence before the fae elders sent me a formal written apology.