41. Epilogue
5 MONTHS LATER
“ W e came as soon as we heard,” I tell Mama, dropping my purse on a chair. “How is Addison?”
“The doctor’s with her now,” she says, nodding to the closed door.
“And Feylin?”
“He’s inside.”
I exhale. “Good.”
Devlin slides up behind me and wraps a hand around my waist. “Is there anything you need, Clara?”
She shakes her head. “No. Just for my grandbaby to be born, safe and sound.”
The castle is buzzing with activity. Servants are running this way and that. My sisters are pacing the halls, and so is my dad, who stops moving every once in a while to toss a football to Ryals, who’s excited to be getting a new baby brother or sister.
Though Feylin is technically Ryals’s cousin, he and Addison officially adopted him as their son, and they couldn’t have asked for a better child—and he couldn’t have gotten better parents, in my humble opinion.
“What can I do?” I ask Mama.
She shakes her head. “Just wait. Like the rest of us.”
I glance around the hall nervously. My big sister’s having a baby. A baby! I say a silent prayer that the delivery goes off without a hitch.
“Do you want to sit?” Devlin asks, pointing to a couch.
“I can’t.” My nerves are jumping. “I won’t be calm until I get word that there’s a healthy mama and baby.”
As if on cue, the door to Addison’s room opens and Feylin pops his head out. He’s wearing scrubs and a cap. He looks like a human surgeon.
We all hold our breath. Okay, I hold my breath.
“Addison’s doing great.” His gaze sweeps the hall. “And it’s a girl!”
A gush of air swooshes from my lungs in relief. “Yay!”
My family shouts in happiness. We hug one another as servants clap and congratulate Feylin.
Mama sighs blissfully and Nana floats up beside her, shrugging. “I knew everything would be fine. She’s my granddaughter. Of course it’s all fine.”
Mama rolls her eyes. “When can we see them?” she asks Feylin.
“In just a few minutes.”
Dad and Devlin approach Feylin and give him all the manly congratulations, hand shaking and back patting. Then he turns to Ryals. “You’ve got a little sister. What do you think of that?”
Ryals throws his arms up in the air and cheers. His happiness is contagious, and it’s impossible not to smile.
It’s a few minutes before we’re able to see Addison and the baby. We don’t barge in all at once; we go in a few at a time.
When Devlin and I enter the room, Addison’s lying in the bed cradling a tiny bundle. Feylin’s sitting beside her smiling down at the baby girl.
Addison lifts her to me. “Do you want to hold her?”
“Yes, of course.”
She passes the baby to me, and I gently take her, being reminded of what it was like to hold my littlest sisters after they had been born, and feeling love bloom in my heart for this beautiful, innocent creature.
The baby is perfect, her eyes open and blinking, adjusting to this new life. “Welcome, baby.”
I show her to Devlin. He nods to them. “She’s beautiful, Addison, Feylin.”
My sister beams. “Thank you.”
“Hey there, little girl,” I whisper. “Welcome to our family.”
I brush a finger over her tiny chin and she yawns. It’s the sweetest sight in the world.
“What are you going to name her?” Devlin asks.
The brand-new parents exchange a look. “We’re still working that out,” he admits sheepishly.
Addison gives her husband a look full of love. “We’re taking our time. The right name will come along.”
“Yes, it will,” Devlin says.
“Do you want to hold her?” I ask.
He reaches for the baby. “I would love to.”
My husband holds the baby gently, and there’s just something about seeing a man with a child in his arms. Well, at least there is for me. To watch someone so strong cherish and protect something so tiny warms every inch of my body.
“We don’t want to tire y’all out,” Devlin tells them, handing the baby back to me.
“We just wanted to say hello,” I confirm, placing her in Feylin’s arms. “And tell you how happy and proud we are.”
Addison grins. “Thank you.”
We go out and spend a few minutes with my family. We’re all together, and this feels right. My husband is hanging out with my parents and talking to my sisters. My older sister just had a baby.
This is it. This is family.
When Devlin and I leave, my parents are still fussing over the baby, as they should. They’ll stay the night to make sure that Addison and Feylin are okay and don’t need anything. Not that the fae servants couldn’t do that, but you know—there’s something different about a mother watching over her child, and I know my mama wants to be with that grandbaby as much as possible.
“I’m so happy for them,” I tell Devlin.
“Me too.”
It’s a warm night. It’s humid, which is to be expected, and my skin’s sticky, but I don’t mind. Tonight I will endure all the humidity that the Southeast has to offer, because my heart has wings.
“You know,” Devlin starts, “we could have kids.”
I laugh. “Of course we could.”
“No, I mean, now . Whenever you want.”
He gestures toward the town that unfolds in front of us. Teenagers are hanging out by the fountain. The windows of Castleview Books are dark. Business has bounced back and we’re doing well.
Devlin’s been keeping himself busy testing the artificial womb. So far, it’s all going great. If things keep progressing, he’ll be able to roll it into hospitals by the end of the year.
Lit torches float above us, suspended by magic. They cast amber light on the streets of the town that we call home.
“I love you, Devlin,” I say.
He tugs me in and kisses the top of my head. “I love you. ”
We’re almost to the house when he pauses, and I stop, watching him. He’s staring at the ground, stock-still. Having been around him enough times, I know when he’s experiencing a vision.
When it’s over, he exhales and presses a hand to his heart. “Whew. That was trippy.”
“Everything okay? Did you see a new invention?”
“No.” One side of his mouth turns up into a smile. “I saw us.”
He never sees us. “Seriously?”
“As a heart attack.”
I drag a finger down the buttons of his shirt. “And what did you see?”
“Well, I saw us, as I said, and I saw you with your own potion shop.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh.”
A potion shop. The idea of owning one has never crossed my mind until now, and now that it has, I want one. To be able to create potions to help people with skin conditions and hair tonics, and whatever else I can make—the ideas are limitless.
I clap my hands. “I love that! Yes! Let’s do it.”
He kisses me and I wrap my arms around his neck, pushing up on my toes and bending one leg at the knee, lifting it up, just ’cause.
When the kiss breaks, he says, “That’s not all I saw.”
“What else?”
“I saw us—with a family of our own.”
My heart swells. “How many kids?”
He squints. “Not sure. Maybe a dozen?”
“Stop it! Honestly?”
“Honestly?” He tips his face up to the sky for a moment before dropping his lips back on mine and murmuring, “As many as you want.”
“You’re not going to give me an answer?”
“As we both know, sometimes one vision doesn’t give all the information that you need. More could come after, so I’m gonna let the number be a surprise.”
I scoff. “You are the worst, you know that?”
“I know. But you love me.”
We kiss again. “I do love you. Forever and ever.”
Thank you so much for reading HOW TO OUTWIT A WIZARD.
I hope you loved Blair and Devlin as much as I do. Their story was a joy to write.