Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER | VHAENA
Vhaena,
I don’t know how to put into words how much I crave your presence, only that every breath I take away from you burns.
If I could tell you everything, I would, but I fear it would only endanger you more.
So, I’ll keep those burdens for myself. All you need to know is that every single day, every single moment I’m out here away from you, is for the vow carved into my flesh and soul.
I promised to keep you safe, and though I’m far from you now, I’m not breaking that vow.
I’m breaking the paradigm and building something I hope will one day mean a life where you—and every other woman—don’t have to look over your shoulder, where you can walk in the night without fear.
Right now, the cost for that is being where I need to be while keeping you safe, far away from me and those who want to take what matters to me most—but I will gladly pay it if it means you are untouched by the ruin I wreak along the way.
You are in everything I do. When I close my eyes, I see you and the fire you spark within me cutting through the darkness of the world I’m dismantling. It’s what keeps me moving, what keeps me from letting the monsters win. I ache for the day when I can return to you.
I will come back, and when I do, I won’t let go again.
Daemon
The words from the letter I’d received months ago played in my head over and over.
At first, I received them every week—finding them randomly appearing on the front porch.
I had no way of sending a return letter, not knowing where Daemon was at any given time since he moved from town to town.
Then, they came only once a month. Until none came at all.
In a daze of thought, I stirred the stew despite it going cold sitting in the bowl in front of me.
It was more out of habit than anything as my eyes went distant like they had been all day.
Something in me had shifted when I woke this morning.
I couldn’t explain it. Nothing had happened.
Everything was the same. Except it wasn’t.
Something was different.
The air almost held a familiar scent that wouldn’t quite reach me. A warmth hovered just above my skin as if it begged to touch me but couldn’t.
I got up from the table and went to the sink to rinse out the bowl of my untouched dinner, making sure to be quiet.
Ma had gone to sleep over an hour ago. Despite the new medicine, Ma wasn’t cured.
She was getting better but wasn’t completely healed.
I was determined to find a cure. Even before Daemon brought us here, he had forced another demon with some kind of healing capabilities to work on her, but her ailment was too far gone. Still, we did all we could.
Amalia had just arrived a week ago, bringing with her new medicines for my mother during her monthly visit before leaving only yesterday.
I was grateful to Amalia in more ways than one.
Being survivors of the Hunt had bound us in a way that couldn’t be explained.
Together, we healed bit by bit—carrying the weight of what we’d endured.
We never shared our confessions, but time made our scars feel less jagged, the memories weren’t as suffocating, and the nightmares weren’t so debilitating.
In our silence, we understood we would never be who we were before.
But together, surviving didn’t feel like a curse; it felt like a reminder of what damnation we’d escaped.
I rolled my sleeves up to my elbows, and the scent of vegetables and herbs drifted through the large cottage. I needed to get the dishes clean before it got dark so I could go outside and get wood for the fire.
I stared out the window as I waited for the sink bowl to fill with water.
It was one of my favorite views. Lush trees surrounded the valley between the snow-capped mountains.
The summer was ending. The leaves were beginning to turn, and it was nearly time to harvest the garden.
Cows and goats grazed in the distance, and birds flew overhead.
It was peaceful and quiet. Entirely too quiet.
I shut off the water and began to scrub when I noticed a bird land in the middle of the field in front of me. It was sleek and black.
A raven.
I hadn’t seen a raven in a year…
I dashed to the front door, drying my hands on my skirt, and went outside. Then, I noticed the raven wasn’t alone.
There were two.
Then three.
Five.
A dozen.
Hundreds.
They were all perched in branches along the treeline surrounding the clearing.
I stilled. Waiting. Listening.
Nothing.
Then, after the quiet nearly snapped my patience, a figure stepped out through the trees.
“Daemon.” My whisper broke the silence.
My feet moved without thinking. The land passed in a blur as I raced toward him.
It had been a year since he had left, and my heart had ached with every passing day he was gone.
I had nearly given up hope that he would return, tormented myself with thinking he’d forgotten me, decided I was too much trouble or died fulfilling his vow.
I crashed into the solid wall of his chest, wrapping my arms around his shoulders like I could anchor him here as he lifted me into his embrace.
He held me tightly, burying his face in the crook of my neck, and I never wanted him to let go.
I sobbed onto his shirt out of relief that he was alive, and a year’s worth of grief and hope unraveled.
His chest shook with uneven breaths, and I realized he was trembling, too.
I leaned back just far enough to see his face, to see this was real.
Then I pressed my lips to his with the desperation I’d been aching with.
Long and hard. Our mouths collided with the fire of two people ready to burn the world down to see each other again.
Teeth and tongues tangled together as I poured every heartbreaking moment of his absence into the kiss.
“What took you so long?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Destroying a tradition that consumed an entire world takes time, unfortunately.” His voice was rougher than I remembered, as if being apart for so long had turned it raw.
“And…you’re here for good?” I held his face in my hands, roaming my eyes over every inch.
“Forever. I’ve secured a new Ministry, and now it’s all over.” His smile widened farther than I had ever seen before.
I kissed him again. My legs wrapped around his waist, and he carried me to the house.
“I counted every day I was away from you. Every night, I dreamed of having you back in my arms.” He set me down on the porch and pulled a satchel off his shoulder, holding it out for me. “Open it.”
I took the bag and lifted the flap. My jaw dropped at the sheer amount of small glass containers.
“They’re spices,” he said. “I’ve been to every corner of the world, and I found something unique in each one of them.”
A laugh broke through my tears.
Daemon reached past me to push open the door but paused at the precious sound coming from within—a soft cry. His eyes widened, and his shoulders fell as his voice dropped to a whisper. “Vhaena…”
I smiled and grabbed his hand, leading him into the house behind me. I had been waiting for this moment for so long, imagining it a thousand times…
He froze the moment we stepped inside, his eyes locking on the small bundle wrapped in a blanket. He was completely still, holding his breath. His eyes glistened, every emotion flashing through them as he stared across the room.
“It’s okay,” I whispered and squeezed his hand.
He sucked in a breath and swallowed. He finally blinked and quietly walked over to the basket by the window.
“You… Is this… How…” He struggled to speak.
I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “I didn’t know he existed until you had already been gone for a couple of months.”
“This is our baby?” Daemon slowly turned to face me, his lips parted with words he could hardly get out.
“Corben. Corben Corse. Our son.” I nodded, fresh tears falling down my cheeks.
Daemon knelt beside him and reached out to touch his child for the first time. The baby’s hand wrapped around Daemon’s finger. Daemon let out a sharp breath, like he hadn’t ever breathed until now. I picked up Corben and placed him in Daemon’s arms.
“Our little demon.”
THE END