Epilogue
Lily
Shadow was missing. She’d been missing since yesterday, and I’d spent most of the afternoon looking for her, first in the building’s club area, then all around the neighborhood.
And while it was normal for her to head outside for a few hours at a time, she had never actually gone out all day and night.
She always came home to cuddle in a warm pile on the couch after her adventures, even though she had her own bed.
I'd worried that a hawk had gotten to her—Julian had been talking about putting in a net over the rooftop patio to prevent just that—until I thought I saw a flick of a black tail in the hallway downstairs.
And on it went, a flick of a tail here, a cat-shaped shadow there, and a faint meow just around the corner.
Shadow had led me on a merry chase around town, even heading back to my old building. Bella, the newest addition to our coven, lived there now, having taken over my lease.
Bella was a girl who’d been magically turned into a mirrored compact.
Gigi and Marcus had discovered her hidden in a sealed-off section of their basement, which turned out to be part of an old witch’s home.
She’d spent some time hiding out in Desmon’s estate, but now that she had a real, physical form part-time, she’d moved out for some privacy and experience living alone, even though she still couldn’t stay solid for any length of time.
No one knew who she really was, though. The story was that she was here for school.
Eventually, I found myself right back where we started; Shadow had led me around in a big loop.
My phone buzzed with a message from Julian telling me to come up to the roof. If I found Shadow there after a whole-ass day of chasing her, I was going to be pissed. Very relieved. But very pissed.
Already exhausted from my impromptu marathon across town, I climbed the stairs. I gasped at what I saw. The rooftop garden looked like something out of my ultimate Pinterest board.
The cracked tiles were gone, replaced with smooth stone.
The weedy flower beds were planted and overflowing with flowers.
Fairy lights crisscrossed overhead, casting a warm glow over everything.
In the center, under the pergola, was a low table set with dessert, wine, and two giant cushions where the bench had been.
He’d even put in a swing. Above it all, barely noticeable, were the anti-hawk nets.
“Surprise!” Julian leaned against the pergola post, his shirt clinging to his chest, and sleeves rolled to reveal strong forearms. His violet eyes locked onto mine, and the heat in his gaze sent a rush straight through me.
He looked so damn gorgeous, I forgot for a moment why the hell I was here in the first place.
Behind Julian, Shadow gave a lazy stretch on one of the cushions Julian had clearly placed just for her. She gave me a look that screamed, “About time!” I looked back and forth between the two, my eyes narrowing.
“You little bugger! You were in on it!”
Julian grinned. “Shadow did great. Do you like it?”
I took another look around. “Like it? I love it!”
“Good! Because I’ve been planning this for weeks.
I wanted to surprise you. I even bribed Prax with imported cigars to help with getting everything done while you were out.
” He took a deep breath and reached into his pocket.
“I used to think I wasn’t built for this.
That someone like me wasn’t meant to have something real. But then you came along, and—”
He knelt down, holding out a tiny box. The large pink sapphire sparkled from its simple silver band.
“I love you, Lily. Will you marry me?”
I stared at him, completely stunned. When I didn’t immediately reply because of the shock, Shadow meowed, as if to say, “Get on with it!”
“Yes,” I said, laughing through the tears. “Yes, I will!”
He slipped the ring onto my finger and pulled me into a kiss that stole my breath.
It wasn’t gentle. He devoured me like he needed me to live, his mouth crushed against mine, and his hands gripping my waist. I kissed him back, moaning in his mouth, my fingers tangling in his hair.
When he finally pulled back, I was panting and ready to christen every piece of new furniture on the rooftop with our flavor of magic.
“You’re mine, Vixen,” he said, voice low and rough. “Forever.”
“Sounds perfect.”
And as I stood in the arms of my sexy incubus under the string lights, in our little paradise in the city, I knew one thing with absolute certainty: I was exactly where I belonged.
Shadow let out a satisfied purr, then curled up on the cushion, claiming it as her throne. Apparently, she approved.
THE END