29. Epilogue
Fire travels up her arm, spreads through her chest. She hadn’t realized it was possible to feel warmer.
Is she sweating? Can vampires sweat? Is she still a vampire or is she a fire? She’s certainly not a witch. Her mind reaches for the Ether but finds nothing. Hun cries in her veins. Whatever she is, she is burning away at the earth. She will eat it all up, the trees, the lakes, the buildings, the people.
She is on the back of a horse and each step sends a jarring pain up her arm. Her teeth hurt. Her chest aches with the absence of something, though she can’t remember what that something is.
The world tips, and she’s no longer on the horse. Her fingers curl into fists and the crannies of her nails are filled with soft sand.
The air smells of salt and sea. A familiar set of cowboy boots swirl into focus in front of her, the black leather stark against the crisp white sand. A waft of smoke is blown in her face and the cloying fragrance clings to the back of her throat.
Maddox Grey smiles down at his wife. “Hey there, Cal.”
There is a shadow beside him. Calliope lifts her head, blinking against the bright sky. So blue it consumes her. The woman is vaguely familiar. A heart-shaped face with no love in the apples of her cheeks. Cold red eyes. The woman smiles, revealing tapered teeth. Canines and incisors.
“Is that what you were looking for, Mr. Grey?” asks the woman.
“Sure is, Madam Mayor.” He stands and shakes hands with the woman. “Pleasure doing business with you, Aisling.”