Epilogue
Two years later
“Elric, would you keep up?” Jessamine said with a laugh.
The sea breeze tousled her hair, shoving the mess of it in front of her eyes before she shoved it back.
The cliff’s edge was steep, and the wind that blew over it was stronger than any she’d experienced before.
But it was wondrous and she didn’t fear death anymore.
A goddess had no need to hold on to that fear.
Her dark lover crested the hill. “There are so many people making sacrifices these days, it’s almost impossible to keep up with it all. Do you know today there was a small boy who wanted me to raise his hamster from the dead?”
“Of course he did. He’s a child.”
“Well, I’m not taking the sacrifice. It can go back into the ether. A rodent is a waste of my time, energy, and magic.” Again he grumbled underneath his breath about the ridiculousness of mortals, and who had the time to listen to the wants of a child?
She wrapped her arm around his waist, feeling the wind blow her colorful skirts between his legs. They were right on the edge of the cliff now, flirting dangerously with falling over, but wasn’t he so good at keeping her safe whenever they did that?
He begrudgingly wrapped his arms around her as well, and the warmth of his body chased away whatever chill had settled in from the sea breeze. “Why are you hugging me?” he asked.
“Because I like you.”
“Sometimes.”
She shrugged. “Most of the time. I think you are a good person, Elric Hellebore. After all this time, you still have a soft spot for so many of your favorites.”
They had just left visiting Agnes after a much longer sojourn than either she or Elric had anticipated.
But Agnes was very good at making plans, and she had run the kingdom very well.
The council of districts made choices wisely, and though there was still a need for gods in this kingdom, those needs were much smaller and far more private than saving a massive group of people from an infection that would kill them.
It wasn’t that Jessamine thought they would be bored if they stayed in Inverholm. It was just that there was so much more adventure out there than she had planned to find.
Elric snorted. “Agnes knows what she’s doing when she has me visit. She wants more magic, always, and she knows how to get it out of me.”
“Well, the thought of a house for starving children is a good one.”
“There are so few starving children in Inverholm, I find it hard to believe she’s using any spell for that.” He arched his brow. “Or did you not notice the new addition to her basement?”
“Oh, the sacrificial altar that already had quite a few deer skulls above it? I saw that.”
“She’s going to raise another god.”
“No, she’s not.”
Elric squeezed her a little tighter. “Two years as a goddess and you think you know better than me. I recognize that altar.”
“I know she’s not raising a god because she’s been using that altar to make sacrifices to me.
” She waited for the stunned silence and the wide eyes she knew he’d be staring down at her with.
“What? I’m a life goddess, I know that, but sometimes life means doing terrible things.
Besides. It keeps Agnes and her people happy, and if they want to go on a wild hunt to find the best deer in the forest to kill in my name, I’m not going to stop them.
They’re living their life in the only way they know how. Who am I to deny them that?”
“You never stop surprising me,” he growled, leaning down to scrape his teeth along her neck. “Who knew such a bright little thing would end up being so feral?”
“You knew.” Jessamine cupped her hand around his neck, holding him in place so she could enjoy the feel of his teeth just for a little longer. “That’s why you kept me.”
She allowed herself to indulge in him just a little while.
The warm kisses on her neck were the perfect contrast to the sea breeze and the ever-present danger of the nothingness at her back.
Jessamine had started to enjoy sensations now that she was a goddess.
It was a good way to live, she found. Far better than all the expectations of her life as a princess.
But they were here with plans, and she would not be late because of Elric. So she grabbed his face, forcing him up so she could kiss him thoroughly.
Once he had a dazed look on his face, she grinned. “Shall we?”
“You witch,” he murmured.
“Just as you made me.”
He took her hand, and together, they headed down the hidden stairwell on the cliff toward a small cottage that was tucked into the side.
It was safe from storms, with a natural stone barrier that protected it from any horrible weather.
And there was a small stone outcropping right in front of it, which allowed for their dearest friend to have a little garden that did ever so well with the salty air from the sea.
The door opened, revealing Sybil in a pretty white dress and three children holding on to it from behind.
They weren’t hers, of course. Sybil would never want to go through pregnancy.
But she had a tendency to pick up abandoned children with magical abilities and bring them home with her.
They were safer here than in other kingdoms, and she taught them how to use their magic without hurting anyone else.
Sybil was happy here. So much happier than Jessamine had dreamt she could be. The bright grin on her face, the wind in her hair, the laughter of the children that filled the house beyond were proof that they’d done what was right.
“Is it bigger on the inside?” Jessamine asked as she reached to give her best friend a hug. Elric hugged her from the other side, the triad of them all holding on to each other for dear life.
It wasn’t like they hadn’t seen each other just a few weeks ago. But it always felt like even a few days was too long.
“It is,” Sybil replied, then held the door open for them to come in. “Would you like to join the chaos?”
Jessamine grinned, took Elric’s hand, and headed into the house. “There’s nothing I would like more than to be part of your chaos.”