Epilogue
Keera
It was a night like any other among a clan. Stew pots were bubbling over shared fires and hunting dogs yipped happily as they were rewarded for their days work with spare bits of meat.
Children laughed, and the dry scent of arrowgrass filled the air as horses munched contentedly.
Clan Tibel and Clan Otush seemed to have adjusted to living together well, a mix of blue and green sashes seen everywhere.
Lord Dhara and Lord Elion had erected both of their clan banners on the top of one tent, the hyena and the fennec fox flapping side by side.
They sat shoulder to shoulder at their fire, and it warmed my heart to see Dhara as whole and strong as ever.
Her recovery had taken months, but if the fire in her eyes as she let her thigh bump against Elion’s for the third time in as many minutes was any indication, she kept him on his toes even more than she had before their marriage.
I cleared my throat and bumped my shoulder into Erix’s. “We should be getting some sleep. Erix and I will be leaving early in the morning.”
That did tear Elion’s attention away from his wife. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay another day or two?”
Erix shook his head. “The desert is large. Roaming all of it is quite an endeavor.”
“Well, you have all the time in the world,” Dhara observed.
And she was right.
When we set out into the sunrise the next morning, the horizon stretched endlessly before us. Daiti pranced happily beneath me with excitement at the prospect of endless exploration. Doka blew out a breath beside him, as if impatient with his youthful antics, despite being a much younger stallion.
Erix reached across the space between our horses and intertwined his fingers with mine. “To the ocean?” he asked.
I nodded. The two pieces of blood glass gem in my pocket were heavy but didn’t carry the mental weight they had when I thought they held the key to the desert’s survival. Instead, I knew they were a symbol of the love shared by the first lovers blessed by the desert.
The same love Erix and I shared.
We would put it back in the temple built to their love.
“And then where?” he asked.
I tilted my head. The whole desert was ours to explore. We were welcome in any of the clans’ encampments or the city, but also free to roam as we pleased and go where we were needed. I had gone from desperately craving any home at all to having many.
Despite carrying little beyond my weapons and a change of clothes, I was rich beyond measure. I smiled up at Erix.
“Where do you want to go?”
His fingers tightened around mine. “Anywhere, as long as it’s with you.”
My chest warmed. More than anything, he was my home and the other half of my soul.
I could practically feel the blood glass made of a mix of Erix and my essence glowing with happiness.
I leaned off my seat to kiss Erix, and Daiti and Doka negotiated sidling closer easily, having grown used to these antics.
As Erix cupped my cheeks and smiled into my mouth, the magic around us whirled and danced happily in swirls and eddies of golden sand.
My Heart was happy, and finally, the desert breathed easy.