Epilogue
Ceri, eight weeks later
“Are you sure you’ve got everything under control?” I asked, gaze flicking to Cillian’s entire family, plus Marsten and Meera. Lor, of course, wasn’t here. He had an entire kingdom to run alongside his queen.
Cillian and I stood in the cobblestone street, staring at the bunch of them.
They crowded the doorway in front of Best Dressed, my father sandwiched between them, his eyes filled with panic. “Are you sure you have to leave, dear?”
I glanced up at my husband, and Cillian smiled down at me. “We can do whatever you want,” he said, voice low.
I looked back at my father, at this group of people who had come together so Cillian and I could go on an actual honeymoon.
“Papa, you are going to be in great hands.”
“Margaret is going to stay with you every night.” Niamh put a hand on his shoulder.
“And I’m bringing you dinner every evening,” Cillian’s mother added.
“I’m bringing the cards,” his father said. “I’ve got some new games I think you’ll like.”
My father’s eyebrows rose in interest. “I suppose I would like to play some new games, see some new faces, other than these two.” He jabbed a thumb toward Cillian and me.
Cillian smiled. “Oh, you could never tire of this pretty face.”
I rolled my eyes, because of course he was talking about himself.
“Go on, you two.” Marsten shooed us. “Go have an amazing honeymoon.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Cillian hadn’t told me where we were going, and I was a little hesitant to portal outside of Fairwitch Isle, what with the risks and all.
But since Lor had awoken Aoife the Warrior Maiden, all the castle rooms had reappeared, and the magic had seemingly been fixed.
We were completely hidden once more, completely protected.
“Meera,” Marsten whispered. “Start the portal before she changes her mind for the millionth time.”
“It hasn’t been a million,” I grumbled as Meera lifted her paw, her magic swirling into a shimmering portal.
Cillian stepped forward and held out his hand, eyes twinkling. “You ready?”
I looked at my father. “I love you, and I will be back in a few days.”
He nodded, swallowing thickly. This was hard for him, but he would be in good hands. The best hands.
I placed my hand in Cillian’s, and we walked through the portal, the magic sucking us in and spitting us out on the other side within the blink of an eye. I stumbled forward, shading my eyes as I took in our new surroundings.
Fairwitch Isle was gone, and in its place were sprawling green hills. I whirled around to face a cliffside, where the blue ocean spread out as far as the eye could see.
Waves crashed against the rocks below, the scent briny and perfect.
I gasped and walked to the lone tree that sat among the rocky hills. “Oh my godwitches,” I said as I traced the initials carved into the wood. C&C. “Our tree.” Tears sprouted in my eyes. “We’re going to honeymoon here?”
Cillian nodded. “There’s a cave nearby. I’ve been sneaking out of Fairwitch Isle during the night and getting it ready for us. We’ve got materials for fire, a nice thick rug, blankets, and food.”
My hand floated to my mouth as Cillian lay down under the thick, knotted tree with its sprawling canopy. “What are you doing?” I asked.
He patted the spot next to him. “What we always do when we visit this tree.”
I let out a laugh as I lay next to him. “This is amazing, you know.”
He grabbed my hand, staring up at the clouds that rolled through the sky. “I used to dream of this.”
“What? Being married to me?”
“No. Well, yes. But I mean I literally dreamed of this place. When I was taking my tonic and numbing everything, this is where my mind would take me when I was asleep and had no control. I could never remember the dreams. I’d wake up and just feel so fucking happy for a minute before it all ebbed away. ”
I swallowed thickly, giving his hand a squeeze. This hadn’t been an easy journey for Cillian. He still fought the urge to get the tonic. He had to work every day to not succumb to his cravings.
“How do you remember the dreams now?” I asked.
“I didn’t for a while, but then a few months ago, I had a dream about us laying under this tree, arguing about the shapes of the clouds.”
“Sounds about right.”
“And I woke up feeling so deliriously happy that I knew. That was the dream I’d had over and over when I was on my tonic.”
I rolled on top of him, brushing a few strands of hair out of his eyes. “I can’t believe you planned all of this without me knowing.”
He gazed up at me, his eyes a searing blue in the warm glow of the sun. “Well, you’ve been a little distracted making new wardrobes for Marsten and Aoife.” He gave me a look, and I knew exactly what it meant. “You’ve also been doing a little meddling.”
“I have not!” I said.
He gave me another look, this one saying that I was a liar.
“Okay, I’ve meddled a little. Lor is king and Aoife is queen, and they need a little help realizing it.”
“King,” Cillian murmured. “I can’t believe all I got was high prince, and now Lor is king. Castle just goes and changes every document, every treaty, every manifesto. Our first king in history. No idea what that means.”
He was getting sidetracked like he often did. I swore this man would lose his head if I didn’t keep track of it for him. “Yes, like I was saying, king and queen. They’re also married and need to start acting like it.”
That wedding had been painfully awkward. One of the worst weddings I’d ever attended.
“Face it, Ceri.” Cillian tucked a curl behind my ear. “They hate each other. It’s an arranged marriage. Nothing more. We can’t make them love one another.”
“If they would just stop being so stubborn, they’d see they’re actually perfect for each other.”
He wrinkled his nose. “Really? Because all I see are two headstrong rulers who refuse to back down.”
“Exactly! They’re so alike, but they can’t see past their differences. I think I can help them.”
“Ceri,” he warned. “Don’t get involved. You’ve got a husband now.”
“I know! That’s what’s amazing. I have more time than ever before now that I have so much help with Father.”
Cillian groaned, his hands wandering up over the velvet fabric of my dress and squeezing my backside. “I don’t want to talk about my brother or your father.” He rolled me over, and now he was on top of me, pressing his erection into my thigh.
I gasped, all thoughts of anything but this glorious man fleeing my mind.
“We’ve done a lot of things under this tree,” he said, leaning down to press a kiss to my neck. “But we’ve never done this.”
His lips met mine, and he kissed me deeply. Heat flooded me.
“What if someone stumbles upon us?” I asked as his lips brushed against my jawline.
“Then they’re going to get a very good show.”
I laughed, and Cillian laughed too. He reared back, gazing down at me in a way I never thought he would.
“You are a very beautiful woman,” he said. “I think I’ll keep you.”
“Oh really?” I asked. “Well, maybe I don’t want to keep you. I think I’m going to need to be convinced.”
His hands roamed down my waist and up under my skirt, and I sucked in a sharp breath. “I can be very convincing, Cerriwen Morgane.”
“I don’t know,” I said in a singsong voice. “You’re going to have to prove yourself.”
“Oh, Ceri,” Cillian said, face growing serious, “don’t you understand? That’s all I’m going to do for the rest of my life. Every single day, I’m going to show you why I deserve you.”
He already had, and I would never forget it.