Chapter 98 The Protectors
The Protectors
ONE YEAR LATER
Laughter and light, despite the late hour, seeped through the Shield-maiden.
Four seasons had passed since Evelyn and Kade had defeated the darkness. In the last few days, the heat of summer had begun to eclipse the crisp spring, leaving Evelyn and company sweaty and triumphantly spent after hours working to rebuild Sorin.
With the help of Blair’s danu, they’d traveled farthest west of the Vadon Mountains, east in Nūa, and to the uncharted territories of Drystan to assist Tovi and Eldrick in rebuilding the land hit most by the Blood Curse.
No matter the miles trekked or the homes they reconstructed, one mighty truth remained absolute: Evelyn and Kade had vanished demons, darkness, the curse, and even the gods from their realm.
Darkness and light existed in balance once again. Where the Void had stood, a silvery forest now flourished between Sorin and Drystan.
The Forest of Ev.
Evelyn rolled her eyes at the name. That was all Kade, who’d coined the name in meetings with other alphas and newly appointed Elders. Tovi, too, boasted about “the forest her best friend had created,” only reinforcing the name amongst vampyrs.
Evelyn had worked hard at outrunning titles, but this one she’d have to accept, for she’d already spied it on newly rendered maps.
Renderings depicted the tree’s silver leaves, too, reminiscent to the color of her flame, a power that still remained in her blood, as powerful as ever, but far less eager.
Not only had the life of new light driven out the darkness, but it also created a beacon for a promising, brighter future.
Witches, werewolves and vampyrs now traveled through the forest, and it stood less so as a divide, but a stretch of land that brought Sorin and Drystan together—two neighbors entering a new chapter as a united continent.
Delightful music started in Shield-maiden. Evelyn smiled to herself as Todd teased Belle endlessly, earning a chorus of laughter from their friends. She peered over at Kade, finding his kind, amber eyes already on her.
Marry me, he said down the bond.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Evelyn said, Yes.
Kade smiled. He practically beamed in the tavern as he rose from his seat. “If you’ll all excuse me, I have to get ready for a wedding.”
“A wedding?” Bétar asked. “Moons, who’s getting married?”
“Kade and I are,” Evelyn said, not breaking eye contact with him.
Their table of friends, new and old, stilled. They blinked, attention jumping between Evelyn and Kade.
“When exactly is this wedding?“ Todd asked.
“Tonight,” Evelyn said, unable to hide her smile. “At midnight.”
Her cheeks ached, and Kade didn’t object. He kissed her cheek in farewell and left her with a stunned table.
The next two hours became a frenzy of excitement and preparation. From chatter, Evelyn learned Kade got ready inside Lār, allowing her to use their cottage.
It all passed in a fantastical rush. The place. Her dress. Evelyn refused to make too much of a fuss. She simply wished to call Kade her husband and hear him say the word wife.
Belle helped with her hair. They kept it simple. Evelyn’s dark waves cascaded over her shoulders while the sides were brushed back and tucked behind her ears.
Blair secured the dress.
It was more a silk slip than gown, something one usually wore under their attire. Yet, with a touch of magic, Blair shifted its darker color to an ivory, leaving Evelyn draped in a soft, romantic fabric.
The sheer sleeves were slightly ballooned, airy, and clasped at her wrists with three dainty buttons.
Her bodice was loose, too, and the neckline plunged to the center of her breastbone.
Buttons lined the tighter waistband and continued down the center of her dress until they reached her thighs.
There, they stopped and the slit started, allowing Evelyn to walk with ease as the dress trailed behind her.
In a blink, Evelyn stood at the end of the start of her next chapter. Her heart raced inside her chest—not in fear, but eagerness.
Ahead, a mossy path snaked through the trees. Fireflies dotted in the air, and candles, lit with Kade’s blue power, lined the path. Amongst the branches of pine and evergreens, the different colored lights illuminated the jeweled tones of the forest.
It smelled, looked, felt like home.
Like not only the right choice, but theirs. No prophecy. No arranged union. No Elders or alphas pushing them together. Tonight, and henceforth, belonged to Evelyn and Kade.
A gentle coolness overtook the forest of the Vadon Mountains, as if it heard Evelyn’s thoughts.
“Are you ready?” Blair on her left.
“More than anything,” Evelyn whispered, giving her sister a reassuring smile.
Blair and Belle took turns giving her fierce, tight hugs and then continued up the path without her.
Moments later, the steady beat of drums boomed in the distance. Slow, methodical. The moss turned a brighter shade of green, the trees turning towards Evelyn, and Kade’s magic grew brighter, as if beckoning her closer.
Evelyn planted a bare foot on the moss and white-belled flowers began blooming wherever her toes touched.
As she climbed the path, Kade’s magic tickled her ankles and kissed her cheeks. She smiled, unable to hold back the flaring happiness scorching through her being.
Her fated. Her love. Her soon-to-be husband.
I’d do it all again, Kade said down the bond, long before she saw him.
Everything? Evelyn challenged.
All of it. There’s nothing I’d change of our story, love.
Evelyn laughed, shutting her eyes as Kade’s nickname caressed her entire being. It was one word, but the gravity of it was true and unbending.
Running. Crossing paths in Callum. Falling for one another as Saige and Cyrus. Fighting to be together again. Rebelling against their homelands’ expectations.
Evelyn, too, wouldn’t have it any other way. Everything they’d been through had strengthened their love for one another. Just like this night, they’d weaved their own story, their own path.
Evelyn continued to climb, and around a cluster of redwoods, she reached the cusp of the hill, she spotted him.
I’d have it no other way, too. I love you, you Kade Drengr.
He smiled, wide and beaming, and the glimmer in his golden eyes outshone the stars.
Evelyn couldn’t fight the stinging in the corner of her eyes—Kade was a beautiful, handsome male. He wore an all-black tunic and trouser set, leather sleeves snug against his broad chest. His golden hair, completely let down, framed his face. Evelyn twitched to run her hands through his beard.
Still beastly. Still roguish. Still him.
Only their friends and family stood in attendance—Todd, Belle, Lorkan, Blair, Kade’s parents, Bétar, Yen, Eldrick, and Tovi. The eldest Drengr brother stood at Kade’s side while Drystan’s queen stood at the center with her swollen belly, ready to marry Evelyn and Kade.
Evelyn had to focus on her steps—they were hurried, eager.
Fucking flames, who cared.
Everyone giggled as she rushed to Kade. He outstretched his hand, and when their skin touched, something zapped between them.
Power, love, and promise.
Tovi recited words, but Evelyn registered few. She was lost to Kade’s stare. The trees, stars, and their family faded. The two of them stood alone in vast light of their realm, two beings who’d found the truest of unions—love—and defeated the darkness.
Tovi took their clasped hands and wrapped a braided cord around them. “Above you are the stars, and below you is the earth . . .”
“Like the stars, I vow to love you and provide a constant source of light,” Evelyn whispered.
“And like the earth, I vow to love you and provide a firm foundation for us to grow,” Kade said, stepping closer.
He didn’t wait for Tovi’s permission or some great declaration they were husband and wife, for their mating bond flared to life, an indication enough they were tied together in all ways.
Kade grasped hold of Evelyn’s face, and his lips crashed to hers. They kissed.
For their days past and the future they’d created together.