After
Two Months Later
Ophelia sat on a stone bench outside her house, the garden around her teeming with flowers.
She hummed, dipping her brush in water before dabbing it in a bit of pink to finish off the watercolor.
Though it was growing late, the sprays of white tulips wavering in the breeze had been too tempting not to paint.
She bit her bottom lip, smiling at the stupid hobby and setting her brush aside. She held up the painting. Not totally crappy. God, if anyone had told her this time last year that she’d be living in a frickin’ vicarage and painting flowers in her garden she would’ve punched them.
Actually, she still might punch them, but that was beside the point.
She sat back and fished a cigarette out of the pack at her side.
Below, the town was peaceful. Surprisingly, instead of being bored, she was grateful things had calmed down.
The weeks after the vampire invasion had sucked.
She’d almost felt bad for Felix having to deal with the media frenzy.
And Havers’s residents had not been pleased about all the destruction the dragon had wrought, though you wouldn’t know it now.
Especially after Chase had bought up the majority of the destroyed property.
He’d used a bunch of it to expand his business, but the rest was being turned into a park and would have some kind of a kid’s camp eventually.
The way he talked about it, Ophelia was pretty certain he had grand plans to populate it with his and Jena’s kids.
Ophelia snorted, lighting her smoke. Good luck with that.
Jena still hadn’t had the first one, though it was supposed to be any day now, and they still hadn’t decided on a name.
Aggie was so bitchy about it that the two of them were staying with Felix while the manor house was being built.
Ophelia looked in that direction. Gideon had gone out there earlier to help set the foundation with Nyxx and to help the new grotesque figure out his abilities.
Him assimilating to his new form was going smoother than any of them had predicted.
It probably helped that the dragon did have a human version he could morph into, and you’d never know he was a zillion pound fire breathing monster.
The dude was downright scraggly. He’d moved into Thaddeus’s old digs and took up right where the ancient vampire had left off as the town weirdo.
Ophelia shook her head, taking another drag, and the lights flicked on behind her. Soku must be getting ready for dinner. When Thaddeus had left to rule what was left of the vampires, Ophelia had gladly hired the brownie to keep house for her and Gideon.
Soku had jumped at the chance. From what Ophelia could glean, the revenants had really fucked the Below up, and a lot of the lesser fae had moved topside.
Not that any of them would give details.
Whatever was happening down there, even the pixies were staying mum.
They’d collected their ungodly amount of coconuts and had been weirdly absent from the streets thereafter.
Jena was kind of freaking out about it, but what kind of trouble could they get into with coconuts?
Whatever. Ophelia didn’t care. She was just glad the king thing was going pretty well for Thaddeus.
He’d made a bunch of sweeping changes, and the tribes weren’t taking volunteers anymore.
She wasn’t entirely sure that was voluntary, but with the investigation the feds had opened into their involvement with the turbine conspiracy, he really didn’t have a choice.
Fayet wasn’t doing so hot either. The neighboring town’s mayor had been ousted, and the last Ophelia had heard, the pack over there had replaced any semblance of government. That wasn’t exactly a boon, considering the Fayet pack hated the one in Havers, but it was what it was.
Which also summed up the whole situation with Jena’s dad.
No one had seen him since that night, though Jena swore she could still feel him hanging around.
Gideon had been working on tracking down every whisper and rumor of Nemeses, but whether that was really what he was, or what he really wanted, was anyone’s guess.
The repository in the City of Light hadn’t been able to come up with anything, and whenever William’s name was mentioned around the gargoyle, it put him in a foul mood.
Headlights bobbed over the hill, and Ophelia dropped her cigarette, snuffing it beneath her stiletto. A moment later, the car pulled up to the gate outside the garden, and Gideon got out, frowning.
Ophelia stood and sauntered up to the gate. “Hey, honey, how was work?” she simpered.
He snorted, walking toward her with a slight limp. He snorted, walking toward her with a slight limp. Despite the witch’s spell, he still suffered from his stint below the waves, but the hitch in his stride was improving. “Nyxx might have a human form, but his dexterity remains that of a lizard.”
“That good, huh?”
“Mmm.” Gideon pulled her into his arms. “You’ve been smoking,” he said, nuzzling against her neck.
Her fingers tangled in his hair. “Would I do that?”
“You would,” he sighed, “and now I’m not going to give you your gift.”
Ophelia pulled back to glare at him. “What gift?”
“I suppose you’ll never know,” he deadpanned.
“Gideon!”
“Oh, very well, just wait one moment,” he chuckled and kneeled down to tie his shoe. Ophelia huffed, looking up and rolling her eyes. He knew she hated it when he made her—
“Phe?”
She looked down and her breath caught as he held up the diamond engagement ring she’d left by the sink all those years ago. Her hand rose to her lips. “I-I thought it was lost?”
His intense turquoise gaze caught hers. “For a time, as you were. As I was. But now, here, in this place, Ophelia Diamondé, would you once again permit me the eminent honor of becoming my wife? I vow that I will love and cherish you for eternity.”
She nodded, unable to speak, and he slipped the ring over her finger, grinning.
“I’m assuming that’s a yes?” he asked, standing.
“Yes, yes, of course it’s a yes!” she cried, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him.
“I knew you’d been smoking,” he murmured after a long moment, a twinkle in his eye.
Ophelia sighed. “It’s a grievous crime, I know.”
Gideon grinned again, wetting his lips. “And what are we going to do about that, counselor?”
“Might I suggest reeducation? I obviously have no idea what belongs in my mouth and what doesn’t.” She squealed as he lunged for her and raced back into the house with him hot on her heels.
Dinner would have to wait.
THE END