Epilogue
some time later
nik
I stood by the front window in the corner of the shop, arms loosely shoved into my trouser pockets as my shoulder leaned against the pale blue, seashell-print wallpaper. The air buzzed with anticipation.
Blue stumbled through the door, his arms filled with bolts of fabric. He shot me a grin before rushing them to the wooden counter. Matthias’s mother, Hadassah, took them one by one and placed them neatly onto the shelves, arranging them in perfect order by colour.
A shimmer of silver wings caught the light as Blythe stepped from the back room into the front of the shop. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and the smile on her face lodged the breath firmly in my throat.
She was in her element.
Over the past few months she’d been working alongside her mother—Margot—and Hadassah, bringing the dressmaker’s shop to life as she combined the two things she loved most: sewing, and being by the sea.
Her gaze caught mine from across the room.
I flashed her a grin, but before she could take a step towards me, her mother burst from the back room, rose-pink wings flaring wide in a flurry.
“I forgot to put the ribbons out! Don’t open the front door yet, Blue!”
Blue froze with his hand on the brass knob and spun around, his brow furrowed with worry.
A quiet chuckle escaped me.
Margot bustled through the aisles, Hadassah hot on her heels as they hurried to finish the final touches.
Blythe ran a hand through her hair and hummed, her gaze finding mine again as I laughed. She moved across the floor without a sound.
“You laugh now,” she said, “but as soon as that shipment of threads arrives later this week, you’ll be carrying in all the boxes.”
My arms slipped around her waist, pulling her into my side. “I’d do anything you asked of me, my love.”
Without hesitation, she pushed up onto her toes and pressed a firm kiss to my mouth. I melted into her, my heart thundering as her body fit perfectly against mine.
Kissing Blythe was my favourite thing in the world.
I had a feeling she rather liked it too.
Every second spent in Lucius, she blossomed into the kind of flower no one had a name for yet—a rare and treasured creation.
Her past was fading, the memories of Oscuro and The Grey becoming a distant nightmare.
It was as if she’d been born anew, and I vowed to myself that I would never stop walking beside her as she found her place in this kingdom.
She pulled back with a soft sigh.
I caught her chin between my thumb and finger, tilting her face up to mine. “What is it? Something’s bothering you.”
Though the corner of her lips lifted, a trace of worry lingered in her eyes.
“What if no one comes?” she asked quietly. “What if I’ve spent all these months and no one comes, Nik?”
A soft chuckle escaped me as I cupped her cheek. “I don’t think you’ll need to worry for much longer.”
Her brow creased as I took her hand and tugged her towards the shop window.
“Look.”
Blythe leaned against the window ledge and peered through the glass. Her breath caught in a small gasp as she noticed the line of Lightners filing down the street like a sea of coloured threads.
“Nik . . . there are so many of them,” she murmured.
I stepped behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “And they’re all here for you.”
She spun in my arms, eyes bright, her smile unguarded. Before she could say another word, her mother called to her from across the shop.
I leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to her lips.
“Go show the kingdom just how clever you are.”
She was gone a heartbeat later, a blur of silver wings and sapphire hair.
~~~~~
Salt-soaked air drifted all around us. Gulls screeched overhead as the sun sank lower on the horizon, its tangerine rays bathing the ocean in an amber glow. The grassy knoll overlooking the Drayton Sea had become Blythe’s favourite place to be.
She sat in front of me, her back nestled against my chest, silver wings spread wide on either side of her.
Sapphire strands whipped loose in the breeze, dancing with the light.
We’d been here countless times over the past few months, and still she never tired of it.
I noticed the way her shoulders always dropped, the way her eyes softened the moment she looked out over the water.
This was her safe place.
I leaned down, brushing my lips against the edge of her ear. “Are you warm enough?”
She angled her head to look up at me, a smile already tugging at her mouth. “I am. But I know something we could do to make us warmer.”
The glint in her eye sent my heart thrumming. Six months in Lucius, and the way her playfulness had bloomed still caught me off guard. Her laughter came easier now. Her touch lingered. Her body was finally learning what her heart already knew.
She was safe.
I wrapped my arms around her tighter, pulling her flush against me. “I’m all yours,” I murmured. “However you’d like to have me.”
She huffed a laugh and settled back into me, content.
I rested my chin on the crown of her head and let myself look out at the sea. “The shop opening was such a success today,” I said softly. “How are you feeling about it all?”
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine owning a shop by the sea,” she said, leaning further into me. “Especially one with my mother.”
I smiled. “And Blue seems to have found his purpose carrying all those fabric crates. All those muscles mean I can finally kick my feet up.”
She laughed easily. “Seems having a brother has its perks.”
Before I could answer, she twisted in my arms, turning to face me. One knee slid across the grass and then the other until she settled comfortably in my lap, straddling me with effortless confidence.
My breath caught.
Six months ago she would have never done something so bold. Back then, every touch had carried hesitation. Now her hands rested lightly on my shoulders, fingers tracing the seams of my shirt like she belonged there.
And she did.
The wind lifted a few loose strands of her hair, brushing them across her cheeks. She tucked them behind her ear before her gaze settled on mine, lingering in a way that made my pulse quicken.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked softly.
My hands slid up her sides, settling at the curve of her waist. “You,” I admitted.
She huffed a quiet laugh, though her eyes warmed at the answer. As she shifted closer, the fading sunlight caught something on her hand.
The pink diamond glinted like a drop of sunset.
For a moment my thoughts drifted back to the day I had placed it there—kneeling in the sand with the ocean roaring behind us, my heart pounding harder than it ever had in a fight or Thorn pursuit.
She had said yes before I’d even finished asking.
My thumb brushed gently over the ring now, still hardly believing she had chosen me so easily . . . so completely.
Blythe followed the movement of my hand, a soft smile curving her lips.
“Quite often I catch you staring at it,” she murmured.
I grinned at her then. “That’s because I still can’t believe you said yes that quickly.”
She leaned forwards then, her forehead resting on mine as the world around us quieted. The sea rolled in slow, steady waves below the cliff, the salt air wrapping around us like a second skin.
“I didn’t need time to decide,” she whispered.
Her fingers slid into my hair as she closed the distance between us, kissing me slowly. The kiss deepened with the ease of familiarity, her warmth settling against me as the last of the sun dipped lower over the water.
The sky burned amber and gold behind her wings.
And for the first time in my life, I wasn’t thinking about battles or duty or the darkness that once threatened to take her from me.
I was thinking about how lucky I was to have her here . . . safe, laughing, alive in my arms as the sun slipped into the sea.