Yasmine Galenorn - Night's End

“I was thinking the same thing. I’m glad you concur. When will you return to your Barrow? As much as we love your company, you need to be there. You and Rhiannon need to leave the reorganization of the town to those of us who . . .” She trailed off, then her voice hardened. “To those of us who make our home here. Your Majesty”—she held up her hand when I started to protest—“No. You must wear that crown like you mean it. Your Majesty, forgive me for being blunt, but you don’t belong here anymore. Your people are waiting. They need you.”

I felt like a fledgling being pushed out of the nest. But she was right. The Veil House was no longer my home. New Forest wasn’t my city. This was all a different nation, and I needed to go home.

“We’ll leave tonight, after I find out about Lannan.”

“Go before then. We’ll get word to you. Go home, Your Majesty. Go home.”

Grieve and I stood on a snow bank, under the moon, staring at the sky. Rhiannon and Chatter had branched off, with their guards, at the fork leading to the Twin Oaks. And now, here we were, standing above the Twin Hollies, staring at the portal that would lead us back to our home.

“Did you ever think we’d end up here?” I turned to my beloved. My heart was still aching, but now it skipped in anticipation. It was time to move ahead, time to step into our future.

“Honestly? No. But long ago I told you that we’d end up together, in the future, and now the future is here, and we are free from the shackles binding us to the past. We’re free to be together, to rule a nation, to create a future.”

And there, in front of our guards, he pulled me to him, and his lips met mine. As he kissed me, my heart swelled, and my wolf growled deeply, but it was a happy growl, a satisfied growl. I sank into the kiss, feeling his love surround me as he embraced me with all of my faults.

“I don’t believe in happy ever after, you know,” I whispered as we pulled apart. “I don’t believe there’s ever an ending. Life just keeps going, and when you finish one adventure, another begins.”

“There’s no such thing as perfection. I don’t expect life to be perfect. I just never want us to get bored with each other.” He stood back, holding me by the shoulders. “We’ll find out about Lannan. I promise you—we’ll find out one way or another.”

“And if he lives . . .” I couldn’t finish the sentence. Grieve had heard me in the cave; he’d heard Myst and he knew.

“If he lives . . . well . . . we’ll have to figure arrangements if and when the time comes. Meanwhile, our kingdom awaits.” And he took my hand as we passed through the portal, into a world where winter never ended, where the snow and ice forever covered the landscape. Where I was Queen of a frozen realm, and Grieve was my King.

I soared high over my icy realm, reveling in the freedom flight gave me. Hunter swooped past me nearby, and then another owl—and another. My grandfather had brought a host of our people into the realm of Snow and Ice, to live under my rule, and now we took to the skies every moon. It was our tradition, flying high on the wing, hunting in the forest, rejoicing in the feel of the wind on our feathers.

Ulean swept past, laughing as she disrupted our flight. I steadied myself, and then, joy filling my heart, I pushed forward, leapfrogging with her under the light of the moon.

I never thought it could be like this.

Cicely, life is never what we think it will be. If you stop expecting it to look a certain way, to flow in a certain direction, then life has the freedom to become what it needs to be. You just have to remember that your life is not what Rhiannon’s life is, is not what Luna’s life is . . . or Peyton or anyone else you know. Destiny wears a different face for every person .

And then, she was off again, and I swooped, gliding after her. My people turned, following me, as we flew through the chill. The snow would soon be falling again, but here it was natural that it should. As I caught sight of the Barrow, glistening in white, my heart swelled, and I let out a long shriek of joy. I was finally home.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER

“Cicely! It’s so good to see you again.” Peyton ran up. She stopped to curtsey when she realized people were watching, but I laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her to me.

“Fuck that. Hug me, woman.” I held on to her, breathing deeply as the warmth of her body filled me with a heat that I seldom felt anymore.

She smiled, shaking her head. “So . . . another cycle, another solstice.” And then we stood in silence. As the years went by, it was harder to find things to talk about. Oh, we discussed her business—which was thriving—and my kingdom, which was also thriving. But sometimes the past was still so raw, so overwhelming, that it intruded on the present. We reminded each other of darker times, of people loved and lost.

Twice a year, New Forest held citywide festivals for the summer and the winter solstices. Rhiannon and I attended both—one of us ruling the celebration with the other an honored guest. Now, it was summer solstice—our birthdays. I was here to enjoy myself, while Rhia presided.

New Forest had grown into a real city, and though it had never been the same, it had turned into a thriving metropolis for magic-born, vampire, and Fae alike. We were cutting-edge in terms of interracial cooperation, and were considered a role model for the nation. But beneath the veneer, everybody who had lived here twenty-five years ago remembered the days when Myst had tried to destroy us. There was no getting away from history.

“How goes the business?”

Peyton laughed. “Lots of cases coming my way. The Veil House has never hosted so many people. I’m working on a big corporate case for the Consortium right now, though I can’t talk about it. But it’s going to boost me into high demand when I’m done.” She paused then, the smile in her eyes fading. “But you know, it’s never been the same here, not since . . .”

“Since Luna died.” I finished it for her.

Three years ago, the ancestors had finally come for our beautiful bard. She’d been in an accident. But she’d left Wind Charms to her daughter, who had also taken over the Moon Spinners, as well.

Kayla was an extremely potent witch, with a personality to match, proving adept at vision magic, water magic . . . and dreamwalking. As to Kayla’s father, Luna had never told us who he was, though we had our suspicions. We also suspected that Kayla herself knew. Five years after we defeated Myst, Luna had disappeared for a week, and when she showed up again, she was pregnant. Thrilled, she’d never once talked about where she’d been. But we knew—we all knew.

“Kayla’s doing well with the business. Ysandra is mentoring her, and it’s working out well. But . . . she’s not Luna. You know how that goes.”

“Yeah, I know.” With a smile, I hugged Peyton again. “I need to check on the kids, but I’ll be back.” As I turned to go, I glanced over my shoulder. “Still no boyfriend?”

Peyton shrugged. “Casually dating, but no one special. Don’t fuss over me, Cicely. I’m good on my own. If there ever is anybody, he’ll have to complement me, not complete me. I’m content. Now go tell the kids to come give their Aunt Peyton a hug.”

“Will do.” I wandered through the backyard of the Veil House, and waved to Rhiannon. We would carve out our time to talk later on.

As I wandered through the expanse of yard behind the Veil House, I saw our children gathered over by the border to the Golden Wood.

First, there was Andy—the boy we’d rescued from the house. Rhiannon and Chatter had adopted him, and he had grown up a strong, trustworthy boy. He was skilled with herbs and had become a healer. Andy was also in love with my youngest daughter, Krystal, who was a telepath and a wolf-shifter, like her father. Krystal and Andy wanted to live in New Forest, so they would be marrying soon and taking over the Veil House for their own when Peyton moved into her own home across town.