Aloros lets go of Ediye’s hand and steps back, gesturing for the angel with the box to come forward. When Aloros turns toward Ediye once more, his brow furrows, his gaze dropping for just a moment to the stones beneath us. “We lost many in the battle. Most of our Council is gone. Our rule has always been divided among our quarters of Anur, and our rulers fought valiantly for their Houses. But only I am left, presiding over Esagila.” Aloros looks to Ediye with the echo of sorrow beneath the glimmer of hope that shines in his eyes. “You were equally as brave as anyanunnaki, and you fought for a realm that was not yours to protect. As though that was not enough, we know what you did at Anthemoessa to save the fates.” Aloros opens the box. A golden diadem glitters within, set with stones that glow with their own light as though they are stars, plucked from the night sky. “We offer our highest honor. Ascension, among theanunnaki. And we offer a place on our Council, as Queen of the House of Virtues.”
Ediye gasps and meets my eyes. I must look half crazed with excitement, because Ediye cackles an incredulous laugh that dies as she realizes Aloros is serious. She looks between the crown and the angel who holds it, then to the souls around us. She swallows the heartbeats I hear surging through her chest. “But…I don’t know the first thing about ruling.”
“Neither did the dark-souled vampire, and look at all she has accomplished,” Aloros says, snickering as he catches my good-natured eye roll.
Ediye and I exchange a fleeting smile, but the mirth in her eyes disperses as quickly as it came. She lets her gaze drift down to Tayo. I know she’s delving into memories, sinking into the years we spent exacting revenge for this love that was once stolen from her. We left a thick trail of blood behind us before Ediye found a way back to herself through the grief of her loss. “I have done things I regret. And I have done many things that I don’t. I wouldn’t take them back even if I could,” Ediye whispers. Her eyes linger on her son before meeting Aloros’s once more. “I’m not perfect.”
Aloros takes a step forward and lays his large hand on her shoulder. “It is our mistake, for letting you believe you ever had to be.”
Tayo turns enough to watch his mother’s face with a proud grin. Angels and souls wait with patience on bent knees, hope painted on their faces. Ediye and I lock eyes. I smile, and she does too. When she returns her attention to the angels, I see the spark of distant stars in the galaxy of power buried within her ebony eyes.
“I appreciate your offer of ascension. But I’m not ready to accept that, at least not right now. I like who I am, the way I am,” Ediye says, with a grateful bow of her head. I see the gazes of a few of the souls around us fall to the ground with dismay. “However…if you would still allow it, I would be truly honored to lead the House of Virtues.”
Those gazes that fell around us snap back to Aloros, hope igniting in their eyes as their attention shifts between the witch and the angel. For a moment, he gives nothing away. And then his smile grows.
“The honor would be ours,” Aloros says. Excited murmurs swirl around us as he turns toward the angel holding the velvet-lined box. He lifts the crown and places it on Ediye’s head. It rests there as though it was always meant to shine with her. Aloros steps back, his smile growing wide. “All Hail Ediye, Queen of the House of Virtues.”
“Hail Ediye, Queen of the House of Virtues,” I repeat with the others, dropping to my knee.
It’s as though the crowd can’t contain their excitement for more than just a brief moment of subdued deference. Cheers erupt from the angels and souls who jump to their feet, clapping and laughing as they draw in closer to surround Ediye with words of thanks and welcome. We stand with them, sharing their joy as we hug Ediye and meet Tayo for the first time, a sense of wonder and peace thriving in my chest when it feels as though I’ve loved him all my life.
There have been times I thought my heart couldn’t contain more love, it was already so rich with it that it overflowed. There have been moments of darkness where my heart felt filled with poison that was killing me with every beat. But now, in this moment as I watch Ediye and Tayo, Eryx and Cole make their family complete as they embrace, I realize there is no limit to how much more love a heart can contain. There is no end to its capacity to heal.
There’s a crack high above as fireworks burst across the sky. Ashen’s hand lays on my shoulder and flows down my arm, his wedding ring a gentle kiss of coolness against my skin. I smile as I turn to face him, laying my palms on his cheeks.
Ashen folds a stray lock of hair behind my ear, his gaze lingering on my lips for a long moment before he meets my eyes. “All right, vampire?”
“Kiss me and find out, Reaper.”
Ashen smiles, and I don’t tell him, but he shines.
And so, we heal.
One moment of love at a time.
EPILOGUE
ASHEN
Lu’s cheek is cool against my chest. If I were to move her face, my mated mark would leave a pink impression of warmth against her skin. But I will not move my Lu. She sleeps so soundly in my arms.
We spent hours in the Realm of Light. She played with Tayo, the two forging a fast bond as though they’ve been friends all their lives. They went on every ride. We surfed in the Silver Sea. She laughed and shouted. Lu shone as bright as a beacon to the sea. And now she’s exhausted, deep in dreams. Buthappy.
Sometimes Lu talks in her sleep. Talks about ancient horrors that have long passed. Fire. Burning. Falling. Sometimes more recent pain plagues her dreams. Aglaope. Gallus. My sister. The thin shred of a long-buried hope that they stole from her in her time caged deep in the dungeons. On the nights she wakes me begging them to stop, I draw her close and stay awake to keep a vigil against the night.
But more and more, I stay awake long after she’s fallen asleep to watch her dream in peace, like now, when her breathing is deep and even. She’s so full of movement and energy when she’s awake. There’s always someone to meet with or questions to answer or issues to tackle. Even in the house she rarely sits still. On the days when the recent pain rises to the surface, she’s planting flowers or working on this old manor, bringing it back to life. On the brighter days, she’s laughing, even dancing. Sometimes, more and more, she’s singing. So, these moments are a gift, to be able to just watch in the quiet of night until I drift off beneath her.
One of Lu’s hands is lying close to her face, her fingers curled upward like a wilting flower. I lay my palm in hers and she sighs, content. I press my nose to her hair and draw in a deep breath of her scent. Its faint perfume is the ocean mist on tall grasses. It’s the wind across the distant sea of another realm.
I look up at the skylights of our bedroom in the cliffside house, the broken panes replaced with new glass to feed dim light to the plants Lu has scattered through the space. I tighten my arms around her as the heaviness of sleep weighs on my lashes.
And then, so slowly at first that I don’t believe it, the fog rolls back from the glass.
Stars shine in the black blanket of night above me. I watch as the mist curls away from every pane, pulling back toward the garden. I stare at the brightest star, waiting for the fog to return and veil the light from view.
Lu stirs but doesn’t wake. I lay a palm across her back and press a kiss to her forehead. And then I stare at the stars in the night sky until I force my eyes closed and let sleep pull me away, wondering if the first true morning will dawn in the Shadow Realm.
