I hadn’t known what to expect for him, but I’d hoped… Well, it didn’t matter what I’d hoped.
Thank goodness Mephisar was still here. I wasn’t sure I could handle losing him.
I let out a sad sigh, and the moment I did, somethingbrushedagainst me. Something that very much wasn’t Eliza. It felt more like a faint presence, warm but familiar. It happened again a moment later, almost like someone was nudging their head against my side.
The second that thought came to me, a smile came to my lips.
There was only one soul I knew of who would butt his head against me.
Gorr.
There was nothing tangible that proved it was him other than thisfeelingI had within me. This innate ability to recognize not only when a soul was nearby but which one.
Happy tears sprang to my eyes.
My friends weren’t completely gone. Not yet anyway. They were still here, waiting to move on, and depending on me to protect them in the meantime.
And I would. Gladly.
For the first time since the battle ended, I let the quiet settle inside me—not as emptiness, but as peace.
I imagined myself patting Gorr’s head with all the love and affection I had for him. And when I did, he brushed against me again, as though telling me he felt me as much as I did him. It was the smallest thing, but it made me feel more at home than anything else.
I took Purrgy from Eliza’s lap and set him on the floor before pulling her to her feet. “Come on. Let’s go find Rath and Calyx.”
We made our way, sans kitty, to the palace doors, threw them open, then stepped out into the courtyard. The moment the hot air hit my face, I stopped and glanced around.
My father’s palace had always teemed with hellspawn. And now it was completely quiet. Nothing but red dirt, ash, and smoke.
And my two fallen.
Rathiel and Calyx stood nearby, their backs to us. From this angle, I spotted Rath’s wrapped wing, and my body immediately flushed with the thought of what we could do to help him heal faster. Now that we didn’t have a war to fight, I could think of nothing else I’d enjoy more than feeding a certain vampire my blood—especially since it always led to far more enjoyable activities.
At the sound of our approaching footsteps, Rathiel turned, though one hand fell to his side, likely in search of a weapon.His face softened the instant his gaze found me. He crossed the distance between us in a few long strides, took my hand, and pulled me tight against him.
I opened my mouth to say something, but a low rumble caught my attention, and my heart leapt when a massive shape loomed overhead.
“Mephisar,” I breathed.
My favourite hellwyrm dropped to the ground and slithered toward me. The moment he was within reach, he lowered his head and shoved Rathiel out of the way, then coiled around me. He gave a small huff, his smoky breath brushing against me.
“I’m fine,” I told him.
My hellwyrm didn’t seem to believe me, though, his snout poking and prodding me as he inhaled my scent.
“I promise,” I told him before tapping my head. “It’s just me in here.” No voices, no darkness, no dark tendrils. Just me and my hellfire and my normal shadows.
“So, you’re the Queen of Hell now, hey?” Calyx asked. “Go on, love. Do something awesome.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Because what the heck classified asawesome?
I rested my cheek briefly against Mephisar’s warm scales before lifting my eyes to the sky. The familiar churn of fire and ash rolled above us. Then, I thought of the skies I’d left behind on Earth—the soft indigo of late evening, the pale curve of the moon, the first silver of stars. A world where light and dark lived side by side.
The thought took shape within me, and just likethat, the air shifted.
The red dimmed to deep blue. And in the middle of the sky rose not one but two silver moons. Like twin orbs, they illuminated the courtyard and palace beneath a sky worthy of my new realm.
A hush followed. Mephisar gave a low, pleased rumble and nudged my shoulder. Rathiel came to stand on my other side and took my hand in his. When I glanced at him, starlight brushed his face, softening the hard lines. I reached up and brushed my knuckles against his scarred jaw, and for a heartbeat, we simply admired each other, the weight of everything we’d survived slowly sliding off our shoulders.
