Either way, I have finally found you again, and I have no intention of ever losing you again.
Thank you for letting me prove just how much I love you.
I’m hopelessly in love with you, Thea Greene, and I cannot wait until the day that I get to make you mine forever and never leave your side again.
Forever yours,
Nathaniel
Epilogue
Guinevere
Guineveresmiledatthemakeshift wedding ceremony that had been set up inside the Cozy Cat Café.It had only been a few days since she had seen Nathaniel turn into a cat, and apparently, they had figured out how to break his curse on their own.
She was paying careful attention, keeping an eye out in case Milton Lohndrey appeared again.He had been causing mischief in town for long enough, and she sensed his magic in another source.She could feel traces of it on Nathaniel, the same way she could feel it on Alexander.She also felt it coming from Nathaniel’s brother Roan.
Thea and Nathaniel wore their finest clothes and were happily saying hello to everyone who had come.The café was overflowing with regulars, friends, and even a few of the local nobility.Guinevere watched as Lord Rendon and his family arrived.She wasn’t surprised to see Sophia and Caspian—they were Thea’s friends—but the fact that the rest of the Rendon family was here was slightly surprising.What was even more surprising was the fact that Lord Gideon, the second son, also wore traces of Milton Lohndrey’s magic.
What it was exactly, she wasn’t sure, but she could smell the spicy magic that came from Milton.
The ceremony was beautiful, and when Nathaniel was told to kiss his bride, he dipped Thea back in a kiss that had several mothers scrambling to cover their children’s eyes.
“I now have the pleasure of announcing—finally—” the priest added, a grin in Nathaniel’s direction, “Mr.and Mrs.Alder.”
Everyone whooped and hollered and cheered as Thea and Nathaniel kissed once more.There was no aisle for them to walk down, but this felt better as everyone in the room surged forward to congratulate them.
Guinevere smiled in satisfaction.They’d had a long road, and it was good to see them happy.
In the chaos that followed, Guinevere seemed to be the only one who noticed when Lord Gideon lurched sideways and hurried out of the café.
But by the time she followed him, she could no longer see him.Too many people were in the way.
She growled in frustration.Whatever magic Lohndrey had attached to him was only getting worse.He needed her help, and if it didn’t happen naturally soon, she would have to seek him out.
But for now, she had to congratulate the happy couple.
“Thank you,” Thea said, squeezing Guinevere in a bone-crushing hug when she made it up to her.
“If that girl is still interested in working here,” Nathaniel said, “I want to take my bride on a wedding trip to visit Riyel.So we’ll need someone to work at the café while we’re gone.”
Guinevere smiled.“I think that can be arranged,” she said.“I will talk to Linnea and let you know.”
Roan, Nathaniel’s brother, was next in line as Guinevere stepped to the side.
“I’m happy for you,” he said.Guinevere couldn’t help paying attention, keeping her ear out.Eugenia had told her some of what had transpired between Roan and his brother, and everyone in town was talking about how they were suddenly friends.And Roan had become emotionally entangled with someone who looked suspiciously like the sorcerer’s daughter.
Guinevere eyed her with distrust.What did she have to gain from getting closer to Roan, and why was she still in town?
Her musing was cut off by Dietrich appearing from the kitchen, Beatrice by his side.“We have cake,” he shouted.
Thea laughed at the two of them.“I told you not to,” she said.
“You know as well as I do that we couldn’t let this moment go without celebrating.”Beatrice called back, “Remember that first night when it was just the three of us?”
Thea smiled.“I do.”
“Who would’ve thought that all of that would lead you here to me?”Nathaniel asked, stealing an arm around his wife’s waist.
“Will you help me cut the cake?”she asked her husband, smiling up at him.
“Anything for you, my love,” he responded, leaning down to seal it with a kiss.
Guinevere’s heart felt heavy.She yearned for a love like theirs, but finding it seemed nearly impossible when she had to keep such a large part of herself a secret.
But as Thea and Nat went to cut the cake, hand in hand, with Ginger following and getting in their way, she could almost believe that happily ever afters were real—because, after all, so was magic.
