And the letter she had clutched against her chest made it all the more perfect.
She had written to Nora several days ago, and earlier today, one of the palace servants had finally brought her Nora’s reply.
She unfolded that letter and held it above her, reading over it again, tracing her fingers over the words her sister had penned. Her touch paused on the last line—
I can’t wait to see you again.
She was going to see her again.
Finally, she could relax. Nora was safe, and she would be coming to visit soon. And once she was here, Sephia would heal her as she had healed the king, and then her little sister could stand by her side at all the important moments they were going to share throughout the rest of their lives, starting with…
Her wedding.
It still did not feel entirely real.
And there were more details to figure out, of course, but she wasn’t worried about them. Whatever happened now, it felt like she was heading into a happily-ever-after that had seemed impossible just a few weeks ago.
She refolded the letter and slipped it into the pocket of her coat. Laid her head down on the solid stone, let her hair cascade over the sides of the bench—her dark, natural waves of hair—and closed her eyes.
Minutes later, she heard footsteps approaching. She popped one eye open just in time to see Ketzal spin in mid-air, abandoning his butterfly chasing as he propelled himself toward a new target. He landed first on the end of her bench, and then bounded along it, bounced off of her stomach and launched himself into the air.
“Ow,” Sephia said, laughing even as she grabbed her stomach.
“I warned you about his manners at the very beginning of this,” said Tarron, catching the catapulting griffin and wrangling him into a secure hold.
“You did, didn’t you?”
Ketzal wriggled about until he succeeded in getting the prince to scratch his ears, and then he purred happily, slipped free, dropped to the ground, and went back to hunting bugs and butterflies.
Sephia smiled as Tarron leaned down and kissed her. First her forehead, and then he braced an arm on either side of her and pressed his lips against hers. He pulled away slowly, and she sat up, feeling a little dizzy—both from the kiss and the change in orientation.
“I’m going to work on those manners,” she declared, her smile drooping a bit as she watched Ketzal digging around one of her favorite rosebushes.
“If you are able to train him, I will be more impressed bythatthan by anything you’ve done yet.”
She arched a brow. “You doubt me?”
“No.” He chuckled softly. “I know better than that by now.”
She smiled and scooted closer to him, wrapped her arm through his. “How did the negotiations go?”
They hadn’t executed those two Shadow fae prisoners. After much discussion and debate, they had instead decided to use them as bartering tools, negotiating a peace agreement in exchange for their release.
Sephia had stayed by Tarron’s side through several long nights of drafting the documents that they’d eventually presented to the Shadow Court. Delegates from that rival court had arrived for discussion just this morning, and though Sephia could have stayed for those in-person negotiations, the letter from Nora had arrived and distracted her.
But she fully intended to be a part of these politics in the future. As they both embraced her Shadow side more, she hoped that it might lead to a more peaceful existence between the two courts, and she wanted to help lead the way in any way she could. She was now Shadow and Sunandhuman, essentially, so who better to play this role?
“The new treaty is officially signed,” Tarron told her. “Hopefully it will last for a little while, at least.”
She gave his arm a squeeze. “If it doesn’t, we’ll deal with whatever comes.”
He kissed the side of her head as she laid it on his shoulder. “Yes,” he said. “I believe we will.”
And that was that. Just as before, Sephia felt as if there were obstacles looming and questions unanswered, but she could face all of these things so long as she was by his side. It might be a messy version of happily-ever-after, but she was still ready and willing to fight for it.
Her eyes had started to close, relaxed as she was to be tucked so securely against him, when a distant sound—a popping and then a sizzling—caught her attention. She lifted her head and stared at the sky, and after a moment there came an encore of those sounds, accompanied by the sight of bright streaks of light that formed all manner of symbols against the falling curtain of twilight.
“What is that?” she asked.
