“Then so it shall be.” Celestonia said, her tone telling everyone in attendance that she was entirely bored of the matter.
“You are no longer Arze of the Forest,” Galand said with rattling emphasis. “You will hereby be referred to as Arze of the Earth, should you need to be addressed as such in the future.”
“And you will have no Triad involvement in your personal affairs going forward.” Pruse smiled, crossing his arms across his chest and nodding. “You are free to live as you want without fear of tythwig decrees.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Arze was willing to give up his lineage, his history, his safety, because of me. But we could be together. Truly, be together, without having to worry about other tythwig reporting to the Triad. Without fear of being overheard or overlooked.
“This meeting is adjourned.”
Galand’s repeated words rung in the air with finality, and he and Celestonia shifted back into their tree forms without another word. Pruse hung back, staying to give us a wide berth of a smile staining his ridged lips.
“I wish you both all the good fortune in the future, Arze of the Earth. May your human prove to be worth the sacrifice.” He paused to look me up and down, making me feel suddenly vulnerable and exposed. Was Pruse…checking me out? “Though judging by what I see, his worth is evident.” Pruse winked at me.
Arze smiled as Pruse morphed into his tree form, leaving us alone in the forest. I glanced at Chase and Colton, wondering where their heads were at with everything. Colton let out an exasperated breath, almost like he’d been holding his breath the entire time. I couldn’t blame him, that was fucking intense.
Chase whipped out his phone and paraded it in front of himself. “There you have it, Chasers. Love wins!” He proceeded to let out yells and hollers at obnoxious levels, but I couldn’t help but smile at his support.
My sentiments soured when I looked at Arze. “What did you do, Arze? You gave up everything. Because of me, you can never—”
“I gave up nothing.” Arze made me face him by grabbing both of my hands, my eyes glued to the man I loved. “I already live like humans do. I haven’t observed the tythwig customs since I was an adolescent. And even if I did feel like I’d given up anything, it’s nothing in comparison to what I’ve gained.” He dropped my hands to cradle my jaw, both hands smoothing the skin on either side of my face. “I’ve got you, Krueger. That’s enough for me.”
I let out an undignified half-sob, half-scoff, overwhelmed by what I was hearing. Letting my actions speak for me, I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in until our lips met. Our kiss furthered, not caring that there was anyone else but Arzearound. I felt a tear glide down my face as our kiss deepened, realizing what we had accomplished.
We’d found a way.
Epilogue
Four Months Later
“Thanks so much for coming out.”
I gave the customer a broad smile as I handed over their copy of the book, my fresh signature scrawled over the title page. The customer quietly thanked me and left the table.
The quaint little bookshop that I’d been fortunate enough to set up in wasn’t as large as a corporate bookstore, but it was way bigger than most small towns were accustomed to. I glanced down at the now smaller pile of my book that decorated the table, pleased with the turn out.
When I’d first contacted the bookstore about whether they’d like to have a local author around to sell their book and meet with readers, I wasn’t sure the type of response I’d get in return. I’d been lucky that they weren’t just open to the idea, but wanted to celebrate local authors and try to advertise them to the community.
Phoebe was definitely the best place for me.
Since the meeting with the Triad, giving Arze and I a blessing to continue exploring our relationship, things couldn’t have been better for me. I’d rejoined Jane’s and was back working on the year-round haunts that she had to offer, giving me even more time to spend with Arze. Aside from being able to resumemy work at the haunts, I’d been able to finish my novel, complete with multiple drafts and painstaking edits. The fact that I had a physical book in my hands was amazing. I was an indie author, but an author nonetheless.
“How’s it going?”
My sister bounded over to my table, which resided between the farthest stacks of bookcases towards the back of the establishment. It was a great spot, considering that I could see anyone who entered the bookstore and I was right next to the small coffee shop section of the place, the smell of fresh coffee beans wafting over to my table every few seconds.
Larsky, who of course couldn’t get enough of Myers, hung off her like he never wanted to be separated, trailing himself off of her shoulder as they walked in tandem, only parting as they neared my table. I couldn’t help but smile. They were going strong in their own relationship, and Larsky had proven himself over and over that he was a great match for my sister. He’d already proven himself with our parents during their first visit a few months ago, getting the ultimate seal of approval on their subsequent visits afterward. They’d given the same to Arze when they’d met him too.
Just like we’d hoped, our parents had fallen in love with Phoebe as fast as we did. Our mother in particular was enamored with the culture, the vibe, and the people. Dad seemed to love it too, but I knew he’d move in a heartbeat if Mom said the word. Thankfully, her word came pretty quickly.
Our parents were ecstatic for both of us for finding love in Phoebe. They were officially moving to North Carolina next weekend and I was eager as fuck to have the family reunited again.
“Pretty good,” I said, my response ending my reminiscing. “I’ve already sold over twenty copies and I’ve been here, what, an hour?”
“Hell yeah, dude!” Larsky bellowed, throwing up a red hand for me to high five, making me chuckle. He was such a bro sometimes, but I loved it. Obviously, Myers seemed it was charming enough to keep him around. “Big time author man.”
“Thanks, Larsky.” The laugh fell off my sentence lazily.
“Do you think the amount of traffic has anything to do with the upcoming Alistair Finn concert that’s coming to Charlotte this weekend?” Myers asked as she plucked the can of sweet tea I had on my table and stole a sip. “Ugh, I wish I had tickets.”
