His face falls.
“But you know what? Mulch it. This ‘being your queen for life’ stuff sounds like a garden I’d like to grow.”
Veyrion stills. Then the most wondrous, tender smile spreads across his stony face.
Somewhere in the background, I hear my poor, mystified father murmur, “I’m so confused.”
“I’m not,” I reply, never looking away from the male I will call my king—happily,ecstatically—for the rest of my life.
I grab his shoulders and stand on my tiptoes. But it’s still not enough to reach his lips… until he wraps an arm around my waist and lifts me the rest of the way.
A great cheer erupts all around us as we seal our wedding agreement with a fiery, incredibly happy kiss.
One thing is for sure: I’m doing the opposite of dying today.
In fact, a life beyond my wildest dreams has just begun.
Epilogue
Wings and Flowers
I’ll admit,I was pretty skeptical about all this sacrificial bride stuff. But getting married over a vat filled with the real Princess Seraphyne’s blood turns out to be a pretty auspicious way to start a wedding.
Maybe because it’s the last Eryx Oblation the Stone Fae ever request. As the old planet saying goes: “We don’t need to go for human—we got human at home.”
“Is that truly an old-planet saying?” my husband asks out of the blue.
I still my shadewing pen over the parchment I’m using to write the final entry in the diary Veyrion gave me for my birthday—after learning the hard, super-hurt-wife way that humans celebrate birthdays, and I wasn’t just telling him the date over and over for his personal records.
“Dearest Gargoyle King, what have I told you about reading over my shoulder while I write?”
“Likely the same thing I’ve told you about my dislike of that nickname. But this…” He bends over—way over—because I’msitting at the desk he got me to go with the diary once I explained (again) that humans have a thing about chairs.
“This I like,” he murmurs, running his fangs along my neckline. A taloned hand cups my breast over my thin night shift. “Just a few more moonscycles until I can taste your sweet blood again.”
An erotic shiver passes through me as he flicks a thumb over my nipple. For whatever reason, watching his clawed hands on my body never fails to arouse me.
But… “I’m not done writing yet. I have to finish this entry.”
“Is that not what daytime hours are for?” He brings his other hand around to massage my other breast. Both of them are larger and even more sensitive these days. I groan, letting my head fall back against his shoulder as he continues to cajole me. “Besides, you’ll have plenty of time after the babe is laid. Have you written upon that subject in the diary I gifted you for your twenty-sixth birthday?”
The low swirling heat dies at his mention of our upcoming delivery.
“Not yet.” I glance down at my slightly swollen belly, then quickly away. “I’m pretty backed up on entries, which is why I need you to give me a moon tick.”
“Fine. Though I do not like this game you always win—proving I can deny you nothing.”
With an amused huff, he straightens to full height. “I’ll go to the chamberlain’s quarters to check on the peace treaty negotiations with Solmane—and to provide you with your requested space and quiet.”
“Thank you. But, Veyrion…” I grab his hand before he can leave. “I love you so very much. Please know that.”
He regards me with the much gentled glow of his red gaze. “And that love is the greatest prize I have ever known,” he assures me before leaving.
That night, I finish writing about our wedding, and the honeymoon that followed, which was basically going to Aralysse to…
Well, Veyrion insists on calling it “claiming your rightful place as their supreme ruler.”
I preferred to pitch it as taking over from the exiled royal family as a queen in absentia—one who levies fewer tariffs and demands fairer treatment for all.
