He kissed the tip of my nose. “Good.” He hesitated. “Are you happy here? Is this the life you would’ve chosen for yourself?”
I thought about it, considering the question. “I never saw a life beyond the one I had in Bergenay,” I said honestly, and his face fell. “Then that life got destroyed, and all I could think about was staying safe no matter what. Even though I loved my life in Bergenay, I was stuck. I never thought about the big, wide world. I never thought about what I could do with my life beyond serving the princess.” I cupped his cheeks. “The thing is, I couldn’t have chosen this life because I never would’ve imagined it for myself. But now that I’m here, running the castle library, training to defend myself, going on adventures, dreaming of seeing more of the world.” I paused, lowering my voice. “Being loved by you. I know that this life is better than any I could’ve dreamed up.”
Wolfe smiled and pressed his head to mine. He didn’t have to speak; I knew I’d given a good answer.
I was scared of what was to come, but for the first time in my life, I wasn’t letting it hold me back. And that, in the end, was all that really mattered.
EPILOGUE
Wolfe
“Is everyone ready?” Harriet called from the front of the ballroom, where our entire city had been packed into.
It hadn’t been easy convincing some of the residents to abandon their homes and their businesses, especially Ceri’s father—who had to be sedated for this—but we’d been able to get everyone safely into the castle. Maybe it was my imagination, but I could’ve sworn the castle had expanded to make room.
Suddenly, people were finding new spaces that hadn’t existed before.
“Are you ready for this?” Cillian asked, standing on one side of me while Niamh stood on the other. Mother and Jerome stood behind us, holding hands, and Nevan was somewhere in the depths of the castle.
Murmurs rippled throughout the room, everyone shifting and looking as nervous as I felt.
I trust my brother. I trust my brother. I trust my brother.
Nevan wouldn’t do this unless he thought it would work.
“I’m so nervous.” Niamh worried at her bottom lip.
Morton was with Nevan, who’d asked the bookwyrm to help him. They were like two peas in a pod, and I wasn’t sure it was a good thing. Nevan needed to get out of his shell, not burrow deeper into it. Morton only encouraged my brother to delve further into his work, become obsessed with more theories and ideas and equations. I hoped that once we reached this new location, Nevan could focus on more than just his work, but I wasn’t sure anything would ever matter more to him than alchemy.
“What are you thinking about right now?” Niamh asked.
I gave her a reassuring smile. “Nothing. Just that I’m ready to get to this new place. Ready to see where the castle is taking us.”
“What if it’s in the middle of the ocean?” Niamh whispered.
“It won’t be,” I told her. “Tell me a story.”
“Now?” Her eyebrows shot up.
“This is the best time. This is when we need a good story the most.”
She shook her head. “What kind of story do you want to hear?”
“I want to hear a story of our life together, what it’ll look like when Fairwitch arrives in this new place.”
The castle started rumbling around us, and shrieks echoed in the ballroom. Some people took cover while others stood their ground, holding tight to their loved ones.
She wrinkled her nose, so damn cute, then turned to me. “It’s a warm day, the kind where you just want to bask in the sun because it feels so good on your face after a long winter. I’m done with my shift at the library, walking out of the castle and toward our cottage.”
I quirked a brow as the rumbling intensified, more screams echoing around us, and Niamh gripped my hand tighter. “We have a cottage now?”
“Oh yes,” she said. “I couldn’t convince you to move into the castle with me since you grumbled about all the people you’d have to talk to.”
I tipped my head. “Sounds about right.”
“So instead, you built my dream cottage.”
“And what does this dream cottage entail?”
