“Well, yes. Hence, the proposal aspect. Did he not answer you when you gave it to him? Maybe he doesn’t know the symbolism either,” Astrea asked, her tone thoughtful and annoyingly amused.
“He said that he accepted,” I whispered, realization hitting me. “Oh, God. I have a wedding to plan!”
Epilogue
Severin
Five years later.
“That was the last of it,” Astrea announced, her hands resting on her hips as she made sure the movers did their job. Claire and Astrea had bought a house together. It was only a short walk from here, but they had accumulated a lot of stuff in the pastyears for their rooms in the castle. Now, they had their very own place, but had chosen one close by for comfort. We did not care where they chose to live, as long as we were close enough if anything should happen.
“Need help unpacking?” Felix asked, wiping his dusty hands on his jeans.
“Nah,” she said, waving him off. “I’d prefer it was just Claire and me there this first night. We’ll invite you over when we’re settled in.”
Felix nodded. “Fine by me. But please call if you need us.”
“Of course. I’ll need some protective crystals for the home, but that can wait a little.”
“Sure,” he agreed, then walked back to where I stood as the movers got into the van. We stood watching the van drive off towards town, carrying everything they owned.
“Done!” Claire announced, carrying out her favorite plant. “Ready to go?”
Astrea nodded, taking the plant from Claire. “We’ll call you tomorrow,” she promised, waving with one hand as they got into their car.
Felix waved, smiling even though he had wished they would stay here. Astrea and Felix had grown closer these past few years, always tending to the garden together and making potions. Claire hadsurprised us when she got a job in town, but she had wanted to work for herself, something I admired about her. She now had a small flower shop, a hobby of hers, and she loved it. Astrea’s healing powers came in handy, always adding some magic to the soil if plants started getting sick or sad looking. They were the perfect team.
Felix and Astrea finally joined Dina’s coven, both giving them their full loyalty. It had caused them both to get better at using their magic, each of them having been taught by the others how to train themselves. Astrea mostly used her magic on plants and animals, feeling safer doing that than healing people. Felix was taught some new things regarding potions, all things I had no idea what they meant, but I still nodded and acted like I did.
“Is it weird that I’m sad by them moving out?” Felix’s soft voice asked from my right.
I put my arm around him. “No. I felt the same every time Peter moved away from me. But it seems I finally got him to stay for good.”
“We’ll see, brother,” Peter said, walking out of the castle with Giro at his side. They were headed to Brent’s grave, something they had not done before, but something Giro desperately wanted. He needed to say goodbye properly, and was finally ready to do it.
“Please stay forever,” Felix pleaded, giving Giro his best puppy dog eyes.
He rolled his eyes at my bonded. “You know I have no plan of ever leaving this place. I have way too much fun making potions with you.”
It was true. Those two could spend hours creating new potions and sometimes Peter and I even got to be their test subjects.
It was not always a pleasant experience.
Felix grinned, pleased he still had those two here with us. “We should go make sure Dina and Cole stay forever, too,” he announced, tugging me after him.
Cole and Dina had fully bonded shortly after she found out they were fated, and they had lived here ever since, both happy to be near us. For Cole we were his new pack, and he had a bond with each of us because of it. Also, one of the reasons Astrea and Claire did not move too far away.
Cole was not our only cook, even if he wanted to be at first. He simply needed some time off once in a while, too, so we had hired a lovely woman called Ela.
Dina was and would always be, the Castle Boss, making sure everything worked perfectly around here. Now that she was bonded toa werewolf, we would have the pleasure of her company for many, many years to come. Werewolves tended to live to three hundred, some had even reached five hundred, and I prayed to all the gods she would stay until she reached six hundred, because if anyone could beat the record, it was her.
We reached the kitchen, finding it empty except for some steaming buns resting on the small table in the corner. “Huh,” I said, eyeing the room. “They might have already moved out.”
Felix hit my arm playfully. “Not funny!”
I laughed, tugging him behind me and racing up the stairs to our room. “Know what day it is?” I asked, casually, as I locked the bedroom door behind us.
He frowned, clearly trying to remember if he had forgotten something. “No?”
