“You didn’t.”
“I did.”
His fingers traced my jaw. “Are you all right? That must have been hard.”
“I am. And it was hard. The hardest thing I’ve ever done. But it was a long time coming and I don’t regret it at all. I feel…lighter. Happier. And now with the clinic…and you…”
Liam pulled my face into a bruising kiss, backing me against the wall. His lips moved to my jaw, my neck and back up again.
Pressing his forehead to mine, his hands framed my face. “You are incredible. I love you so much, Cerise. My sunshine. My heart. My beloved.”
I regarded the man who had stumbled into my world so many months ago. With his humor, his messy hair and silly nicknames. His kindness and endless support. His failed punches and terrible ax throwing. And I loved all of him. Every last piece.
“I love you too.”
Epilogue
Three Months Later
Liam
“And that, my friends, is how you extract the venom from one of the most disgusting insects in all the jungle. Make sure to wear gloves, because their feet are terribly sticky.”
I smiled to myself, recalling the time Cerise and I had shouted at each other above the noise of the rain, trying to wrangle the icdicae.
My students gathered their bags and rose from their seats, my classes for the day finished.
“Don’t forget, next week we’ll be meeting at Silverwood Forest to practice our observation skills and record what we find in the ponds!” I called after them.
Students murmured their excitement as they filtered out of the classroom. I plopped in my chair, breathing a contented sigh as I scanned the room. It was Cerise’s old lecture hall. The one with the attached aviary.
I had been thoroughly enjoying my job at Silverleaf Instituteof Magic. The staff were welcoming and I often had lunch with Emberly, who was now the department dean.
I had moved in with Cerise fairly quickly after she asked me, easily selling my old home. Living together had been a challenge at first, both of us trying to manage with our quirks and hang-ups. I was messy, she was almost obsessively clean. But we found a rhythm and it was working surprisingly well. I had to get rid of a lot of my things (honestly, I had too many) but we cleared out an extra room in her home for my collections and turned it into a reading room of sorts. We often spent time there in the evenings, just enjoying each other’s presence, surrounded by my feathers and seashells and other knick knacks, all carefully arranged by Cerise so it would ‘look less cluttered.’
Smiling at the memory of the day she spent hours delightedly sorting my feathers by color, I shoved my papers into my overstuffed bag and stood. I needed to call Coen soon and check in with him. He was the only thing I missed about my old life, and I felt a small tinge of guilt at leaving him behind. He didn’t really have friends besides me, but we made sure to keep in touch through phone calls and letters and had plans to meet for dinner in a couple of weeks. The position of his department’s dean still hadn’t been filled, but Rosenshield’s retirement was just around the corner and I was curious about who would fill that role.
Making my way down the warm wooden halls, I headed outside to meet Cerise at her clinic. Her business was flourishing, clients scrambling to bring their pets to the well-known and supremely talented beastologist-turned-animal-healer.
She was brilliant. Her knowledge and experience in academia rendered her an excellent healer. And I’d never seen her so peppy before, almost a complete one-eighty from the woman I had met that first day of our expedition.
I had changed too. I was more relaxed, calmer. Because I’d found my place in the world just like her. I had a job I loved, a woman I loved, and a life I could have only dreamed of.
Cerise
I scratched behind the ears of the tabby cat sitting before me on the exam table.
“Mix this tincture in with her food once a day in the evenings and it should help with her pain,” I explained to the owner, an elderly woman with big brown eyes full of concern.
“So Tilly is going to be okay?” she asked, her voice frail.
I squeezed the woman’s hand. “Yes, Mrs. Aberforth. It’s some mild arthritis, not unexpected as cats age, but she’s still got many more years in her as long as we stay on top of it and keep her comfortable.”
“Oh thank you, Doctor Thornheart. May the gods bless you.”
I gave her a smile as she picked up Tilly the cat and walked her to the front of the clinic. “Aaric here can check you out. Please stop by or call if you have any questions or concerns.”
“Yes. Yes, of course. Thank you again.”
