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Slowly, the rest of Mara’s Keep dropped, like a wave ebbing away from the throne, bowing before their new queen. I could only breathe again when Stasia smiled.

I took Lux’s hand, squeezing it, and led her away from the one throne of Vylheim. Away from this life.

I didn’t wait around for expectations. With the wedding over, only our new life together mattered now. I made a damn promise, and I was keeping it.

I slipped my hand into my wife’s and walked out of the throne room and out of Mara’s Keep with her for the last time.

Drak

Forty-nine days and nights passed since Stasia took the throne, and already Yggdrasil was burned to nothing but ash, just like the vampires. The people of Vylheim stripped the Hall of the Gods bare, taking its materials to build houses, and the half-fae, receiving a gift of ships, set sail for West Anglor.

I worked late into each night, using stone and timber from the old temple to rebuild Old Skaldir. Our home and the animal shelter on our farm were the first structures we restored. Next on my list was Lux’s library, with the shelves she requested I carve using the original runes that restored my soul.

She sat beside me as I dragged the drawknife across the fresh cut of birch with her palm face up and her face tilted toward the sun, eyes closed after having counted the sheep and goats, the chickens, and the cows we kept fenced on the greenery. Beyond that, we’d begun seeding crops.

From this side of the house, I had a view of the farmland and the village ruins.

“Have I told you the saga of the Serpent’s Treasure?” she asked, eyes still closed. I glanced at her scarred hand while shaving the wood and carving the same shape as the first rune she created when calling forth the first shard of my soul. “It’s about Jörmungandr.”

“Tell me,” I said, savoring every second of listening to her voice. The lilt and rhythm with which she told stories captivated me. Lost in her storytelling and the task at hand, I didn’t notice the sun had dipped below the horizon until footsteps approached and yanked me from my focus.

I straightened and squinted toward the center of the village. Among the crumbled structures, a towering figure approached, darkness shrouding his face.

Only when he pulled back the hood of his cloak did I recognize that scar. Finan stopped before us, surveying the land, the animals, and our home, and then letting his gaze fix on us.

“I bring news from Mara’s Keep and Queen Stasia,” he said.

Tension grew heavy and unpleasant in the air, mirroring the toxins that had once afflicted this place. Lux sat up, her spine pin-straight. I exchanged a look with her and then folded my arms, bracing for whatever Finan brought here to ruin the perfect peace we’d created.

“West Anglor has sent ambassadors to discuss what Vylheim owes them. After centuries of living in fear of our kingdom, they demand payment for the pain they’ve suffered as a country and as a people.”

I sucked in a breath and stared at my wife. “She wants us to take up our swords and shields again.”

“No,” Finan said. I flicked my attention back to him. His stern face confirmed his words. He wasn’t here to ask us to fight or lead an army, so our peace was protected. Hel, I could only hope. I was the vulnerable one, able to die from a battle, while Lux lived until Ragnarok. Though Soren swore to return for her—for us—and we’d move onto the afterlife together, I wasn’t ready to give up this life on our farm yet. “The queen has a message for you: even though West Anglor attacked this land long ago, the half-fae kingdom now considers it gone from this world—uninhabitable and forgotten. Queen Stasia asks that you till this land to the best of your abilities, welcome refugees from the rest of Vylheim, and in return, we will deny any recorded updates of this place. As far as the rest of Midgard knows, nobody can survive here. They’re terrified of it and our gods after what their ancestors witnessed at The Battle of Sundered Sky.”

Lux snorted. “At least the gods were good for something.” I flashed her a wicked grin as Finan continued.

“Queen Stasia has deemed this land Vylheim’s sanctuary and refused to give it a name to protect the secrecy. She asks that you preserve this farmland and secure the records of Vylheim’s people here. Delivery from Mara’s Keep will come within a fortnight. She expects you to safeguard all runestones, parchments, and books from the castle’s libraries here. Your duty is to keep them safe. We will wall off this land for increased protection and to reinforce the belief that it is uninhabitable. Only those sent to live here for their protection will be given entry, but that also means that you may never leave. You don’t actually have a choice, but she asked me to say this: do you accept the queen’s demands?”

I gnawed my lower lip, biting back my instantaneous yes. Of course I’d accept this life.

“Yes,” Lux said. “Tell the queen I’ll gladly do this for her and for Vylheim.”

I lifted my chin toward her. “Whatever my wife wants.” When Finan nodded and turned, I spoke up to stop him from leaving. “On one condition,” I said. He stopped but did not face us, only twisting his head and pointing his ear toward me. Even from this angle, that nasty scar reaching to his earlobe resembled a disturbing smile. “You must grant Soren the half-Valkyrie entry at any point. He owes me.”

Finan nodded. “Understood.” With that, he strode away, and the haze of dusk swallowed him quicker than I expected.

After finishing the carving, I admired it briefly before following Lux inside our home. I came up behind her, wrapping my arms around her stomach, and tucking my head beside hers. “I’ll have to build a lot more shelves for that delivery.”

She laughed and melted against me. “Good thing we have a lifetime to build them.”

“A lifetime together. Just us.”

I ran my hand over her breasts and paused at her collarbone. I traced the bone and trailed my finger up the curve of her neck. Old scars riddled her throat. Her vein pulsed there with the life flowing through her, but I didn’t crave her blood. Instead, I wanted to taste her lips, her tongue, and drink the slickness between her legs. I wanted to make her moan and beg for me.

It was as if all the cracks in my soul had sealed. All scars vanished. Though that wasn’t possible. I’d always have the memory of my time as a vampire, and maybe that meant in the next life, I’d remember this one. I wouldn’t have to fight to remember my identity as Rune and that my fate was Myrah.

I could only hope.