Page 114 of Maleen

Jesper grips my hand tightly.

“She will not be the Mel you know in the flesh, but you will know her soul. Unfortunately you will all forget this part of the conversation,” they smile mischievously. “You may be a keeper of souls now, but you mustn’t have all the secrets. Go on now. Go home; celebrate and enjoy your males. We will see each other again one day, young Queen.” Then the Fates vanish along with Batsil’s spirit, their large presence lifting off my shoulders like the weight of the world.

Killian clears his throat. “Well that was—”

“Weird,” Jesper finishes nodding his head. “Weird and fucking amazing!”

I shake my head, laughing at their antics. “I think the Fates ordered us to celebrate?” I smile, pulling Jesper closer and down to my height so I can kiss him, his lips feeling otherworldly against mine.

Talyn moves behind me and my other mates surround me, and I bask in their presence, feeling more like me than I have in a long time. “Aemon, take us home and let’s celebrate.”

“And how would you like to do that, Little Dream?”

I smirk at him, relishing in the touch of his shadows, even though I’ll never feel mine again. “With all four of you ravishing me until the sun comes up.”

He kisses my knuckles and heat flares in all of their eyes. “Your wish is our command.”

EPILOGUE

THE REALM IS AT PEACE for the first time in almost three decades.

Fae are still celebrating even six months after the final battle—the battle where everything changed for me and my family. The camps that Lord Craven had set up have been torn down, something Vasari and I were eager to do. And even though I’ve outlawed using Nulls—now known as just simply fae, because that’s what they are despite their inability to wield—as unpaid help or servants, there is still some discourse, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.

Anyone found to be breaking that law is sentenced to prison or death depending on the situation. A lot of the high echelons of society were not pleased with this, but fuck them. They don’t get to abuse someone because they see them as lesser. I rub where scars along my wrists used to be—now covered in simple tattoos—and I find myself missing them. Most people leave wars with more scars then they went in with, but not me. It’s as if my past never existed. The tattoos are a reminder of the pain I went through. A different type of scar, but beautiful.

I offered to get rid of my mates’ scars and only Talyn took me up on it. Killian is proud to wear his now, and Jesper loves how menacing he looks with his scarred eye.

In fact, one of the first positions I hired for was for the Lordship of Imperset, or should I say Ladyship. The position now belongs to Jesper’s mother—the first magickless fae in our history to hold such a high title.

I smile proudly, thinking back to Jesper waltzing into his former home there and killing his father’s mate, the one who scarred his eye, and sending her daughters out onto the street with a measly bag of coin. He’s been back and forth helping his mother get settled in.

“Beastie!” I hear him as he enters the foyer I’m waiting in, throwing the doors open wide as he saunters inside to join the rest of my mates by my side.

“You’re late,” Ember states, rolling her eyes.

He slides up beside me and kisses my temple. “Only by a few minutes, and she’s not entered the throne room yet, so I would say I am on time.” He winks at me and I can’t help but shake my head.

Ember places her hands on her hips. “You’re lucky I’m the one who took over as lead advisor for your mate,” she tells Jesper. “If it was still the other ones, they would have tried to hang you up by your pinky toes over a group of feral mating dragons!”

He pouts and I grab his hand. “You’re fine. We can’t do this without you, anyway.”

Today is the day of the celebratory ball, my first since I was officially crowned Queen of the realm. There was a lot that certain fae had to say about my new magick, worried that I would be corrupted like Craven was, but it is my birthright, and after months of proving myself to the fae of this realm, I will continue to honour my legacy.

I decided to keep Madam Windwhisper on my staff to help coordinate all of the more elaborate affairs and help keep the castle in order. She’s been waiting to throw this ball since we arrived back in the city. If it was up to her, it would have happened that week, but I’m not sorry we postponed it. Now everyone has been free to look forward to it, and today is the day.

This ball is supposedly good for relations between all the provinces, and one hasn’t been held with all five since the Winter Solstice Ball all those years ago.

Bells toll in the distance and I turn to face the grand doors that will lead to socializing, drinks and hopefully no scandals.

My mates surround me. Their presence is steady at my back. Everything and nothing between us has changed. We are closer than ever. A true wing and bonded group. They each place a hand on me subtly and the bond hums with emotions that calm me, something they’ve been doing more often while I am still learning to keep my new budding magick at bay.

Ember sighs before smoothing down her stunning red dress and linking her arm through Rozen’s. They’ll enter first and inform the announcer that we are entering next, as per Madam Windwhisper’s instructions. “Ready?” I hear her whisper to Rozen.

He smirks, winking at her. “Ready as I’ll ever be. To think that we befriended the future queen at a military academy while shovelling gryphon shit together.”

Lennox laughs as he comes up behind us. “To think I listened to that vile bitch and shoved my now-Queen’s head into dirty dish water and she somehow forgave me.”

Nero caws and puffs up his plumage. “I’m not sure I’ve forgiven him for that yet.”