Page 99 of The Endless One

“If I look in the kitchen…” She gave Elric a meaningful glance.

“You know, I argued with Sybil that the dishes should do themselves, but she was insistent that at least one or two things had to be manually done. The younger witches will grow lazy, is what she warned me against.” He shrugged. “I said they have better things to do, but she said learning how to clean is the least they can do until they learn how to control their magic.”

“The younger witches?”

Again, that grin sparked. “From what I can sense, there are a lot more witches now. While you and I were resting, there were plenty more people who decided they would like to continue worshipping the gods.”

Her heart was so full it was near to bursting as she spun around once, taking in all the details of this place. Her home. Her castle that was now far better than it had ever been when she was a princess.

A door burst open, and Sybil raced into the room. She didn’t stop until she had flung her arms around Jessamine and pulled her in for a hug so tight it made Jessamine’s ribs creak.

“There you are,” Sybil breathed into her neck. “We were all waiting for you to come back! It took you long enough.”

“Sybil.” Jessamine hugged her even tighter, comfort be damned. “I missed you so much.”

“Oh, you did not! You were having a grand time being a goddess, I’m certain of that.” She pulled away, and her hands framed Jessamine’s face. “You look better than I’ve ever seen you.”

Jessamine wasn’t so sure about that. But then she remembered that Sybil had only seen her when she was dead. And that was likely something that no one had really considered. She hadn’t even thought about being alive until this moment, and then…

She rushed down the hall, toward the grand stairwell that split in two. There were mirrors on either side of those stairs, usually there to provide guests one last opportunity to freshen up before they were led up to see the queen in the throne room. But as she caught sight of herself in the mirror, she was shocked to see a completely different person.

Jessamine had become so used to being dead that seeing herself with color in her cheeks was a rather odd sight. That pink stain was rather pretty. Her lips weren’t the usual dark-purple color. Instead, they were now a light pink as well. No more dark circles marred the underneath of her eyes, nor were there such pronounced hollows in her cheeks.

All the cracks on her face were gone as well. Disappeared entirely, leaving only smooth porcelain skin that was really quite lovely. Her dark hair was no longer tangled, as though it wouldn’t dare put a strand out of place while the magic flowed through her veins.

She looked… healthy.

Alive.

How strange was that? Jessamine couldn’t even remember the last time she’d looked at herself in the mirror while being alive. Those memories were just gone. They had disappeared from her mind, likely in a way to protect herself. She didn’t mind the way she looked while she was dead. It was a wonderful way to see herself as well. A witch who had done whatever it would take to get her kingdom back. That’s what she looked like then.

But now? Now she looked like a queen, a goddess. A woman who was not here for vengeance, but to heal.

Elric stood behind her in the mirror, a soft smile on his face as he looked her over as well. “You do look different.”

“Good different?”

“Every version of you is one I adore,” he murmured. “From death to life, from princess to goddess, I have loved you through all of them and will continue to love you as you grow and change.”

She hadn’t realized just how much she needed that reassurance. Jessamine blew out a long, slow breath and then nodded.

The two of her closest friends stood ready whenever she wanted. Jessamine wanted to see more of what they had done, and how they had brought her kingdom to life.

They walked up the stairs together, equals in every single way, and then Sybil opened the door to the throne room.

In her mother’s time, there had been a long hall that led up to a throne that was made entirely out of gold. It had been in their family for centuries, and her mother had always stressed the importance of it. Visiting officials needed to see how capable Inverholm was. The people from their kingdom seeking an audience desired to know Inverholm was whole again.

But there was no throne here now, just a long table with a coven of witches bent over it. Papers were strewn all over it. Clearly they were deep in work. But they all paused when they saw her.

“Jessamine!” the call went out, and yet again she was surrounded by the warm arms of friends. It was so good to be around them again. To laugh with them as they hugged, to hold on to their bodies and feel the air in their lungs. But more than anything, she was wonderfully content to be around people she loved once again.

Agnes and Elissa both took her arms, bringing her to the table and showing her what they were working on.

“Building plans,” Agnes said, pointing toward one stack of papers that was about to fall over. “There are quite a few that need adjustments, or at the very least, need a witch to hurry it along.”

Then the doors opened again, revealing Hugo striding through with his arms full of more papers. “Grandmother, more building plans were dropped off.”

“Hugo,” Jessamine said.