Page 118 of Bitten By the Basilisk

Now she lay mostly on her stomach, one arm and leg wrapped around a section of his tail while he rubbed her back and shoulders with massage oil.

She was seconds away from drifting off when his voice purred in her ear, “I couldn’t have asked for a better mate than you. Now sleep, kitten. We have the rest of our life together ahead of us.”

Epilogue

Two Weeks Later

“Thank you,” Alice sang as she accepted a lidded cup of fresh hot chocolate, wrapping her mittened hands around the toasty container.

She took a sip, finding it just cool enough to drink, and hummed with pleasure. The chocolate was creamy and thick, and not too bitter. It was the perfect way to warm up before heading out on one of Mystic Harbor Monster Tours’ speedboats, hopefully to catch her first glimpse of Kennie.

Silas observed her with one of his little smiles, the cold breeze fluffing his hair and catching the lapel of his wool trench coat.

He wore a thick turtleneck sweater and the kind of earmuffs that cupped the back of the head, but she worried he would be cold and miserable once they were out on the water, even with a blanket for his legs. It was November now—and nearly midnight, as the famous kraken was nocturnal—so even she was feeling chilled.

Granted, she could warm up with a subtle use of her fox fire while they were out of range of the town’s renewed wards, but Silas didn’t have that option.

“Mm? Where’s yours?” she asked when she noticed that her fiancé wasn’t holding a cup of his own. When he’d offered to get her a hot drink from an all-night coffee stand near the yacht club, she had assumed he would also get one for himself.

Silas turned her around, both of them now facing the water, and wrapped his coat around her in a low hug. “I prefer this,” he purred by her ear.

She snuggled into him with what was probably a dopey smile. “Why not both?”

“Because my hands are occupied.”

“We can share,” she pointed out, giggling. “Here.”

Turning her head slightly, she held the cup to his lips and tipped a swig of hot chocolate into his mouth. As he swallowed it, he made a low hum in his throat that sent a tingle down her neck.

Today had been her last official day at her job, now that the rest of her PTO had run out, so tonight’s “kraken hunt” was how she’d chosen to celebrate severing her last remaining tie to Chicago, as Silas had already had her entire apartment packed up and shipped to Indigo Cove, minus the furniture and most of the kitchen stuff.

Mark had been a little devastated when she had not only declined the promotion but also put in her resignation. In addition to losing Paul, another member of her team had quit after learning that the firm’s execs planned to “lean hard” into generative AI to produce marketing materials.

Having seen the soulless AI slop inundating the industry, any guilt Alice felt over quitting had evaporated, leaving behind only sweet relief.

Now, when she wasn’t painting, knitting, or flameworking, she was spending time with her mom, eating gourmet meals, and getting put through the mattress, not to mention the pool table, Silas’s desk, the dining table, the sofa in the living room…

She and Silas were also planning their weddings, plural—a Shinto ceremony that they would travel to Japan for and a Western-style one that would take place in the Den.

The two of them shared sips of hot chocolate until the cup was empty. And just in time, too. The speedboat that would take them out was ready for them to board.

Alice squealed with excitement. “I’ll go throw this out real quick,” she said, stepping away from Silas. “The sooner you get your life vest on, the sooner you can get under the blanket.”

But before she could hurry back to the coffee stand, Silas snagged her arm and planted a kiss on her lips that tasted like chocolate. “Hurry back, kitten.”

She smiled, biting her lip, then turned away and began jogging.

The coffee stand was little more than a cart, set up to take advantage of the town’s late-night marine tourism by offering hot beverages. It seemed relatively new, as Silas hadn’t known it was here until they’d arrived.

Alice went straight to the trash bin set up next to the cart and tossed in the cup. She would’ve turned back without stopping, but a golden ball of light appeared in the corner of her eye, drawing her attention.

“Oh!” She hadn’t seen the hitodama in such a long time and started to wonder if the soul it contained had transcended.

The glowing ball floated toward the coffee stand, where it hovered around the head of the woman making and serving drinks, only she now had a familiar face. Alice hadn’t looked all that closely when Silas had pointed out the coffee stand, but she was positive the barista had been a stranger.

“Madam Yōko! It’s been a while,” she said in Japanese, pairing her greeting with a bow. No wonder Silas hadn’t known the coffee stand was here.

“Yes, it has,” the kitsune agreed, smiling softly. “I see you’ve decided to stay in Indigo Cove.” Yōko gazed over Alice’s shoulder, and Alice twisted to look back at the docks. She could just make out Silas climbing into the speedboat that would take them to the town’s eponymous cove.