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“Well, if you insist, I won’t stop you,” Enid said, nodding to the edge of the bed.

Avenay laughed, collapsing on Enid’s neck as she wrapped her arms around the seraphe, tracing a line along her wings. “So you like it? You want to do it?”

Avenay nodded, her breath hitting Enid’s neck in a way that lit her up all over again.

“Yes, I really do, Enid. Not only is this an amazing opportunity in so many ways, but I’ll get to be with you.”

“You can be with me for as long you like, Avie. Until the sun burns out and the moon crumbles away and our skin is but dust.”

Avenay kissed her neck. “Good. Because if the answer was any different, I’d have to devise a plan to keep you my captive.”

“Ohhh,” Enid hummed. “Now that does sound interesting.”

Avenay laughed again. “I can’t tell if you’re joking.”

“I’m always joking and never joking. I’m always willing to try anything once.”

Avenay laughed. “We’ll think on it then. But for now…” Avenay kissed a line down her abdomen, settling on her breasts for a moment before continuing onto her knees. “Let’s stick with this, shall we?”

Enid smiled, her heart so full of the joy of love and light, the depth of passion and shadows, she could almost cry. Instead, she watched her love with an ardent admiration and disbelief that the seraphe was hers.That they belonged to one another. That she was her mate, and that thought no longer frightened her but filled her with a ravenous hope.

Epilogue: Unknown

Deep in a forest atop a mountain, nestled in the clouds, the creatures went silent, fleeing and hiding, holding their breath, freezing in place. A rattling breath in and a groaning breath out shuddered through the woods like an earthquake. The trees bent away and vines slithered back into the inky darkness of the dense woods. An arm tugged and pulled, yanked and jerked, a scream rattling the air, filling the sky, until finally, the air split in two, a rift opening.

The elfe stared in wonder, breath coming out fast, heavy. Sweat bubbled on her forehead, pouring down her neck into her tunic. Close,so close. She muttered words in Entailish, fighting against the pull of the void, trying to keep the rift open long enough, just long enough. The split tried to close, but she spoke faster, her voice rising higher and higher. The bodies around her lay in a circle, their eyes lifeless, their blood staining the ground.

A hand reached out, shimmering like shadows, warping like light, solidifying with each word she spoke. She stood, hands still clasped in the position for the enchantment, coming close. As she stepped forward, the hand found her throat, clasping around it gently and she almost sobbed from relief. Then it tightened. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t speak. A body emerged, antlers atop its head, bark covering the side of its face and body, terrifying and beautiful. The elfe looked into its eyes, entranced, in love, her breath gone, her head light and floating away. Fangs met her neck and pain lanced through her. She cried out, but it died on her lips as she slumped against the being, felt her blood pulled from her, sucked into the other being, the feeling euphoric.

She was floating now, not in her body. She was overhead, being sucked into the void. Her body fell to the ground, and the being slumped over it, frozen. Its lips were cracked,and mossy hair fell around its cold blue skin.

Its mouth moved slowly. She came closer to hear, but the void pulled at her and she couldn’t fight it, couldn’t resist it. As she herself shifted, she felt herself become nothing.

But right before she disappeared, she heard, “I’m awake. I need more.”