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“I don’t even know what to say,” he says.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up until I knew for sure. Mom came to me in my dreams again and explained everything, so I got Leli and Grandma to help me.”

Dad holds me for a while longer before pulling back and wiping my tears away as Mom comes over. “I wish we had been able to see you grow up,” Dad says.

“But now we have all the time in the world. Brenna can tell you how much of a pain in the ass I was,” I say with a smile.

“I wouldn’t say a pain in the ass,” Brenna says. “More so… spirited.”

“She comes by it naturally,” Dad says, and Mom playfully hits his arm.

“It’s all that demon in her,” she jokes, and Dad laughs and hugs her.

“Well, you all catch up,” I say. “I’m going to bed. We can all talk more after awhile.”

“Yeah, you’ve been up for a while,” Leli says.

“I love you guys,” I say. “Leli. Grandma. Thank you for helping me.”

“Of course, sweetie,” Grandma says, hugging me. “Go rest.”

Mom takes a moment to hug my mates. “Thank you for taking care of my little girl,” she says. “You three are the best thing I could have ever hoped for her to find in this lifetime.”

“She’s strong, just like her mom,” Daemon says with a smile.

We talk for a bit longer before I go upstairs with my mates. I go to crawl back into bed, but Kael pulls me to lie on top of him. I lay my head on his chest as he wraps his arms around me. Daemon and Callum rest their hands on my back. The steady rhythm of Kael’s heartbeat lulls me to sleep, surrounded by my mates, my three kings.

Epilogue

Five Years Later

Fiveyearsago,mylife changed. I was nothing more than what society deemed a worthless maiden. To Zypher Fallins, I was nothing more than a toy that he passed around to his pack. I had myself convinced that I was deserving of the way I was treated in life. Despite having Brenna protect me the best she could, the evil still enveloped me. So much so that Zypher believed that he could steal me away from my mates, and I would willingly bend to him. He never expected to get stuck in the middle of my storm. When faced with the creation of his cruelty, he crumbled. He ended up as no more than dust in the bottom of a waste bin. Worthless, unloved, and unwanted.

Over the last five years, the witches, foxes, and demons have fully integrated into society. The council continues to meet monthly to discuss the needs of our people. They have become an integral part of how we run the country.

The fox population is steadily growing now that they are allowed to reproduce. More and more people are finding their mates since people are no longer segregating themselves away from other species. This is leading to many hybrid babies being born. I feel like after every war, there is a baby boom. This is no different. Not only did Leli get pregnant right away, but so did I. We both had a little girl. Leli and Vash named their daughter Lorelei, and my mates and I named our little girl Oriana. Biologically, we can guess which of my mates is the father, but they are all her dad. She calls each of them Daddy, and they all are wrapped around that little girl’s finger. After seeing how they cared for me during my pregnancy, I had no doubts that they would make great fathers.

After Oriana was born, my mates had to decide who the heirs to the throne would be when the time came. Together they chose Oriana, Lorelei, and Sylvie to take over as the Three Queens. They agreed that it was time to put the sexism of the past away and have their daughter and nieces run the country. The public gave them an overwhelming amount of support for their decision, which only further solidified that the world had finally found peace.

Overall, the world is thriving together. We occasionally have some issues where people are still not conforming to the new way of life, but we haven’t had anything too serious happen. After the show I put on killing twenty-one men in one day, people are understanding of the fact that I do not tolerate violence against the innocent. The public has deemed that day “The Day of Retribution” as it was the turning point for our society where evil was slain and everyone else was finally free from the grip that the rogue witches had on the world. In the weeks after Mom came back, we learned that she was highly sensitive to the presence of the rogue witches, so she helped locate and execute the remaining individuals from the coven.

I set down my paintbrush and put away the paints; the canvas in front of me is finally complete. The waters of The Dancing Wench spill into Shanrog deep within the mountains of Voradia. I fell in love with the forest last year when we went to see my family. I admire how lifelike the water looks before the sound of a stack of books falling brings me out of it. Realizing how late it is, I call out “Come on, girls, time to go!” The sounds of squeals and chatter get closer as they sprint through the library as I head to the door. A soft breeze blows through as it opens, causing a loose sheet of paper to dance in the wind, floating to the ground.For another day then, I think to myself as I close and lock the door.