Page 57 of Inked in Emeralds (Inkbound #3)

O ne Year Later…

“You better tell them rabbits to stop eating my lettuce!”

I whipped my head around to see Cissy marching toward Tristan, blonde curls flying like streamers behind her. She didn't stop until she was toe-to-toe with the older boy, neck craned as she glared up at him.

“You know how long it took me to figure out lettuce, Tristan?” she demanded, perching one hand on her hip. “Now I can barely get a couple heads of the stuff growing enough to pick before one of your ten million bunnies decides it’s dinner and chomps through it all—a whole row!”

“So?” Tristan fed Fetch the last morsel of boar meat in his hand before swiping his palm on his pants and bending low enough to meet Cissy's gaze. “You weren’t complaining about all my rabbits last night when we were eating that delicious stew, were you?”

He snicked his tongue and shook his head in disappointment.

Molly rolled up beside me and glanced my way. “Did we ever fight like this growing up?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Waste of time. You’d have badgered me to death until you got your way, so I learned fast to just give you what you wanted.”

“And now look at us. You’re Queen, and I’m one of your lowly subjects.” She let out a sigh. “What a kick in the lady bits.”

“You live in a palace with me and are about to be married to my Master at Arms. I think you’ll be okay.”

“Somebody’s got to do it.” She admired her gleaming engagement ring again and shot me a wink.

When Xander had come and asked me if it was too soon for a second C’an Saas wedding a few months back, I’d not only given my blessing.

I’d also handed over the massive chunk of emerald I’d squirreled away in my pocket for Molly from the mausoleum in Emerald City.

He’d come up with a gorgeous design and even asked me to facet it for him.

The result had been the second most beautiful ring I’d ever laid eyes on.

I spared a glance to the pearl on my finger. A keepsake of my mother’s that I would forever be grateful for.

“I’d better squash this.” Tristan and Cissy had ramped up to a shouting match and Molly crossed her arms and headed into the fray.

“Let's not fight, children. Why don’t we come to a compromise, alright?

We've got two rows of cabbage that look perfect, so let's pick those for supper tonight. And maybe tomorrow Harmony can work out a contraption or a charm that will keep those rabbits out of your lettuce for next time. Sound good?”

Cissy shrugged and swiped the back of her hand over her nose. “I guess so.” She was about to walk away when Tristan tugged at one of her white-blonde curls.

“Wanna see something cool?” he asked.

She scowled at him but didn't say no. “What is it?”

“I think my Tideblessing finally worked on that pair of robins,” he said. “I peeked in the nest the other day, and there was a clutch of tiny blue eggs. Want to check them out with me?”

Her eyes shined as she nodded.

“You guys go. I’ll catch up when I’m done!

” Caleb called. He was looking up from his snack of grapes and cheese.

It was hard to even see the boy I'd first met in the robust, energetic kid that sprinted over to join the others.

That's what a year of sunshine, nourishment, and love could do for a body.

In fact, C’an Saas on the whole was thriving. Largely due to the children. Their Tideblessings had been our saving grace. Caleb had chased away the darkness with his Dawn Tideblessing, harnessing the power of the real sun in his little hand.

Cissy, our Blossom, could make nearly anything grow. Xander and Moll worked with her tirelessly to improve and learn, and it hadn’t taken long before she was able to bring the trees and meadows back to life.

And Tristan, our Hunter, had been a welcome surprise. His magic gave him a deep connection to the animals. Within months, the forest had been teeming with life again. Lives that nourished our people, but lives that he valued and cherished, and taught our citizens to do the same.

It hadn’t all come easy, though. My heart gave a squeeze. We’d lost some of our people in the fight. Three from Hook’s crew, four from our C’an Saas loyalists, and of course, our beloved Billy.

Losing her had been a blow we still hadn’t recovered from, and I knew we never fully would.

She’d had the courage to do what I couldn’t, and her sacrifice would never be forgotten.

We made sure of it by creating a fountain of her in front of the palace.

Billy with her bow, arrow nocked and ready to fly.

I swallowed the knot in my throat and blinked back the tear as a warm hand on the small of my back had me turning my head.

“You've been on your feet for hours now. I think it's time to get in the shade and take a little rest.”

I could see the worry in James's eyes as they dropped lower to my ever-growing belly.

He wasn't wrong, although as I looked out over the endless fields, I winced, because there was still so much to do—a bounty of vegetables that needed harvesting, grains that needed processing, and animals that needed feeding.

Still, my lips tipped into a wide grin. Our harvest was too bountiful?

What a problem to have.

“If you have a lie-down on a blanket in the clearing, I'll have Freya make you a glass of lemonade and a peach-and-goat-cheese daintique.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and laughed. “Oh, you really know how to bribe a girl, don't you?”

He dipped his head to steal a kiss and I wrapped my arms tight around his waist. Sometimes, I just needed to make sure he was real.

I’d dreamed of him for so long, and then, when I finally had him, it always felt like he’d be snatched away.

I was just getting used to the fact that he wasn’t going anywhere. And better yet? He didn’t want to.

There were times that he still woke up, bathed in sweat, from a terrible nightmare. But those times grew further and further apart. He was healing. We were healing each other, and while it wasn’t magic, it was a blessing to be sure.

“Harmony, Harmony, you’re not going to believe it!”

Cissy’s voice echoed through the trees and James pulled away, heat swirling in his eyes as he gazed down at my lips and let out a sigh. “Be back with snacks.”

With that, he stalked away, and I grinned as I watched him go.

Cissy and Tristan came running my way a few seconds later, both breathless.

“We found those robin’s eggs…and guess what else?” Cissy whispered.

“What?”

“Another nest. A bigger one, on the side of the cliff face.” She lowered her voice and looked around. “Bonnie was there, and Fetch flew up to join her. I think they got married like you and Hook!”

“I was able to see the eggs. Four of them, speckled and brown,” Tristan confirmed with a wide smile.

“I’m going to be a grandmother!” I said with a delighted laugh.

Fetch was getting on in years, and the thought that a part of him would always be with me was like a balm to my soul.

“I was thinking, if all four hatch, we might want to think about building a mew…I could sort of run it. If you wanted, that is.” Tristan’s cheeks flushed, and I nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s a great idea. Let’s work out a good spot and we’ll make a blueprint together and hopefully get it built before the baby comes.”

“Let’s get Caleb and show him!”

The two scampered off, and a few minutes later, I was stretched out on a blanket, waiting for my husband to come with my promised treats.

His black edged book of fairytales was spread open on my lap, and I gently turned the page.

The harvest had been a whirlwind, even with magic to help, and I hadn't had a chance to check on my friends all week, but I knew a big day was coming. ..

I tugged open the cover of the book and flipped the pages until I got to something new; A picture that had my heart singing.

Duncan Westerly, former Second Prince of Alabaster, stood hand in hand with smuggler in chief, Billy O’Donnelly. He was dapper in his dove gray waistcoat and pants, and she looked like the badass bitch she was in her crimson corseted wedding dress complete with a dagger at her hip…just in case.

This version of Billy was different. No pointed ears, not lean and rangy like the Billy we’d lost, but that spirit remained.

The brash confidence, the wicked smile when she chose to wield it.

Alabaster Billy was a less wounded version of Oz Billy.

It wasn’t hard to see why Duncan had fallen in love with her… again.

Flanking the happy couple were the O’Donnelly brothers. Paddy was making devil ears behind Scotty as Andrew stared down at some gadget in his hand.

The day was a beautiful one. The sun shone bright as the people of Alabaster gathered to celebrate the happy couple.

I turned the page with a sigh and leafed to the very back of the book. A huge picture took up most of the page, and I settled back to admire it for a second.

C’an Saas.

Rivers flowing, flowers blooming, the palace banners flying high, and beneath it, some new text that hadn’t been there a few weeks before…

The Queen of C’an Saas and her pirate-turned-king had so much to live for, and even more on the way.

Soon enough they’ll add to their family…

I paused, finger poised to turn the page.

Instead, I closed the book gently and laid it down beside me.

More than anything, I wanted to know how much more had been written…

whether we would have a boy or a girl. To read more about our happily ever after, and find out if he or she would have black hair like their father, or eyes like mine.

But then I remembered what my old friend Gayelette had told me long ago;

“The answers to our questions don’t matter half as much as the journey we take to find them…”

And she was right.

The End