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Epilogue

MARIUS

I n the months that followed, Marius was never satisfied when it came to showing Tahlia love. In word and in deed, both in the bedchamber and outside those walls, he did his best to honor the love of his life, his dear and perfect mate.

And it wasn’t just because a certain female Healer would stab him repeatedly if he did anything less. Fara actually seemed to like him now. Perhaps even trust him.

It was because Tahlia deserved to be treated like a goddess, and he’d be damned if he didn’t make up for all the trouble he’d caused early on by not acting on his heart’s knowledge from day one.

Remus is concerned, Ragewing said into Marius’s mind. He smells of fear.

Is it Lija? Tahlia’s dragon still hadn’t healed well enough to fly and the Witch hadn’t yet responded to their pleas for assistance.

No. Something else.

The squire rounded the corner and entered Ragewing’s stall. He held out a sealed letter. “This came for you. From one of the king’s messengers.”

Marius set aside the cloth he’d been using to polish Ragewing’s shoulder scales and accepted the letter. “What’s wrong, Remus?”

“The male, he…” Remus rubbed at his nose and glanced away.

The seal bore Fae King Lysanael’s seal. Marius cracked it and opened the missive.

Remus met Marius’s gaze. “The messenger’s horse died shortly after arriving. He rode him too hard because this message is so urgent.”

“Why didn’t the queen ride her forest dragon here, I wonder…”

“There’s word she is in Fjordbok at the moment.”

The queen’s home. “Ah.” Marius scanned the letter, his heart dropping with each new detail. “Remus, find Tahlia for me, will you?”

“No need,” a quick and perfect voice said from the stall doorway. Tahlia lifted a hand in greeting.

A wave of concern swept over Marius and he had to restrain himself from pulling her to him protectively. He swallowed and met her at the door.

“King Lysanael and Queen Revna have set us on a mission.”

“Oooh.” She rubbed her hands together. “Will Ragewing let me ride with you since Lija is still healing?”

Marius could tell Tahlia was ignoring the potentially lethal elements of Lija’s condition. Dragons that didn’t fly, didn’t stay alive for long. But for now, that issue had to wait.

“This is no standard set of instructions, Lady Tahlia. Only you and I are ordered to meet with the king. It is a secret mission and highly dangerous.”

She bit her lip and looked up at him. “Order me as you see fit, Commander Marius.”

“I’m serious.”

“Oh, I know.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Desire and frustration warred inside Marius. He wanted to take her into his arms… He gritted his teeth and forcibly cleared his mind of those wayward emotions.

“This mission involves the most powerful artifact in history. An evil human, some type of lesser king, has somehow gained the artifact in question.”

“If we are headed to the human kingdom, we can talk to the Witch about Lija ourselves!”

“Possibly, yes. Especially if our king and queen approve, which they should.”

“What else?” she asked, courage practically beaming from her eyes like rainbows.

As concerned as he was, he still couldn’t help but delight in how wonderful she was.

“We are to infiltrate the human kingdom during something deemed a tomato festival. There will be costumes and a parade,” he said, shuddering.

A laugh snapped from Tahlia’s smiling mouth. “I’ll risk anything to see you dressed up like a vegetable. Or is it technically a fruit? When do we leave?”

Marius pinched the bridge of his nose and hoped they weren’t about to die after all the work they’d put into staying alive.