Page 30

Chapter thirty

Jade

T he dining room feels like the heart of a world I never imagined I’d live in.

It’s long past sunset, but the high arched windows are glowing softly with reflected candlelight.

Warmth spills from the great hearth behind me, crackling with logs that smell faintly of pine.

The table stretches from one end of the dining room to the other, wide enough to seat an army, but it’s full of family.

Messy, loud, loving family, and somehow, impossibly, I’m one of them.

There is enough space for three times as many people, but we are all squished in together at one end.

We’re all crammed in elbow-to-elbow, passing plates, swapping jokes, refilling glasses.

The food is warm and homey. Roast chicken with rosemary and lemon, great bowls of buttery mashed potatoes, sharp apple-and-fennel salad tossed with honey and cider vinegar.

I can barely keep up with the offers being slung across the table.

“Have you tried the bread pudding?” “There’s still gravy!

” “Sorcha, darling, don’t put peas in the candle again. ”

Sorcha, perched proudly on a cushion that’s on a chair between Lottie and Oscar, is wearing a paper crown and bossing the entire table like she’s the Empress of Everything. Ned’s boys are dutifully obeying her every decree, while Lottie appears to be planning a quiet coup.

I smile .

To my left, Flyn’s mother is giggling with Brodie over something Red said.

Flyn’s dad is deep in conversation with Monty about whether the gardens could support a proper orchard.

Across from me, Lello is resting his chin on Carter’s shoulder and rhythmically poking a bread roll with his fork.

Every few minutes, Carter sighs and offers his mate a different dish in a clear effort to distract him.

At the far end of the table, Morgan is talking excitedly about something, while Ned offers solemn commentary.

Conversation continues, lively and joyful, and I let myself sink into the rhythm of it. There’s no tension here, no secrets, no fear. It’s as far from the harem as it’s possible to be. That place was silence and control. This is noise and mess and love in every direction.

And Flyn… Flyn is watching it all like he’s been gifted a dream.

He’s not talking. Not right now. Just leaning back slightly, glass in hand, gaze sweeping the room like he still can’t believe this is real. I know the feeling.

He catches me watching and smiles.

My heart trips over itself.

Cara leans closer, nudging me gently with her elbow. “It’s something, isn’t it?”

I glance at her. “It’s… everything.”

Her face softens. “It’s far more than I hoped for. After… well, after the invasion. After I found out magic was real and my brother’s soulmate used to accidentally open portals in his sleep.”

I wince. “Used to.”

“Used to,” she agrees, like she’s proud of me.

I glance at Sorcha again, now deep in conversation with Lottie about whether or not unicorns wear hats.

“It didn’t scare you? Finding out?” I ask.

Cara’s face tilts, considering. “It shocked me. But scare me? No. What scared me was not knowing where Flyn was. Not knowing if he was okay. Or if you were okay.”

“Me? ”

“I knew before I met you that you were good for Flyn. That he needed you.” She reaches for her wine. “You love my brother. That’s enough for me to consider you family.”

I blink hard and look down at my hands. “I don’t know what to do with someone like you.”

“Like me?”

“Someone who… likes me. Without even asking me to prove I deserve it.” I swallow. “Without knowing everything.”

I don’t think Flyn has told her about the harem. He’d feel it wasn’t his place.

Cara sets her glass down and covers my hand with hers. “Jade, I’m a woman who has raised a chaos goblin for five years. Trust me. Nothing fazes me.”

Across the table, Sorcha lets out a delighted screech. “The peas are my pets!”

“Chaos goblin?” I echo faintly.

“It runs in the family.” Cara smirks. “Speaking of which, my parents like you.”

I blink. “What?”

She leans in, smiling warmly. “My parents. They think you’re sweet and clever and very polite. My mom said you have kind eyes.”

I don’t know what to say to that. ‘Kind eyes’ is not a phrase that’s ever been used about me.

“I don’t think they expected a shy, fidgety, magic-boy with perfect manners,” she adds. “They thought Flyn’s soulmate would be a whirlwind like him. But honestly? You’re exactly what he needs.”

I swallow hard. “Thank you.”

She keeps saying soulmate. I think she’s just being flippant, using it as a turn of phrase. But I like it. A lot. It makes me feel all warm and tingly inside.

“And also,” she continues breezily, “if you break his heart, I will curse your toothbrush. I’ll get Gray to teach me how.”

I snort, and just like that, the pressure in my chest lifts .

We laugh, and I feel it all over, this enormous, impossible joy humming in the bones of the room.

It’s in the laughter. In the candlelight.

In the low background music Blue put together from old records he found in the attic.

In the way Monty slides an extra slice of pie onto Pink’s plate even though Pink swears he’s full, and the way Ned keeps tugging Morgan closer, like he can’t quite believe he is still here.

It’s in the way Flyn stands. He clears his throat.

“I just want to say something before dessert.”

Half the table groans. “Flyn!”

He holds up both hands, mock-solemn. “Two minutes. I swear. And then I’ll personally bring you your pie.”

That earns him a grudging cheer. He waits for the noise to settle, then glances around the room, eyes full.

“There was a time when I didn’t dare dream of a day like this,” he says. “With all of us together. Safe. Happy. Alive.”

There’s a quiet murmur of agreement.

“Most of you have been through things most people can’t imagine. Things you are still healing from. And yet, look at us. ”

He gestures wide. “We’re here, together. We’re thriving. We have children throwing peas at the ceiling…” he pauses while Sorcha waves regally. “And friendships that have turned into families. It’s been a long road, for everyone. But tonight? It feels like we made it.”

My heart is thumping. How can anyone be so wonderful? Not only has he accepted me and all my very many flaws, he has fully embraced my found family as his own.

“We have made it and our future is bright.”

More murmurs. A few clinks of glasses. Gray gives him a quiet nod.

I quickly refill my glass of spiced cider. It looks like this speech might be heading towards toasts. I sneak in a hasty sip.

Flyn’s gaze finds mine.

“And there’s one more thing I want to say. ”

He steps away from the table. My stomach flips.

He pulls something small from his pocket.

My heart stops.

“I want to spend every day making you laugh, and making far too much food for breakfast.” His voice is shaking slightly. “I want all of it. The quiet days. The chaos. The cats we’ll probably end up adopting. The slow mornings. The late nights. I want you. Always.”

And then… he drops to one knee.

There’s a collective gasp from the table.

Lello jolts upright. “Wedding!” he shrieks, knocking over his water glass and nearly tumbling into Carter’s lap.

The room bursts into laughter.

Carter catches him and groans good naturedly. “Can you let the poor man finish?”

Lello presses a napkin dramatically to his chest. “I knew it! I knew it all along!”

Sorcha climbs onto her chair. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

Flyn grins through it all, eyes still on mine.

He opens the little box. Inside is a ring. slim silver, smooth as moonlight, with a single charm stone that glows softly in the candlelight. I know that enchantment. It pulses in time with the giver’s heartbeat. Flyn is literally giving me his heart.

“Jade,” Flyn says, voice steady, “will you marry me?”

I can’t speak. I can barely think. I blink. I feel like I’ve fallen out of time. For a moment, I don’t know how to breathe.

Then everything rushes back in. The room. The people. The candlelight. The taste of apple and spice that’s still on my tongue. The man on one knee, holding out a piece of forever.

“Yes,” I whisper.

And then louder, because he deserves it. “Yes!”

His eyes sparkle.

“Yes,” I repeat, even louder this time. “Yes, I will. Of course I will. ”

He laughs and stands, and I throw my arms around his neck just as he kisses me.

The room explodes.

Cheering. Whooping. Stomping on the floor. Silverware clatters and someone, probably Lello, lets out a loud, theatrical sob.

Flyn pulls back just enough to whisper, “You’re sure? I’ve not ambushed you and put you on the spot?”

Sammy is crying quietly into Blue’s shoulder. Red’s face has gone suspiciously pink.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” I assure him.

He kisses me again. The kind of kiss that confirms everything. A kiss that carves words into my soul. A kiss that says you’re mine and I’m yours. And this is forever.

Around us, people begin clinking glasses. I was right about the toasts, after all.

Pink lifts his glass and calls, “To Jade and Flyn. May your life be long and your arguments petty.”

“May your love be louder than your fears,” Blue adds.

“And may your kids be weird,” Ned grins.

Everyone laughs again, and I let myself be folded into it, into this enormous, loud, ridiculous, perfect family.

I never thought I’d be anyone’s anything. I never thought I’d be safe. I never thought I’d be loved .

And now?

I’m going to be Flyn’s husband.

And I’ve never been happier.

And I, Jade, former experiment, former harem prisoner, former tool of the fey, sit down beside the man I love and take his hand in mine.

We are surrounded by joy. By family. By the people who saw me at my worst and never turned away.

There are still battles ahead. The world isn’t perfect. But for tonight, we are whole. And tomorrow?

Tomorrow, we begin forever.