Page 34 of Until the Heart Stops (The Oylen City #1)

Epilogue

T hree weeks.

Adrienne had been missing for three weeks.

Eamon had known before we did, probably from the moment he left the motherhouse of the Covenant.

He’d been gone by the time we’d arrived at his mansion before sundown, and Seth had told us he’d already left in search of her.

When I’d breathed a sigh of relief and mentioned their blood bond, Seth had shaken his head sadly.

Their bond had waned. There was more to the story, more Seth wasn’t saying, but I’d gotten the impression they had fought, especially from that night in the ballroom.

We’d decided to stay at Eamon’s for the last two weeks in the hope of news, but none ever came save for scraps of parchment with disheartening updates.

Until tonight.

The letter arrived just after sundown and I was still dressing when Henry burst through the doors. All of our family had moved over to Eamon’s and, though Gabrielle had not yet woken, she now showed signs of life at the very least—it had been enough to rouse Henry close to his usual joy.

“A letter, Lils!” he cried, shaking the parchment.

“Merciful fucking goddess, can you knock?” Callum grumbled, standing in front of me while I slipped a simple green day gown over my petticoat and corset.

Henry grinned, gesturing to the both of us. Callum was also in a state of half-dress, the laces of his tunic and placket of his trousers undone. “But then I would miss tantalizing moments like these.”

My mate rolled his eyes, snatched the letter and offered it to me. With trembling hands, I broke the seal, though I’d learned to temper the hope after the first few updates. Even still, magic sparked across my skin, pulsing outward until Callum brushed a hand over my hair and pulled me close.

“Shh, breathe, my darling.”

Since the very first night I’d been reaching for my magic.

It hadn’t taken me long to find it again, not with Callum and Seth’s patient instruction.

But I had yet to control it, especially now there was so much more available to me than before.

Unrestrained emotions could turn it volatile.

So I leaned into his touch as I tore open the letter.

“Oh, thank the goddess,” I breathed, vision hazing red and a few blood tears splattering onto the cream page.

The letter was brief, but it was enough to release the hand clamped around my heart.

She has been found.

—E.

When Callum also gave a sigh of relief, crushing me in his arms, the tears fell in earnest until I was clutching him. Henry, too, came forward, stroking my hair, and it wasn’t long before Seth and Mateo also made their way into our rooms.

“She will be just fine,” Callum soothed.

“If she wasn’t, he would not have written,” Mateo agreed, rubbing a hand between my shoulders.

Seth hummed his agreement and, before long, I quieted, drawing back in horror as I took in Callum’s bloodstained shirt. But he only grinned, touching a knuckle beneath my chin and wiping away my tears with his thumbs.

“I assume tonight will be the night, then?” Mateo asked as Callum turned toward our small wardrobe and shucked off his shirt.

“The night for what?” I asked, unable to keep the longing out of my voice as I eyed Callum’s bare torso.

Henry fanned me dramatically. “Down, girl.”

Mateo gave my shoulder a nudge as he winked. “More like down, boy, huh?”

My mate turned back around in a swirl of white-blond hair. “Yes, tonight is the night.”

His brothers chuckled good-naturedly, both slinging an arm around my shoulder.

It had been a comfort these last few weeks to have them.

Noah, too, had spent a few nights holed up with us before having to return to the hunt.

I’d all but abandoned Risqeu lan Serang, but according to Noah, Liam had taken up the mantle and my grandmère’s wards had taken a liking to him after his years of service.

“If they return and you are not here, one of us will retrieve you immediately,” Seth said, moving forward to assist Callum as he tugged on his jacket.

Seth had become something like a surrogate maker to Callum and the two males beside me, though Callum had admitted their bond had begun to form the very moment he exhumed Seth from his self-imposed grave.

Each night he gave all of us his blood to ensure we were strong and as we drank he spoke to us of the goddess, of her lover Deimos, and the compassion we must keep in our hearts.

My transition into this new life had been more seamless than I could have dreamed, but I credited it to Callum and his constant affection and companionship.

Even now, as he tugged a traveling cloak over my shoulders, there was a rumbling of joy in our bond.

His contentment tangled with mine like a harmony.

We exchanged our goodbyes before hopping from the window and out into the sky.

Callum held me close. It would be months or years until I had the gift of flight.

He’d told me one night as we waited for the sun to die about how he’d been taught.

Never once was Mael’s name spoken aloud, but the more I learned about their upbringing in this new life the more I wished we could have made him suffer more for his crimes.

Our landing beside the Rachay River was soundless and Callum tugged me through the bustling crowds of the market. Without a new leader and a proclamation of change we could not yet put things to rights, but it was coming. Callum tucked me under his arm, content to walk at a mortal speed.

“Where are we going?”

A lock of his hair fell across his face and I pushed it back, tracing the curve of his smile. He stared straight ahead, toward one of the beautiful streets that ended at the river.

“Home,” he answered simply.

I frowned, reaching through our connection but coming up empty of any answers.

He was only focused on the street, the flower boxes spilling with springtime blooms, the gleaming cobblestones.

I’d asked a few times where we would go after Adrienne had been found, or if we would remain at Eamon’s permanently.

He’d offered a house in the city if I wished it, and I’d admitted I liked the idea of having our own space as we learned more about one another.

Now I knew his favorite color was green and that he played the piano—a skill taught to him by Eamon back in the early days of his transformation—though he hadn’t touched the instrument in centuries.

I knew around those he did not know he was quiet and contemplative, but around our family he had a playfulness I’d only seen in our letters.

He was patient but quick to anger if he perceived a threat toward those he loved.

I counted myself lucky to be one of those individuals.

“You have a house here?” I asked.

We turned the corner and I froze, finally realizing where we were.

There was the familiar door with its ornate carving of the moon and stars, the tall windows on the second floor with a perfect view of the river.

The bridge of my nose burned and the world turned a hazy pink as I gazed upon my family home that I’d been unceremoniously evicted from the day of my mother’s pyre.

My hair was brushed back from my shoulder before lips pressed against the juncture of my neck and shoulder.

“We have a house here,” Callum answered, sliding a hand up to hold the nape of my neck.

He gave enough pressure to encourage me forward but I couldn’t move, only stare. I’d avoided this area since that day. It was too painful to imagine others living here where my family had resided for centuries.

Metal clinked and an iron key was pressed into my palm. “Take your time, love.”

“How? ”

A furrow appeared between his brows. “Breathe, there’s no rush.”

I shook my head and gestured to the townhome, turning to face him fully. “No, how did you do this? When?”

His thumb rested across my throat and he stroked down absently until he found the line of my collarbone. Those silver eyes watched the path of his hand rather than me.

“Anything can be bought for the right price. I found I had not only enough oyista to purchase this place but also enough of a reputation to ensure the inhabitants found a swift departure.” At my frown, he hastened to add: “Of course, those living here found suitable accommodations elsewhere, I swear it.”

I couldn’t help but let out a breathless laugh, which he echoed, finally looking me in the eye.

“And as to when, it was All Souls.”

“Is that why I didn’t see you for?—”

“No, darling,” he interrupted, stepping closer and tilting my face up to meet his. “All Souls last year.”

I blinked. “But that was…” I couldn’t finish, not with the grief lodged in my throat mixing with awe.

“A week after your mother passed, yes,” he finished for me.

Shaking my head, I fisted the lapels of his jacket, tugging him closer. “Why, Callum? I was a stranger.”

He mirrored the movement, bracketing my chin with his hand.

“No, darling. You were and are my mate. From the moment I realized who you were I knew I would stop at nothing to provide for you, to ensure that there was a world in which an us would be possible. And, in that world, I knew that without this tie to your family something would be missing. ”

He leaned down to press a kiss between my brows, across one cheekbone, then the other before kissing away my blood tears as they fell. I wanted to blame my heightened emotions on the transformation but from the grief tearing its way out of my throat I knew it would only be an excuse.

“I love you,” I breathed.

Callum’s eyes sparkled. Through the bond he all but sighed with relief. “And I love you, my darling.”

As we finally made our way into the house, which had been restored to its original splendor down to the furniture my mother had stashed in our attic, I remembered what it was he’d said all those nights ago in the market on the river.

Back when I’d had no idea he was my mysterious patron but I longed for it with every fiber of my being.

They are the blood in your veins, the magic in your soul, and your grief is a reminder of the love you carry for them, of which you can never let go. And you will carry that love with you until your heart stops beating…perhaps even longer.