Epilogue

EPILOGUE

"W e could have flown, you know?"

"I know," Malissa said. "But I wanted to make the trip on foot. It's more nostalgic this way."

"Nostalgic? Woman, it's only been a year."

"Humor me, demon."

Beliath was right though. It had been exactly one year since Malissa had traveled through this forest last, and the woods were much as she remembered them. Moonlight through the branches. Deep shadows. The warm, soft fragrance of moss and mushrooms and rich, dark soil.

No, the forest had not changed at all in the past year, but many other things had.

The first big change had come shortly after Malissa's unsuccessful execution. About a month later, the vast armies of Galadon had arrived at Drachenval, ready to lay siege to the castle. Luckily, violence had been avoided. Malissa had met with the Galadonian queen, a lovely young woman by the name of Jenevieve, and they had soon discovered that they had a great deal in common.

The rumors surrounding Jenevieve were true. Not only was she in league with a demon, she was in bed with him as well. A great, hulking beast by the name of Cabael, who just happened to be an old acquaintance of Beliath's. Jenevieve had already borne one child for her demonic mate, and she was pregnant with another.

A treaty was drawn up, and both women signed it with their own blood. The kingdoms of Galadon and Drachenval would be allies, at least for as long as Malissa and Jenevieve sat upon their respective thrones. Considering who their mates were, Malissa expected that would be a long, long time indeed.

The second change had come shortly after that.

Malissa had gone into labor on the eve of the winter solstice. It had been easier than she had expected. In fact, it had been a breeze. Of course, it helped that she was part demon. Her pain threshold was high, to say the least.

It also helped that Beliath was right there by her side through the entire ordeal. The demon feasted on her pain and used the energy to place a powerful spell of protection on their newborn son. They named him Urzoth, which meant "protected one" in the ancient language of the Sabaoth.

Tonight, Urzoth was back at the castle, being cared for by the only other individuals to whom Malissa would entrust his safety.

His grandparents.

That was the third big change that had taken place over the preceding months. After leaving Drachenval, the Galadonian army had continued eastward, eventually reaching the castle where Malissa had grown up. Malissa had given Jenevieve her blessing to besiege the castle, only asking that her father be taken alive if possible. Her motive was not mercy. She wanted to question her father about what had really happened to her mother.

Unfortunately, Lord Herzog had not given the Galadonians a chance to capture him. As soon as he had seen the army approaching, he knew his defeat was certain, and he had opened his wrists with a dagger. By the time Jenevieve's troops had reached his chamber, the man was lying dead and cold in a pool of his own blood.

But they had found something much more valuable than any verbal confession.

In the dungeons below, they had discovered a secret chamber walled off from the rest of the castle. When they had broken through the wall, they discovered an iron chest. Inside the chest, cradled on a cushion of black velvet, were a pair of glowing soulstones like the one Dr. Jaeger had used to contain Beliath for a time.

Queen Jenevieve sent the stones back to Drachenval.

Using a book which she had found in Dr. Jaeger's quarters, Malissa was able to release the souls trapped within the stones. One of them was a great horned demon. The other was a woman around Malissa's age with long, black hair.

They were her mother and father, and they were still alive.

After she'd had a chance to recover from her long imprisonment, Malissa's mother explained everything that had happened. After Lord Herzog had discovered her infidelity, he had employed a wizard to trap the demon. He had intended to burn Malissa's mother as a witch, but Malissa's mother had placed a spell on herself. Whoever killed her would be cursed. So Lord Herzog had trapped her within a soulstone instead, and tucked her away alongside her lover.

"I placed a similar spell on you," Malissa's mother explained. "Otherwise, Lord Herzog might have killed you in the crib. He could have imprisoned you inside a soulstone, the way he did with me and your father, but I guess he thought you could be useful to him. By marrying you off, he hoped to curry favor with the king."

Maybe, Malissa thought. Or maybe Herzog's plan had gone deeper than that. He knew of Wulfgang's penchant for killing his wives. Perhaps, by offering Wulfgang his cursed daughter, Herzog had hoped to bring about the old king's doom. Without an heir to the throne, Herzog himself would have been in a position to take control of the whole kingdom.

Malissa guessed she would never know for sure, and in the end, she didn't really care. All that mattered was that she had her parents back—her real parents. Malissa wasn't just a mother now. For the first time in her life, she was a daughter too.

Her life finally felt complete.

That was what she was thinking as she and Beliath emerged from the forest and stepped into the clearing.

The darkstone ring looked much the same as the last time she had seen it. The remains of the soldiers the demon had killed were gone, and the blood had all been washed away by a year's worth of rain.

"It's strange seeing it from the outside," Beliath said.

"Doesn't it make you feel just a little bit nostalgic coming back here?"

"You know what?" he said, smiling. "It does."

They stepped inside the ring together, and Malissa set her satchel on the altar. She took out the candles and started placing them around the ring, and Beliath went along behind her, lighting the wicks with the tip of his finger. The candles weren't really necessary, of course. There would be no summoning tonight, but Malissa had wanted something to set the mood.

Once the candles were all lit, Malissa slipped out of her black gown while Beliath rifled through the contents of the satchel. The paddle was in there, along with some other, more advanced items. After she was naked, Malissa just stood there for a moment, enjoying the sight of her mate's perfect body, and the serious expression on his handsome face. It was funny to think of a demon as a blessing, but that was exactly what he was.

Malissa walked over and stood next to him in front of the altar.

"You know," she said, leaning into him. "I was just thinking, you must really trust me."

"What do you mean, angel?"

"I mean, you let me bring you back here to the darkstone ring," she teased. "For all you know, I could be planning to hold you prisoner once again."

Belath turned and drew her against him and kissed her slow and deep.

"Angel," he whispered. "My heart has been your prisoner since the first moment I laid eyes on you."

The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk.

"Now bend that heavenly ass over the altar," he said. "It's time for your spanking."