Epilogue Endymion

T he fog was heavy enough that the countless layers of discarded leaves underfoot had softened from its weight, granting me the stealth I required. The cool mist settling on the coarse hairs of my arms wasn’t unusual this close to the human border—but without access to my magic, every sense strained to detect any threats, even phantom ones.

I rolled my shoulders, cranked my neck left, then right, eliciting a familiar pop as I shook off the edge. I’d stayed in the human realm too long to find her and understood the steep toll the Mother would exact. But knowing a cost isn’t the same as living it.

“What a fucken mess,” I sighed, pushing away a branch as I passed through a heavy patch of frost-covered thicket.

I’d lost count of how many times I prayed to the Gods for Nyleeria’s safety while scouring every inch of that forsaken land. It’d taken longer than expected to detect any trace of her, and my fae senses combined with centuries of tracking were the only reasons I’d been able to find her lush scent at all. But then it vanished—which was either frustratingly impressive, or a massive complication.

I wouldn’t put it past Nyleeria to be a phenomenal counter-tracker, but I couldn’t dismiss the distinct possibility that someone had valenned her away. My teeth clenched at the thought and a strange emptiness washed over me when my power failed to mirror my emotions, grating on me like an undisciplined parry. I’d knowingly sacrificed it for her, and I’d do it again—but that didn’t mean it didn’t piss me off.

A noise. My hand was already on the hilt of my sword when my head snapped right. A whinny pierced the fog, and I stilled—fully coiled. A heartbeat later, hooves spurred by fear thundered in retreat.

“What in the…” I breathed, re-scanning the surrounding mist.

Shit . I bolted forward, realizing what I’d overlooked. A na’li. This close to the border. And I’d missed it.

I moved fast, but every unsure step and almost-tumble boiled my blood. It was nearly impossible to see through the fog, but I was born in the Autumn Court—blindfolded, I’d still find footing in mist. But godsdamnit if being fully tapped wasn’t like missing a fucken limb.

Forcing myself to bite down my frustration, I strained to listen through the sound of the brush scraping against my leathers as I pushed through the tangled mess.

“Yessssssah.” The word slithered down my spine, cold and wet. The thickening fog trembled around me, signaling that the na’li had found its victim—I was running out of time. If it fully materialized, I’d have to face it without my magic, which wasn’t preferable.

Another shudder rippled through the mist, stronger this time—I was close. Halting, I waited, needing to know exactly where the vile thing was before I approached.

Out of the corner of my eye, a green light flickered. Slowly, I drew my sword and stepped toward it. As I strained to see past the na’li’s fog barrier, a blinding halo appeared, forcing me to shield my eyes as it lit the mist in an endless cacophony of colors, as if a rainbow had erupted.

I stared, transfixed by the magic swirling before me. It felt...familiar—like a hymn my soul seemed to recognize.

As my vision cleared, I lowered my arm and locked my focus on the massive beast now silhouetted by the colorful prism being siphoned from its victim. Stars, I’d never seen a na’li caporalize that fast.

Its pleasured wail scraped through me, clawing for magic it wouldn’t find, and spurring me into motion.

Three long strides. One exacting swing. Silence.

As the color drained from the mist, the acrid stench of the na’li’s blood filled my nostrils. A heartbeat later, its head hit the leaves with a muffled thud, followed by its victim.

The fog lifted, revealing a small figure on their hands and knees, half-coughing, half-choking. I reached for my canteen to offer water—then froze. I blinked, scanning the clearing, partially expecting the mist to conjure another threat.

But she was alone.

“Nyleeria? What are you doing here?” I heard myself ask.

The mahogany tendrils of hair that had escaped her braid slowly tilted away from her face as her eyes traced their way up my sword, before they locked on mine. She looked…gods she looked so fragile and small—until one searched deeper.

“What are you doing here, Nyleeria?” I repeated, quickly wiping my blade clean before resheathing it. I needed to know how in Lumnara she was in the Autumn Court, and who brought her here? Had she escaped from Wymond? No—she’d be in worse shape if he’d had her. Ignoring my question, she took another deep gulp from the canteen before her gaze settled on me, stripping me down to nothing with just a glance, like she had on the dancefloor.

“Stars,” I said, dismissing the effect that one look had on me. “I’ve been searching for you everywhere. How did you make it here?”

Focus sharpening, she said, “You’ve been looking for me?” Her voice cracked, and that tiny hint of vulnerability rippled through me.

Swallowing, I said, “Everyone’s looking for you. How did you get here?”

“I rode here,” she answered, confusion knitting her brows.

“Right, but how did you get here ?” I pressed, unable to keep the edge out of my voice.

“I camped here last night, then woke up to that thing, and ran.” Her tone was so matter-of-fact that I wasn’t sure if she was being purposefully obtuse, if she was in shock, or…

“No, Nyleeria,” I said with forced calm, still needing to know what shitstorm I’d just stepped into. “How did you get here ?”

“Endymion, I’m not sure how else to answer you. Like I said, I rode here.”

Knowing I couldn’t rely on scent alone to tell if she was lying, I took a moment to scrutinize her more carefully. Pulse steady. Pupils normal. Unchanged breaths. Not flush. No stammering. She was telling the truth. Gods…she was telling the truth.

Understanding, I knelt to meet her at eye-level. “You really have no clue where you are, do you?”

She shook her head, then, with uncertainty, said, “Heading south along the Feighlan River”

“No. No, you’re not.” I loosed a deep, long sigh. “By the gods, Nyleeria,” I started, unable to keep the general frustration out of my voice. “Do you know how lucky you are that I found you? Do you even know what that thing was? What it could have done to you?”

What little color she’d had drained as her eyes flickered to the remnants of the creature, then back to me. She gave the faintest shake of her head in response, barely a movement at all.

I wrestled against my instinct to correct through force—the only language understood in the Autumn Court. But damnation, how could she have possibly known? She was an outlander in every sense of the word. She didn’t know my world. Its cruelties. And Mother help me, I wasn’t even mad at her. I was angry for her.

The only mercy I could offer her was quick, swift honesty. “It’s called a na’li,” I began, “and it sucks magic dry until it can consume soul energy, turning its victim to dust.”

Her eyes went wide with fear, though something deeper stirred, almost imperceptible. Wheels turned behind those depthless eyes, and then, as if discarding the thought—or forcing it back—she said, “I tried to kill it, but my knives went right through.”

Of course she’d fought. I’d known that even before my gaze settled on the near-empty bandolier that hugged her curves. “You have to go for the head,” I said, meeting her unspoken question. “It’s the only fully corporeal segment of the body until it has sucked a soul.”

She nodded in understanding, and I knew she’d never make that mistake again.

Needing to get back to the heart of the matter, I said, “But I really need to know how you got here.”

“Endymion, I honestly don’t know what you’re asking me.”

“Nyleeria, you’re in the Autumn Court,” I said, stating the obvious in hopes she’d finally answer the bloody question.

Her nose wrinkled, and she recoiled slightly, as if catching a whiff of something putrid. Her expression hardened, scrutinizing her surroundings before she dared a tentative glance away. I watched her closely as her chin tilted upward, the warm hues casting a soft glow over her delicate features.

Swallowing, her gaze tracked back to me. “This is the Autumn Court?”

“Yes. Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you here right now?”

She shook her head, and the vulnerability in her eyes told me she had no clue where she was, let alone the danger she’d wandered into. Realizing this, an unsettling softness stirred in me.

“You really didn’t know you’d crossed over, did you?” I said, leaning in closer.

“No.”

No wonder no one can find you, I thought. They’re all searching the human realm.

“Were you looking for me here?” she asked.

“No. I was heading back to report to Wymond.”

Her heart stuttered, and I knew instantly what meaning she’d taken from my words. Raising my hands in reassurance, I said, “I’m not going to take you to Wymond, Nyleeria. I was looking for you in the human lands, but to bring you to the Summer Court, to Caius. It’s safe for you there.”

She sat there, unblinking, shoulders weighed down with unspoken burdens. I offered a comforting smile, stood and held out a hand to her. “Why don’t we get you cleaned up before we set off?”

Tentatively, she accepted my help up, and the instant she caught her balance, she pulled her hand away.

“Shit, we’re a lot farther from the Summer Court than I would have liked,” I muttered and turned toward the sound of a horse that’d clearly found apples.

“Endymion.“

My name on her lips in that soft, almost questioning tone slipped past my defenses like an arrow finding a gap in my armor. Swallowing, I faced her, only to find her chin tilted up in what I’d forever recognize as her decision-made look. She took a breath, lifting her small stature just enough to make her next words hold weight.

“I can’t go with you.”

Gods almighty, she couldn’t be serious. “Nyleeria,” I said with calm as I choked back the direct order I’d preferred to give. “If Wymond gets his hands on you, he’ll lock you up, use you for your powers the rest of your life—or worse, kill you trying to take them for himself.”

Stepping forward, I held her gaze, needing her to understand. That fierce resolve—I respected it, gods knew I did. But this was suicide. And fuck if the innocence staring back didn’t make me wish the fates had chosen anyone else to carry the spark’s burden.

Then…I wondered. “You don’t know, do you?”

The question seemed to press down on her, stealing that fractional surety she’d held a heartbeat before.

Bracing myself, I said, “Wymond knows you’re the spark incarnate. He figured it out during the summer solstice. When you returned to the human realm, he paid Thaddeus a visit and threatened your life.”

“Is that all?” she said flatly, crossing her arms.

Her indifference caught me off guard, a jarring reminder that there was a depth to her I hadn’t even begun to understand—one I feared was rooted in pain.

“No,” I said slowly. “They made a bargain. Wymond would allow you to live with Thaddeus if the king gave the high lord access to your powers as he sees fit. As leverage for your complicity, Wymond took possession of the twins.”

She considered before asking, “What does stasis mean?”

“It’s a form of perpetual sleep,” I said, then added, “the twins have no idea what’s happening and have not been physically harmed.”

“How do you know?” she asked, and her crossed arms tightened slightly, as if unconsciously bracing herself.

Flashing back to the memory, I hesitated before answering. “Because,” I started slowly, “I’ve seen them, Nyleeria. And as the stars are my witness, I promise nothing has happened to them.”

“Oh gods. Oh gods ,” she gasped, then bent over, her breathing now pained—ragged.

Her heart thundered in her chest, and I could hear her lungs struggle to fill. Knowing there were no words I could offer; I closed the gap between us and placed a hand on her back.

The moment my fingers caressed the soft fabric of her coat, she jerked away. “Don’t touch me,” she spat, whirling to face me, her eyes blazing. I froze. She had no problem with my touch in the Summer Court. But the look now pinning me was like a jab to the chest I’d mistakenly thought guarded.

Not knowing what else to do, I raised my hands as if in surrender and slowly took a step back.

Fear and panic replaced her anger, and I was forced to stand witness as she fell apart a stride away.

Eventually she calmed, and standing as tall as I knew she could muster, she looked at me with watery eyes that felt like a silent plea.

“What do you want to do, Nyleeria?” I said, voice gruff. “The choice is yours.”

Making herself a little taller, she said, “You swear you won’t take me to Wymond?”

“On my life, and my honor,” I swore without hesitation.

“Okay,” she said, then slowly nodded. “Let’s go to the Summer Court.”

A weight I hadn’t realized I was holding lifted, easing the tightness in my chest.

To no surprise, we found a stunning stallion ears-deep, in what looked like his riding pack, munching away. Nyleeria stepped past me to him and wrapped her delicate hands as far around his neck as they reached.

“Thank you for coming back,” she whispered, the words clearly intended only for him.

I turned, offering them privacy, and broke camp. As I did, I watched from the corner of my eye, struck by the gentleness in her touch, and I was grateful that whatever had happened, it hadn’t solen that tender part of her.

A little while later, Nyleeria’s soft footsteps made their way back from the stream, and I took a moment to thank Luca for getting her to me safely—a sentiment he didn’t seem inclined to accept.

“What are we going to do with him?” she asked, then ran her fingers up the horse’s side before laying her full attention on me.

Confused, I said, “What do you mean?”

“Well, we can’t valen him…can we?”

Despite myself, I chuckled. “While a horse is no problem, especially a beauty like him, I can’t valen,” I said, and those last three words stole my humor.

“Yes, you can. You valenned us to the beach,” she challenged.

She was right, of course, but it was so easy to forget that she didn’t know much about my kind and wouldn’t have understood the implications of spending too much time in the human realm. “No, sorry, you misunderstand. Normally I can valen, but I’ve spent too much time in the human realm as of late, so I don’t currently have access to my powers.”

“But I thought only elemental magic was affected.”

“That’s only true because we limit the amount of time spent in your lands. I pushed it too far, and it’ll be a day or two until I can access it again.”

“That long?” she blurted, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes, that long,” I said, amused.

“And you’re okay with that?”

Her words made me acutely aware of the gaping void within me that normally pulsed with what I would consider the other half of my soul. “No, I’m not,” I said, tone flat. “But there’s nothing for it now, and it was a conscious decision.”

Brow lifting, she said, “Conscious decision?”

“I risked it, hoping I’d find you before the others, to make sure you were safe.”

“Oh,” she said, as if unable to understand why I’d do such a thing. “So, how are we going to get to the Summer Court then?”

Mouth quirked, I said, “The good old-fashioned way.” Then patted the stallion, trying to ignore the lingering unease at traveling through the Autumn Court, powerless.

She blanched, and I wasn’t sure what I’d just said to elicit the fear I sensed from her. “What’s wrong?” I asked, concern tugging at my brows.

Silence.

“Nyleeria?”

A few heartbeats passed before she finally said, “It’s fine.”

I deepened my scrutiny of her, deciding whether to trust the surface of her words or discern what lay beneath. I let it drop—for now .

Forcing levity into my voice, I said, “Shall we, then?”

Bending, I interlaced my fingers, offering her a hand up. Once she was seated, I threw her pack on, and swung up behind her, settling in. Her rich scent enveloped me, and I let myself linger for a moment, then focused on the reins. My chest pressed against her back as I reached past to collect the reins. She shivered—a stilted, involuntary tremor.

Halting, I searched for any understanding of what it meant and noticed the soft grinding of her teeth from a clenched jaw.

“Nyleeria?” I whispered, my mouth a hairsbreadth from her ear.

She went rigid under me and a heartbeat later a deep, visceral sob tore from her lips.

Rage ignited within me, hot and immediate—a sharp, scalding promise for whomever had hurt her. Dropping the reins, I dismounted carefully before gathering them up again, heading south with a single-minded purpose.

I seethed for hours as we walked in silence. It wasn’t a stretch to know Thaddeus had somehow broken the indomitable woman I’d met in the Summer Court. The one whose hands now rattled against the pommel. Whose sobs rang loudest when she silently swallowed them. Whose tears smelled of the Clarian Sea.

Finally making it to where I wanted us to camp for the night, I turned to face Nyleeria. Unable to witness the marked sorrow I knew adorned her features, I averted my gaze as I said, “Let’s rest here.”

As she placed her slender foot in my hands, I felt the weight of her uncertainty. She wobbled, as if searching for her sea legs, and I clenched my fists, battling the urge to steady her.

Later, the light from the crackling fire accentuated the exhaustion that clung to her features as I handed her a plate. She blindly accepted it, never averting her gaze from the dancing flames.

She still hadn’t said a word since that first sob, and I couldn’t help but stare at her from across the fire, praying that taking her to the Summer Court was the best option—even though I knew it was the only option.

As her eyes began to droop, I finally broke the silence, saying, “I’ve laid out a bed for you.”

Her head shifted toward where I’d indicated, then down to her plate. She forced down a few more bites, then labored over to the bedroll before collapsing into it.

Checking in on her before I went to the river to wash off the day’s stain, I couldn’t help but smile as she clung to an ornate dagger in her sleep. Even then, her guard never dropped; fingers curled around the hilt as though it could shield her from a world that had already taken too much. I wondered if she knew that she guarded herself—awake or not.

I opened my eyes to a training facility—unmistakably of the human realm. I barely registered it before Nyleeria’s trembling hands pressed against the King’s back.

The instant her palms met flesh, her body convulsed, head snapping back, mouth open in a scream that would never take purchase. It was the kind of agony I’d only seen in those tortured by lightning magic, a silent, writhing horror.

I lunged for her—but didn’t move. My limbs strained, useless, as though fighting against the weight of an ocean, and dread curdled in my gut. I was trapped as surely as she was, forced to witness her hell.

“Yield!” The King’s command cut through the air, and a searing pain flashed through me. Without knowing how, I knew it was hers.

I watched in horror as blood leaked from the corner of her mouth, a dark line tracing down her long, elegant neck. The sight cracked something deep in my chest, and a savage, black rage surged forward, mingling with an impotence that threatened to tear me apart. I dug deep, clawing for any power—even if I had to cleave it from my own soul.

Nyleeria! I screamed in silence, her name pounding against the confines of my mind . Nyleeria!

One heartbeat I was bearing witness; the next my feet were moving. Air rushed out of her lungs as I tackled her hard from the side. I twisted mid-fall, pulling her into my chest as we crashed to the ground.

A dome of dull white shimmered into place around us, my gaze drawn to the strange sight. Shimmering darkness weaved into the pale light, thickening until the barrier strained to contain it. The excess drifted down like snowflakes giving in to gravity, but on their own terms. How in the ? —

Nyleeria kneed me in the ribs, scuttling off my chest as she pushed against the barrier, her body curled tight as if trying to disappear into herself. Her fear of me, even in this hellscape, eviscerated me.

No matter how complicated sensing her emotions proved, there was no mistaking the thick terror that now filled the dome, making the air difficult to breathe.

“Nyleeria,” I whispered.

Her hands flew to her ears, covering them.

Fuck… Fuck . I should have known better. Should have waited until her terror ebbed. But I wanted more than anything to make this stop—make it all stop. Watching her like this, broken and vulnerable, felt like a punishment crafted by the fates themselves. Utterly useless, I settled against the dome.

Each second tore at me, and I watched as the relentless crackle of power stole something essential from her. I’d been tortured to the brink of death many times—as was customary for one holding my rank—but I would have endured the worst of it a thousand times over if it could save her from this.

Slowly—so slowly, like a frond daring to unfurl under a harsh sun—Nyleeria began to stir, and the moment she broke contact with the dome, a blinding white filled my vision.

“Where are we?” she asked, her voice so tenderly innocent it cracked something in me.

I rose, taking in the bright nothingness that surrounded us, then looked down at her, feeling the chill from the vacant look in her eyes.

“We’re inside your dreams,” I soothed.

“Why are you here?”

Her voice, unfamiliar in its distant tone, sent an unwanted shudder down my spine. I forced it back and replied, “You summoned me here somehow.”

She shook her head and blinked, her eyes now clear of any haze that’d kept me from reaching her—and by the stars if that simple shift didn’t have my heart climbing out of my stomach, settling back where it belonged.

We walked in quietude for hours—though my thoughts were anything but.

As I replayed our conversation ad nauseum, unbidden flashes of her gaping mouth haunted me, and I knew they’d follow me into my dreams. I found myself watching her as much as I dared, searching for any sign—no matter how faint—that she would be okay.

I don’t pray for those things anymore. I only pray for the pain to go away. And curse the fates if those words wouldn’t haunt me too.

“Endymion?” she asked, her voice a soft question.

“Yes, Nyleeria?” I said, relieved to be pulled from my musings—and even more relieved she was pulled from hers.

“You’re the second-in-command in the Autumn Court, right?”

“I am,” I replied, curious where this was leading.

“So, why are you helping me? Shouldn’t you have taken me straight to Wymond?”

“I should have—at least, those were my orders.”

“Why go against your high lord? Won’t he kill you for this?”

I laughed inwardly. Even if I was worried about the repercussions, there was no world in which I’d allow history to repeat itself.

I explained as much to her.

“How did Wymond know I had the spark? And does everyone know?”

It was a fair question; one I was surprised she hadn’t asked sooner. “Wymond?—”

“Can you hear that?” she cut in.

“Hear what?”

Without responding, she turned sharply and disappeared into the dense woods.

“Nyleeria, where are you going? Nyleeria?”

Cursing under my breath, I tied Luca up and followed her scent, tracking her down to a small canyon where she approached an ancient willow. I scrambled down the rocky incline, only to see her raise her hand to the tree—and vanish.

One heartbeat, she was gone. The next, she stood right in front of me.

My breath hitched, and I could have sworn time stilled. Her bright eyes stared up at me, every detail familiar—down to the one fleck of lighter green in her right eye. She was the same, yet…different—as if her essence had stepped forward, claiming its rightful place.

I forced myself to drink in her details, instead of greedily gulping. And as I did, I understood.

“What is it?” she asked.

I held my silence, letting her linger in old truths for one last moment before I shattered them.

Then I braced myself, knowing the next words I spoke would change everything.

END