Epilogue

7years later

I awoke to the sounds of crashing waves and soft snoring, one hand wrapped around my waist and the other around my throat. I always smiled when I woke like this. Warm. Safe. Loved. I had to force myself out of the cocoon we had created as I needed to stretch my limbs, sore from the night before, and the night before that.

I walked to the portrait Callum had painted, hanging just above a small table and chair I liked to use for reminiscing. I pulled a piece of parchment from the table before walking out onto the terrace, where the sun barely peaked over the horizon. This time of the day was my favorite as I loved to greet the sun. There was a serene stillness of the morning that called to me. I sat down at the small table with my quill, ink, and parchment.

Dearest Emilia,

We arrived in Italy just last night and I never want to leave. I know I said that about Western Ireland, Northern Scotland, Germany, and, truthfully, every single place we have visited for the past seven years. But this may be my favorite place. The Amalfi Coast of Eastern Italy has the bluest waters I have ever seen in my life. You can see the seafloor miles away from land. How is little Joséphine? Her birthday is coming up soon and we want to visit and bring her all the gifts we have collected over the past six months. Be sure to tell her that her elder brothers think about her daily and love her very much. Tell Père that the moment he steps out of line I will

Someone wrapped their arms around me, kissed the back of my head, and chuckled. “Will you ever not resort to violence?”

I raised my brows and turned to find Soren smiling down at me. I feigned shock, placing my hand over my heart, and said, “I would never.”

He cocked his head to the side and gave me a look. I rolled my eyes and huffed, lifting my shoulders as I turned back around. “I just want to make sure that Père is treating our Emilia well.”

He set a cup of tea next to the ink bottle and sat down on the daybed to my left. He leaned back on the pillows with a blanket wrapped around the lower part of his body as there was still a slight chill in the air despite it being summer.

He closed his eyes and responded, “You wouldn’t be the woman I fell in love with if you weren’t fiercely loyal.”

I smiled at that and lifted the quill once more.

Soren caught me. He informed me that I shouldn’t resort quickly to violence, but how else can I be sure that Père is treating you well? I digress… I miss you dearly and am excited to meet your youngest, Philippe. Expect our arrival in a fortnight.

With love, Calathea

I set the quill down, picked up the parchment, and folded it into thirds. I pulled my shadows forth and thought of Emilia and her home in the South of France on a little patch of land of rolling hills in a quaint meadow. I flicked the paper through the small hole that had formed in front of me and knew it would float to sit neatly on their kitchen table.

My power wasn’t as strong as it was before Circe’s dark promise, but it was still with me. Soren’s theory was that it didn’t disappear because this was the power I was born with. I was thankful when the effects of the blade subsided; it felt like I had lost another part of myself and I cried in relief when some powers returned.

I walked over to the daybed, staring down at Soren. He opened one eye and laughed as he lifted the blanket so that I could crawl in and join him. I situated myself between his legs, resting my back against his front. I closed my eyes as he skimmed his fingers softly over my arms and began humming the same song we danced to on that dreaded birthday.

I wanted him to sing it to me every morning. Even though it reminded me of what happened, I wasn’t as sad as I was before. I wouldn’t allow Circe to ruin yet another memory that I wanted to hold dear to me.

My shadows sang and licked his skin; his chest rumbled from laughter. “Have I told you recently that I love when your shadows dance for me?”

I craned my neck back to look at him. “They adore you, as do I.”

He leaned down and kissed me deeply, our tongues gliding across each other. I almost deepened it further until we felt the bed dip. We broke the kiss to find Bastian lounging at the end of the bed eating a piece of dried pear and brie cheese.

“Good morning, witch.” Bastian loved using the nickname when he was in a playful mood. He smiled, hair messy over his face. His hair had grown over the years and he could now pull it back in a leather strap.

He held out a piece of the cheese to me. I leaned forward as he fed it to me and then licked a piece of crumb from his thumb. “Why do you both insist on waking up so early? It should be a crime to wake before the sun.”

“No need to pout, Brother.”

Bastian smacked his brother in the side of the leg and then laid back with his arm over his face. He hated waking up early, but I knew he only did so because he disliked being too far away from me.

I settled back against Soren as he resumed skimming my arms and sang my song. We settled into a comfortable silence, listening to Soren humming to the tune of the waves. My mind wandered and I ended up thinking about their town and how long it had been since I had made an appearance.

“I think we should stop by and pay a visit to D’Arque before heading to see Emilia and Joséphine.”

“I wonder what Jo will think about the present I got for her. A dagger with an assortment of rubies, emeralds and other gems.” I scoffed at Bastian’s idea of a perfect gift for his twelve-year-old sister.

Soren reminded me, “And Père.”

I waved him off. Bastian and I both grumbled, “Yes, yes, and him.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t like Père; simply put, I was extremely protective over Emilia, and I couldn’t see anyone being good enough for her. We had settled Emilia in her home in the meadow with Joséphine after we paid a visit to their town to handle the Reapings once and for all. While I was threatening the new head of the council on the new rules he was to follow, Emilia was busy meeting Père at the bookstore in town he owned.

I remembered her cheeks heating when we met later that day and blamed it on the sun, but I knew better. She was smitten. He came out to check on her and made sure to bring books that she would enjoy. One thing led to another, they married and now had a child with a second on the way.

We left Joséphine in Emilia’s care, knowing that she would need more than the three of us could provide—stability.

“D’Arque has since disbanded the Church of the Beast and is leading the townspeople on a less destructive path,” Bastian informed us.

I lifted my hand above me and ran my hand through Soren’s sandy, sunkissed hair and mused, “And he will continue going down that path unless he wants to be buried six feet under, his family thinking he ran off on them for a mistress, never to be heard from again.”

“We check in on him yearly to ensure he stays that way, and we just saw him a few months ago. Relax, Rose.”

“Humph. I should have let my shadows run rampant through his mind so that he would think twice before doing something absurd like the Reapings again.”

“You did let them run rampant on the men who attacked Emilia and most of the council,” Bastian reminded me.

I was about to give a witty retort when Soren took my hand and kissed from my wrist up my arm and across my shoulder. I moaned at the sensation that tingled along my body. Soren always knew how to calm the anger I felt whenever I thought about that town.

We heard Bastian make a strangled noise. Soren and I laughed, my body moving to the motion of his laughter. I replied coyly, “Is there something we can help you with, Bastian darling?”

I heard a growl and yelped as my legs were being pulled down the length of the bed. Bastian’s face was between my widened legs. His mouth slowly kissed my ankle, and up to my inner thighs.

He shrugged, staring at me from lowered lashes, and said against the apex of my thighs, “I got a little lonely.”

Soren had moved down the bed and continued his lazy kisses on my neck, gently nipping at my skin. This wasn’t fair. They knew what this did to me and could feel the full effects at my core, my stomach tightened.

“You both are pure evil,” I whimpered.

Bastian bunched my silk nightgown around my hips and kissed the bundle of nerves while Soren brushed a strap off my shoulder, exposing my breasts to the chill morning air. His hand lightly squeezed my breast. I sucked in a breath, my nipples pebbling under his touch.

It was evident that they were going to take their time this morning. I growled my displeasure over their pace and was about to demand that they hurry when my body spasmed and a sound escaped me that I had never made before. We were all stunned. Bastian looked up from between my legs and rubbed the stubble of his beard against my inner thigh and I made the same sound and movement again.

Eyes bright, he asked, “Are…you ticklish? Ren, I think our mistress is ticklish.”

“Brother, I think you may be right.”

This was headed in a direction that I wasn’t going to enjoy. I couldn’t remember the last time I was tickled and wasn’t exactly delighted about this form of torture. I knew I was in trouble when an idea struck.

I used my shadows to push Bastian hard enough on his back and straddled his stomach. I leaned down and licked his lips as my shadows slipped under their trousers and tightly gripped their cocks. I smiled to myself at the sounds coming from their mouths, knowing how good it must feel.

I leaned back, and slowly lifted a leg over Bastian’s stomach and stood, giving them a mischievously wicked grin. I knew they wouldn’t be able to move while my shadows stroked them.

Bastian growled through clenched teeth, “Thea… Don’t you dare run.”

“We will chase you, Rose.”

“And will punish you for this.”

I turned and ran down the stone steps leading to the sandy beach and ran as fast as I could, using my shadows to help propel me forward. I dared not look behind me and pumped my arms as fast as they could go. The wind whipped my long, brown hair around my face.

I was laughing and almost ran straight into the path of a descending bird. I stumbled to a stop and saw birds chirping off in the distance, but there was one that flew next to me—a crow. I paused for a moment and lifted an arm toward it, and surprisingly, it perched on me. It was staring at me intently, cocking its little head back and forth before lifting its wings and flying away.

Fly away, my little bird. Fly away onto your next adventure.

I forgot all about our game of chase and barely turned when Bastian abruptly wrapped his arms around me, picking me up, and spinning me around.

I squealed, “Set me down right now, Bastian Corleone!”

“Brother, she used your entire name. She must be furious with you,” Soren teased, barely out of breath as he caught up with us.

“She must be, Ren.” He dropped me on the warm sand without warning.

I huffed as I turned over to lay on my back, arms braced underneath me to hold me up slightly. I glared at them as they stood over me, blocking out the sun that had fully peaked over the mountain range, illuminating them in a halo of light. They looked like gods.

“Calathea. Rose.” Soren started, kneeling on the ground to my right.

“Everhart. Corleone.” Bastian finished, kneeling on the other side of me.

I loved it when they used my full name. My married name. Loved that it bound me to them in ways I had only ever dreamed of. My shadows yearned for it just as much as I did and answered them by illuminating my eyes to the vibrant periwinkle they both had come to crave.

We spent the rest of the day in each other’s arms. I thanked their god for bringing them to me. For giving me the gift that I didn’t know I needed.

My story was a thing of nightmares, chaos, and murder, but also of love.

A fairytale. A tale as old as time.