Epilogue

Feet stretched out before me, shoulders against the headboard, I cradled a sleeping Anaria in my lap.

I could watch her like this for the rest of my life. Study the exact curve of her lashes as they brushed her cheek, the porcelain shade of her skin. The graceful shape of her delicate ear. There wasn't a single thing about her that wasn't absolutely perfect.

Cosimo and I had used most of our magic to eradicate that small spot of black the hunter left behind. One hour kneeling in the same place had allowed Corvus's rot to take root.

That fast, pestilence could have spread through this city.

But he'd risked everything to warn us of approaching danger, and so, the hunter had been given a choice.

My sword or the wilderness, and he, not surprisingly, chose the mountain. We gave him as much food as he could carry, and he'd understood the why's of it. The man had no desire to go down in Blackcastle history as the villain who'd killed an entire city of women and children.

I couldn't remember respecting anyone more than I did watching him disappear down the rocky path leading to the mountains, knowing he was doomed.

I stroked her hair, letting the liquid silk fall between my fingers. When Anaria woke up, I had to tell her these months of calm were over.

Because we'd be right behind him.

Thank you so much for reading!