Epilogue

6 months later- Thea

“ C assius, what is with you today?” I laughed softly. He had blindfolded me this morning, and to my great disappointment, it wasn’t for bedroom fun.

He helped me get dressed and led me out of the castle without saying a word, but I could feel his excitement through the bond, and honestly, he was practically shaking with giddiness. I hadn’t seen him this excited since the day he proposed to me.

“Are you proposing to me again or something?” I asked as we rode Onyx.

Cassius’ lips pressed against my neck, nipping my skin and sending a jolt of desire through me.

“No,” he chuckled. “But this might be the best surprise I ever give you, and I’ve been working on it for three years.”

“Three years?” I tried to look over my shoulder toward him as if I could see him through the blindfold. Cassius claimed my mouth with his.

“Yes. ”

My heart rate picked up as I leaned back into Cassius and tried to think of what he had been up to. Wouldn’t I have noticed he was doing something these past six months since I broke my curse?

“You’re thinking very hard, my love. Just relax; we're almost there.”

I smiled to myself as Onyx picked up speed. We hadn’t been riding for long. So, we were still in Crimson. A moment later, I heard the waterfall of our favorite place. Maybe he had planned a special date? Suddenly, Onyx stopped. Cassius’ shadows wrapped around me gently and set me on my feet. He dragged me along with him for a moment before stopping. He moved me so I was in front of him, gripping my shoulders to steady me.

I smiled as he pulled the blindfold off. My eyes adjusted to the sunlight before they focused on his pretty golden eyes that seemed to be shining brightly. His big smile made my heart clench tightly with anticipation.

“Cassius?” I chuckled as I looked at the waterfall to the left. His hands held me in place, so I couldn’t turn around.

“Do you remember when I asked you to marry me here?” He watched me closely.

“Yes, of course. It was perfect.” I leaned up and gave him a hard, lingering kiss. When I pulled back, his eyes swirled slightly with black .

“Do you remember what you told me afterward?”

My brows furrowed as I tried to remember what I said, but I couldn’t. I shook my head.

“You told me that you could wake up every morning to this view and fall asleep to the sound of the waterfall.”

I did say that. Realization filled me.

“You didn’t…”

“Oh, I did,” he said with a proud smile. “Hold on, I want to see your face when you see our home for the first time.”

He moved behind me, and my body hummed with eagerness. Gods, what the hell was taking him so long?

“Alright, my love, turn around.”

I turned quickly, and Cassius stood with his arms spread out and a smile filled with excitement. Behind him stood a beautiful black stone home. It was two stories, but just as intimidating as the Crimson castle. The side of the home facing the waterfall was nearly all glass, so the view was unobstructed.

My eyes didn’t know where to look first as I stepped forward quickly. To the left of our home was a garden so vast that I had to stop because I was in awe of it. He had replicated some of my favorite fountains from the castle. There was a pretty stone pathway and archways made of shrubs, and the sheer amount of flowers was breathtaking .

“Cassius…”

“Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it. You did all of this for me?”

He stepped forward and wrapped me up in his arms.

“Of course. Now let me give you a tour of the inside. I decorated it as best as I could. But Sybil helped before, so we can change anything you don’t like.”

He grabbed my hand and dragged me inside. The home was open and large. There was a large wooden table to our left that could seat our entire family. My eyes shifted to the large living space to the right. It had dark green couches and a large fireplace. My heart stopped when I saw what hung on the wall above it.

It was a large portrait. Cassius and I stood in the center; it was clear it was supposed to be our wedding day. On his side, his parents and siblings stood. On my side, he had them paint my mother, Killian, Sybil, and the twins. Tears streamed down my face as I moved toward it. It was so good to see their faces. Gods, I fucking missed them.

Cassius’ arms wrapped around me from behind and held me as I stared at it.

“I love you,” I whispered as I turned in his embrace. “I love you so fucking much.”

“I love—” I cut him off with an all-consuming kiss. Cassius moaned against me as he deepened the kiss, but then pulled away. “You. We will finish this kiss after I show you everything else.”

He promised. I looked over his shoulder, and my mouth fell open at the sight of the waterfall.

“Come on, little viper.”

He dragged me up the wide staircase.

“Upstairs are the bedrooms.”

I looked down the hallway; there were two doors on the right and four on the other side. He led us through the first door on the side with the waterfall. Our room was decorated in forest green, with the same wall of windows so we could see the waterfall. It had a private washroom, a large closet, and a seating area with a fireplace and small library.

“This is so perfect, Cassius.”

He smiled.

“What are the other five doors?”

“One is a washroom, and the rest are for our kids. I didn’t know how many you wanted, so I figured four bedrooms, but if we need more, we can add on.”

Suddenly an image I hadn’t pictured flooded my mind. Little boys running around with dark hair and mischievous golden eyes like their father. My chest tightened at the thought of having our own little family .

“Four will work.” I smiled and walked to one of the rooms and saw it was empty, but my heart raced at the idea of it being filled with a mini version of Cassius one day.

“We never talked about it, but you said you wanted kids once.” His voice was tight with emotion as he spoke. I turned to look at him.

“After I’ve had you to myself for a while, then we can have a few little Cassiuses running around.” I agreed. His eyes widened like he was picturing it.

“I pictured hell-raising, mini-Theas,” he chuckled.

“Maybe we will have both.” I glanced at the room, smiling, before shutting the door. “Gods, help us when we do,” I laughed.

Cassius grabbed me and dragged me back to our room. We stood in front of the windows, admiring the scenery.

“Do you know what I am looking forward to?” Cassius finally broke the silence. I looked at him as he stared at me. “Just regular days with you. Days where we lay in bed and do nothing. Just being together. I’m looking forward to you and me having time alone, having fun together.”

“Me too.” I stared at him and felt that overwhelming sense of love filling me. I loved him so much that words failed to describe it.

“I’m so lucky to have you, Cassius. I know I say I love you all the time, but if I could find a better way to explain how much you mean to me, I would. My life would have been nothing without you. I would have been nothing without you. I will spend the rest of our existence loving you. I would go through everything again if you were my prize at the end of it.”

He blinked rapidly as wetness pooled in his eyes.

“You don’t have to say it out loud, my love; I hear you thinking about it all the time,” he whispered. His hands came up and cupped my face, his thumbs rubbing across my cheeks to wipe the tears.

“I don’t know how I feel about that being the power you got from me through the bloodstone.” I pursed my lips, and his smile widened.

“You think about me all the time; how do you get anything done?” he teased.

I laughed loudly because I did things as fast as I could so I could see him. I couldn’t stand to be away from him for more than a few hours.

“I have a secret I’ve been keeping.”

“Bigger than a house?” I frowned.

“No.” He released me. “I’ve been practicing for a week. Haden is usually with me so he can extinguish the fire if it gets out of hand.”

My heart rate picked up.

Cassius lifted his hand, and a small ball of fire floated in it. My mouth fell open as he focused hard on it, and it moved across the room to the fireplace, igniting the wood on fire. My eyes snapped to his.

“Cassius… You got more powers? What else can you do?”

“That’s it. Fire and mind reading, but only your mind still.”

My eyes drifted down his body to the crown tattoo, and I smiled.

“I told my father that we will not be leaving our home for a month, and I meant it.” Cassius breathed heavily as he stepped forward, wrapping his hand in my hair and pulling me to his mouth. I kissed him back, deepening it. Cassius moaned as I pulled away.

“You should’ve told him two months.” I smiled.

"I'll tell him three." Cassius lunged at me.