Epilogue - Abdiel

We’ve dressed in black.

Today is the day of Rhiannon’s funeral. A funeral none of us thought we would be holding.

It’s just so strange… She was in our lives for such a short time, but she really wedged her way into our hearts.

And now she’s gone.

It feels painstakingly familiar, this funeral. I’m holding onto so much confusion, just like when my parents died, in the exact same fashion.

It has me wondering what the forces of our land truly want.

What do you want, Mother Earth?

We burn our dead here in The Principality. And Rhiannon was one of us.

I don’t care what anyone says. Drake, Darian and I agreed. If her parents or anyone comes looking, we’ll deal with them. It’s what she would have wanted.

They didn’t care for her, and she didn’t care for them. She wanted to be here with us, and so she will be. Forever.

Rhiannon’s body lies on a wooden structure, draped in beautiful linens and flowers. As in old traditions of the earth, we will sail her into the middle of the lake and set fire to it.

She will be burned up and returned to Mother, just as my parents have been.

I’m searching for the peace I need to find in it, but it’ll take some time.

The entire Regnum is gathered by Lake Willow, all in black.

We will mourn, but we won’t fear it. It’s just what we do. We move on, we persist…

We live.

Members of the Tribe push the wooden pyre into the lake. Once it’s a few feet out, Lorn tosses a bottle with a flaming rag onto it. The bottle smashes on the pyre, and the flames begin to spread.

A tear falls from my eye as Darian curls his arm around my waist. I rest my head on his shoulder.

We don’t have the energy to pretend anymore. We don’t have the energy to hide anymore.

As we watch the body of our friend burn, I begin to sing.

Hallelujah.

My harmonies travel through the air, swirling up with the smoke. I give this to my friend Rhiannon…

I sing for her.

When my song is done, Darian, slips his fingers into mine. My face turns up to his, and we share a thought.

It’s what she would have wanted…

Darian nods to me, then to Drake at my right. She wanted me to tell the truth… I’m going to do it. For her. He blinks. And for both of you. My gifts, my treasures… My everythings.

I can do nothing more that gawk at him as he turns to face the crowd in black.

“My Regnum,” Darian’s voice booms as he looks out over all the faces of his people, gathered under solemn circumstances. What little chatter there was immediately silences. “My family. In the spirit of transparency… What with losing our new friend, I must tell you something… I’ve been living a lie.”

A few puzzled murmurs come from the crowd, all their thoughts reflecting concern and confusion.

“Rhiannon and I had a heart-to-heart, just the other day, before her untimely passing,” Darian goes on, his tone reflective. “She wanted to be one of us, and she would have been. But unfortunately, she was taken, for reasons we aren’t meant to know. Not yet, anyway. Still, she is one of us, present or not, she’s here. And so, in her honor, I’m going to tell you some things I had promised her, and Drake and Abdiel, that I would bring forth.”

He takes a deep breath, and I feel Drake shivering at my side.

“Twenty-five years ago, when Drake and I left our home and came here to these woods we would inevitably claim, I was struggling with many inner demons. We left because we had to… Because I’d been sexually assaulted by our foster father.”

The crowd gasps, a collective breath of outrage.

“I’ve made my peace with it,” he continues. “It’s been many years of healing, most of which was done by you all. And the ultimate knowledge that I was avenged.” Darian’s face turns to Drake, whose snake eyes are stuck right on our King.

The love I hear in their thoughts warms my chest immensely. Since the moment I saw them together months ago, when I spied on them in the lounge, I knew they were completely mad for one another. It just took a little puzzle of our own to get them to snap into place. We’re like a Rubik’s cube, the four… now I guess three of us.

It’s as bewildering as it is brilliant.

“Drake took the life of that evil man,” Darian says these words with nothing but gratefulness and admiration. “He did it to protect me, as he’s been doing ever since. He’s dedicated his life to protecting us from the evils of the world. It’s our turn to repay the favor.”

Darian looks over the crowd, possibly to assess their feelings on what he’s just said. And I’m not surprised to find everyone sufficiently on board, regardless of what it means.

They’re here. We all are.

“I want you all to know that starting today, starting right now, I’m going to give you full transparency. Because I can’t expect you to be truthful to me in all things if I can’t do the same for you. So here it goes…”

Darian peers over my head at his brother once more. Drake’s lips curl; subtly, of course. But still, it’s quite the sight to see.

“Drake is my lover,” Darian sighs. “He has been since long before any of you came here. Since long before The Principality was even an idea. He is my foster brother, yes. But I’m in love with him, and I always have been.”

The crowd is much quieter than I expected, but from the thoughts, I’m not getting as much pure shock as I expected. There’s some of it, sure, but there are also some people are thinking it’s about time he came out with it, which makes me chuckle.

“It was wrong of me to marry, knowing I could never love any of my wives the way I love him, and for that, I’m eternally sorry. My wives and I will begin a divorce process. And I’m sure they’ll be quite relieved about it.”

He lets a little chuckle slip as he glances at the wives. None of them are upset, or scorned. They all get it. They’ve long since picked up on Darian’s secret need for dick in a relationship, so there’s no shock from that side.

Lauris grins at Darian, before pulling Gem into her side.

The crowd is full of smiles, and nods. Acceptance, which is a beautiful thing to witness. But we’re not done yet…

“So… that said, here’s where it gets a little stickier.” Darian rubs the back of his neck. “In the interest of no more secrets… I have more than just the one partner. Drake and I have been seeing Abdiel Harmony for a few weeks now. Another thing we’re very happy about.”

I squeeze my King’s hand in mine, and he peeks down at me. I show him a loving smile before my eyes begin to shift at the startled thoughts from some of my family.

This is the revelation getting murmurs of shock. I guess we were pretty good at sneaking around because not one person seems to have predicted this one, except maybe the wives.

“You’re the scandal, little mouse,” Drake whispers into my ear until I shiver. I shove him, and he snickers.

“The point of all this is that I can’t hide anymore. And we shouldn’t have to hide anything,” Darian’s voice thunders. “Secrets were never meant to be a part of this family, this life we’ve built here on our land. Things got muddied up for a while… It was my fault. For not being honest. For not seeing the truths I’d been blinded to.”

He looks to Drake, and I hear them sharing a wordless conversation. Drake still insists that he’s as much at fault as Darian, if not more. Our Serpent… He just loves to hold that burden.

We’ll keep trying to break him of the habit, especially since we’ve agreed to carry it with him.

He’s ours. Not just evil, or just good. He’s the serpent in white. Our holy protector.

“No more hiding. No more shying from it,” Darian says, firm and demanding. It’s a call to action. “I am your leader, yes. But I want you by my side in everything. We’re all part of this transformation together. The strength we hold… it cannot be rivaled. We are… The Principality.”

The echo of his final word is barely done breaking as the crowd cheers. People clap and hoot and whistle. The noise is unlike anything I’ve heard before.

Their applause carries through the air, over the lake.

Darian grins, peeking at Drake, then me. And then the three of us look out whimsically over the water, at the fire that’s almost burnt out.

Rhiannon will remain with us in spirit, I know she will. She’s a part of this land forever. A part of our hearts… Of our transformation.

And the four of us are ready. Ready for whatever comes next… To defend our land, to face any truth we have to. To live, and learn, and love.

This family right here, these partners… They’re all we need.

Because today is here… and it’s so damn special.