Epilogue

The weather was perfect.

Okay, it was actually a little too hot even after the sun had set, and was so humid Esmae's summer tunic clung to her sweat because apparently vampires could still do that, and mosquitoes were no less annoying when they could tell you how they ‘just want a little nibble.' Perhaps fellow blood-drinkers shouldn't throw stones, but whatever. There was only one creature entitled to her blood.

Yet with her bag packed and secured on her shoulders and the map Silas had helped her chart a course on tucked safely inside it, it could have hailed and she still would've thought the night was perfect.

"You'll remember to take your potions," Esmae repeated to her father for the third time that hour. "And for flame's sake, just stay home when it rains and your bad knee is acting up."

Silas grinned, like he didn't turn into just as much of a nanny when it came to her. But it was just as likely he smiled because he'd once told her he really enjoyed seeing her take up his turns of phrases.

"I can handle myself," her father assured her. "You've given up so much to care for me, Esmae. But it's time you start having your own adventures."

It was. She and Silas were departing that night. They'd enjoyed a bit of a honeymoon once their curses had lifted, losing days and weeks as Silas showed her all being a vampire had to offer. But Esmae couldn't wait to travel, and Silas was eager to show her the world.

"Besides, you've stocked me up with enough provisions for the next decade. You're only going for a few months, isn't it?"

Silas had given enough gold from his hoard—their hoard, as he insisted—to take care of her father and brought in the best potions to handle her father's myriad ailments, so she could relax, plus with his wings they could visit whenever if they wanted to come back early.

Dirt had ventured from the caves and found a permanent home with her father. She'd inherited her magic from her paternal side, so communicating wouldn't be a problem.

"You're right." A wave of calmness settled over her. "And you'll keep each other company. Now, there's one last thing I wanted to do."

She reached into the deck holder on her belt and drew out the last oracle card. Her fingers slowly traced the familiar edges, the echoes of her mother's magic still beating against her own.

The card was contraband, but so was harboring two vampires—well, one vampire and a dragon-vampire hybrid—in a witch's home. Anyone who could come after them would be ash before they so much as summoned their magic. Though she could feel the remnants of her mother's magic and could use her own magic as a vampire, she couldn't draw from the cards anymore.

"Would you do the honors?" she asked her father .

His eyes teared up. "You kept them after all these years?"

Oracles may have been scorned by witchkind, but her mother had rescued her. She nodded. "They saved my life." They'd led her to Silas. Tears beaded in her eyes.

Silas crossed the room, coming to stand behind her with one hand on her shoulder while the other gently wiped away her tears. The warmth of his palms steadied her.

"What do you want to ask her?" her father asked.

She considered. "What's next?"

It was as open-ended a question as it could come, when normally with oracles, it was best to be specific. All Esmae wanted was to get closure from her mother. No longer would she be bound to the ties of fate. She'd find her own path with her mate. Her father repeated the question aloud and activated the magic.

She expected perhaps a preview of the next far-off land or a location.

Instead, the air around them stilled. Magic rose from the card, billowing around them.

The necromancer rises.

The single sentence echoed in their ears. She looked up at Silas, who wore an expression of confusion.

"What does that mean?" she wondered.

Her mate shook his head. "In all my years, I've not heard of such a creature."

She frowned. "Maybe we'll find them on our travels."

Her father gave her a concerned look. "Maybe you'll steer clear of this necromancer. That sounded ominous, even for an oracle's magic."

Esmae thought it rather sounded like an adventure.

They said their goodbyes, her father giving her the strongest hug he had in years. Now that she's stopped fretting over caring for him, she not only felt freer but also closer to him.

Silas shifted into his dragon form and lowered a wing so Esmae could climb aboard. His black scales gleamed in the moonlight. He launched them into the sky with his powerful hind legs. The cool night air was blissful as they drew higher and higher up. From the distance below, her father was just a speck, waving at them .

Esmae had a map and any number of plans for what they might do.

But the truth was, she didn't care. As long as Silas was by her side, every day would be an adventure.

She wouldn't have it any other way.