Chapter 19

Epilogue (Two Months Later)

It was the day of the wedding. Which also happened to be the day of the coronation. The real rituals had already happened. These were ceremonial events for the citizens of Ashfuror and of Fyr, and I didn't begrudge them that. The people needed a public sign of stability after everything that had happened.

It had helped that there was a small but significant lessening of suffering with Safehold Reservoir providing water to Fyr once again. It hadn't been a complete solution - there hadn't been enough water to fully counteract the drought - but it had made the crisis go from desperate to simply difficult. There was a surprising amount of support for the action in Greatfalls at first, but that had been tempered by the water rationing that we'd instituted over the last months. Life was harder there, but it was a loss of comfort rather than a loss of life. For the moment, it was a burden the people were willing to bear, even if there was some grumbling.

They all deserved a celebration.

Which was why I was trying on the heaviest set of robes I'd ever had the pleasure to put on my body. Jelenna was having trouble holding them up even as she helped me into them. Iron and gold were threaded throughout the fabric. It was a work of art, but it was a burden to wear.

Jelenna had proved her loyalty by returning with me to Ashfuror. By the end of the Battle of Greatfalls, she had come to question everything she had previously believed. Could I blame her for abandoning me after what I myself had done to Cyrus? The power of misguided belief is strong.

"If you fall over, I'm pretty sure that's considered an insult." Jelenna's teasing pushed me out of my ruminations.

"Who's gonna punish me? I'm already Lord of Ashfuror."

"I don't think it will be good for the Dark Lord to take a header on the day of his coronation." Jelenna poked me. "Ow, this stuff is hard."

"It is. Now get it off me."

I had a few hours before the festivities began, and I wasn't going to spend it encased in metal.

"I'll go make sure everything else is set." Jelenna started toward the door of the chamber.

"Manod's got it under control. He's been obsessing about today for weeks. Maybe for years."

She shrugged, giving me a sly wink. Something was up.

I laid down on the long upholstered bench in the chamber. Hopefully, no one would disturb me. I needed the sleep. It had been a whirlwind two months, and the exhaustion had settled deep in my bones.

"Aren't you supposed to be meditating on the value of marriage to a community or some shit?"

Cyrus popped out from behind a changing screen that had been erected in the corner of the room. He was still in his underclothes.

"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere getting ready?" I asked with faux annoyance. "Somewhere not here?"

He bounded across the room, sliding into my arms, and I wrapped myself around him. This would never get old, this feeling of totally belonging to someone. It had been so foreign to me, this kind of love.

"We have a few hours." He kissed me, hard, his hungry mouth trying to devour me. I savored it for a moment, then pushed him back.

"What do you think we're going to do with only a couple of hours?"

Cyrus reached over to a nearby end table, opening the drawer and pulling out a bottle of oil.

"I could fuck you."

I shivered at his words. I had only bottomed a few times. It had been a wonderful and intense experience, once I'd gotten used to it.

I grabbed hold of the neck of his shirt and pulled his face close, until our noses were almost touching.

"Then you'd better do it fast."

With that, he was on me, pulling at my shirt, tugging at the button of my trousers.

"Careful!" I yelped. "I'm wearing these to our wedding."

He pulled on the pant legs, and my hard cock sprang out, now unimpeded by fabric. "You have other pants." I felt the cold air on my exposed ass.

We had had many tender, romantic moments in the last months, but that's not what this was. This moment was all about fast, hard, animal passion. He needed me and I needed him in me.

He shoved my knees back, and I heard myself let out a whimper. I loved when he took charge.

Without warning, he attacked my hole with his mouth, licking and sucking, and I began to shake. It was always so much, and I craved it.

"Ngh..." I writhed as he dug in farther, his teasing wet tongue moving in and out of me. "I need you. Please..."

"I love to hear you beg."

I heard the uncorking of the oil bottle, and then his finger was in me, slick and probing. He flicked at my prostate, and I moaned, unable to control myself. He was so damn good at this.

"More."

"Don't be impatient." It made me so hard when Cyrus teased me.

"I need you. To fuck me."

Suddenly, there were two fingers in me, and then three. When he pulled them out, I sighed at the emptiness. The anticipation was killing me.

He placed his hands on the inside of my thighs and, pushing my legs back against my chest, he entered me.

It was so much, his long cock filling me and stretching me. He stayed there, giving me time to adjust to the burn and the stretch, but that's not what I wanted at all.

"Move, Cyrus." I couldn't keep the desperation out of my voice. "I want to feel it."

The fire in his eyes was the hottest thing I'd ever seen. He set a punishing pace, sliding in and out of me in hard thrusts that made my balls tighten.

"You are so fucking pretty like this. At my mercy." Cyrus smirked and then slammed into me harder, and I yelled. One stroke, two stroke, three—

The orgasm took me without warning. I didn't even have a hand on my cock when it started to spasm, setting off tremors in my whole body, and my release spurted up, coating Cyrus' chest. The intensity was overwhelming. I squeezed my eyes shut trying to gain control, even as inhuman noises of pleasure burst out of me.

They spurred Cyrus on, and he lost control of his rhythm, chasing after his own need until he too cried out. He filled me, the most delicious feeling of warmth spreading deep inside me.

He collapsed down on top of me.

"How do you do this to me?" Cyrus whispered into my ear. "Every time is more intense"

I reached up, grabbing him by the nape of the neck and dragging him into a slow deep kiss.

"I don't know, but I hope it never goes away." I glanced down at myself. "Dammit, I really wanted to wear these clothes."

Cyrus chuckled. "Come on, let's get cleaned up. We've got to get married. And crowned."

He reached out a hand to me, helping me come to standing. He offered me his elbow.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

There was a fire in his eyes that set my stomach to tingling. I nodded. He bent down and whispered into my ear.

"I love you, my Lord of Ashfuror."

I slipped my arm through his, kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you , my Lord of Ashfuror."

***

As the Crown of Battle and the Crown of Seeing settled on our heads, the crowd in the Great Square burst into cheers, waves of sound that washed over us. I grabbed Cyrus' hand, and he gave me a small smile. I smiled back. I had made mistakes along the way, but I couldn't be more thankful that we were here, together. We waved to the throngs of people, citizens who shared our joy, as well as the promise of a better Fyr, a thriving, flourishing nation.

It would not be easy. We ruled a land in crisis. We would work tirelessly to help those we could. It would be the work of our lives.

With Cyrus by my side, I was looking forward to it.