Epilogue

MIRELLA

Three years later

T he chamber doors swung open, and Ginhad swept inside with a bundle of dresses in his arms.

“I’ve got a bunch of new designs!” He stopped as I turned with the two-year-old Crown Prince of Autumn in my arms.

Contrition moved through Ginhad’s eyes as he dumped the gowns on a sofa and tiptoed forward. “Is he sleeping?” he whispered at a volume just below his normal speaking voice.

My son’s golden eyes popped open. Wriggling upright, he thrust chubby arms toward Ginhad.

“Gad!” Embrun squirmed until I was forced to set him down. He rushed to Ginhad on chubby legs, his red hair gleaming in the afternoon sunlight that streamed through the windows.

Ginhad beamed as he scooped Embrun into his arms and spun him around. “Hello, princeling! Are you hungry?”

“Ginhad!” I scolded, my son’s schedule unraveling before my eyes. “You can’t dangle food in front of him.”

“Why not?” Ginhad asked, bouncing Embrun on his hip.

“Because he’ll always say yes.”

“Yeth!” my son said.

“No,” I said firmly. “You ate ten minutes ago. Now, it’s time for a nap.”

Embrun’s mouth turned down, the expression so like Andrin’s that I caught my breath.

Ginhad offered me a guilty smile. “Apologies, my queen. How about I take him down to the kitchen for a bit? The cook made some—” He glanced at Embrun, then spelled out cake .

“Cake!” my son shouted.

Ginhad gave Embrun a skeptical look. “Is this some sort of Kree-ish magic?”

“No,” I sighed. “It’s toddler magic. If you spell a word often enough, they memorize it.” Although, now that I thought about it, I wasn’t entirely certain what kind of abilities Embrun possessed. He’d shocked the entire Embervale when he was born with the Kree’s light shining in his eyes. It was another gift from the Edeloak. Like the ancient tree, it seemed my magic would pass to my children. Instead of a family tree, however, Autumn would have a family .

“Well, that’s inconvenient,” Ginhad said cheerfully. He bobbed Embrun as he turned in a slow circle, making the little boy laugh. “I guess we could speak in the Old Language, but that would probably start a cataclysm or something, and then Andrin would turn me into a?—”

“Throw rug,” I said, folding my arms. I narrowed my eyes at him. “He’ll have to get in line.”

“Let me take the little guy to the kitchen,” he said. “He’ll sleep better after some cake.”

“Cake!” Embrun yelled.

I waved a hand. “Fine. It’s not like I’m going to win this one.” As Ginhad moved toward the door, I pointed at my son. “But it’s nap time the second you get back.”

Ginhad slowed, then winked at me over his shoulder. “Have Andrin or Rane send for me when you’re finished.”

“Finished?” My question hung in the air as the doors swung shut behind Ginhad.

Finished with what?

A crow swooped through the open window and landed on the table. It hopped once, cocking its head and pinning me with a purple stare. Then it fluttered into the air and formed into my husband.

“I’ve got plans for you,” he said, coming to me and taking me in his arms.

My heart sped up. “Oh, really?”

“Mmhmm.”

The doors swung open, and Andrin strode in. “Oh, good,” he said, his eyes lighting up. “I was looking for you two.” When he reached us, he tugged me from Rane’s arms and kissed me until I was breathless. Then he slid his mouth to Rane’s in one smooth movement and gave him the same treatment.

Desire flooded me, heat building between my thighs. Their kisses were always a contest of sorts, their tongues flashing and their powerful jaws working against each other.

“You seem happy,” Rane panted when Andrin finally released him. “And…leafy,” he added, plucking a small, green leaf from Andrin’s braid.

“I am,” Andrin said. “Vivia and I visited the coast today. We counted over a hundred new trees.”

“Edeloaks?” I asked, my heart lifting.

He nodded as he plucked another leaf from his hair. “They’re thriving.”

Relief washed over me. No one, including Andrin, had known what to expect after the Edeloak ceded its power to me. With the Kree beating in my chest, the ancient tree was just a tree like any other. In the days following Othor’s death, Andrin had worried the Edelfen might take decades to recover. Trees grew slowly, and the forest had spent two centuries suffocating in death and shadow.

Then Rane suggested I walk the forest paths with the Edeloak’s staff in hand. “You’re the Kree now,” he’d said, “and a werek . If anyone can heal the Edelfen, it’s you.”

He was right. The forest blossomed with new growth. More importantly, the shadows were balanced with light.

“I passed Embrun and Ginhad on my way in here,” Andrin said now. He raised a brow. “Something about cake?”

I sighed. “It’s Ginhad’s fault. We were so close to naptime.”

Andrin and Rane exchanged a look.

“What?” I asked.

“Don’t be angry at Ginhad, sweetheart,” Rane said. Snagging my arm, he tugged me against him. “He was just follower orders,” he added, his hands sliding over my hips to grip my ass through my gown.

My breath hitched. “Whose orders?” I breathed even though I knew the answer.

Purple eyes twinkled. “Ours.” Rane swept me into his arms and carried me into the bedchamber, where he and Andrin made short work of our clothes. Then I was nude in the center of the bed with Rane’s mouth between my thighs and Andrin lavishing attention on my breasts.

“How long have you been planning this?” I gasped, my fingers sliding through Rane’s hair.

He lifted his head, his mouth glossy with my arousal. “Mirella, we never stop planning to fuck you.”

“Mmm,” Andrin said, swirling his tongue around my nipple. “It’s a standing plan.”

“Well”—I moaned as Rane thrust his tongue inside me—“I’m not complaining.”

Andrin sucked harder, sending bolts of pleasure-pain streaking through my chest. Rane replaced his tongue with his finger and moved his mouth to my clit. Tonguing me just the way I liked, he brought me to a swift, sobbing orgasm.

As the pleasure ebbed, two sets of strong hands maneuvered me. Still twitching from my release, I found myself straddling Andrin with Rane’s hands around my waist.

“Sit down, love,” Andrin rasped, one hand around his swollen shaft. I moaned as Rane lowered me onto him, my body stretched and filled.

“That’s a good girl,” he murmured, reaching up and thumbing my damp, stiffened nipples. “A good wife, taking your lord’s dick so well.”

“I think she can take another,” Rane said, pressing his lips to my nape. He traced his tongue over his sigils that had darkened over time. And in a twist that never failed to bring tears to my eyes, the marks were solely his. I was Andrin’s queen, but I wore Rane’s symbols, as if the Edeloak had known Rane needed something that belonged solely to him.

I was happy to belong to him.

“What do you think?” he whispered, reaching around me and cupping my breasts. His hands smoothed over Andrin’s as they took turns teasing and stroking my nipples. “Do you want another cock, love?”

“Yes,” I gasped, my head falling onto his shoulder as I began riding Andrin’s dick. “Please, Rane.”

Andrin’s growl of approval echoed through the quiet chamber. “Come here,” he said, tugging me down. “I want your mouth while he gets your tight little hole ready.”

Palming my head, he stroked his tongue into my mouth as he thrust his hips in a rolling rhythm, pumping his cock into me. A moment later, Rane’s kiss swirled over the most intimate place possible.

I squealed into Andrin’s mouth as forbidden pleasure swept me in hot, slick waves. No matter how many times we did this, it was always intense. All-consuming and a little shocking.

Rane’s moan vibrated everything between my legs. Fingers splayed over my ass, he pushed my cheeks wide and tongued the tight entrance to my body.

Dark, sparkling rivers of pleasure flowed from my clit to my breasts, which heaved against Andrin’s chest as he continued his rolling thrusts.

With a final swipe of his tongue between my cheeks, Rane pushed a finger inside me. After a few minutes of teasing, probing strokes, he pulled free and then came back with two fingers slick with oil. He worked them up and down my cleft before pushing back inside, stretching me gently. When I cried out and clenched around him, he bent over me and kissed the pointed tip of my ear.

“Are you ready for me, Mirella love?” he whispered, thrusting his fingers inside me. He slid his free hand under me and swirled slick fingers over my clit and Andrin’s cock.

Andrin and I moaned together. “Yes,” I panted, looking at Rane over my shoulder. “Hurry.”

Mischief and lust danced in his eyes. “Who am I to disobey an order from my queen?” Swiping moisture from my pussy, he smeared it between my cheeks, then notched his cock against my asshole.

Andrin slowed his thrusts, and his gaze was tender as he rubbed a thumb over my bottom lip. “You’re so gorgeous, Mirella. Breathe, sweetheart. Let Rane in.”

Squeezing my hips, Rane pressed forward, filling my ass. He’d prepared me with exquisite skill, and the burn faded swiftly, replaced with a swollen, aching pleasure. The men shuddered, their deep moans lifting around the bed.

“So…fucking…tight,” Andrin rasped. “Fuck, I never get tired of this.”

Rane smoothed a hand down my spine. “You all right, sweetheart?”

“Gods, yes,” I gasped, rocking my hips. “Fuck me.” I was done waiting.

The command earned me two throaty masculine growls. Then Andrin and Rane began to move.

They coordinated their thrusts, Andrin rolling his hips in a slow, deep glide while Rane stroked in and out of my ass. Their hands were everywhere, caressing my hips and breasts. Tickling down my ribs and dipping between my legs to tease my clit. Hot mouths sucked at my neck and nipples. Their cocks slid over each other inside me, the pressure between my legs stealing my breath.

“That’s our sweet queen,” Andrin rasped, his eyes two burning blue slits as he thrust harder. “Such a perfect wife, Mirella, taking your husbands’ dicks. Do they feel good? Are they what you wanted?”

“Uh-huh,” I whimpered, shuddering between them. Behind me, Rane dug his fingers into my hips as he fucked me faster, his thighs slapping my ass. I jostled between him and Andrin, my breasts bouncing as another orgasm bore down on me.

We moved together, our bodies slick with sweat. The men thrust faster, their cocks plunging in and out of me. Our moans and gasps grew louder, our movements more frantic until we were a feverish tangle of skin and lust.

A wave of blissful heat washed over me. I came on a hoarse cry, my pussy and ass clenching.

“Fuck!” Rane bellowed behind me. His fingers bit into my hips and then his heat filled me. Andrin followed on a roar. The waves continued, starting at the top of my head and rushing to my toes. I sobbed through it, my body tossed again and again onto the shore.

When the storm subsided, I sprawled over Andrin’s chest, his skin hot and damp under my cheek. Rane pulled gently from my ass, then helped Andrin rearrange me so I nestled between them. We lay that way for a moment, catching our breath as leaves tumbled past the windows.

Rane rolled to face me, his purple eyes dark and sated as he brushed my sweaty hair from my forehead. “How do you feel, sweetheart?”

“Lucky,” I said, fingering a strand of his black hair. “I’m glad you kidnapped me.”

His eyes twinkled. “I’m glad you stabbed me.”

Andrin rose onto his elbow, his lips curving as he stroked a fingertip over my sigils. “Rane and I are the lucky ones, love.” With a finger on my chin, he guided my mouth to his. “You tamed two fools and saved a kingdom, Mirella Verdalis. Queen of Autumn, High Priestess of the Autumn Court, Lady of the Embervale, and Keeper of the Kree.” Just before he kissed me, his whisper caressed my lips.

“Queen of Hearts.”