Epilogue

Epilogue

“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” he asked the domovoy one last time.

The two faeries had prepared themselves very early in the morning. The monstrous, hulking form of the domovoy overpowered the kikimora, who they had finally pulled from underneath the stove. She had a rat-like face and a very long tail that waved underneath her pretty teal dress when she was nervous. Her long whiskers twitched at Alistair and then stilled when she looked up at the domovoy with love in her eyes.

That was all the answer he needed. They would be just fine, and he didn’t have to worry about them anymore. The moment the domovoy left the house, the curse binding him to this building was broken. The domovoy wasn’t within the walls of the Orbweaver manor, and therefore, Alistair was not required to remain either.

They’d keep the house, of course. It was a beautiful place for them to return to when they were needed in Wildecliff, but it would not be the home they lived in all the time. He’d rather sell the place than keep it, but Thea wanted their children to see his childhood home.

Not that they were having children anytime soon. At least, he hoped not.

The two faeries wandered down the street, invisible to all other than him and Thea, who had his whistle to her lips. And while the two faeries were ready for a new adventure, so were Alistair and Thea. Their bags had been sent before them down to the docks, and someone was waiting in Waterdown to pick up them and their bags.

They were going on their own adventure, Thea liked to say. Really, they both needed to leave the doom and gloom of Wildecliff. Maybe someday they would return, but not until they’d made new stories with each other.

“You be careful,” Nora said, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. “It’s a long journey ahead and two kids like you shouldn’t be doing it alone.”

He turned toward her with a grin and yanked her into a tight hug. “You’re not that much older than us, Miss Nora. You know we’ll be fine.”

And as he released her, Thea pulled her into a hug as well, adding, “And you’re joining us in a week once the butlers finish up with the last jobs to seal this place from the public.”

“A week is such a long time!” Nora wailed. She blew her nose dramatically into the handkerchief and waved them off. “Begone with you two, or I’ll never stop crying, and I still have to make lunch!”

He watched her wander off with a wry grin and then held his arm out for Thea to take. “Shall we?”

“Let’s go home.”

Atlas flew out of his window and landed on Alistair’s shoulder. Apparently their familiars had decided to get along with Thea.

Browning had never been happier than in his house, so the toad was rather disappointed to return to his quieter life on the other side of the river. Thus, he was in his sling at Thea’s hip.

She glanced up at Atlas and sighed. “Are you still angry with me?”

In return, the bird angled his head and let her pat the very top. Just like she used to.

“I suppose that’s better than nothing,” she said quietly.

He marveled at how much his life had changed in such a short time. The carriage rocked them into a calm sense of peace. It would be left at the docks for someone else to take care of since the pooka wanted to join them in Waterdown. Neither he nor Thea had expected anything different.

Thea’s expression had changed today. Perhaps it was the excitement of returning to Waterdown, or maybe she was just eager to see her family again. But there was still a worn edge to the way she held herself. As though the memories of what she had done wouldn’t let go of her. He hoped someday he would ease those dark smudges underneath her eyes.

He knew it would take a while for her to heal. Though he would admit, once their things were on the boat and the fresh air blew across her cheeks, there was a color to her face that was much better than before.

Wrapping his arm around her, he said, “You look happy.”

“Happier than before, yes.” She leaned into him and put her hand over his heart. “They’re excited to see you, you know.”

He hoped they were. He had stolen their daughter and sister away, forced her to live in a house that terrified her, and then put her life in danger. Such things had a way of making a family not like him as much as before, but that would change once they all stood in front of each other.

Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose before looking down at her. “Are you sure about that? They have every reason to be angry with me. Even the old anger about the attack on Waterdown, my family, putting you in danger, then of course there’s all the faeries that will be meddling in their lives from now on—“

Thea put her finger over his mouth, forcing him to stop talking. “They’re going to love you, Alistair, like they did the first time they saw you.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

He swallowed hard and told himself to let courage flow through his veins. “Good, because I wanted to do this before we reached the shore, but I also didn’t want to anger them overly much.”

“What did you want to—“

Alistair sank down onto one knee and grinned up at her. Thea pressed her hands to her lips, eyes wide, looking more shocked and happy than he’d seen her in a long time.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a tiny ring made of little metal leaves and a single ruby that sparkled like a little rose. “When I was a young man, I made a promise to you. That I would do whatever it took to marry you because I loved you. I’m sorry it took me so long to getting around to a real ring, but I want you to know that my dream of a future with you has never changed. Not for a single day. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter how difficult that may become. So, would you make me the luckiest man alive and be my wife?”

Tears welled in her eyes and slid down her cheeks. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, a thousand times, yes.”

Relief welled through him. Not that he’d been all that concerned if she’d say yes, but... well, he wasn’t so confident not to be a little nervous. He stood as she threw her arms around him and, oh, he loved her. He loved her with every fiber of his being, and he promised himself that he would prove that to her every day for the rest of eternity.

“I will always love you,” he whispered into her hair.

“In this life and the next,” she replied as she kissed him with her whole heart.

And as they floated in the river that had always stood between them, he knew he would be happy from now until the day he died.