Page 32 of Lily of the Valley

Lily shrugged. "Guess it's a good thing you'll be coming back then."

Scout heaved another of those great sighs. "Should have never listened to that stupid fox. Come here."

Obeying happily, Lily fell enthusiastically into another session of kisses, until they were both flushed and panting. "Go away before I take you upstairs and delay your departure."

Stepping back out of reach again, Scout slid the ring onto her finger and then bowed again. "Until we meet again, Your Majesty."

"Sooner rather than later, Alpha."

Scout smiled fleetingly, and then she was gone, and with a sigh Lily summoned everyone back and returned to work. The busier she was, the faster time would go, the sooner Scout would be back.

What would her father have thought of Scout? The thought hurt, because if her father hadn't died she and Scout likely would never have met.

Pushing the thoughts away before sadness got the better of her, Lily focused on all the talk of rebuilding, though she couldn't help but turn her head ever so slightly to watch as a pack of wolves ran through the gates and swiftly out of sight.

Epilogue

The moon was high and full in the sky, the stars were like scattered pieces of rainbow, and the temperature was cool without being cold. A perfect spring night, no better time for a garden ball. Laughter filled the air, wine and champagne would ensure everyone practically floated to their beds as the sun was coming up, and the air was filled with the scent of new roses, various perfumes, and fine food.

It could not be a finer night, and Lily absolutely hated it.

Well, hate was a strong word. She'd been having a fine time. It was the first break from work she'd had in the almost eight months since her father had been killed and her kingdom nearly lost. Sentencing and executions were long attended, the greater portion of repairs were finished, her people were happy…

And she'd not had a single letter from Scout in just over a month. That wasn't like her. Since she'd left, Lily had received one letter every couple of weeks, sometimes weekly, always addressed to Her Majesty Lily of the Valley, which her secretaries found charming and hilarious.

Personally, she felt more like Lily of the Forest these days, especially with Briar's ring still resting heavy on her finger. She'd considered returning it, but there'd been no time to go trekking through the woods to do so, she did not want to leave it to someone else to return it, not even anyone from her inner circle.

And as mad as it might seem, the ring didn't feel like it was meant to be returned. Not yet, anyway. Every now and then, when she couldn't sleep, she walked the palace grounds, and swore at times she could hear soft laughter drifting from the woods, or smell roses where no roses grew. After everything she'd been through, she could only find the Laughing Forest and its ghosts comforting.

Not as comforting as Scout, but she'd been trying not to think about Scout too much as doing so threatened to send her into a spiral of loneliness and worry.

Lily finished her wine, the only cup she'd had all evening, and smiled as Josiah approached her. "How are you this evening?"

"Marvelous," Josiah replied. "Would my queen grace me with a dance?"

"I would be delighted to do so," Lily said. She'd already danced a few times that night, but it was a tricky business, dancing with people. Who she might offend by accepting or rejecting an offer; who might think she was offering more than she really was, what people would whisper about, who might decide that one dance meant they could ask for two or even three. Was she being friendly? Was she flirting? Was she announcing intentions? Was she picking a favorite and snubbing others?

Planning a war was easier than making decisions on dance partners. Josiah, though, was perfectly safe. A friend, and not even the most ardent gossip could come up with rumors of an affair.

So she danced, spinning about the dance floor in the middle of the royal garden, beneath a night sky strewn with rainbow starlight, happy to be with one of her best friends but wishing all the same—

The blowing of the trumpets startled her and the rest of the dance floor to a halt. That was to announce a guest, one of high enough rank and importance to be properly announced, rather than simply arriving quietly and slipping into the crowd. But everyone was here, she'd greeted each and every guest, even though they all saw each other every day and formalities were really quite absurd at times.

Josiah smirked, but before she could ask why or even begin to guess, he'd taken her by the shoulders and turned her around.

The world faded away as her eyes landed on the figure at the top of the stairs: tall, imposing in the best possible way, hair braided and bound, wearing a gold circlet and beautiful Highland style clothes, with tight-fitted black pants overlaid with a dark red skirt split up the sides, a black shirt as fitted as the pants with a red corset over it that blended perfectly into the skirt.

Hands nudged her from behind, and Lily gathered herself enough to stride forward as the room cleared to make a path, as the herald's voice rang out, "Lady Farahild Rothenberg, Alpha of Pack Rothenberg of the Highland Territories."

At the bottom of the stairs, Scout swept her a low bow. "Your Majesty."

Lily smiled, and only years of training kept her from crying all the tears of joy that wanted out. "Lady Farahild, it's good to have you home."

Scout matched her smile as she rose to her full height, and mercy but Lily had missed being towered over in that comforting way of Scout's. She extended a hand. "We've much to discuss, my queen, but may I first have a dance?"

"Of course," Lily said, and accepted her hand. Scout swept her off to the middle of the dance floor as the music started up perfectly on cue, because the royal musicians were worth every single coin spent on them. "You hadn't sent me a letter in weeks; I've been worried."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. The final week of preparations was chaos, I think I slept maybe ten hours the whole week, and then we were traveling, which was rough going as snow melted leaving nothing but water and mud the whole way. I had to rinse off in the courtyard of the inn I took rooms at before I could go inside and bathe properly." Scout laughed. "You should have seen the innkeeper's face."

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