Page 137 of Stolen
Let it rest. Let it wait.
My feelings now? The crown can go to another with my blessings.
Because right now, in this breath, in this heartbeat—I have something far more precious to protect.
“May your good fortune hold, Alaric,” Kael says, his tone quieter than usual, the sea in his voice calm, but watching.
“Thank you, brother.” I pause at the threshold and glance back. “And please—consider my words. Trying to find a mate with a lie on your lips isn’t as easy as you’d think.”
Kael huffs a breath that might be laughter, or regret. “Maybe not. But for some of us, it’s worth a shot.”
I could argue. Could warn him again about trying to fool the Fates.
But what’s the use?
Some truths must be lived to be learned.
Instead, I offer him a small nod—equal parts warning and well-wish—and step into the portal’s shimmer.
The pull of the zareth guides me home like a lodestone to its true north.
And gods help me, I’m already aching for her.
For Jules.
My heart, my viyella.
My mate who fought beside me, burned for me, saved my people, and then looked me in the eye and loved me in spite or because of it all.
She is my reason.
And now, she carries my legacy.
I feel the flicker of it even before I step through the veil—the thrum of two tiny heartbeats woven into the bond between us.
Twins. Ours.
The next breath I take is the first in a new life.
A life I will guard with fang and flame and every ounce of the Dragon Lord I am.
Because for the first time in all the ages of Nightfall, I am no longer alone.
I am loved.
And I am home.
Epilogue Three
KAEL
The air here tastes flat,heavy with salt and manmade chemicals.
Still, I breathe it in.
The veil between worlds thins near water—it’s how I slipped through. Cloaked by magic and shadow, I move unseen, though this realm grates against my skin like sandpaper on wet stone.
Earth is ugly in the wrong places. Loud. Polluted.
