Page 114 of Seized to Sacrifice
‘And this,’ Thorne ripped the blade up his sternum and Ceres fell into the rubble with a gurgle, ‘is for the babe.’
Rye nodded at Thorne and at Nyx.
‘It's finished,’ he said faintly. ‘It's finally done.’
Elle was still walking slowly up the road and Rye and the others ran to catch her up, leaving Ceres’ body in the street for the scavengers and not giving him another thought.
When they reached her, she was still trudging along, looking down at her hands as she went.
‘Are you all right?’ Nyx asked.
She nodded. ‘I just can't believe it's finished. Gaila told me that I’d know what to do and I didn’t really believe her, but she was right.’
‘So are we mortal now?’ Thorne asked.
‘I don’t know,’ she said, ‘but I suppose time will tell. Do you want to be?’
‘I thought I did,’ Rye said, taking her hand, ‘but now that you’re with us again, I can’t imagine just one lifetime with you.’
She gave him a small smile, and Rye closed his eyes, hugging her to him tightly.
‘How did you do it?’ Thorne asked. ‘Ceres had left you with nothing. How did you destroy him?’
‘The Light Realm is full of power,’ Elle said. ‘Gaila just couldn’t use it after she was cut off from it.’
‘We thought you were leaving us again when you disappeared like that in the Library,’ Nyx said, taking her face in his great hands.
‘Clearly another punishment is due,’ Rye said in her ear.
She laughed, a little nervously. ‘No more secrets from you. I promise. I will never keep you on the outside again.’
‘See that you don't, female.’ Nyx growled, pulling her into a hug. ‘You may be ours, but we're yours. Forever.’
EPILOGUE
ELLE
Elle looked out through the casement. The day was bright and sunny, and the temperatures had warmed to full spring.
She took a long, deep breath. It had been several weeks since Eve had opened a portal to send them back to the Brothers’ estate and every day she spent here with them was better than the day before it.
She glanced back at the large bed. They liked it best when they were all together, so they had made one to accommodate all of them, even bigger than Nyx’s.
The men were still asleep, and she sipped the tea that Maeve had showed her how to make herself.
She hoped that Maeve and Lily would visit soon with their units, but they were spending some time in the Dark Realms to let the fae know that the Underhill was awaiting them once more. They didn’t have to survive without a home any longer. They were no longer subject to the tyrannies of the Dark Realms. They would have their seat of power again and Elle hoped that their numbers would soon recover. The quakes had stopped as well now that the Light Realm was once again in balance with the Dark. There were still problems here borne of the hardships the mortals and the fae had to endure, but she’d done all she could for them. The rest was up to them.
She took another gulp. The sickness had not stopped.
She drew a hand over the small bump of her belly and started as she felt a flutter of movement.
Hearing a creak behind her, she turned and saw Thorne getting carefully out of the bed, trying not to wake the others. He came to her and drew her backwards to his chest.
‘Do you still feel ill?’ he asked.
She shrugged. ‘It’s not so bad and the babe is worth the discomfort.’
She took his hand and put it on her abdomen. He let out a contented sigh, grinning against her cheek.
