Page 133 of The Demon's Discovery
“Certainly not.”
“Then we agree?” Rylan prepared one of the quills and ink pots so we could all sign. “All of us, equal shares?”
“Yes.”
“Agreed.”
Magnus signed his name first, followed my myself and then my brother.
“Good. We can start the expansion then.”
“A house,” Magnus grinned. “I think Grace will be pleased.”
“I do enjoy our cozy apartment,” I mused, rubbing my chin.
“You don’t have to build, Vago.”
“I’ll see what Greta wants to do. She’s had enough upheaval lately. I want her to decide.”
“I think that’s a fine idea,” Magnus said, clapping me on the shoulder as we made our way out of the classroom and down the hall to where our mates were gathered, laughing over tea and Grace’s honey cakes.
The bond in my chest gave a tug, my ring flaring to life. I caught Greta’s eye when I came through the door, her smile wide.
Anything, I was reminded. I would give her anything she wanted.
And I was eternally grateful she wanted me.
Epilogue
Greta
“We don’t have to push today, Dragonfly, I’m proud of you either way,” Vassago said sweetly, fingers scraping through my hair as he braided the strands. “Your progress has been tremendous in such a short time.” He brought one of his silver ribbons out of his pocket, tying off my hair, which had grown another fraction of an inch in a few weeks’ time.
“I know.” I stood on my tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading further out into the grassy yard.
Calla and Rylan sat on one of the new benches he’d had commissioned from a local artisan who used the same marble the observatory was made from, cataloging what was planted in the garden beds. Grace and the girls were turning over the soil, getting ready to plant again, and Clem had the horses trimming the weeds in the pasture. I hadn’t planned on a full audience,just Vassago and maybe Magnus, but I wasn’t about to back out now.
Just as I was starting to prepare, Magnus landed with a stirring of dust, pulling me into a strong hug.
“I thought you were on patrol?”
“I am,” he winked at me, stepping back so that I had some space. “What good is being in charge if you can’t bend the rules a bit when your niece has something she wants to show you?”
Nerves took up residence in my stomach in the form of butterflies, but I tried to make good use of them instead of letting them hold me back. Turning my back on my audience, I embraced my stone form and released my wings. The process had become much faster and more fluid, my stone skin as easy to put on as clothing now that I was familiar with how to grab ahold of it. My wings themselves were much denser than they had been at first, the bones had all healed up perfectly and the colors within the opalescent white intensified the stronger I became.
Heart thudding behind my ribs, I concentrated with all my might, having found in my practices that a fast flutter was far more effective for me than a wide slow flap. I had embraced my overall dragonfly-ness slowly but it was working.
Vassago inhaled as I lifted off the ground more than several inches, and Magnus gave a whoop and clapped as I rose a little higher and turned. I pushed the air under my wings, asking it to direct me over to the garden beds. Grace gave me a broad smile, and the girls all cheered. I made my way back to the opposite end of the yard, pushing my endurance before going back where I had started from and slowly lowering myself to the ground.
“Excellent work, little niece!”
My muscles were still getting stronger, burning and sore, especially since I had spent so much time recently practicing, but I couldfly. I blinked back tears in my eyes as I landed, and Vassago immediately swept me up and swung me around.“You’re a marvel, Little Dragonfly. I adore you endlessly.” I dipped in for a kiss, breaking away at the sound of fresh applause.
“Look at those incredible wings!” Seir trotted across the yard, pure joy on his face.
“Thank you,” I said, unsure if we’d been expecting a visitor or not.
“Seir,” Rylan said, getting to his feet. “What a nice surprise.”
