Page 89 of Tempting the Fae Lord
“Yes, well, without me, he never could have crossed, so I must bear my fair share of the blame. But worry not. I don’t dwell on those old mistakes now. I was punished, and since then, I’ve performed my duties to the best of my ability. I believe my penance to have been paid over the centuries, and I don’t linger on the shame of my youth.”
“What happened to him?”
“Jailed. Here in our fortress, but not for long. We knew not the strength of a vampire as old as Alaric. He freed himself and very well could have escaped, but that’s not what he did.”
“What did he do?”
“He sought the sunlight. If he could not have all, then he chose to have nothing. You’d think I would be glad to be rid of him, but I was crushed. And very alone. And in many ways, have been alone ever since…” I squeeze Gale closer to my side. “Until you.”
This time his little gasp is quite real. A quick breath. A softening. “Oh my, what a tragedy you endured.”
“Not a tragedy.”
“What then?”
I shrug away the past like brushing fresh snowflakes off the cuff of my sleeve. “A difficult youth. A lonely era. And now, a partner.” I lean in to kiss the soft curls at his temple. “The love of my life. A happy future. For me at least. And I will do everything in my power to make it one for you as well.”
“Oh, it is.” Gale swings me around to face him and presses our mouths together firmly. “And don’t you doubt it for one second. I’ve wanted you my whole life, and now you’re mine.”
“Completely.”
“You’re everything I need,” he says, green eyes fierce. “You’re enough, just as you are.”
His heartfelt words lighten my heart and caress my very soul. They chip away every burden I’ve ever carried and make me feel whole.
I’ll never know why such good fortune has found me after all these years, but I shall strive my best to earn every second, every kiss, and every night with my Gale from now until eternity.
“Oh, Mooncalf, I love you so.” I kiss him under the chilly northern starlit skies.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Epilogue
One and a half years later, Summer Solstice
Gale
The heatof the region astounds me. Even at night, the waves of the southern sea on the coast of Irondale are warm against my cool skin. Having lived all my years in the northernmost tip of our realm, I could only imagine what true summer feels like.
I need imagine no longer.
Eulayla’s solstice wish—after being prompted by Ezra to ask for absolutely anything he could provide—was to swim in warm waters.
And Ezra is nothing if not generous. I can’t think of a sexier quality. Except maybe seeing him out of his head-to-toe leather and in the flimsy, flowing cotton of beachwear. He’s stunning, even as he scowls and picks sand out from between his toes.
We—the lot of us plus Marissa’s new beau, Wilhelm—portalled all the way down here for the week to celebrate Eulayla’s eightieth birthday. Seeing as we don’t know the exactdate of our birthdays, the solstice itself marks the passage of time. And though I worry another year of Eulie’s long life has come and gone, it’s delightful to see her splashing in the water like a baby seal pup with a shiny new pebble.
Chester laughs from his seat on the shoreline, feet digging in the sand. “She’s a fish, that woman. Who knew?”
We learned to swim on our first night here. Lessons from a local Ezra found for us, a fae woman called Pipsy who guards us in the event someone needs rescue. Surely, Ezra wouldn’t let any of us drown, but he stays back from the water as if he’d rather have an eye pecked out by a squeaking seabird than be submerged in “the realm’s biggest chamber pot.” His words, not mine. I like the water, thank you.
Amaris—ten years old now and growing like a weed—surfaces and spits salty water from slick lips, squealing, “Something’s touched my foot!”
“Probably a fish, sillyhead. They live here, you know.” Jack grabs her shoulders and dunks her under.
She comes up sputtering. “I’ll get you for that.”
“Go ahead and try.” He chuckles. “You’re not even half my size.”
