Page 39 of Royally Flocked

Still vague, but he’d take it. He brushed a lock of hair away from Erus’ brow and caressed his cheek. “I love you. Be careful and come back to me.”

“I love you, too, asteraki, and I assure you, I’m the scariest thing in this realm.”

Debatable, but he didn’t want to argue.

“What are you going to do while I’m gone?” Erus asked as he rolled away and pushed off the bed.

“I guess I’m going to start my new job.” The souls in the village clearly weren’t going to pass on by themselves. “Do you think they’ll like me?”

“I think they’ll love you almost as much as I do.”

“Sweet talker.” It had been exactly the right thing to say, even if Erus had nothing to base his assumption on.

Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined his life would turn out like this, but he wouldn’t trade it for all the riches in the world. Maybe one day, he would even find himself in the history books. Maybe the account of his rise from elf prince to the Guardian of Lost Souls would be told until it passed into legend and myth.

The story of how Cerberus had caught a falling star and breathed new life into it. Orrin grinned. He quite liked the sound of that.

Epilogue

Three weeks later…

Life was…weird. The afterlife was even weirder.

Erus had finally managed to rein in the Keres and bring balance to the Underworld. He still didn’t enjoy guarding the iron gates, but he no longer resented the duty, either. Once he had realized he could utilize the flock to help him, rather than simply placing the responsibility on their shoulders, things had become much easier.

Orrin had settled into his new life and position with relative ease, and as predicted, the souls in the village absolutely adored him. Granted, they still had little interest in crossing the river, but Orrin never pushed or insisted. He just listened without judgment or accusations.

As such, he had already managed to cross over three of the dead during his short time in the Underworld. Even more impressive, he had done so in a way that had the souls thinking it had been their idea.

His mate had also been quick to embrace his new powers, and he had spent an entire week practicing his skills by decorating the castle for Christmas. There were no fewer than six trees spread throughout their home. Lights, ornaments, wreaths, and garlands filled every room, and even the outside had been transformed into a winter wonderland.

Snow drifts lined the hallways, and their dining room table had been laden with plates, wine glasses, gold utensils, and embroidered napkins. Three elaborate centerpieces sat in the center of the long table, each one alight with flickering candles.

It hadn’t made sense to him why they needed a table large enough to seat a dozen people…until there had been a knock on the door. Nearly two weeks had passed since Pepper and most of Orrin’s former Guard had shown up on his doorstep, and he was still fuming about it.

He had naturally assumed Pepper would follow him to the Underworld, but he had been prepared to release the familiar if it came to it. Still, he admitted to being pleased when Pepper had agreed to make the move. He just hadn’t assumed the male would be living with them.

He also didn’t remember agreeing to share his home with three overgrown toddlers.

“I can do it. Move.” Sindri shoved at Rune’s shoulder as he waved a spatula at him. “Just let me do it.”

“You’re going to burn the eggs.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

“That’s what you said when you nearly burned down the kitchen,” Tyr responded.

Unlike Rune, however, he wasn’t trying to do anything to stop the coming disaster. Seated in the breakfast nook, he sipped a cup of coffee while he scrolled down the screen of his tablet.

Only Aksel had chosen to stay topside, but he remained with the Nightstar family. As such, he had agreed to act as an intermediary, carrying news back and forth between the realms.

Erus didn’t know why the others couldn’t have stayed as well. Either they took their oaths to protect the prince far too seriously, or they had attachment issues. Whatever the reason, they drove him fucking insane.

Any hope he’d had that their stay would be short-lived had been quickly dashed when Hades had authorized them permanent residency in the Underworld. Worse, the asshole had even given them fucking jobs.

“Stop making that face.” Chuckling, Orrin sidled up in front of him and wrapped his arms around Erus’ waist. “They’re not that bad.”

If he was being truthful, they really weren’t. They even made him laugh from time to time, and he liked knowing they would lay down their lives to protect his mate. For someone who had spent millennia alone, however, suddenly being surrounded by people was kind of overwhelming.

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