She was paler than usual, but clean, freshly dressed.
Okay.
She was okay.
"Ah!" she shrieked when my hand slid down her leg.
Brows furrowed, my fingers dragged up the leg of her pants, finding the skin raw, eaten up, singed at the edges.
I knew that look too well.
I knew that pain too well.
Iron.
"That mother fucker," I roared, fingers somehow gentle as the rage surged through me, making me momentarily worry the Change would overtake me without meaning for it to before I managed to bank down the worst of the anger. "Chair to the head. He deserved his cock cut off and shoved up his own... what?" I asked when Amy let out a strange snort.
"This wasn't Jet," she said, shaking her head. "This was Cass. And the guards. They put me in a cellar. It was Jet who came to get me, had them cut the iron off, brought me upstairs to bathe, eat, change. I even put some salve on that. It's better than it was."
She was trying to reassure me.
But if this was better, then it must have been horrific before.
That should have never happened to her.
Not on my watch.
I'd let her down.
"Hey," she tried again, small hands framing my face, forcing my gaze up. "Stop. I'm okay. A little sore. Kinda in shock still. But fine. I'm here. You got me. My ankle will heal. It doesn't matter." She leaned forward, pressing her lips to mine before resting her forehead against mine. "You were magnificent," she added. "So red. Like... perfectly red. Just like your eyes. Can we ride like that again?"
"Anytime you want," I promised. "But here. Behind the veil. I never want you to go out there again."
"You know, I am more than okay with that," she agreed, arms going around me, pushing and pulling at the same time, urging me to sit, climbing onto my lap, relief and need overtaking us both.
We kissed for what felt like hours, until she finally ripped her lips from mine, resting her forehead to my shoulder.
"Take me home, Drake," she demanded softly.
I stood, holding her close to me.
And I took her home.
EPILOGUE
Amy
My hand brushed over my stomach casually, secretly, wondering if my missed moonsickness was a sign, was hinting at a rounded belly within the next few months, at a fat baby in my arms around Yule, warmed by the fire with spiced cider, singing the hymns of our clan, thanking the universe for a new year, for our blessings, for the death of the old, the welcoming of the new, for the promise of sun, brighter days, new beginnings.
It was fitting, I would think.
It was so soon, though.
My gaze shifted, finding Drake standing in our steadily growing garden, all the sweet little seedlings poking through the earth.
Our first garden had been a lot of trial and error for me - abundant in squash and green beans, but everything else shriveling up on the vine, much to my mortification.
It was your first try, Amy, Drake consoled me when he'd caught me with my knees in the dirt crying with a pepper plant in my hands. This is why we all have a communal garden. Everyone has a bad season now and again. You'll be better next spring.
I hadn't believed him in the moment, being so wrapped up in my irrational self-doubt.
But that fall, I knocked on every single door in the village with a notebook in my hands, asking for their best tips for their most abundant fruits, berries, vegetables, and grains.
And then I put them to use as soon as another long, cold winter battered us. It was okay, though. The cold was barely noticed with Drake and I snuggled in our bed, sharing body heat.
It was hard to believe how quickly a year had passed us by, even though the days were slow and steady behind our veil, locked away in our little corner of the world.
Not everywhere knew our peace.
In fact, despite the best efforts of all the rational-minded fae in positions of power, it sounded as though the next Great War was starting, fae turning against fae, Dark against Light.
The unthinkable had happened not long after Drake and the others had charged into the Dark Court to save me, exposing their kind after so long.
Ang - the Seelie Queen - had showed up at the veil, spotted by one of the mischievous young Draca that had volunteered to go out into The Green to rescue me - the trio of them apparently sneaking out in normal form often enough to catch sight of her as she sat there calmly, waiting to be discovered, surrounded by dozens, hundreds of her guards.
The elders had convened - as they always did - before deciding to go out to meet her, not willing to risk bringing any more outsiders into our sanctuary.
Foren and Borena came back in with shoulders slumped, Drayven and Aurelia looking a bit shocked, Kieran - who had endured three weeks of lectures and suspension for joining my rescue mission when expressly told not to - seeming almost pleased.
It seemed that Ang had asked where the Draca would stand in a Great War that might threaten our peace. Because, well, she had found the veil with her personal mage to guide her. And if her mage could find it, so could Cass'. And that was a fate none of us wanted to meet.
So the Draca had pledged loyalty to the Light Court for the first time in generations.
The able and willing were allowed to take up for the cause, following Ang to the Light Court.
Everyone else, though, was free to stay, to live the lives they had always been promised.
A war.
My stomach pitched at the idea.
I had too many loved ones out there.
Jasper, Jade, Cece, Doyle.
Sal.
Smoky.
What would become of them all?
I even found cause to wonder about my parents, my mother especially, trying to figure out how she might use a war to her advantage. If anyone could pull that off, she could.
And, once in a while, I thought of Jet. Thought of what things would be like for him in a Great War, putting him against his sister.
I wanted to believe his goodness, as small and stilted as it may have been, would prevail.
Maybe Cass would fall.
Maybe Jet would get the throne he so badly wanted.
It was, I worried, the only way the war would come to an end, with a more rational leader sitting on the throne of the Dark Court.
Uncomfortable with the dark thoughts, my hand brushed my belly again, making my body jolt as an image flashed across my mind - like a dream while waking, blurry around the edges.
Me and Drake leading four children to the waterfall, sitting on a rock watching as they splashed around in the water, opening their mouths to roar, pretend to breathe fire, raising their arms like wings, being too young to come into their Change yet, making us both laugh as his arms closed around me, pulling me tight, pressing a kiss into my neck.
And just as suddenly as it came, it disappeared, leaving me staggering back, hitting the house.
"Amy?" Drake's worried voice called, charging forward, his dirty hands framing my face, tilting my head up. "What's wrong? What happened?"
My brows drew together as I shook my head.
"I think... I think I finally just came into my affinities," I told him, feeling the smile stretch wide across my face, realizing he had been right all along, that they would come when they were meant to.
And mine, well, they were as passive as I had always been told they would be. Before everyone gave up on them.
Just short visions, little snippets of the future.
It had taken nearly twenty-four years, but my skills finally came to me.
And showed me my future.
Our future.
Nothing but happiness, love, new generations, everything I had ever wanted.
And suddenly, it didn't matter what happened in the world around us, because I knew what our fate was.
Love.
Happiness.
Babies.
Our own personal little happily ever after.
&
nbsp; XX
DON'T FORGET
Dear Reader,
Thank you for taking time out of your life to read this book. If you loved this book, I would really appreciate it if you could hop onto the retailer of your choice and tell me your favorite parts. You can also spread the word by recommending the book to friends or sending digital copies that can be received via kindle or kindle app on any device.
ALSO BY JESSICA GADZIALA
NAVESINK BANK UNIVERSE:
The Henchmen MC
Reign
Cash
Wolf
Repo
Duke
Renny
Lazarus
Pagan
Cyrus
Edison
Reeve
Sugar
The Fall of V
Adler
The Savages
Monster
Killer
Savior
Mallick Brothers
For A Good Time, Call
Shane
Ryan
Mark
Eli
Charlie & Helen: Back to the Beginning
Investigators
367 Days
14 Weeks
Dark
Dark Mysteries
Dark Secrets
Dark Horse
Professionals
The Fixer
The Ghost
The Messenger
STANDALONES WITHIN NAVESINK BANK:
Grudge Match
OTHER SERIES AND STANDALONES:
Stars Landing
What The Heart Needs
What The Heart Wants
What The Heart Finds
What The Heart Knows
The Stars Landing Deviant
Surrogate
The Sex Surrogate
Dr. Chase Hudson
The Green Series
Into the Green
Escape from the Green
DEBT
Dissent
Stuffed: A Thanksgiving Romance
Unwrapped
Peace, Love, & Macarons
A Navesink Bank Christmas
Don't Come
Fix It Up
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jessica Gadziala is a full-time writer, parrot enthusiast, and coffee drinker from New Jersey. She enjoys short rides to the book store, sad songs, and cold weather.
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<3/ Jessica