A smile spread across Diane’s face and she stepped closer to Ralf.
“But…”
“Your father was a noble, Ralf. Besides, we’re not exactly living the courtly life.” Edmund gestured to the manor house behind him. “And I’m the king. I can make whatever rule I want.”
Another step closer, and Diane took Ralf’s hand. He looked down to her.
“You shouldn’t argue with him. You know how stubborn he gets.” She shook her head.
Ralf relented with a smile and laced his fingers through hers.
Diane turned to find her companions. The sight of August embracing his parents brought a lump resurfacing in her throat. Almost as much as seeing Dorian’s family again when they’d stopped for a night back at Csorna Hold. Adela reached out to Tonya to wrap her in a hug as well.
Diane motioned Edmund forward, pulling Ralf with her, as she was not about to let go of his hand, and began introductions. August finished for her, only because she was interrupted by the sobbing whirlwind that was Matilde coming to crash into her.
Once the tears and hugs and greetings were over, and caribou stabled and accommodations found, they moved inside the manor house to tell the story again.
Chairs were pulled from the dining room, the smaller sitting room, and bedrooms to accommodate Tonya and August’s parents, Lilja, Edmund, Ralf, and Diane and her companions. Diane pulled Matilde down into a chair after she helped bring out drinks and fresh-baked scones.
Diane claimed a chair next to Ralf, who sat like he’d rather be standing back in the shadows and listening. But he relaxed slightly when she took his hand again.
Tonya and Dorian sat next to each other, hands entwined. They’d been nearly inseparable during the course of the trip and August had taken it as his solemn duty, along with Diane, to tease them about it whenever they got a chance.
They paused in the telling of the story only to balance plates on their laps as dinner was brought out. Adela paled and pressed a hand to her mouth when they relayed the bit about the ambush. Damian clamped a hand on August’s shoulder as he leaned a little closer to his parents.
After Tonya assured them that the ice was gone for good, Edmund sat back with relief showing plain in his features.
“You don’t know how glad that makes me,” he said. “Thank you for everything you did.”
Tonya ducked her head, faint red spreading across her cheeks.
“Although some good came of it all.” Edmund looked to Damian and Adela. “It made humans and faeries work together again towards a common goal. It’s done more to foster some real peace among our people and countries than these years without war.”
Diane leaned against Ralf’s shoulder. Edmund’s words chipped away at a weight inside her and she understood the change in her brother. There was still work to be done, but maybe they could finally start building and moving forward again.
Ralf brushed a kiss against her forehead. She tilted her head enough to smile up at him. Between him and Edmund, she’d have the courage to keep standing tall and doing her part.
Chapter Thirty-six
Tonya wiggled her bare toes deeper into the sand. She closed her eyes, listening to the gentle hiss of the waves against the shore as they strained to reach her just beyond the tideline. With the ice gone and in the heat of the summer sun, she’d done away with shoes. Her mother had done the same with a wearily amused smile from Freyr.
Her ocean magic tingled in her fingertips, begging for release. Her ice magic settled into the background, content finally to share her with the ocean. She waded forward into the waves, the warm water sloshing around her knees, nudging her and chuckling a welcome in each swell. She spun around, flinging her arms wide to send the water dancing around her in ribbons and myriad droplets.
She turned back to face the beach. Dorian stood in the sand, watching her with his smile. The caribou nosed the salty grass higher up in the dunes. Arvo had refused to leave Dorian, and the ice faeries had laughingly parted with him and the other caribou that she and her parents had ridden.
It was just the four of them that left Chelm together to head towards the southern tip of Myrnius.
“Are you coming in?” she called.
He rolled his eyes a little, but bent to shuck his boots and roll his trousers up to his knees. He waded in, reaching out toward her. She danced away with a smirk, fluttering her hand and sending a small wave to crash over him and leave him soaked.
He wiped water from his face in a deliberate motion, the smile building around his eyes. She backed away, a laugh bubbling on her lips. He slammed his foot down in a splash of water. The sand shifted and rumbled beneath her feet in response.
A laughing scream broke from her as she lost her balance. A gust of wind from his wings knocked her the rest of the way into the water. His triumph was short-lived as she doused him again with another wave. Abandoning magic, he tackled her into the waves.
They came up breathless and laughing. He helped her to her feet and pulled her into a kiss. It was better than when he first kissed her two days ago beneath the midnight sky. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled a hand in his damp hair and kept kissing him.
There, knee deep in the waves, wrapped in his arms, with her magic settling around her heart, she was wild, and wonderful, and whole, and home.
The End
Acknowledgments
I never really know how to fill out these pages. I know I’m going to forget someone. And for being a writer, I’m very bad at putting my appreciation into words.
To my family who has unfailingly supported me over the years, and have accepted my writerly tendencies with grace. It means more to me than I can tell when you ask about my books, or want to discuss them with me. And thanks for not batting an eye when I casually mention torturing characters. Y’all are the best.
To Katie Phillips, my editor, who reassured me that this story wasn’t a complete mess, and once again, helped me shape it into something more coherent.
To Deborah, who has become an amazing cheerleader over the years. Thanks for the word sprints and the fangirly comments.
To Paige, my best friend and encourager. There’s a little bit of you in Diane.
To my beta readers Skye, Elisabeth, and Hazel—thanks so much for the feedback and the encouragement.
It takes so many people to get a book out, and this wouldn’t be complete with several more people. Rachael for saving me from the headache of formatting. LoriAnn for stunning with me with your cover design once again.
And thanks to you, reader. Thanks for making it this far. For telling me that you’ve enjoyed my other books and encouraging me to get to this point of releasing another book. Couldn’t have done it without you. Stay courageous, friends.
Adela's Curse
The Faeries of Myrnius Book 1
A curse. A murderous scheme. A choice.
“Reading this feels like coming home.” – Kendra E. Ardnek, author of The Rizkaland Legends.
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The Wolf Prince
The Faeries of Myrnius Book 2
2019 Realm Award Finalist – YA category
One prince. Two brothers. Three companions to prevent a sorcerer from destroying the faeries.
“Should be the next Disney film!” Kyle Robert Shultz, author of the Beaumont and Beasley series.
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More Books by Claire M. Banschbach
The Rise of Aredor Series
A lost prince. A runaway chieftain’s son. A sweeping war that threatens their countries’ very existence.
“Ben Hur meets The Horse and His Boy meets Robin Hood.”
- EB Dawson, author of The Lost Empire series.
(The Rise of Aredor Book 1)
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(The Rise of Aredor Book 2)
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New Adult/Adult Books by C.
M. Banschbach
with grit and snark from
C.M. Banschbach and Uncommon Universes Press.
Oath of the Outcast
The Dragon Keep Chronicles Book 1
A lost brother. An unwilling outlaw. A rising enemy. An unusual alliance.
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Years ago, Rhys MacDuffy was brutally cut off from his clan, stripped of his name and inheritance, and banished to the remote Dragon Keep. Perched high above the Shang Pass in the land of Alsaya, he assumed the mantle of the Mountain Baron, serving out his sentence as the overseer of the worst outlaws and outcasts.
But one day he receives a desperate message from the clan who disowned him: MacDuffy’s Seer—his beloved brother—has been taken by their enemies. With his band of Mountain Brigands and an unwelcome sidekick, Rhys leaves his mountain stronghold to find and rescue his brother.
The tide of war is rising amongst the Clans of Alsaya, fueled by the magic-wielding sect of Druids who seek to unleash a dark force the world has long forgotten.
Can the bond of blood run deeper than banishment?
* * *
Blood of the Seer
The Dragon Keep Chronicles Book 2
Coming Fall 2020!
About the Author
Claire M. Banschbach is a native Texan and would make an excellent hobbit if she wasn’t so tall. She’s an overall dork, pizza addict, and fangirl. When not writing fantasy stories packed full of adventure and snark, she works as a pediatric Physical Therapist where she happily embraces the fact that she never actually has to grow up.
She writes New Adult/Adult fantasy as C.M. Banschbach.
She loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Instagram where you can find dorky life and writing updates.
Twitter: twitter.com/cmbanschbach
Facebook: facebook.com/cmbanschbach/
Instagram: instagram.com/cmbanschbach/
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