by Jen Pretty
“I choose you, Alexandra Everest, to be a part of my life, now and forever.”
I felt magic pulse and sway through our unique bond before it jumped to reach out past us in ever-expanding rings like a pebble dropped in a puddle.
It sent tingles down my back and raised the hairs on my arms. Roman must have felt it too because he shivered and pulled me closer. It was a perfect moment I would remember for the rest of my life as a tear of joy slid down my cheek towards the smile that pulled my face to near splitting.
“Are you two having some kinky magic sex over there?” Puck, the asshole, called. I wanted to be angry, but I couldn’t help the laughter that overtook me. When Roman winked and clicked his teeth at me, I only laughed harder.
Roman pulled the blanket up over our heads and settled me down beside him. Cocooned, we lay in each other’s arms, pretending the world outside didn’t exist. He told me stories from centuries ago and I told him about the witch and Daisy. He wiped the sneaky tears that pushed out of my eyes as I went through what he had missed and then he wrapped me up tightly and promised I would never be alone again.
Eventually, we had to get moving. People were waiting for me, and I wanted to go home. I missed my condo and my coffee shop. Oh God, coffee.
We stood and walked back toward the cottage. Evan and the guys had left so we walked alone, hand in hand.
Back at the cottage, Marick raced out to meet us, Daisy waddling along behind her like an old nanny trying to keep up with a young charge.
“Hi, Marick. How are you?” Roman laughed as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“I’m glad you are all better,” she said, smiling up at him with the kind of joy only a child can possess. “We are a family now.” Then she quickly hugged me, shifted into her fox form and ran off after Daisy who abruptly changed direction and hustled away from the approaching fox. He flapped his wings as he ran and honked a merry string of quacks until the fox trounced him. Then he tumbled, stood up and turned to chase the fox. It was my vision, come to life.
Margot stood at the cottage door with Victor as we walked up.
“Come on in, I made your favourite for dinner,” Margot said, hustling us in.
“Thanks, Margot,” I replied.
Inside all the hunters plus Puck and Evan were sitting on the couches chatting animatedly. Roman and I huddled together on an oversized chair, eating some of Margot’s famous stew and listening to the old warriors share stories. Puck had some wild tales of magic and battles from before the time of the witch when my ancestors rode him in battle.
An elf came in bowing with his eyes on the floor to let us know that the elders would like to see Roman and me when we had a moment, then he backed out the door having never raised his eyes.
I laughed when he was gone, and Roman wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his lap and kissed me until the hunters started groaning and Puck threw a couch cushion at us. At least some people weren’t going to treat us differently.
“Hey, I’m the Fae King now that Lex and I are officially bonded. You better be careful, unicorn. Your head might look nice on the wall of my study,” Roman teased.
“Is that true?” I asked, a bit shocked. The fae now had a half-elf queen and a vampire king. If that didn’t unite the worlds, nothing would.
“He’s right. A very long time ago, all the supernatural world was a lot closer. Though we usually had a fae king, no one will turn down a vampire king now that we have peace again between our people.
It was late afternoon now and I was getting tired, but if we went back through my portal, I could sleep in the SUV while someone else drove us back to the elder’s mansion in Italy.
I grabbed a quick shower and changed into some of Margot’s clothes, so I looked a bit presentable. Margot loved pretty clothes so I was almost dressed for my new role as I stepped out of the cottage to the waiting crowd of Fae. They all bowed and muttered words like highness and queen and king while we walked past them to the portal.
I held Roman’s hand and we walked back through to Italy. More fae waited there and the same reverence greeted us. However, there were now beer kegs and a band setting up. It was the perfect place for a party.
Behind us, a cursing Puck came flying through the portal just before Daisy, flapping madly. Then a grinning Evan stepped through followed closely by Marick.
Marick ran up and pushed between Roman and me, holding one of each of our hands like a tiny bridge. I felt her magic make a connection that ran from Roman through her to me. She smiled up at me and then pulled us both towards the Humvee.
The trip down the mountain was a bit rough but much better than walking.
When our ride finally got us back to the closest road, we all climbed out and into the waiting SUVs in the much-expanded parking lot. There were dozens of vehicles in the new gravel parking lot.
Armond drove us out and some of the hunters would follow along behind, but Evan had decided to stay on the mountain for the party. He loved a good party. Who knew?
Cocooned in Roman’s arms and the sound of Marick's soft snores filling the warm vehicle, I felt a weight lift off me as I drifted to sleep in the back of the SUV.
When I woke, it was dark out, but I could see the large gathering outside thanks to the lights of the mansion.
“You ready for this, your highness?” Armond asked from the front seat. It was the first time he had used my title, having called me princess since he first met me.
I smiled and nodded. He opened his door and got out before opening mine, like a chauffeur and holding his hand out to me. The crowd began cheering. Fae and elves and vampires of all descriptions had gathered here.
Surrounded by joyful well-wishers, we edged through the crowd together, Roman carrying Marick up on his shoulder. Daisy led the way, quacking loudly.
“Welcome young queen and king,” Theo, the dream walking elder intoned as we climbed the steps to the palace.
“Thank you for having us in your home,” I said, giving him a broad smile.
Theo led us all to the large dining room. My giant throne was once again at the center of the head table, but beside it was an equally ornate and plush chair. I smirked at Roman.
“I guess I’m not the center of attention anymore.”
“You will always be the center of my attention,” he whispered, but of course the other vampires who had followed us in heard it. So, did Puck.
“Ugh, you guys. I’m not living with you if you are going to be all mushy all the time.”
“Who said you were living with us?” I asked, looking at him over my shoulder as we walked to our seats.
“Of course, I’m living with you. It would be weird to sleep outside the door of your condo every night. Besides, who would protect you?” he replied.
“I’m, like, really powerful, Puck,” I teased. “Remember when I tossed you across the room.”
He grumbled and took his seat to my left. Roman took his place to my right, with little Marick beside him. Daisy took his seat in my lap until the food arrived, and then he made his way up and down the table, stealing dinner rolls from anyone who wasn’t paying attention. I would need to watch his weight since he was staying on earth. Baked goods were easy to come by here.
Theo pushed back his chair and stood. The room hushed until it was silent.
“Thank you all for coming today. We are here to celebrate not just our new queen, but also, our new king.” He looked over at us and smiled. “We have waited for a very long time for our new royal family and hopefully it won’t be long before we have tiny princes and princesses running about.” He looked back at me as my smile fell. Holy shit. He laughed and continued. “We look forward to a future of peace and prosperity.” The gathered crowd cheered and clapped, filling the giant dining hall with thunder.
I glanced at Roman, still in shock from the talk of children to find the vampire was laughing. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he leaned in and kissed me, making me forget that he was laughing a
t me and making the crowd go crazy again.
When he finally broke the kiss, he didn’t pull away; he brought his lips to my ear.
“I love you,” he whispered, and that was all I needed.
The elders hosted us for a few days, and we were fed and clothed like the new royals we were, but I wanted to start our life together in our new home. I was done with travelling for a while, if not forever, but my new entourage wasn’t going to fit in my old condo and Marick needed space to run. I still wanted to be near enough to the city that I could check in on my father’s corporation but decided it would be better to live outside of the city, so there was only one solution.
That solution promised the best damn cookies in all the worlds I had ever travelled.
EPILOGUE
“Daisy!” I called out the back door of the hunter’s mansion. They had quite happily let me move in with them, even with my entourage of half-wild animals.
I heard a quack and turned to look at the forest to the west as a silly duck came careening out of the woods as fast as his little legs could carry his plump body. He made it about fifty feet before a tiny red fox flew out of the forest like a bolt of lightning and trounced the pudgy bird.
Daisy squawked and spun around aiming to bite the fox, but he was too slow and the fox was gone again in a heartbeat, racing towards me now. Daisy took flight, flapping his wings and catching up to the fox in time to land on it before it made it to the back door. The pair rolled through the grass with the momentum they had built in their silly game of tag and the small fox turned into a tiny girl not much bigger than the duck. Her hair was a tangle of red curls and her giggles filled the yard with so much joy it was hard not to join her.
Marick was magnetic and had every one of the hunters wrapped around her little finger. My favourite kitchen lady had put some weight on her small frame, but still, she struggled to eat enough calories. We figured that because her magic was so strong, she burned her food off before her body could use it. We took her to healers, but they all said there was nothing wrong with her, she was merely blessed with more magic than she could handle at her age.
“Come on you two, it’s time for dinner,” Daisy untangled himself from the girl and came racing towards the back door on hard flapping wings. Marick shifted back into a fox and raced the bird through the door and down the hall to the dining room where all the hard, battle-worn hunters pandered to her every whim, giving her ice cream for dinner and pouring her fresh squeezed orange juice.
I walked through the doorway and was caught up by Roman’s steely arms as he spun me around and kissed me against the wall of the dining room, making the hunters whistle and call.
“Thanks for that,” I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes at his goofy grin and covertly flipping off the hunters while Marick’s back was turned. Cutting down on the swearing had been hard at first. I had never been around a child before, though Marick was probably old enough that I wouldn’t have damaged her too badly with a few f-bombs. I had promised Helena that I would take care of her and I was going to do the best job I could.
Our life had settled into a strange routine of playing house with our unusual family.
“Come on, Lex,” Roman whispered as he ushered me out of the crowded room and down the hall to the entertainment room. I got a quick glance at the room, the couches pushed to the sides, before the door swung shut, dropping us back into the darkness again. Roman led me to the center of the room.
He left me standing there in the dark room and I was about to object when the gentle piano tinkle of Puccini’s Musetta’s Waltz came through the surround sound speakers on the wall. He took my hand in his and rested his other hand on the small of my back, pulling me close to him.
We danced until the end of time.
Or there about.
The End.
Book Title Copyright © 2018 by Jen Pretty. All Rights Reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Jen Pretty
Visit my website at www.jenprettyauthor.com
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing: Nov 2018
ISBN
