by A. M. Hardin
Ella glances from me to Adam then back again, her expression slightly confused. “Yeah, uh, I’ll just, um, go. I don’t really want to see what you’re going to do with him. I’ve seen you angry like that, and it’s never a good thing.”
I almost smile at Ella’s words, but she disappears in the blink of an eye. I grab the dagger firmly in my hand. “I’m going to kill you the exact same way that you made my father kill my sister,” I inform him, my voice so cold I’m shocked that it hasn’t started snowing in the damn room. “It’s the least a fucking monster like you deserves.”
I stalk forward and get in his face. “For every life you’ve ever taken, for every person that you’ve manipulated into killing their loved ones or just plain manipulated.” I smirk as I say the last. “I sentence you to death, King Castien, Adam, and whatever other name you go by. You have failed your people and that’s just something that won’t go unpunished.”
He glares at me, hatred burning in his cold eyes. There’s resignation there, too. Without a second thought I plunge the dagger deep into his heart. A grunt escapes his lips and I watch as the life leaves his eyes, leaving them dull instead of cold.
Taking a deep shaky breath, I stand up, my legs shaking. Arms wrap around my waist. Arms I recognize.
Xander.
“We’ve got you, ma hai,” he whispers into my ear.
Those words did it. A sob bursts from my body as tears start to cascade down my face. I finally did it. I got justice for my family. I got my revenge. I got rid of the threat to me, to my husbands, to my Kingdom.
I knew from the start that killing him wouldn’t make me feel any better about my family’s death. It was something I had to do to fight the overwhelming numbness that was taking over. And now that the determination to get rid of the threat is gone, I can’t push the emotions aside anymore.
I don’t know how long Xander, Kade, and Andrei hold me as I cry. I just know that they’ll never let me go.
Epilogue
Cherish
I clench my fists and take a deep breath before reaching up to knock on the door in front of me. The door I’ve just waltzed right through several times through the years. But now? Now, it feels wrong to not knock. I told the guys that no matter what, the girls would know the truth about what happened. I didn’t care if I had to prove it or anything, but they needed to know the truth.
I didn’t realize it until earlier this morning, but it’s officially been a year since I met Kade, Andrei, and Xander.
My life changed dramatically in such a short time. Finding out I was half-elf, training with the guys, my families death, being framed for the murder of my brother and biological dad, stopping my brother, falling in love with the guys. I look down at the ring we finally all agreed on two weeks after the wedding.
They wanted me to be able to choose the kind of ring I wanted and it took an insane amount of time for us to agree on one. It’s a rose gold ring with a large diamond in the middle with several smaller ones surrounding it, making it look almost like the sun. I immediately fell in love with the ring the moment I saw it. The guys all agreed right away too, making the moment so much better.
“Just a minute!” a voice shouts back at me, making my stomach churn.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” I mutter, taking a step back and backing into Kade’s chest.
His hands rest on my shoulders, staying me. “It’ll be fine, mia. Zoe and Lucy are your friends. They’ll understand.”
“It’s been almost a year since I’ve seen them, Kade. What if they hate me?” I bring my thumb up and start biting on the pad. A large, calloused hand reaches around my side and pulls my hand away from my mouth.
“I thought you stopped that a while ago,” Xander chides, a smile in his voice.
“It’s a hard habit to break when I’m freaking the fuck out,” I bite out.
Andrei snorts from behind us. “She’s still mad at you?”
“Hell if I know anymore,” Xander mutters.
“I heard that,” I sing-song with a smile. “And no, Andrei, I’m not mad at him.”
Kade chuckles. “What did he do, ma hai?”
“He was being an ass,” I grumble, my cheeks pink. Okay, not really, but he wouldn’t let me take control during sex at all earlier this morning and I was getting pissed. Then he spanked me. And didn’t stop when I told him to stop. He just fuckin’ spanked me again.
“Woman,” Xander growls, “don’t make me spank your ass again.”
I feel Kade shaking with silent laughter behind me and I’m sure Andrei’s doing the same.
The door opens, revealing a shocked Lucy.
“Cher?” Lucy asks, her voice shaky.
“Hey, Luce,” I say with a wince and an awkward wave.
The next thing I know I have a small human clinging to me like a monkey. “Cherish!” Lucy sobs, her head in the crook of my neck. “You’re alive. I knew it.”
“Yeah, Luce,” I mutter, my voice thick with unshed tears as I hug her just as tightly. “I’m alive. Is Zoe here too?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Lucy says quickly before pulling away just enough to shout into the house without letting me go. “Zoe! Get your ass out here! Pronto woman!”
Footsteps can be heard as I continue clinging to Lucy. A loud gasp has me looking up and I grin at my soft-spoken friend. “Hey, Z.”
“Cherish,” Zoe whispers, her eyes wide. “It’s really you?”
“Yeah, Zoe, it’s really me.”
In the next second I have Zoe wrapped around me like a clinging vine, making me laugh as their combined weight makes me topple over into Kade, who stumbles, trying to keep us upright.
“Woah, girls,” Kade says. “How about we don’t squish me until I’m out of the way, yeah?”
The girls let go of me, clearly seeing the guys for the first time since the door opened. “You guys have been with her the whole time, haven’t you?” Zoe asks carefully.
“We have.” Andrei answers for all of them.
“You took care of our girl?” Lucy asks, eyebrow raised, daring them to lie to her. The question makes me laugh a little.
“Of course,” Xander says, sounding offended.
“We’d never let anything happen to our wife,” Kade says, sounding smug as my friends turn to gape at me.
I glare at him. “I wanted to be the one to tell them, Kade!”
He shrugs. “You guys would have beat around the bush. Might as well get it out now.”
I think about that for a moment before realizing the shithead has a point. “Whatever,” I mumble.
“’Our wife?’” Lucy asks, voice shrill.
I smile. “Uh, yeah. I’m married to all three of them.”
“Your ass better have a ring,” Lucy demands.
I laugh and hold my hand out so she can inspect my ring.
“Cherish, what happened? Your sister and parents’ blood was all over your house and their bodies went missing. Then you were missing. Adam went missing and then these three, I’m guessing went with you, wherever you went,” Zoe rambles.
I smile. “We need to go inside and I’ll explain everything. I promise.”
THE END
Thank you for reading to the end of Cherish’s journey.
Keep your eye out for Aila’s story coming 2019
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About The Author
A.M. (or Autumn) Hardin was born and raised in Holland, Michigan. She’s married with three girls. Her favorite books change depending on her mood, though her tastes are very eclectic. As long as it’s romance, there’s a good chance she has, or plans to, read it. When she doesn’t have a book in her hand or is spending time with her family, she can be found writing in either a notebook or on her computer.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to th
ank my family, my husband and beautiful girls, for standing with me, believing in me, and supporting me on my writing journey.
My betas, you all rock and I couldn’t do this without you guys ❤
My friends and co-authors, Aspen and Lacey, your support and understanding while I struggle has been an absolute godsend. I love you!
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