Page 96 of Kept

Varick’s hand filled mine.

Laurent’s squeezed the other.

I turned the tears into tiny white blossoms. Jordan’s Flower. Fields of it spread across Eldenvalla.

We didn’t walk forever. The kingdom couldn’t be remade in a day.

And anyway, I wasn’t sure it belonged to me. I had another to rule. Another to remake.

I closed the Rift, healing the gouge in the land and sealing the wound between North and South. The Thicket rose within me, growing from the spell Jordan had given Varick to place on my tongue.

But it wasn’t a barrier. It was a promise. I wove it into the land, vowing that none of Avenor’s descendants would ever summon demons from the Shade again.

And then I took my husbands’ hands and returned to Nor Doru.

Laurent trembled and choked back tears when I pulled the Deepnight over Lar Katerin. My king knelt at my feet, his dark head bowed and his forehead pressed to the back of my hand.

I pulled him up and kissed him. “You don’t kneel to me, Laurent,” I murmured against his lips.

Silver eyes smiled into mine. “Oh, princess, you’ve forgotten how good I am on my knees.” He sank back down. “Maybe I should remind you.”

A soft chuckle tickled my ear from behind, and a warm palm covered my throat. “Watch him, halfling,” Varick whispered in my ear. “If you come like a good girl, I’ll let you watch me fuck him.”

And that was the end. The moment I knew my journey over the Rift was finished at last.

“Is the story over, Helen?”

I’d never wanted it to end. I’d always been so afraid of my dreams.

“All stories end, my princess. But do you want to know a secret?”

I nodded.

Helen smiled.

“We can write a new one.”

Epilogue

GIVEN

There was nothing more breathtaking than Varick of Lar Keiren with his children.

I watched him from my seat at the high table, love and desire twining through me. He balanced a baby in each arm—Violeta on his left and Viktor on his right—as he chatted with Captain Radu.

Laurent leaned over and propped his elbow on the arm of my chair. He toyed with a grape between two beringed fingers and kept his eyes on Varick as he said, “You know, princess, it’s really not fair of you to give Varick two children. If you keep this up, you’re going to make me think you’re playing favorites.”

I smiled. “It’s not favoritism, my lord. I was just trying to fill up his hands.”

Laurent looked at me and popped the grape in his mouth. He raised his eyebrows, his silver eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Don’t,” I said, giving him a stern look. “You’re the king. You’re supposed to set a good example, especially at dinner.”

He swallowed. “It’s not dinner, it’s a feast.” His gaze dropped to my breasts, and he groaned deep in his throat. “And I’m starving, sweetheart.” He leaned closer and slid his finger under my bodice, teasing my nipple. “When we go upstairs, I’m going to suck on your pretty tits while Varick eats your cunt. Then we’re going to switch.”

I swallowed, my nipple hardening under his skilled, wicked fingers.

“And then,” he murmured, his voice like smoke, “we’re going to switch again. But we won’t let you come, darling.” He tugged my bodice dangerously low. The edge of the fabric scraped my nipple, which threatened to pop into the open. “Varick and I are going to strip you naked and spread you open and keep you on edge until you plead for mercy. It could take hours.”

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