Page 117 of Claim the Twilight
The darkness had been my shield, and now that Elanthra was no longer a part of me, the sun would have me.
“Be still.” Encantor’s voice filled my head. “Be protected.” A cooling sensation rushed over my body, and I sagged, my limbs growing heavy with relief.
“A boon to you,” Encantor said. “My thanks. Until we meet again.”
I wanted to say goodbye. To say thank you, but my mouth refused to move, my eyelids too heavy to keep open. As they slipped closed, I felt my guys around me, cocooning me in their power and protection.
I was safe.
I was home.
“Sleep now,” Ordell said. “We’ve got you. Always.”
Chapter 47
EZEKIEL
There has been no sunrise in the vista since Loviator trapped me here because there can be no sunrise without Orina. That memory is hers, just as the ocean and the moonlight are mine. This place is an amalgamation of us both, but without her, it feels incomplete and hollow.
The moonlight shifts and shimmers over choppy waves that hurl themselves against the cliffs below, throwing up foam that sprays upward but never succeeds in touching my skin.
I’m still here, which means Loviator is still alive.
But being free could mean that Hemlock is…I can’t bear to think on it.
I take a deep breath and make to turn away from the night sky but falter as the moon dims and the sky is streaked with gray. What is this?
Could it be?
Pressure blooms at my solar plexus, and my heart swells, hope leaving me breathless. I can feel her. Here. Behind me. But what if I’m wrong? What if I’m imagining it?
The sky brightens, and the sun peeks over the horizon, and her voice fills the dawn.
“I’m here,” she says. “It’s time to wake up.”
Epilogue
One Month Later
ORINA
The triplets screamed in delight as Ordell and Hemlock chased them across the courtyard. It was our weekend with them, and I was going to miss it, but I’d promised them extra time on their next visit. A movie, shopping, and whatever their little hearts desired. Leaning against the doorframe, luggage at my feet, I watched as Ordell scooped up Ava under one arm and Aaron under the other while Hemlock threw Aidan over his shoulder.
Loviator’s demise had freed Ordell and his children of the beast curse. The triplets barely remembered their time in the Rim, and aside from the odd nightmare, they seemed to be adjusting well.
Hemlock too was a changed man—lighter and brighter. His smiles filled my heart with joy, and that damn silver coin he used to flip across his knuckles now sat on his dresser. He didn’t need it any longer. He was free from the channel of power that hadthreatened to end him and from the pain he’d had to employ to control it.
All three of my guys were free of the curses, but the blessings that Loviator had given them remained. Ordell could now freely commune with nature, his druid abilities taking front seat to the beast he’d been forced to be. Hemlock was slowly learning how to manipulate the weave, his sorcerer nature allowed to flourish, and Ezekiel…well, he was as sexy and vampiric as ever, with his humanity intact.
“You don’t have to go,” Ezekiel said, coming up behind me. He slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me against his chest. “You know we’ll miss you.”
I leaned back with a sigh. “I know. I’ll miss you guys too, but I want to see Quinn. I need to. Nyx is probably already there. It’s been a long time since the three of us were together and…I need that.”
“I know. I’m just being selfish.”
I bit back a smile. “I love it when you’re a little selfish, especially when it comes to your time with me.”
“One week,” he said against my ear, his breath warm and enticing. “Then I’ll send Ordell and Hemlock to get you.”
