Epilogue
I regained awareness, but wasn’t strong enough to open my eyes quite yet. I was still so exhausted and hollow from low magical essence. But I was more scared than anything. The idea of facing a world without Jacob in it was something I wasn’t sure I could face.
“Bella baby. Are you awake? Please open your eyes. I need to know you are going to be alright.” Maddox’s voice sounded desperate. I tried to force my eyes to open so I could comfort him. After a few failed attempts I managed to peel my heavy eyelids open.
“Jacob?” I asked, in a wavering, quiet voice. Maddox let out a choked sob and leaned forward to hold me.
“You are awake, we were so worried you wouldn’t wake up after that. You’ve been out for days. Thank the spirits, Bella.” He choked out.
“Jacob?” I repeated in a slightly stronger voice.
“I can’t say that he’s fine, but he will live.” My eyes grew wide at his admission. Was my Jacob paralyzed? A vegetable? What did I do?
Maddox must have noticed my horror and shook his head. “He’s going to be more than ok. Promise.” I sighed heavily, in relief. I could feel tears trailing down my cheeks.
“I heard you talking, is she awake?” Emrick’s rumbling voice was like music to my ears. He burst into the tent and saw I was awake. I was being cradled in his arms before I could even process what was happening.
“Sweetheart, don’t scare me like that again.” He scolded, before crushing his lips into mine in a desperate kiss. I could practically feel the anguish my poor protector felt.
“Share, Emrick!” Bowen yelled, gently yet firmly, plucking me from his massive arms.
Bowen kissed my forehead and I saw a tear trail down his cheek. I reached up and wiped it away, giving him a small smile.
“Darling, did you know that completely draining your magic could kill you? Do you know how dangerous that was?” He asked in a pained voice.
“Would it matter? I could feel myself weaken, but Jacob is my family, I can’t lose him. I would do it again. I’m not sorry I did it, but I am sorry I worried you. But no, I didn’t know I could die from it.” I answered, quietly.
“Darling, I love you.” He said firmly. My eyes widened at his admission. He gently brushed his lips against mine. “I knew the moment I saw you drop. I was so scared I would lose you, and I regretted not telling you more than anything else.”
“I love you too, my king.” I answered, kissing him back.
I heard Gerwyn come up behind us, but he didn’t demand to take me like the others. Instead he waited for Bowen to hand me over on his own. Once I was in his arms he stared into my eyes. His gaze showed all of his emotions. Hurt, desperation, love, fear and sadness all warred with each other in his gaze.
“I’m so sorry I scared you. I’m ok, Wyn.” I said, caressing his cheek. He closed his eyes and nuzzled into my neck. He stayed that way for several minutes, before nipping my neck. I yelped and he chuckled.
“Don’t do that again, or I promise you there will be consequences.” He murmured, giving me a wink to show he was mostly joking. I felt a jolt of desire at his threat. I couldn’t help but wonder what he had in store for me.
“Alright, enough loving on the queen, take me to see Jacob. No arguing.” I said, leveling each of them with a sharp look.
“If you can stand, I will take you sweetheart.” Emrick promised. I slowly rolled over so I could push off of the ground. I did so slowly, trying not to make myself dizzy. I slowly stood and wavered for a few seconds before gaining my balance. I gave Emrick a triumphant smile. He rolled his eyes, but gave me a smile. He walked over and wrapped his arm around my waist, supporting me lightly so I didn’t use all of what little strength I had left.
Jacob was in a tent that was now set up near mine on the plateau. The walk was slow and unsteady, but we made it. I took a deep breath before entering the tent. As my eyes landed on Jacob I couldn’t hold back the sobs. I would have collapsed if it wasn’t for Emrick holding me up.
“It’s okay, Queenie, I’m alive and recovering.” Jacob reassured me. I took a few calming breaths before I could look at him.
“Jacob, you’re a Fae now?” I choked out in surprise. His skin was the same shade as mine now. His hair went form the chestnut brown to a midnight black with an almost violet tint to it. His eyes were no longer bluish gray, but a strong shining silver. His once round ears were pointed like the Fae.
“Apparently you hated not being related, so you turned me into a real Fae.” He joked, but his smile was happy. “Thanks for saving me Bella.”
“I couldn’t have lived without you.” I told him honestly. “You mean too much to me. I need to know what happened though, someone needs to be punished.” I felt my magic flare up with my anger. Nobody hurts my best friend and gets away with it.
“It was Gwen. Apparently she was your other traitor. She offered to teach me how to spar, but when we were sparring her face completely changed and she pulled her dagger on me. She ranted about you taking her lover away, so she would take someone you love. She knew that I was the one you loved most.” He explained.
“Where is she?” I demanded, directing that question at Emrick.
“She ran through the portal. We were all desperate to save Jacob that nobody stopped her.” He looked down. I took a deep, calming breath.
“Don’t be ashamed, Jacob will always be my top priority. You did the right thing. We need to seal the portal against her, like we did for Allwyn. Who the fuck sits by and watches their lover seduce another woman?” I was disgusted at the thought and enraged at the thought of them making a joke out of me.
“Hopefully that is the last we will see of them.” Jacob stated. I noticed he was looking exhausted and pale again.
“Get some more rest, my Fae prince. Love you more than I love 80s rock.” I blew him a kiss.
“Love you, forever.” He mumbled back, before closing his eyes. Emrick led me out of the tent so Jacob could rest.
“There have been too many traitors in our group. I want you to learn how to defend yourself with a weapon, before we go to the Court of Winter.” Emrick said firmly.
“We have to wait for Jacob to recover anyway, so I can agree to that. Can we start tomorrow and plan today? I’m still exhausted.” I asked, stifling another yawn.
“Let’s head back to our tent. You can rest today, train tomorrow morning and plan later in the day. Today is the day for doing nothing and getting waited on like the queen you are.” He stated.
Gerwyn and Maddox were in the tent waiting when we returned. Emrick said it was his turn for guard duty and he would be back in a few hours. Bowen had already left without him, in case he was late.
“You are stuck with us, beautiful.” Gerwyn said with a sly grin.
“First, you eat, then you rest.” Maddox demanded, ushering me to lean against the pillows on our bedroll. I eagerly took his bowl of vegetables and scarfed it down. Apparently restoring magic made you hungry.
“Did Emrick convince you to train first? He was pretty insistent.” Gerwyn questioned as he scooted me up and slid in behind me. I nodded as I took my last bite of food.
“I start tomorrow.” I said, closing my eyes and enjoying the magical massage Gerwyn was giving me. He worked his warm hands over the knots in my shoulders. Maddox positioned himself at my feet and began giving me a foot rub. Being pampered by two sexy guys was definitely a great way to relax.
“Rest now, our queen. We plan tomorrow. We will retrieve the stone from Winter soon. You need to rest in order to have enough magic to train. Gerwyn repositioned us so we were snuggling on the bedroll. Maddox curled up in front of me, so I was sandwiched between them. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warmth and safety of the moment. I pushed all of the chaos out of my mind until tomorrow. Tomorrow I could deal with the fact I turned a human into a Fae, planning, training, and rebuilding a realm. Today though, right now, I was going to enjoy the moment and just be happy my best friend was alive and I had four men who loved me.