Lilly found Luc in one of the side chambers, in deep discussion with some of the fair folk who had come from the Veil. He motioned for her to join them when he saw her enter, and she went over with some alacrity. She wasn’t sure how she would be received by the others and didn’t want to cause any friction, but they were as kind as could be, and since these men and women had not been on the journey to the Alchemists’ city, they were eager to hear all about the adventure.

  Equally, they told of the action on the border after Luc and Lilly had left. Some of these guards had flown watch over the mercs as they left through the high pass with Elderland, and the ejection of a few of the more cantankerous merc companies made for amusing tales.

  Lilly was gratified by the friendly reception she received from Luc’s friends. They were all a bit older than him, it seemed, from the way they were speaking, but they were kind to Luc and Lilly and very complimentary regarding Shilayla’s performance. They marvelled at her flying in the demonstrations earlier that day and asked Luc about the whirlwind they had encountered on their journey and how Shilayla had handled it.

  Luc seemed to bask in their attention, and they didn’t leave Lilly out of the conversation. This felt good and right. Comrades talking about their missions, much the way her friends among the Castle Guard spoke with her about their work.

  Jimnel came over and was easily welcomed into the group. A few of his off-duty lieutenants saw Lilly and Jimnel there and came over to join the party, as well. Lilly was glad to see the way the two groups of newly-formed allies were getting along. Warriors accepting warriors and telling tales of past actions.

  The party wasn’t structured. The servants came and went, and, Lilly knew, there was a party going on in the servants’ hall, as well. All but the high table were serving themselves from massive buffets set up in different places and mingling freely. The courtiers sat in the great hall, by their own choice, but later in the evening, as the tables were pushed aside to make room for dancing, there was a bit more mingling.

  Well after midnight, when the party showed no signs of slowing down, Luc caught Lilly’s hand and led her outside, into the garden. Fairy lanterns had been lit here and there among the bushes, and torches lit the outside walls of the castle. The place looked magical, and more than one couple was out walking among the fragrant boughs.

  “Where are you taking me?” Lilly teased as Luc walked purposefully toward a distant part of the garden. She thought she knew where he was heading but didn’t see any point in ruining the mystery of the moment.

  “I’m stealing you away, and I may never be persuaded to return you,” he quipped, leering at her in a comical way as they walked along. The light was dimmer the farther out from the castle they went, and when they rounded the final bend and she could see the bower, her breath caught.

  Someone had lit tiny lanterns and hung them from the tree branches, creating a magical nook in the otherwise dark garden. The night-blooming plants lent their heady fragrance to the scene, and a bottle of wine with two crystal glasses rested on the bower seat. Luc had planned ahead, and Lilly was truly touched.

  When they reached the sitting area, he gallantly held her hand while she sat, then he opened the wine and poured her a glass. He sat beside her and held up his glass in a toast.

  “To the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known,” he said quietly, “and the most courageous.”

  He held her gaze as they touched glasses, the chime of the crystal ringing in the dark night, then drank deeply. She would have toasted him in return, but he went on almost as soon as he’d swallowed.

  “Lilly, I have enjoyed our time together more than I can express in words.” Her stomach sank. Was this his way of saying goodbye? She fought to hide her dread. “I want our relationship to continue.” Her heart leapt in her chest as the dread turned to happiness.

  Luc stood and went to one knee before her, taking her hands in his. Her stomach clenched. Was he going to…?

  “Lilly, will you marry me? Despite our differences, I find I don’t want to live without you and want to spend whatever time we have, together.”

  Her heart melted into a little puddle and her eyes filled with tears of happiness. His proposal was music to her ears, even though she knew it was crazy. They were from two very different worlds. Two different peoples. Could they really make a go of it together? She didn’t know, but she really wanted to find out. She threw the questions about tomorrow behind her and reached out to him, pulling him close.

  “I don’t want to give you up,” she whispered to him. “It may be selfish of me, I know, but I want to spend whatever time we have, together.”

  They kissed, and the moment was perfect. The garden. The fairy lanterns. The soft sounds of music and laughter coming from the distant castle. And Lilly and Luc, in each other’s arms. All was right with the world.

  *

  Alric and Zallra snuck out of the party and headed for the dark bower but stopped short outside the circle of light when they saw Luc get down on one knee. When the couple embraced, Alric and Zallra retreated beyond the line of sheltering bushes.

  “I suppose I’m going to have to do something to help them stay together,” Alric said, smiling at his lady love. “I’ve never known Lilly so happy as she is with him.”

  “You care for her a great deal,” Zallra mused.

  “She is the sister I never had, and you cannot begin to know how she helped me, ever since I was a boy. She made the blindness a little more bearable, and now, of course, she’s been instrumental in bringing about my cure. I don’t think anyone else could have gotten through to the enclave of fair folk. She has a tenacity that can’t be beat, and a will made of iron.”

  “Then, you should reward her loyalty and ask to have Luc assigned as the permanent envoy to your court from his people. The snow dragons seem to think he would enjoy such a post as a chance to make his own mark away from the shadow of his brother’s achievements. It’s been all right since Luc was in a different chain of command as leader of the Scouts, but now that he’s proven himself, he is sure to have earned his spot in the Guard, and then, he’d be starting over at the bottom under his brother’s command,” Zallra explained. “If he is promoted and given the post to your kingdom, I think it will solve that problem while also allowing he and Lilly to be together. She likely will not want to leave your service, according to Jimnel and my other sources among your people, but you do not need her as much as you did, now that you can see, and of course, you have me. It’s ony fair that she should be able to marry and make a life with Luc, as you and I will make our lives together. Perhaps, our children will be playmates.” Zallra’s smile was full of mischief.

  Alric was suddenly struck by a vision of the future. A future where little boys and little girls played together in the very bower they had just left. A children’s party to celebrate the birthday of Alric’s heir.

  “Do you see it, my love?” He wondered if they were sharing this vision, but she shook her head.

  “No, but I can guess. You can tell me the details later. However, I think I know where you should send them on their honeymoon. Lilly, Luc and Shilayla would make excellent emissaries to the royal court of Draconia, and they know the way now, having made the journey before. I suspect some of the ice dragons will also want to go, so you should start thinking about making up a delegation to open talks.” She leaned against his side and walked with him back toward the castle and the ongoing celebration.

  “Is this from a vision you had?” Alric asked, playfully curious. He loved that his betrothed shared his gift and that they understood each other so well.

  “No, but once the ice dragons find out what I have to tell them, I believe they will waste no time in sending someone—or perhaps several of their number—directly to King Roland’s court.”

  “Why?” Alric stopped short of the castle, turning to look down at his lover in the moonlight.

  “Because King Roland adopted a baby ice dragon and is raising him as his son. The baby was stolen and separated from its mother when it was still in the egg, and by good fortune, the new Queen was set to tend the egg. She is a dragon healer, you know, and a black dragon herself, though she came to her true power late in life. She raised the baby, and they escaped together into the cold Northlands, evading hunters for years before Roland met them.”

  “That’s incredible,” Alric said. “I hadn’t heard this, but of course, travel over the Dragon’s Teeth isn’t undertaken lightly. We seldom get much official communication from over those mountains.”

  “That will change, now that you have dragons and Jinn living openly in your land, my love.” She sparkled up at him. “We Jinn go wherever the wind takes us, and we have networks throughout every land.”

  Alric reached down and kissed her. “You are a treasure, Zallra, and not just for your amazing contacts.”

  *

  They barely made it back to Luc’s suite in the castle before they were ripping each other’s clothes off in their haste to experience the pleasure they found together. Lilly tackled him on the bed and climbed over him, freeing him from his clothing with an almost desperate urgency. She wanted him. She wanted him now.

  Lilly brought herself down onto him with almost no preparation. Her body was ready, as was his, and it hurt to be apart. Sliding over him and taking him inside made her complete. Made them complete, as it was meant to be. There was something so quintessentially right about being with Luc. There always had been, even when she’d had her doubts about their future.

  Luc turned the tables on her, rolling them over on the big bed and taking control. He held her wrists at either side of her head, stroking into her with deliberate slowness as their eyes held.

  “You are my heart, you know,” he told her.

  “I thought your dragon came first,” she teased him. She wasn’t petty. She didn’t really object to Shilayla’s place in his affections. She just wanted to tweak him a little.

  Luc’s head tilted to the side as he considered. “She is my heartmate. You are my heart.”

  Lilly wasn’t sure what the distinction was, but it sounded romantic and just…lovely. Her own heart fluttered in appreciation.

  “I’ve never loved this deeply or this true,” she told him, bearing her soul. “And I never will again. You’re it, for me. So, I think, you’re my heart, too.”

  Luc groaned and sped his pace, moving into her with decisive strokes that sent them both into orbit… together.

  EPILOGUE

  The future…

  Luc, Lilly and Shilayla returned to his family home, under the Veil, to report to the Council of Elders in person about all that had occurred on their mission. The Council elevated Luc and Shilayla out of the Scouts and gave them full warrior status, giving them the special mission as envoy to King Alric’s court. Everyone but Det seemed all right with Lilly’s presence and the fact that Luc and she were a couple. In fact, a feast was held to celebrate both the successful completion of their mission and their engagement.

  Lilly didn’t worry so much about her relationship with Luc anymore. Alric had taken her aside and told her how he had forseen a long and happy future for Lilly and Luc, as a couple. When she’d asked how it was possible, Alric reminded her that she had magic of her own now. Add that to Shilayla’s influence, and Lilly’s aging had probably already slowed. Alric admitted that he’d seen something similar for himself with Zallra as his mate and that the friendship that had started so many years ago between King and subject would go on long into the future. Longer than he had ever anticipated.

  Lilly kept that news to herself for now. It would be something to share with Luc when the time was right. A gift, of sorts, to allay any worry he might harbor.

  Lilly stayed with Luc, in his family home for the duration of their visit, getting to know everyone better as they came to know her. Young Petr, much to her concern, was still having good days and bad days. Lilly was working with the healers again, both to train her power and to help Petr. It had become clear that no matter what the healers and mages did, they couldn’t completely shut down the pathway that joined the twins.

  The healers had been able to confirm for Lilly that what she had discovered about combat in the Grand High Alchemist’s tower was true. A healer could handle death around them. It was part of what allowed them to treat those who came to them for help. Death was part of the grand cycle of life, and something that healers could deal with when it came naturally. They could not, however, deal the blow that would end a life, with one big exception. They could act in defense of others, though it was definitely a gray area.

  Lilly’s role as a warrior was probably at an end, she had decided. Her impulses wanted her to aid everyone—enemy and friend alike. If the battle had been any longer in that tower, she would have been compelled to act as a healer, regardless of whether the fight was over or not. She knew that with certainty. She had already tendered her resignation from the King’s Guard.

  Alric had not wanted to accept it, but he’d sat down with her to discuss a new role he had in mind. She was now the official envoy to the Veil as Luc was the envoy to Alric’s court. They would share their roles as emmisarries as well as their lives, and Alric was already planning a lavish wedding for them. Alric had not taken no for an answer on that. He’d already sent the invitations.

  Alric had also created another new role for Lilly. He’d put her in charge of creating a school, of sorts, under care of the crown, to identify and train those with healing gifts. He’d brought in healers from several established traditions to act as teachers and made Lilly their first student. He’d even invited visiting scholars in the healing arts from all over the lands to come and teach, including several from the Veil community. That he’d done it all for Lilly and her newfound need touched her deeply.

  Of course, Alric was a clever man. Having world-class healing instruction in his own kingdom would mean world-class treatment for his subjects. Everybody would win with such an arrangement.

  Lilly had already learned a great deal of control and had even helped one journeyman healer learn a bit of self-defense. She would never be a warrior the way she had been, but she was content with the future she saw for herself as a healer and advocate for healers to her King. She also relished the idea of traveling back and forth to the Veil as emissary, and so Luc could stay close to his family, even though he was spending half his time in Alric’s land. Likewise, Lilly could spend time with her father, who still trained young warriors for the King’s Guard from his home at Tivol Bay. Luc and Lilly would truly become citizens of both places, with deep ties to each, which would make them the perfect choices for ambassadors.

  Lilly liked being under the Veil and spending time with Luc’s family. Especially young Petr, who seemed to call to her healing side so powerfully.

  Petr was having one of his bad days when Lilly found herself alone in the family home with him. She enjoyed the boy’s company, though her heart went out to the weak child who should be running and playing with others his age, instead of sitting inside, conserving his limited energy.

  “Lilly!” Petr was suddenly animated, lurching into the main room to tug on her sleeve.” I have to go.”

  “Go?” Lilly asked, bewildered by the child’s sudden energy. “Where?”

  “Beyond. He waits beyond the Veil. I have to go to him,” Petr insisted, tugging on her hand.

  “Who’s waiting, sweetheart?”

  “My heartmate. He’s waiting for me. I have to go now!” The boy tugged on her arm with more strength than he’d ever displayed in her presence.

  She didn’t quite understand what he meant, but it seemed so important to him, she let him tug her outside and then jogged with him through the town to the edge of the Veil itself. When she would have stopped at the edge, he pulled her through, into the blowing snow.

  Then, out in the blizzard, an even whiter presence emerged. It had wings, but it was smaller than most of the dragons she’d seen.

  “It’s just a baby,” she whispered. The boy had moved ahead of her, directly into the path of the wild beast that was twice his size, even if it was a youngling.

  The moment was magical, even if she didn’t hear what passed between the boy and the dragonet. They walked together with her back through the magical barrier of the Veil. By that time, a group had gathered to see what was going on. Their dash through the enclave had not gone unnoticed, and somebody had called Detlif. He was there, rushing to meet them as they reentered the magical protection of the Veil.

  He dropped to his knees in front of his son, relief on his face as he reached for the boy, but the dragonet flapped his little wings and stood beside Petr. It was clear the little dragon would be part of any discussion that took place where Petr was concerned from that moment forward. Lilly stood back, watching with some satisfaction as Det’s expression turned from worried to relieved to shocked in no time at all.

  Rather than berate the boy for running off, Det gathered him in his arms and gave him a hug. Lilly was touched by the love between father and son, and when Det stood, he hoisted Petr into his arms, leading the way home with the baby dragon toddling along beside them.

  When they reached the house, Det set up a little nest of blankets in front of the fireplace for the dragon and placed the boy next to him. It was clear they were both sleepy from their exertions, and Petr drifted into slumber snuggled up against the dragonet while the adults watched over the pair.

  “Thank you for going with him,” Det said formally to Lilly, keeping his voice low as they moved to the other side of the large room and sat down.

  “It was an honor to witness, but I don’t understand why that baby dragon was out there alone in the snowstorm,” Lilly replied, curious.