Epilogue

  Having hands over my eyes would unsettle me if it’d been anyone other than Dimitrius doing it. As it stood, I just smiled, going along with him and the small hands tugging on mine excitedly.

  It’d been a week since we’d killed his father, putting down the risk of global war before it could start, and so far I’d loved the life we were making for ourselves. There’d always be something for us to fight, but not having to rush out the door every day to hunt someone down was nice.

  And being able to lounge in bed with Dimitrius and do nothing but rest was beyond nice. I’d never been the sort to laze in bed all day, but he brought it out in me…Though what we were doing in bed could sometimes be considered a form of exercise. Even without going the full way, Dimitrius managed to wring me out until I was a twitching puddle of orgasmic goo.

  Dimitrius and Avery pulled me to a stop, pulling my thoughts to the present again as Dimitrius’s mouth brushed my ear. “Keep your eyes closed for one moment more.”

  At my nod, he removed his hands, pausing to be sure I’d followed through with his order before the sound of a door opening and Avery’s excited giggles hit my ears. They guided me a few more feet, their hands warm on my back and hand as the scent of freshly tilled earth slid through my nose. Before I could puzzle out what was going on, he hummed.

  “Open them.”

  Doing as told, I bit back a gasp. A gorgeous garden stretched the entire length of the house, several herbs in it making my jaw drop. Not looking away, I asked thunderstruck. “How did you do this?!” Then, my face split in a massive grin to mirror Avery’s as the boy all but vibrated at my hip.

  He threw his arms wide and gushed, “I helped! And so did Vlad! He helped us get the plants and even told us how to grow them.” He pointed to the side where a small shed waited. “He put them in a book in there.”

  Turning to face Dimitrius, I bit my lip, waiting for permission go explore. He gave it with a chuckle. “Go on, we made it for you, after all.”

  Excitement rushed through me in a wave as I linked my arm with his, before snagging Avery’s hand with my free one. Between the two of us we all but dragged Dimitrius over to it. Looking inside, a second round of awe hit.

  The interior was much bigger than the exterior–much like my infinity bag–and it was entirely lined with bookshelves, workbenches against one of the walls, and even a computer on the far side.

  Dimitrius spoke, snapping me from my nearly drooling state. “Neither Vladimir nor Seraphina knew how to enchant the space inside to be bigger, but they did point me to a kind enchanter who I hired. The young man seemed particularly excited to do it and was a genuine delight to talk to. Do you like it?”

  I swung around and threw my arms around him in answer. His chuckle breezed my head, his lips dropping a kiss to my hair as he rumbled. “I am glad. When we find the rest of the children my father sired, you will need somewhere to retreat to when you are overwhelmed. Only you are allowed in this area, not even the staff will come in unless you explicitly order them to.”

  Then he sent a look down to Avery, who’d taken the opportunity to wriggle between us in our hug, sandwiching himself in the middle. “And that includes you, young man. No entering without express permission.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Avery nodded without hesitation, wide eyes curious as they took in everything around us. In a way he reminded me of Dimitrius, though now we both had matching scars webbing across our faces… Shaking that to the side, I patted his head, before cupping Dimitrius’s cheeks.

  Pulling him down into a sound kiss, I put all the emotions I couldn’t speak into it, hoping they came across. Easing back when my lungs burned in protest, I leaned against his chest and gushed.

  “Thank you for this! I’ve never had somewhere to work before. You’re welcome inside whenever. Anywhere I am, you’re welcome to be.” Then I paused, looking down to Avery who leveled hopeful eyes on me.

  “You’ll still need permission but that’s more for safety than anything. Dimitrius knows what not to touch. I don’t want you getting hurt, alright?”

  Avery deflated a bit, but recovered quickly, hands fisting into each of our shirts as he tugged. “How many kids did you guys find?” He asked, the opportunity for playmates sparking hope behind his eyes.

  Not that I could blame him, though soon he’d probably have more siblings than he knew what to do with. After we’d finished off Dimitrius’s father, we’d decided to hunt down the rest of his siblings using the locating spell Vladimir made.

  If they were in loving homes, Dimitrius told the parents about what to expect as the kids aged, if they weren’t in loving homes…Well, I took great joy in making them piss their pants while Dimitrius extracted the kids to be brought back here.

  This was a sanctuary for his people and when he’d hesitantly broached the thought of having who knows how many kids here, I’d agreed instantly. Kids deserved a safe place to grow and where better than here?

  Besides, after watching how he reacted to Avery, I knew he wanted kids. whether they were biologically ours or not. He slid into the fatherly role with ease as if he’d been born for it, and who knows? Maybe with some extreme changes to my swearing I’d make a half decent mother.

  My patience still needed work, though I’d used strategy in the fight against Dimitrius’s father, so maybe I was already headed in the right direction.

  Dimitrius pulled me back to the present, his chin dipped down toward Avery as he spoke. “At the moment, we have located a dozen. Only two require intervention, thankfully. My people have already gone to fetch them and they should be here tomorrow.”

  Alright so all poisons and sharp objects would need to be put up before then, got it. Kissing his jaw, I sighed, watching as Avery–with my permission–started exploring my new workspace, occasionally turning to point at something excitedly.

  “Who would’ve thought that we’d be here, kid proofing a castle for your dozens of half-siblings?”

  Dimitrius chuckled, an arm lancing around my waist as he pulled me to rest against him. “Certainly not I. I assumed with my revulsion to intimacy I would never have children, so this scenario never crossed my mind, though they are not biologically ours.”

  Then, he paused, considering something before turning partially to me with uncertain eyes. “I never asked your stance on offspring.”

  No, he hadn’t, and before if he’d asked I wouldn’t have known what to tell him either. But now? The answer came easily.

  Sliding an arm around his neck, I soothed the worry inching out into his features. “Eventually, when Avery is grown, I could see us having our own spawn, but for now don’t we already have a kid? With quite a few more on the way?”

  I nodded to Avery to prove that, Dimitrius’s lips twitching up at the ‘spawn’ remark as he hummed in agreement. “Yes, we do and now we can enjoy our lives without the threat hanging over our heads.”

  Thumping my head into his shoulder, I reveled in the safety rolling off him in waves. “Sounds like a plan to me, go as slowly as you want. We don’t have any worlds to save now and I’m definitely not going anywhere.”

  Not willingly at least, and if someone tried to take me from him I’d remove them from the equation post haste. After everything we’d gone through to get to this point, nothing would get between us, I wouldn’t allow it and neither would he. I’d found a home in Dimitrius, the love I’d ached for and a safety I hadn’t thought possible.

  I refused to walk away from that for anything.

  He caught the double meaning behind the words, his lips curling into an adoring smile as he leaned our heads together. “Yes, slow. That sounds fine.” His hand curled around mine, tucking me closer into him as he pulled me into another slow, searching kiss.

  We’d made it to the light at the end of the tunnel, the fairy tale ending I never thought I’d get.

  We’d won.