EPILOGUE
Solange
I met Lucy in town. She was determined to force me into a semblance of a normal life, and meeting for coffee every Thursday night was her current plan. She was waiting for me in the park. It hadn’t even been a week since I’d turned, and I wasn’t ready to face the temptation of a coffee house full of human hearts beating all around me. I could ignore the squirrels and the fox hiding in the far bushes.
Lucy was sitting on a bench with two paper cups and a plastic to-go container filled with what was left of a chocolate-covered cherry tart. She wiped crumbs off her hands.
“I’m still celebrating,” she mumbled through a mouthful. “I won’t be able to fit into my clothes if I keep this up.” She eyed me critically. “You’re wearing that?”
I frowned at my clay-stained pants. “So? I didn’t know I had to dress up for you.”
She eyed me again. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. You’re as bad as my brothers.” I felt better than fine, actually. I felt strong and alert, my eyes amplified every spark of light from the moon, the stars, streetlights. It was a little distracting, I had to admit, to hear her heart beating and smell the warmth of her blood just under her skin. And disconcerting to know my brothers had been right: blood now tasted better than chocolate. In fact, I couldn’t remember much from the night of the caves, just the taste of Kieran in my mouth. He’d left with his uncle before I could properly thank him.
“Any word from Kieran?” Lucy asked quietly as if she’d known I was thinking about him.
I shook my head, tried not to look like I cared. I had enough to occupy me, after all. My mom was the new queen, which meant the prophecy hadn’t technically been fulfilled. We weren’t sure what to think about that. And we were still replacing an entire wall of the farmhouse, which had been burned out by Hope’s unit. The gardens were full of water and soot. Bruno needed stitches, and Hyacinth wouldn’t leave her room or lift the black lace veil off her face. London disappeared down the tunnels again; no one knew to where. And I’d actually caught Nicholas sending roses to Lucy’s house, and they were on the phone with each other all the time.
And Montmartre was still out there. He’d sent an engagement gift: a diamond ring.
I’d flushed it down the toilet.
So I was too busy to sit around thinking about Kieran Black.
“Oh, here.” Lucy passed me a package tied with ribbon. “A belated birthday present from my dad.” She rolled her eyes when I pulled out a piece of carved deer antler on a leather tong. “When he heard about the deer heart, he said to tell you the deer is clearly your totem animal and should be honored.”
I slipped it over my head as she guzzled the rest of her drink. Her eyes watered.
“Ouch, still hot.” She stood up quickly.
I stared at her. “Where are you going? I just got here.”
She grinned at me, her gaze flicking toward the sidewalk.
“You have a date.”
I froze.
“Lucy Hamilton, what have you done?”
“Gotta go!” She darted out of the park before I could say anything else. I didn’t have to look to know who it was standing there. I could smell him, taste him.
Kieran.
“Solange,” he said softly. He looked good, even with the bruises on his jaw going yellow and the sling cradling his arm. He didn’t smile, but the way he was looking at me made me feel warm all over. I stood up.
“Kieran.” I didn’t know what else to say.
So I leaned over and kissed him.
The End
Hearts At Stake
Alyxandra Harvey's books
- Armored Hearts
- Immortal Hearts
- A Betrayal in Winter
- A Bloody London Sunset
- A Clash of Honor
- A Dance of Blades
- A Dance of Cloaks
- A Dawn of Dragonfire
- A Day of Dragon Blood
- A Feast of Dragons
- A Hidden Witch
- A Highland Werewolf Wedding
- A March of Kings
- A Mischief in the Woodwork
- A Modern Witch
- A Night of Dragon Wings
- A Princess of Landover
- A Quest of Heroes
- A Reckless Witch
- A Shore Too Far
- A Soul for Vengeance
- A Symphony of Cicadas
- A Tale of Two Goblins
- A Thief in the Night
- A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy
- Accidentally_.Evil
- Adept (The Essence Gate War, Book 1)
- Alanna The First Adventure
- Alex Van Helsing The Triumph of Death
- Alex Van Helsing Voice of the Undead
- Alone The Girl in the Box
- Amaranth
- Angel Falling Softly
- Angelopolis A Novel
- Apollyon The Fourth Covenant Novel
- Arcadia Burns
- As Twilight Falls
- Ascendancy of the Last
- Asgoleth the Warrior
- Attica
- Avenger (A Halflings Novel)
- Awakened (Vampire Awakenings)
- Awakening the Fire
- Balance (The Divine Book One)
- Becoming Sarah
- Before (The Sensitives)
- Belka, Why Don't You Bark
- Betrayal
- Better off Dead A Lucy Hart, Deathdealer
- Between
- Between the Lives
- Beyond Here Lies Nothing
- Bird
- Biting Cold
- Bitterblue
- Black Feathers
- Black Halo
- Black Moon Beginnings
- Blade Song
- Bless The Beauty
- Blind God's Bluff A Billy Fox Novel
- Blood for Wolves
- Blood Moon (Silver Moon, #3)
- Blood of Aenarion
- Blood Past
- Blood Secrets
- Bloodlust
- Blue Violet
- Bonded by Blood
- Bound by Prophecy (Descendants Series)
- Break Out
- Brilliant Devices
- Broken Wings (An Angel Eyes Novel)
- Broods Of Fenrir
- Burden of the Soul
- Burn Bright
- By the Sword
- Cannot Unite (Vampire Assassin League)
- Caradoc of the North Wind
- Cast into Doubt
- Cause of Death: Unnatural
- Celestial Beginnings (Nephilim Series)
- City of Ruins
- Club Dead
- Complete El Borak
- Conspiracies (Mercedes Lackey)
- Cursed Bones
- That Which Bites
- Damned
- Damon
- Dark Magic (The Chronicles of Arandal)
- Dark of the Moon
- Dark_Serpent
- Dark Wolf (Spirit Wild)
- Darker (Alexa O'Brien Huntress Book 6)
- Darkness Haunts
- Dead Ever After
- Dead Man's Deal The Asylum Tales
- Dead on the Delta