“I would be proud to continue being your guard, as I know that the others will be as well. It is a high honor, but it is more than that, Birdie.”
“It is?” I ask.
He smirks. “You’re our friend. We’ll always have your back.”
Colt doesn’t say anything and I find that I’m personally speechless. All that I can do is dip my chin before Colt guides me out of the room, gently closing the master bedroom door behind him.
“You have earned their respect, my wife,” he announces softly as we continue to walk through the house and head outside.
“How? By having magic?”
He hums, but shakes his head once. “The magic you hold is impressive, especially when it is just the two of us alone. However, that is not why they are loyal to you.”
Colt and I make our way outside and begin to walk down the city street. It’s a cool day, a stark difference between home and here. I miss the sweltering heat and I’m not sure how that’s possible, but I do. Maybe because it reminds me so much of Arizona, maybe because we’re isolated there and it feels a lot more comfortable.
“They are loyal to you because you’re my wife, but the main reason is because you are their friend. You don’t ignore them or treat my men as servants. Just like with Martha and even Ernest, you are kind to them. That is why they adore you,” Colt explains.
“They’re all nice to me, so I treat them the way that I feel they treat me, even Ernest in his own way,” I murmur.
Poor Ernest. He truly fell for Florence and I can see it in his eyes that he misses her. I also know that he is completely loyal to this country and Colt, so he would never betray them for her, for love. Maybe one day he can find happiness again with a nice woman.
“What happens to this country now? We haven’t talked about what it looks like for our future,” I ask, as I think about Florence and what awaits us when we get back home. As much as I want to go, I also don’t want to deal with her or what will become of her.
“We live our lives, Birdie. We raise our children and I run this country as best I can with the advice of the new Assembly that I feel I can possibly trust more than the past one.
“We try to do the gods proud with our love for one another and the prophecy will no doubt continue to play out before us. We are powerless, darlin’. We will just wait to see what fates the gods have in store for us.”
My fingers flex in his hand and I stop in my tracks. “What about my sisters? What about—”
Colt lifts his hand and places his finger against my lips, stopping me from speaking further. “None of it matters. We have one another and our child. That is all that matters. I’ve lost heavily before and I never plan on doing it again, however, we cannot control the future or what the gods decide for us. All we can do is live out each day to the fullest and best that we know how.”
“God,” I breathe. He frowns as his brows snap together and his gaze finds mine. “You’re perfect, Colton James.”
He chuckles. “I am far from it, darlin’. So far.”
Humming, I rise to my toes and touch my lips to his. “Trust me when I tell you, that you are indeed perfect and although I can never go back to my world, I am happy to live beside you in yours.”
“I never planned on you, Birdie. I was content to live out my days as a bachelor. The gods had other plans, my heart had other plans and I can’t deny that I’m grateful for that because I simply love you, my bride.”
I open my mouth to respond, to tell him that I love him too, but no words come out. Instead, Colt’s lips crash against mine and in the middle of the city sidewalk he kisses me long, hard, and deep.
It is perfection.
Epilogue
TWO MONTHS LATER
COLT
It has been months since I’ve stepped onto my own desert land and I can’t deny that I’ve missed it, immensely. The city is okay, but Silverridge is my home and where I feel most comfortable. Bullhollow is nice, but it is not my home and I’ll never want to be there full time.
Lonesable neighs as we approach our land, he’s just as excited to be home as I am. In the city he isn’t able to roam and have the freedom that he does here.
We need to go to the Blue Bird Theatre. I inform Lonesable.
He grunts, jerking his head as he turns toward town. He doesn’t tell me, but I can sense is annoyance and frustration.
“Where are we going?” Birdie asks.
I could tell her, but I don’t. Instead, I just wrap my arm around her waist tighter and pull her closer against my front. We ride in silence toward the quiet town, our guards behind us including the still healing Jeremiah. The rest of the men have all gone home, their protection no longer needed.
Here I have my lions and Birdie’s guard. We are well protected and the small group of men who are left from the last attempted takeover are not enough to worry after, especially now that I’ve cut the issue off at the neck, and rid the country of the manipulative traitors that were causing most of the issues, the ones who were angry that they could not control me and force me to do their personal bidding.
Politics have never been something that I enjoy. The main reason I didn’t even want to accept this position was because of the large role that politics plays. However, now that I’ve taken care of the largest headache and I’ve met Birdie, perhaps it won’t be quite as bad as I imagine. Perhaps. Though I’m not completely convinced.
The Blue Bird Theatre comes into view and I clear my throat as I guide Lonesable toward the entrance. Wordlessly, I dismount from him and help Birdie down. Her belly has begun to protrude, rounding with the growth of our child, our boy.
“Would you like to stay outside with the men?” I ask.
Birdie’s brow arches as she looks up at me, obviously not wishing to be outside at all. Smiling, I dip my chin and touch my mouth to hers.
“Okay, come with me,” I rasp against her lips.
Placing my palm on the small of her back, together we walk into the Theatre. It’s oddly quiet, not a soul is around, not even the bartender, my body jerks to a halt.
This place should be and typically is bustling no matter the time of day. Birdie stops beside me, her head moving from side to side as she looks around the room.
“Where is everyone?” she asks.
I don’t answer her, mainly because I don’t know and I’ve got the same question. Deciding to just walk farther into the building, I apply pressure against the small of Birdie’s back and together we make our way toward the staircase.
“Can you sense them?” I ask her as we begin to climb.
“I can’t, not like that,” she whispers.
Each step that we take, I can feel an impending sense of doom and gloom come over me. It’s a heaviness that I’m not able to completely understand. Bessie’s room is at the end of the hall, not that I’ve ever been inside, but I have seen her come and go from it in the time that I spent here in the past.
I don’t bother knocking. Reaching for the handle, I push the door open and I’m not surprised to see both Bessie and Daisy sitting at the small table in the corner. Their gazes lift to mine and their eyes widen in surprise.
“Where are all your patrons?” I ask coolly.
Bessie opens her mouth, then snaps her lips closed, then opens her mouth again as I stand there and watch her, waiting for her to speak. Her gaze flicks from me to Birdie, then back to me again.
“Logan did not succeed, though I would have thought that you’d have at least figured that out when you didn’t receive his letter of confirmation that his duty was completed?”
Bessie stands to her feet and tries to take a step backward, but I shake my head a couple of times making a tsking sound.
“Stay right where you are, both of you,” I warn.
Birdie takes a step toward them, tilting her head to the side, her eyes searching theirs before she speaks. “You thought that you’d be on the Assembly and that Daisy would be in my bed perhaps with Colt, but maybe without,
it didn’t matter, right?” she asks.
Bessie gulps, lifting her hand to her throat as she pants heavily and watches us, not saying a single word. Daisy jumps to her feet, holding her hands up in a surrendering motion.
“It wasn’t me. I was being manipulated,” she cries.
Birdie and I both laugh at the same time. Neither of us buying her shit. She wasn’t being manipulated, she knew exactly what she was doing and is only panicked now that she’s been caught.
Fingering Blue Lightnin’ on my hip, I think about taking it out and ending them quickly. Birdie holds up her hand, obviously knowing my next move and shakes her head once.
“You weren’t. I heard it all. Who else is in this with you?” Birdie asks.
Bessie’s lips curve up into a grin. “We won’t ever tell you, may as well end us now,” she snaps.
Birdie holds up her hands, her palms facing the two women, I hear her exhaled breath and then I see the shots of blue streaming from her hands toward Bessie and Daisy. I watch in awe as both women are brought down to their knees and let out screeching sounds.
I don’t know what is going on, but I’m mesmerized by my wife and the power she wields. I don’t move, frozen at the sight of the two women as their bodies begin to twist and morph, they change and then it happens.
A black mist begins to escape their mouths. “Shoot them, Colt,” she cries out.
Lifting Blue Lightnin’, I point it at Bessie and with my aim true I pull the trigger, then turn to Daisy and do the same, on Birdie’s instruction alone. Each woman falls to the floor almost instantly, but Birdie doesn’t take her hands away, she continues to pour the blue light from her palms right toward them.
The black mist starts to escape again, then it just dissipates, maybe dies, fading back into their bodies and everything goes completely still.
Birdie’s knees tremble and I watch as her entire body goes limp as she falls toward the floor. Before she hits the hard wooden flooring, I wrap my arms around her and pull her against my chest.
“What was that?” I demand.
Birdie tilts her head back, her eyes looking up into my own. “Black magic,” she breathes. “It was inside of Florence, Logan, and them. I didn’t know for sure, but I suspected they had it. With Logan, when I killed him, I’m pretty sure that I killed the dark magic as well.”
“Had they succeeded in their plans?” I ask.
Birdie shakes her head. “I don’t know. I don’t know enough about it to know what would have happened. But whatever it is, I know it isn’t good and I didn’t want it coming after us.”
Dipping my chin, I slide one of my hands up her back and tangle my fingers in the back of her hair before I press my mouth against hers. Sliding my tongue along her lips, I taste all of her and moan as soon as I slip inside of her warm mouth.
Birdie breaks the kiss, her teeth nibbling my bottom lip as she looks up at me. “I love you, Colt.”
Humming, my lips curve up into a grin. “Let’s go home, my bride.”
BIRDIE
Martha is waiting for us with a tray of ice-cold sweet tea and a smile as we approach the house. “Did you take care of them?” she asks.
“It was black magic, again,” I murmur as I reach for the glass.
Her eyes narrow, then her lips press together as she shakes her head a couple of times. “Thankfully, that is now finished, yes?” she asks as she lifts her head and her gaze shifts from me over to Colt who is standing directly behind me.
“Florence is still in the jail cell, I need to deal with her, then I hope that it is all over,” he murmurs. “It needs to be.”
“It does,” Martha sighs. “I never would have thought, her and Logan, I never would have imagined.”
“Me either,” Colt rasps.
Turning around, I tip my head back and look up into his eyes. “Do you want me to go with you?” I ask.
He shakes his head once. “I can do this alone. She was like my own grandmother, but a traitor is a traitor.”
“Are you sure?” I ask softly.
He nods his head. “I will be back shortly, stay out here and relax.”
I watch as he turns from me, his hand on the butt of his gun at his hip as he walks toward the small brick building where he’s been holding Florence for the past few months. Martha guides me over toward two chairs on the front porch and I sink down in one as she does the other.
“What does the future hold, Martha?” I ask.
She rocks in the chair a few times, taking a sip from her glass before she speaks. “It holds many things, Birdie. None of which I can see, not even if I wanted to.”
“The prophecy?” I ask.
“It is in motion, that is all we know,” she explains.
Placing my hand on my belly, I wish that I could know all of life’s secrets, if Colt and I will be happy, if this baby will be healthy, if we’ll live a long life together, if my sisters and I will all be together again.
I want to know everything, but unless I could somehow see the future, I won’t ever know.
“Have you attempted to reach your sister again?” she asks.
I nod my head a few times. “I have, but I haven’t had any luck.”
She hums, but doesn’t speak immediately, then I let out a gasp as a large shadow appears over us. Lifting my head, I assume that it is Arion coming to me again with some news. However, when my eyes adjust and the beast lands, it is not the great white horse.
Instead, it’s a fucking dragon.
A dragon with a woman on its back, a beautiful blonde woman. Martha rises from her seat, her feet carrying her over quickly, but not quite as fast as my guards. Jeremiah is first, his gun drawn and pointed directly at the beast.
I will not harm you, I come from Wolfjour Ail. I know Liv well, this is her sister-in-law, Sylvi.
“Guns down, they are from my sister,” I cry out as my feet carry me closer toward them.
“Do not, Birdie. We don’t know who they are, not truly,” Jeremiah calls out.
I watch as the beautiful woman slides down from the dragon’s back and slowly makes her way toward him. He presses his lips together, but does not make a motion to move. In fact, his gun is trained on her and does not waiver in the slightest.
“I am Sylvi, sister to King Aaric, the Sea King. I come with his permission to speak to Birdie and her husband, the ruler of the frontier,” she calls out, her voice accented and lyrical.
“I am Birdie, you know Liv?” I practically squeal.
The beautiful woman shifts her gaze to mine. Her lips curve up in a smile. “I do. My seeress has granted me the ability to communicate with you. She has seen something in a vision. I would like to speak to you about it privately. Perhaps with your husband in attendance?”
Shifting my gaze to the brick building, I notice that Colt is walking out, his hand held to his side, his gun dangling from his fingers. He walks straight over to Jeremiah. They dip their head and speak to one another, but I’m far too invested in this dragon and woman standing in front of me.
Colt turns his head toward Sylvi and nods a couple of times. “You would like to speak to us?” he asks.
Her lips twitch into a small smile and she nods. “I would. It concerns the prophecy and the future,” she explains.
Jeremiah takes a step forward, I watch as he wraps his fingers around her elbow and tugs her toward him. His chin dips down, his eyes hold hers and his lips twitch into a small smile before he turns and begins to walk toward the house, without saying a single word.
She tries to shrug him off, but his grasp tightens and he walks a bit faster at the same time Colt makes his way toward me. He wraps his fingers around my elbow in the same fashion and tugs me behind him as we follow them into the house.
Martha walks behind us as well, and follows us into Colt’s office where Sylvi and Jeremiah are waiting across from his desk. Jeremiah drops her off at the chair, and makes his way behind Colt’s desk to stand behind him. Ernest suddenly appears and sta
nds to the other side of the chair.
Martha walks over to Sylvi and stands next to her, but I stay at the entrance of the office, too engrossed in watching everyone’s movements and positions to move. Colt touches his lips to my temple, then releases his hold on me, and I watch as he walks over to his chair and wordlessly sinks down before he places his hands on the desktop.
“Tell me why you have come here,” Colt demands.
Sylvi turns her head, her gaze flicks to me then she turns and looks over to Colt. “Our seeress had a vision. Liv is too close to delivering the new prince to come out here herself, so I was sent in her and my brother’s stead.”
“A vision?” Colt asks.
Sylvi nods her head. “She saw the two of you. Birdie was pregnant, there was seiõr.”
“What is that?” I ask, interrupting.
“It’s a form of black magic, evil intentions. They saw it enveloping your home here. Quest brought me as soon as he could to warn you. Though I cannot help you much, I will do whatever it is that I can.”
“Was it three women and a man, in her vision?” Colt asks.
Sylvi’s eyes widen and she nods her head once, her lips parted in awe. Jeremiah chuckles, his eyes finding and locking in on Sylvi. It’s as if he’s completely enamored by her, and I wonder if it’s possible that’s exactly what he is. It would not surprise me because she is stunning.
“It was,” she breathes.
“Birdie took care of them all.”
“I was too late,” she sniffs. She turns to face me, her eyes wide and her face pale. “I am so sorry,” she cries.
Shaking my head, I make my way toward her, taking her hands in mine and squeezing them gently. “Don’t be. It’s all over now, and everything else is okay?”
Sylvi nods her head a couple of times, her lips curving up into a grin. “My seeress had to take the time to give me the ability to speak your language. I’m sure that it is to blame for my being too late. I am so sorry. I wish I could have been here earlier. Usually, the seeress can see much further ahead in time.”
Bride of the Frontier (The Prophecy of Sisters Book 3) Page 31