Dancing With the Devil

Epilogue

 Dedication is to my best friend ever. She annoys the crap out of me about this story, but she's my number one fan and I love her for it! She's a new writer, so go check out her story, The Gifted Ones, and give her some feedback? Thanks guys!

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I didn’t realize the day was about to change my life forever. Willy and I had just gotten back from riding Dawn and Wildfire, Willy’s new colt and the hellhorse he had, indeed, bonded with. Wildfire was a spitting image of Ignis, much to the stallion’s liking. He had multiple fire markings: four socks, a star on his chest, and a tipped ear along with his mane and tail. Willy fell in love with him instantly.

Xavier had begun hinting at the thought of kids, and I wanted to talk to him about it in detail. I not only had to take into consideration the extremity of the decision, but Willy’s thoughts on it, too. The last thing I wanted was him to think he was replaceable. Just because he wasn’t my own flesh and blood didn’t mean I didn’t love him as if he was my own.

I grinned, feeling quite pleased with myself when I reached out to him and found him in our bedroom. Maybe this talk could stretch out for a couple of hours…? I was on my way to see him after dropping Willy off with Felicia. I thought about letting Violet see him, but the moment I mind linked her, I backed out of her mind. She was busy with Jace. They were more in love than ever before and had no questions on whether or not they wanted to wait to have kids.

It was almost a full year after the eruption, and we passed a maid sweeping away the last bit of volcanic dust from the deep cracks in the stone wall. Willy tugged on my elbow, making me stop to look down at him questioningly. He motioned to my hand, which held two night roses. When I passed the garden, I saw them in full bloom and perfectly healthy. They were incredibly picturesque flowers, and I couldn’t resist picking them. I wanted to put them in a vase in the room Xavier and I shared, but Willy insisted that I give him one. I did so, wondering what he was going to do with it. He walked over to the maid and held it out to her.

“Here ya go, Miss Mary,” he said shyly, peeking up at her under his long, thick eyelashes. “I know you miss your mate, so I thought this would remind you of him to help you until he comes back.” I watched, appalled, as the woman’s eyes filled with tears and she hugged Willy tightly, murmuring her thanks. I hadn’t even known her name before Willy said it out loud. The hours I spent studying and training meant nothing. I felt like a lousy princess in that moment.

I asked her about her mate once Willy had scampered off to do who-knows-what. She was middle-aged, and most demons found their mates much younger than Xavier and Jace had, so her bond with him must have been very strong, making his absence all the more difficult. She was pretty, with long red hair in a tight braid and striking green eyes that reminded me of Seth Valdez’s, the vampire prince.

“He’s a warrior,” she explained, tears running down her porcelain cheeks. She clutched the night rose to her chest, not caring that the thorns pricked into the delicate skin of her palms. “He was captured a month ago.”

“But…your blaze!” I gasped, wondering how she was still alive. I wouldn’t be if Xavier was gone for such a length of time. Xavier had stressed how demon mates couldn’t handle each other’s absence for more than six hours at a time, and I had experienced the consequences firsthand.

“Our bond knows that our separation is not willing,” she explained through her tears. “I am cold most of the time, but that cannot be helped. My fire has shrunk into an ember, so I cannot change into my true form anymore. If he is killed, I will know, and then I will mercifully perish as well. Either way, we will be together again, whether in this life or the next one.”