Return to the Darkness - Ripley Proserpina Page 0,53

wouldn’t be complete until he was. I crooked my finger, drawing his attention to come to me. I kissed him as he bent over. “Been a while since you got off.”

He shook his head. “My fist has been my friend when I think of you.”

I giggled. I couldn’t help the release of joy. Oliver was hard and ready. I was so lucky. No one had ever been loved as well as I was in that moment. I could feel Oliver so deep inside of me, I wasn’t sure where he began and I ended. But that only lasted moments, or maybe it was hours—I’d learned how little time mattered—before I shattered beneath him. He followed me to oblivion in a blissful happiness I wasn’t sure I could ever replicate. Although I was pretty sure I’d spend eternity trying.

There was nothing but silence around us. Then sound drifted in. The way they all breathed. The bubbles in the tub. The birds in the air.

I laughed. It was just a joyful, wonderful time. We were alive. The demons of my past were where they belonged—hidden away where not even my scent could draw them out.

Epilogue

An overwhelming chill raced down my spine, a clear indication that something was here, watching me.

“Feel that?” Oliver’s breath wafted across my ear lobe, and I shivered again. His hand was warm on the base of my spine, chasing away the chill.

I straightened, lifted my hand to my forehead to block the sun, and stared into the distance. “Beautiful.”

We stood on a bluff, overlooking the rocky and green Irish landscape. It was our honeymoon, but blame my fae blood, because all kinds of creatures were making their presence known. Some of it was cool. When hiking along the edges of a lake, the murky water had rippled before a deep gray-skinned selkie had emerged. We’d stared at each other, the creature canting her head to one side before she grinned with sharp teeth and dove back beneath the water, tail slapping and splashing the five of us.

I didn’t know what it was I was sensing now. Ahead of us, Aaron lowered the camera he’d lifted to his eye and turned to face us. “I think I know.” His voice was almost lost on the wind, but I caught it.

Over a craggy hill, two forms hiking over the rocks appeared. It was a woman and a man, probably about my age, and they paused when they saw us. My whole body trembled, but all they did was wave and continue in the direction they were going. With the distance growing between us, warmth filled my body again.

They had appeared as human as us, but maybe I was wrong.

“Pouque blood,” Colton said. Like Aaron, he held a camera, but on his back was his backpack, and every so often, he would stop and pull out a notebook. He’d turned our honeymoon into something of a work trip. It was fascinating to watch him. Things I’d glance at, he’d stop, grab my hand, and pull me to examine. He’d shown me fairy circles and carved faces in trees.

Pouque blood. “You think one of those people were pouque?” I asked.

Next to me, Oliver skimmed his hand along my back until he wrapped an arm around my waist. “Both, I would guess.” He pressed his lips to my temple. “Even I can feel it. Something like a ripple of power wafting off of them.”

In the years since we’d killed Erdirg, all of us had become more tuned in with our abilities. Ghosts didn’t even have to appear to me for me to sense their presence. I was also getting better at feeling a creature’s intention, though I was nowhere near as skilled as Aaron, who turned out to be a bit of an empath. There was nothing ill-intentioned or malicious coming off this couple.

Ahead of me, Thorn gave a whoop, knocked his shoulder into Colton, and took off. “I see it! It’s a castle!”

The other guys chuckled. I loved Ireland. The ancient land was full of hidden treasures, and the cool weather and incessant green was right up my alley. In some ways, it felt like I could breathe here in a way that I’d never been able to my entire life.

There was something on a cellular level inside of me that knew I was home. I couldn’t really explain it, not even to myself. When Thorn had said he wanted to come here for a honeymoon, it had seemed a great idea.

We’d