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It was like catching a lake of cold water on his lap He must have tensed because she pulled back

She looked in his eyes She knew

Now I’ve spoiled everything It wasn’t just one moment he had destroyed; he could have just destroyed the easy, unfettered spirit of her sensuality Every tian thinking, "Did she learn this from Dorian? Was Dorian better?"

"I’m sorry," she said She sed, and he could see her wilting inside

He breathed "I forgive you" She ainst hiave her, even of the things that weren’t her fault This was too precious to let the past destroy it

"Jeni," he said as he had said the night of their wedding "Jeni, will you kiss hed and al She pulled away and beat her fists on his chest

"What?" Logan asked, alarmed

"You can’t do this to me I can’t feel all this at once!"

He grinned, and felt that he was hian and the wry, carefree Logan and the fierce, pri reunited, reintroduced to each other--and Logan would need all of the that he wanted to be "Then just feel this," he said

He kissed her again softly, slowly drawing her in, and in the pleasant blur of hts canored them No, you won’t have this This is precious This is ours

As their kisses becahts--diether beneath the scents of lavender and faint sweat and her breath, and the feel of her weight on his lap and her hands on his body and her skin beneath his lips and--finally!--his hands won through all the layers of skirts and he felt sliers traced that silk up to silkier skin Jeni an jumped to his feet and set Jenine on hers Eyes wide, he cleared his throat, "The royal apartments can’t be far," he said "If you can wait five rabbed him They didn’t wait

When Kylar opened his eyes, he was lying in a soft bed High overhead, the ceiling was covered with an elaborate e black sword drawn back in his hand for a killing blow It was Kylar, but the mosaic was centuries old Kylar turned

At first, he didn’t recognize Vi For the first time he’d ever seen, she wore her luxurious, wavy red hair unbound A single streak of it was stark white She was seated beside his bed, holding his hand, her green eyes closed in sleep There were red tulips on the bedside table

Epilogue

Elene’s funeral was si held in the Hall of Winds The high king and queen joined Vi and Kylar and Durzo and Sister Ariel Dorian sat cross-legged on the ground near the back, oblivious Thankfully, he was silent Feir stood near hi offensive Aan’s army to help with the wounded, and he preached with a si friendship with her The walls and do day outside, ripe and bright with proain After being bonded to hie to have to read his e clean and healing in those tears The patr finished the final prayer, and one by one, they made their way to the open coffin

Kylar and Vi went last Elene was absolutely stunning Sister Ariel and Vi had own It hite silk, like the one she’d died in, but in line with Elene’s modesty and taste Her face was radiant Unscarred, it was the face God had intended for Elene, but without her gentleness to animate it, it looked too austere Here was the face of a queen, but Elene’s beauty had always been war As Vi tried to sketch in the details that this husk couldn’t capture, the vastness of the loss overwhelainst the coffin

Finally, Vi drew a little weave Sister Ariel had taught her around the splay of red tulips Elene held against her chest It would preserve the flowers for all time Then Vi touched her friend’s cold cheek and kissed her forehead As she touched Elene’s body while still holding her Talent, Vi was struck by sohtened, her tears forgotten Had Elene sinant before, so she wouldn’t know exactly how it felt Vi joined the departing line of nant with twins, and then on Dorian, sitting by the door The rin reminded Vi that Dorian the Mad had held both of the world’s ical artifacts at the saic that had wiped out all the krul and restored this entire city Dorian had been ically linked to all of the me her wild suspicions e atwo different men’s sons, and throw an insane hope at Kylar as if it would , not until she knew,time But if Elene and Kylar’s child somehow lived, Vi swore--swore!--that no one would hurt him

As the ceremony ended, Vi looked surreptitiously at Kylar He stood tall Even as tears coursed down his face, he seemed unburdened, more at ease, more confident, more himself, than Vi had ever seen She calorious spring sunshine to look out over their clean white city Ten thousand red tulips were a reminder of the blood that had purchased it Kylar took Vi’s hand and squeezed