Shadowbook

Chapter 26: Happily Ever After

𝔜𝔬𝔲, 𝔡𝔞𝔯𝑘𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰, 𝔬𝔣 𝔴𝔥𝔬𝔪 𝓘 𝔞𝔪 𝔟𝔬𝔯𝔫–

𝓘 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝑦𝔬𝔲 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔩𝔦𝔪𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔦𝔯𝔠𝔩𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔲𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔢𝔵𝔠𝔩𝔲𝔡𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔱.

𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔞𝔯𝑘 𝔢𝔪𝔟𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝑦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤: 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔰, 𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔪𝔢, 𝔭𝔢𝔬𝔭𝔩𝔢, 𝔫𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰–𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝑦 𝔞𝔯𝔢.

𝓘𝔱 𝔩𝔢𝔱𝔰 𝔪𝔢 𝔦𝔪𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔞 𝔤𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔯𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔟𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔪𝔢.

𝓘 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔳𝔢 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱.

-Rilke

The pain was leaving me. I prepared to sink down into darkness, relishing my last moments with Astor. I felt him pull away, and I wanted to reach up and call him back to me. I wanted him to kiss me until I died...

I opened my eyes. I was still alive, still in the dungeon. Astor gazed at me with adoration and wonder, cradling my head. My chest still throbbed with pain, but I was alive. I smiled, then laughed, beaming. "True love's kiss saves the day! Seriously, how much more cliché can this get?"

"Er... we go home to the palace and get married?"

"Get married? We're not getting married! Not yet— I mean..."

"Nyx, you asked what would make it more cliché. I was answering your question."

"But where's Abaddon?"

"I know not what happened to him, Nyx. Your dagger hit him, and he just vanished. Your dagger is on the floor there."

I sat up and looked where he was pointing. The dagger was just sitting there, as though it hadn't hit anything. "Is he dead?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not."

I glanced toward Astor. "Could this be another trap?"

"I hope not. I care not! I want to get out of here, now!" He sounded half like a commanding monarch and half like a spoiled child.

We got up and ran in the direction Senka had gone, up several flights of stairs and into an empty, lonely hall. It echoed even more than the dungeon. In near darkness, we made our way around crumbling pillars and stone gargoyles. I was desperate to get out before we were attacked by something else. I panted as I followed Astor, trembling with anxiety. How long would it take to get out? Suddenly, Astor stopped abruptly. I panicked, but then he said, "I smell fresh air!"

"You smell fresh air? How can you smell anything? It's so musty in here."

"I am a creature of the night. I have a very sensitive nose."

Cautiously, I followed Astor in a slightly different direction. Before long, I could see light from outside coming from a hole in the wall. Letting out an ecstatic cry of joy, Astor leapt out the hole in the wall and spread his wings. "Oh, Nyx! The breeze! The sky!"

I stepped out, the wind blowing back my folds and hair. I stared up at the waning moon, down at the mountainside, and out across the land to the horizon. One side of the horizon was a paler blue. Dawn was coming.