The King's War

Epilogue

AVERY

The cure was not reversible, neither by magic or by turning, as King Abel soon learned. In fact, any vampire who tried to drink the blood of someone who'd been cured ended up just transferring the cure into their own system.

Funny to think about when you learned that one of King Abel's vampire allies tried to reverse the cure only to end up human himself. Sad when you think Nate could've cured Corporal Liam Wilson right there on that ship and he might not have had to die.

The good news was that it meant that the cure was in permanent supply and had no chance of being destroyed. Daphne didn't need to stick around to make more samples.

I didn't know what happened to her after she magicked that syringe into Nate's pocket. Whether or not she made it off the ship after the battle remains a mystery. I hope she was still alive, but some part of had doubts. She'd done her part in the fight for the greater good. There was no more need to prolong the inevitable.

After King Abel's army had slunk away in defeat, the Duke took his forces back to the North, where he'd announced the cure, though not to the fanfare he was hoping for. Most vampires wanted to keep being what they were. But for those few who did, the fight had been worth it.

Like King Abel had predicted, the cure caused political tension all over the world. Vampires didn't want to lose control of the nations they'd conquered. But their power was waning. Duke Hale would make sure of that. After settling his affairs in the North, he'd officially retired from politics. Nate and I both knew he'd left to lead the rebellion full time.

Whether or not he'd taken the cure remains a mystery. Nate told me that he likely hadn't and wouldn't until every nation is free of vampire rule. If he wanted to live to see it, that seemed like a smart idea. Things were changing, but very slowly.

The rebellion stopped its activities in the North and moved on to other nations under vampire control. I didn't know if Lydia and Rowan were among them, but I was glad Chase wasn't. The last thing this world needed was him in it.

The North, miraculously, remained unified without Nate leading it. I wasn't sure for how long, though. Rumor had it the council had a hard time agreeing on anything, especially after Duke Aldridge had taken the cure. It had made him extremely popular among his human constituents, much to the chagrin of the other dukes.

The South hadn't fared so well. New Orleans had enjoyed its brief time without vampire rule and didn't welcome the Sinclair family back when they tried to return. The whole state of Louisiana ended up seceding and now guards its borders closely against any possible vampire takeover.

King Abel abdicated the Texas throne in disgrace and was replaced by one of his generals. The world holds its breath for any snippet of news from the unstable kingdom, but so far everything's been quiet.

Nate was happy to have left it all behind. I was too. The target on our backs was gone and we could begin our lives anew. The first thing we did with our newfound freedom was return to my hometown. My parents were thrilled to have me back and allowed us to stay until we could find a place of our own. It was nice, though a little awkward with my mom wanting to call Nate "Your Majesty" all the time. At least they'd kept their questions about what happened to me to a minimum. I didn't know when I'd finally be ready to talk about the experience. I just wanted to put it behind me once and for all.

One day, Nate surprised me with a trip. We'd arrived in Nantucket at sundown, and Nate walked me along the beach until we reached the same cabin we'd stayed in during our quasi-honeymoon.

"It's ours now," he'd said

I'd leapt into his arms. He'd twirled me around and set me down. The cabin wasn't the only surprise he had for me. He'd gone down on one knee and pulled out the most beautiful diamond ring I'd ever seen.