The Raven and the Dragon

Epilogue

In the end, they all got what they wanted.

Alicia and Botan were home. There had been losses, of course, but they had lived and they had recovered their home. Lady Adrianna Byrne would remain Queen Regent while Alicia finished her studies. They would have preferred it if none of this had happened at all, of course. But that wasn't the way life worked, so they were content with what they had. They were home and they had survived. That was all they could ask for.

Eve returned to the mountains with King Gideon and his people. She could have stayed at the Raven Isle—the offer had been made, and would always be open according to Alicia. But the memories of the cold mountain air and of people like her living and existing without fear awakened a deep longing that she had only now allowed herself to feel. She would miss her new friends, and even some parts of her old life. But in this new life, she would be free. That was more than she'd ever hoped for.

Kit could not return to his old home. He knew that, as much as the thought pained him. But Alicia's mention of him staying on the Raven Isle came to fruition. Not only was he allowed to stay and given a new place to live, but he was given a position in the court. He may have been silent, and considered strange by many, but he was an excellent shot, and immortal as far as they could tell. There were few people more suitable to guard the future queen than he.

Nimah was paid, of course, though by the journey's end that was a secondary concern. She had been on a grand adventure, been deep into the Wilds, and seen dragons. Being paid for her services was nice, for sure, but the fact that she had been able to help, and to see things that few could say they had seen, made the entire trip worthwhile to her.

In many ways, Solomon ended the journey the way he began it. He had his title now, and everything that came with that, but beyond that he seemed much the same—stoic and secretive, keeping a great many things close.

But there was one change, not immediately obvious or visible, but still a change. Nimah Sudani was the first one to see it. The change first showed itself when he and Nimah returned to the mainland. Nimah expected him to say goodbye and doge her. She couldn't blame him for that; he had been through a lot at her request. But what she heard instead was this:

"Well, if you need anything, you know where to find me."

Nimah wondered for a long time if he was being facetious. But, a month or so later, she decided to try and take him up on that.

"So, Sir Obote," Nimah said to him on a sunny morning, plans already running through her head, "how do you feel about a little trek through the woods?"

Solomon ducked his head and sighed heavily. That was the result she had expected. What she didn't expect was for him to look up at her and smile. "When do we start?" he asked.

He was still a bit resigned, to be sure, and wouldn't hesitate to make his complaints known in the days to come. But an open door was an open door. It seemed, for the first time, that Solomon Obote was letting people through.

It was a gamble for him, just as the journey at been a gamble for them all. But, as with that journey, it seemed that all would be well.

(Author's Note: This story was cross-posted from singlequantumevent.com. If you'd like to see more stories like this one, including ongoing stories and ones that haven't been posted to WattPad yet, check out the site! Special thanks to my patrons, Wolf Woman (formerly CarnivaleArt), Dianne Owens, Juniper H., Matt Hurd, Nathan Pressley, and Bry Clark. And thanks to you for reading!)