They stopped at the shepherd’s hut and collected Kruos before turning towards Rose’s cottage. When they landed, they found the windows blazing with light, and laughter tumbled from within.
Jasper knocked and the door was thrown open by Delens, who had a mug in his hand and half a smile on his scarred face.
“Come on in,” he said, waving the mug that wafted the rich malty aroma of beer.
Rose, Dawn, and Millie were sitting in front of the fire, sharing stories and laughing. The young maid looked much better, and her pale colour had turned to a healthier peach tone.
She jumped to her feet when she saw Kruos. “Grandfather!”
The old man embraced his granddaughter and a frozen tear slid down his cheek. “You look much improved, Millie. I have been so worried about you.”
“There wasn’t much wrong with the girl. Like a wilted plant, she just needed one of my health tonics to perk her up,” Rose said with a wink from her spot in the armchair closest to the fire.
“You’ll not be bothered by Francis Hamilton anymore. Delens wiped his mind of any memory of you. You are free to live out your last years with Millie,” Jasper said as he went to Dawn’s side.
“Thank you. I can never repay you for what you have done,” Kruos said over the top of the girl’s head.
“We can’t change the events of the past, we can only make a better future.” Elijah tightened his hold on Trixie’s hand. He had the future to look forward to with his mate and he planned to savour every day.
“Delens has been telling me stories about Zadoc. If they are even a tiny bit true, then I do not know what my mother ever saw in him. He sounds like a hellion.” Dawn wrapped her arm around Jasper’s waist.
The chick in Trixie’s hand chirped and all eyes in the room turned to the small ball of glowing feathers.
“It hatched!” Dawn leapt to her feet and rushed to Trixie’s side. Her hand hovered over the baby phoenix. “Is it safe to touch?”
“Yes. He’s quite warm still, but the flight here cooled him off considerably.” Trixie held him out for inspection.
Dawn stroked his tiny crest and down his back. “This chick will never be held captive. Fire will be free. Just like Zadoc imagined.” She closed her eyes as tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks.
Jasper gathered her in his arms and held her close.
The ache in Elijah’s heart that mourned his father eased a little. In the end, vengeance for Julian hadn’t been the answer. Instead, he would forge a new future with Trixie. More importantly, they had learned why so many people had lost their lives. One man had been consumed by his need for revenge against the Setons all because of actions the Hamiltons had taken against Elizabeth Tudor.
They spent a companionable hour in the cosy cottage, catching everyone up on what had transpired at the mill, the house, and on the hilltop.
Kruos and Millie took their leave to head back to his cottage and, he promised, a quiet life.
Delens chose to ride to Alysblud, saying he had a task to complete on the way.
Rose promised to attend the wedding of Dawn and Jasper in a few weeks’ time. Then, she collected a paper-wrapped parcel from the sideboard. “For you. I finished the silk piece,” she said as she pressed the item into Trixie’s hands.
Elijah muttered about being treated as a baggage mule with everything he was expected to fly back to Ravenswing Manor.
Jasper slapped him on the back and grinned. “Welcome to life with a mate who can’t fly.”
The next morning, the group assembled on the lawn at Ravenswing Manor. Dawn and Jasper led the way through the maze to the centre and the majestic Ravensblood tree.
Trixie stopped before the tree and stared. “This is it! This is exactly what I wanted to paint.”
Elijah grinned. When he’d seen her painting, he’d immediately spotted the resemblance to a tree his salamander mate could never have seen. “I know. It’s like a part of you knew.”
The phoenix chick seemed to have grown overnight and now flowed over the sides of Trixie’s palm, his shimmering feathers so similar to Trixie’s scales in her Elemental form.
Dawn took her cousin’s free hand and led her to the old tree. “This is your new home now.”
Trixie lifted the phoenix up and he hopped to a branch. Little claws tapped along the length as he found a comfortable spot and shook his tail feathers to drape down.
Dawn pressed Trixie’s hand to the gnarled bark, and both women stood silent and still as they touched the old being.
“Heart, spirit, and body,” Dawn whispered.
“We are a new clan. Not Soarer or Warder, but simply Elemental,” Trixie replied.
The women embraced and then walked back to their mates.
“What did you two just do? It feels different, in here.” Jasper rubbed a hand over his chest.
“We have created true balance. It’s not about one family being torn down while another rises to power. It’s about finding a way to live harmoniously with each other. We are united. The phoenix was always meant to sit in the Ravensblood tree.” Dawn smiled and gestured to the rare bird preening his feathers.
Its fiery feathers were a perfect complement to the red and orange leaves. The bird could hide among the foliage, so seamless was its camouflage.
The ravens flocked to the top of the tree and were embers among the flames. One cawed to the newcomer, and the phoenix looked up and answered. A wave of chatter rose from the birds and then they all fell silent.
The phoenix shuffled on his branch until he reached the end tip. Then he threw back his head and sang, a joyous trilling noise unlike anything Elijah had ever heard before.
“I didn’t know they could sing.” He looked to Trixie.
Her eyes misted as she listened. “Neither did I. Perhaps only those with freedom can sing with such joy.”
Dawn smiled and leaned back in Jasper’s arms.
When the phoenix had finished his song, Delens approached Dawn with a battered book in his hand. He tapped the scarred side where his ear had been burned away. “When I saw you last night, I thought you were Verity. I hid things away where Hamilton couldn’t reach and made Verity the key. You look so much like her that it triggered the lock. I remembered where I had buried some things, before I told Alma her brother had died. I think you should read this.”
Dawn took the book and caressed the cover with one hand. “What is it?”
“Verity’s journal. After Zadoc died, she asked me to make her forget, because she couldn’t bear the pain. I refused. I said we should never forget him. But she gave me this for safekeeping. She said it was too painful to remember.”
Dawn hugged the book to her chest, then kissed his scarred cheek. “Thank you for all you did for them. Without you, this would never have been possible.”
He tapped the journal. “That’s their story. Maybe once you’ve read that, you can enlighten me as to what she saw in that ugly bugger.”
“I will read it tonight. But right now, I do believe we have a wedding to plan.” Dawn glanced to Jasper, who let out a whoop.
Elijah hugged Trixie close and whispered in her ear, “Welcome to the family.”
She laced her fingers behind his neck and met his gaze with an amused stare. “I believe we have a score to settle.”
He frowned. He didn’t remember making any bets with her. “What score?”
“You’ve seen me naked…” She arched a copper eyebrow, letting him finish the sentence in his head.
He let out his own whoop of delight and picked her up to spin her around. “Whenever you want to even that score, you only have to say the word.”