The evening sunlight feels different this time. Magical, almost—like it knows we've survived the storm.
A new dusk. A new kingdom. And finally, a last name to call my own.
"Veravos Spade has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" I say, still holding Scarlette's hand like I never want to let go.
She smirks. "Yeah. There's a kind of finality in that. Like you're done running."
We both laugh.
Funnily, we are the two people who could cause major destruction to the Fairy race, but now we're entrusted to lead it. Well, you could pity the citizens, but I am their Dark Fairy King now. So there's that.
A moment passes. Then, more quietly, she asks, "Do you think we'll end up like the monarchs we overthrow?"
"The fact that you're asking means you won't," I say with soft certainty. "You're going to be a great queen, Scar."
And I mean it—because I believe it with all my heart.
"Judorah wants to snuff out the light," I say. "To rewrite the truth in her image—as the Dark Fairy Queen."
"And Baltimore," Scarlette adds, her voice tightening. "He twists devotion into obedience. Turns love into blind allegiance. Makes an emerald to rewrite reality—and erases me from the memories of everyone I ever know."
I pull her closer. "Love isn't supposed to be erasure. What he does to you… you don't deserve that. None of it."
She nods slowly. "I know. It's just—hard to forget."
I keep holding her. "And there's so much that shouldn't be forgotten."
She exhales, then continues, quieter now. "All of them. Baltimore, Judorah, Luxeron." A pause. A tremor. "Luxeron, the King of Illusions. He uses light to blind—to hide the truth behind glitter and gold. He arrests anyone who disrupts the peace… even when the peace is fake."
"Yes, Luxeron." I sigh. "To think he almost has the Light Guardian, the emerald, and the scroll all in one place."
"But he's too paranoid," Scarlette mutters. "Thinks the Light Guardian is going to usurp him. So he hands Victor to Judorah on a silver platter."
"Which works for us," I snigger.
"Oh, yes definitely," she heaves a sigh of relief.
"But something else fails epically for him," I grin as I stare at her.
"What?" Scarlette asks, trying to find an answer.
"Don't you remember his kingdom's 'progressive' stance on mixed fairy couples?" I remind her. "Utter tragedy," I scoff. "That's how the Dark Fairies get in, remember?"
Scarlette snorts. "Right. 'Ravos,' was it? Sun Full of Love?"
I double over laughing. "They actually buy that. Ravos! I should be arrested just for the name."
But then she softens. "But we're really allowing mixed fairy couples in this kingdom, right?"
"We are," I say gently. "And we'll lead by example."
Scarlette blushes, nudging me with her elbow. "You know, you still haven't asked me to be your girlfriend."
"Ha. I just don't want you to feel tied to me," I tease, though the ache in my chest betrays more than humor. "Shoot me with a love arrow if you must, Scar, but we both know you're too good for me."
"And why's that, exactly?" she asks, raising an eyebrow, those olive eyes gleaming.
"You're smart. Brave. Unapologetic. You challenge everything—monarchs, gods, fate. You've come so far from who you were. And I'm just—"
"Just a handsome Dark Fairy?" she interrupts. "One who absorbs a kingdom's worth of darkness to protect someone he loves?"
"Scarlette—"
"No. Don't 'Scarlette' me—I'm not finished." She jabs a finger into my chest. "You choose to feed on villains, not innocents. You expose broken ideals. You teach me strategy. You're a manipulator, a drama king, a big dumb idiot… and you've got the biggest heart I've ever seen in someone who swears they're a monster."
Is she scolding me? Then why do my ribs feel like they're melting?
"You think I'm handsome?" I grin, turning toward a reflective window like I've just discovered something new.
"Seriously? That's what you take from all that?" Her expression is priceless—mock outrage, pure Scarlette.
And then I say it.
"Be my queen, Scarlette. Let's be happy. Not as curses. Just… people. A fresh start. Free from how we begin."
She blinks—just once—before breaking into a wicked grin.
"Now that's more like my partner in chaos." She leans in and kisses my cheek.
"My stars! The Queen of Hearts kisses me!" I gasp, throwing my hands in the air like a lovestruck bard. "Oh no! She's looking at me! I'm going to faint!"
I twirl dramatically and strike a pose, then stare into her eyes with a deliberately exaggerated eyebrow raise.
She cracks up.
"Stop ogling me!" she laughs, stepping forward to smack my arm.
"You call me handsome. That's legally binding. I shall ogle for eternity." I stick out my tongue.
And she laughs—really laughs. That rare, unguarded sound I only ever get to hear when she's with me.
She tries to compose herself, wipes a tear from her cheek, then giggles again.
"You're impossible," she murmurs.
I pull her into my arms, resting my chin on her head.
"Yeah. But I'm yours."
Time passes. Scarlette and I build a life—one neither of us ever imagines. It isn't perfect, but it's real. Not something crafted by a spell or forged in battle, but shaped by patience, bickering, late-night talks, shared burdens, and stolen kisses.
Our love story isn't scripted. It isn't fate.
It's choice.
And somewhere along the way, I become a man with a partner, a job, and a golden retriever.
Correction: I have a lifelong partner in chaos—a kitsune—and two kids who may already be better than both of us combined.
They're stunning, of course—that's my genes. Ethereal, too. That's all her.
Gacanagh and Azendian—named for the lands we come from, the places that shape us—are born of two fairies who once think they're monsters. They don't quite fit in, and honestly? That's perfect. They aren't meant to. They're meant to change things. Just like we do.
Yes, they inherit our powers, our cunning, our chaos, and our fire—but more than that, they inherit a world better than the one we start in.
I'm a Dark Fairy. I feel deeply. I protect fiercely. I love wholly.
And for the first time… I'm truly happy.
Do I become human? You tell me.
If my kids ever ask how I meet their mother, I probably won't tell them the full story.
Would they believe me?
So here's the record: I'll just say it's an arranged marriage—I hear it from the humans, and it sounds appropriately dramatic.
-The End