Illusion: Book Four of the Grimoire Saga (41 page)

“I believe so.”

“You will,” Stone confirmed.

Cedric straightened his back. “Very well, then. I suppose you both are right.”

He set an icy hand on Kara’s shoulder. A chill swept through her arm. She suppressed the impulse to shiver and, instead, smiled up at him. “Thank you for this adventure.”

He smiled. “It’s been an honor.”

“I feel like I should say something more, but you’ve been living in my head. You already know how grateful I am for you, belligerent yelling and all.”

He laughed. “Belligerent yelling might be a little harsh.”

“Maybe.” She grinned.

“So you know what to do? You know what comes next?”

“Whatever comes, I have the team to help me through it. You’re fine. Go to the next life, Cedric.”

Stone stood and cleared his throat. “All right, enough of that.”

“Goodbye, Kara,” Cedric said.

“Goodbye.”

This was the final goodbye—she doubted she would see him in the next life, whatever that would be. His body dissolved, and once more the stars twinkled in the night sky beyond the window, unhindered by his hazy presence. Stone reached a hand forward and nodded to the Grimoire, which she still held.

“You’re not going to destroy it, are you?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Cedric is cooperating, so I’ll stab it instead.”

She frowned but handed him the book.

He set it on the desk, cover facing the ceiling. His barb slid from his wrist, a purple sword that curved a little at the end. He set the tip on the cover, right in the center of the Grimoire symbol drawn on the leather in chipping gold paint.

The tip slid into the book. Stone cringed and paused. His eyebrows twisted. His grimace deepened, elongating the wrinkles around his mouth and along his brow. Kara leaned forward in her chair, shoulders pinched around her neck. She didn’t speak for fear of breaking his focus, so she swallowed hard to suppress her nerves.

Stone pressed on, driving the barb deeper into the book. He grunted. His mouth became a thin line. He held his breath. Kara held hers, too, out of reflex.

A beam of blue light shot from the space around Stone’s barb. It passed through the ceiling, where a white pool of wisps congealed and writhed along the white paint. Slivers of gold twisted through the mess of white and blue. A hum buzzed through Kara’s ears. Stone retracted his barb and stepped backward, staring at the beam.

As quickly as it appeared, the light began to thin. Within seconds, it disappeared completely.

The hum faded. A weight lifted from Kara’s neck, one she had grown so used to she’d forgotten it was a part of her life—the Vagabond’s influence on her mind. She sat up straighter.

Cedric was gone. No more fights. No more advice. No more answers.

Stone nodded to the book and rubbed his neck. “You can have that now. It should still work.”

She stood and crossed to it, running her fingers along the cover. A hole remained where Stone had stabbed it, but at least she still had her grimoire. She had Braeden. Her vagabonds.

Cedric was gone, but she would never be alone. Whatever she faced in the coming years as Ourea’s Vagabond, she would be prepared.

Epilogue

Surprises

One Year Later

Kara lounged in the branches of her sanguini tree, its trunk now almost three feet wide. It had grown even faster than expected—a foot taller each month—and she found herself drawn to sitting in its heights on warm days.

A breeze drifted through the leaves, shaking them. Thin shafts of sunlight broke through, casting dappled shadows as the leaves swayed. The tree’s two blossoms—one for her and one for Braeden—bent now and again as the wind brushed by. Their red petals burned in contrast to the emerald greens of the tree leaves and hung on with every gust. In the ten months since they’d bloomed, the flowers never once wilted.

Kara hummed with pleasure and closed her eyes.

A year ago, everything in Ourea clicked into place. Even though the official anniversary for Ourea’s liberation wasn’t for another three weeks—the day of the second gala to celebrate the united yakona kingdoms—Kara preferred to call today the real anniversary in honor of the day Stone sealed away the Bloods’ Sartori blades as an act of peace.

Her vagabonds had a place of honor at the feast, and she smiled again at the memory of Rieve in that gorgeous silver gown. Her smile faltered, though. The young woman had changed. She rarely laughed anymore. And though she seemed to realize killing Evelyn would kill her entire race—including Rieve herself—she hadn’t forgiven the queen. Truthfully, neither had Kara. Maybe that wound would heal in time.

“Sometimes those who don’t deserve forgiveness are the ones who need it most,” she’d said. Rieve hadn’t quite agreed.

Thus far, everyone else seemed to enjoy this new era. The second gala went off without a single murder, which Kara counted as a personal win considering how the first one went. Evelyn hadn’t tried to kill anyone. The Ayavelian Blood would go free at the third-annual Gala a few weeks from now, welcomed as a guest of honor by the world she tried to destroy. Kara fiddled with her hem, simultaneously afraid and hopeful. Perhaps the drenowith had removed the poison from the ruler’s veins—either way, the kingdoms would find out soon enough. Besides, the world seemed to enjoy their new freedom. Yakona of all nations visited each other, and though she still heard of the occasional racial brawl, trade and tourism between the kingdoms seemed overall pleasant and steady.

Adele and Garrett even managed to visit a month ago, though thankfully, Evelyn was spending time with another muse and hadn’t joined them. Adele could barely walk, as her injuries from Aislynn’s betrayal still caused much pain, but at least she’d survived. Kara spent every available second with her drenowith friend in the few days she visited. Garrett hadn’t revealed much of what happened after Adele slipped into her coma, so Kara hadn’t felt it right to tell her wounded friend everything that had happened since her fight with the dead Ayavelian queen. They would wait until Adele had her strength back.

A bird sang nearby, its sweet melody cutting through Kara’s wandering mind. She peeked through one eye at the blossoms and smiled. Of all the trees she could sit in, this one gave her a connection to Braeden. Their bond hadn’t quite worked, so this would do. As long as the flower representing him glowed in the sun, she could simply look up and know he was well.

Her eyes shifted out of focus. Braeden left for his kingdom a week ago, after they’d finally had their honeymoon, and she would connect with him in a few weeks at the Stele before heading to the Gala. She grinned and blushed as the memories of their week away flooded through her mind—tropical sand, empty beaches, and plenty of time alone with the man she loved.

The wind picked up, and her eyes snapped back into focus on reflex. The two blossoms danced, shaking on their stems. A dash of pink appeared for a second as they bent in the wind.

Kara narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. She gently moved her blossom aside. Behind it was a little pink bud, so small it barely looked like much more than a blushing leaf. Its petals clamped together, not yet ready to bloom.

She laughed and stared at her little pink blossom. “No way.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

S. M. Boyce is a lifelong writer with a knack for finding adventure and magic.

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BOYCE’S NOVELS

The Grimoire Saga

Lichgates (#1)

Treason (#2)

Heritage (#3)

Illusion (#4)

The Ourean Chronicles

The Misanthrope: Stone’s Story (#1)
Fall 2015

The First Vagabond: Cedric’s Story (#2)
Fall 2015

The Demon: Deidre’s Story (#3)
Fall 2015

SAY HI

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This novel would be wordier if not for my charming and talented editor, Chase Nottingham.

My amazing beta readers helped shape this novel, so special thanks to: Nikki, Christie, Sylvalyn, Karen, and Dad.

Big shout out to Janet Wallace for introducing me to the phrase, “done is better than perfect.” (Which Stone uses in the final chapter.) I have those words taped to my wall, by the way.

And of course, my content editor/husband is an epic badass who helped make this story even better than I ever imagined. Thank you, Geoff.