Epilogue
Azriel POV
He sat awkwardly on the balcony and fidgeted.
He never fidgeted.
He wrung his hands together to try and keep them out of his hair. Az knew that if he succumbed to the urge not only would the hair Gwyn had worked so hard on be ruined, but he was likely to pull out a few strands as well.
Azriel eyed the two glasses of whiskey he had set out next to him. Four fingers for him, and four for his guest.
They were going to need it.
Why did I decide to stick to traditions? He argued with himself. Honestly, Gwyn was going to kill him when she found out about this. But he didn't want to skip any steps. He had finally found her. His mate, his whole heart. Azriel wanted to do this right.
Even if that meant stepping out of his comfort zone.
Fuck, I'm leaping out of it at this point.
Azriel heard the approaching footsteps long before his guest cleared his throat to make himself known. Without turning, Azriel waved him forward, unable to meet his eye just yet. Instead he stared out at the garden before them.
The river house's garden was a feat of beauty, but it didn't hold a candle to the women gathered under its vine covered gazebo. The ladies of the Night Court busied themselves as they set up their decorations for their so-called "Girl's Night." Feyre and Elain hung up faelights while Gwyn and Emerie lit the candles around their sleeping mats. Mor and Nesta were already partaking in the wine they had brought out, laughing loudly at something Amren, who was perched on top of a stone pedestal like a gargoyle, had said.
"The concept of girl's night is simple." Gwyn had tried to explain to him as she packed an overnight bag. "We get together, gossip and drink and there is only one rule." She shut the lid of her suitcase before getting to the point. "No boys allowed."
"What about, Nyx?"
"He will already be in bed by the time we get started, and if he happens to wake up we will make an exception."
And so, while the girls had their night to gab. The males were being kicked to the curb.
Okay, the curb was a bit dramatic, they were going to dinner and then Rita's.
"Is this glass for me?" Lucien asked as he took the open seat next to him. Azriel could only nod and grab his matching crystal tumbler. He took a long swig, then another. He let the liquid courage warm him up.
"This is a bit bigger of a drink than I was expecting to pregame with." Music from the garden drifted up towards them as Nesta set up her old gift from Cassian. Azriel felt Lucien's wary gaze burn into his cheek when he still didn't reply.
"I'm going to need you to say something before I start to worry. If you're having doubts about Gwyn it's far too late to go back to Elain. You know that right?"
He almost choked on his whiskey. "Cauldron, no! That's not what this is about. It's, well, you see…"
Lucien rolled his eyes. "Spit it out, man. We have reservations in fifteen minutes across town."
Azriel's hands shook as he pulled the small box out of his pocket. That had been it's home for weeks now, ever since the jewelry handed it to him. He brought it with him everywhere.
Lucien raised an eyebrow, a smug smirk crossed his face. "Az, I've learned to love you but I'm a mated man…"
"Shut up smartass, you know it's for Gwyn." Azriel growled, not in the mood for his jokes.
Still chuckling he waited for Azriel to hand it over. Lucien whistled when he opened the ornate box.
"You know the ring is supposed to be worth three month's salary, right? Not 300 years."
It didn't cost that much, but he was right that it was far from cheap. Gwyn was worth it all, though. He wished he had an heirloom to present her, like Rhysand had for Feyre. But his mother was stripped of all her possessions long ago. He didn't mind spending money on this. Afterall, he had been saving whatever he didn't give to his mother for centuries now. It was about time he put that money to good use.
Deciding on a design, since he deemed no premade ring good enough, was far more difficult than he had expected. Azriel was dead set on keeping it a surprise. He wanted no word of his shopping and planning to get back to his mate. That immediately excluded asking Nesta, Emerie, Feyre and Elain for help. Az was tempted to ask Mor, but decided against the idea when his shadows warned him of the rumors that ring shopping with The Morrigan could start.
That left one person and, luckily for him, she knew all about jewels.
Azriel had been wide eyed when Amren brought her own set of tools to examine each and every gem shown to them. The poor shopkeeper didn't know how to handle himself. Torn between landing the sale of the decade and wanting to order her out of his store immediately. He seemed to find a healthy middle by just standing aside and keeping quiet.
Hours later they had finally decided on what gemstones and setting. Amren threatened the jeweler before leaving that the final product had better be up to her standards or she would be back.
Unsurprisingly, there was no need for revisions.
As the sun set over the Sidra the ring reflected and sparkled under its rays. They had gone for a unique metal for the band. It's rose hue reminded Azriel of her blush. Diamonds adorned the band all the way around and surrounding the main stone, a halo of diamonds of all different shapes drew your attention in.
Amren and Azriel had argued quite a lot about what they envisioned for the center gem. Amren wanted to match his siphons, or her invoking stone. "What good is a ring if she has nothing to match?"
"Hopefully I will have centuries to give her matching pieces, for now, I want it to be one of a kind." Az had argued back.
In the end, Azriel won her over.
The oval stone was cut in a way that stood out among the rest. It's faucets seemed to move like a kaleidoscope when you shifted it. It's smoky color was a stark contrast to metal, making it pop more in his opinion.
It was to be her own personal shadow. A token to remind her she was always safe and cared for, even if she couldn't see it.
"Well then." Lucien said, he snapped the lid shut and handed it back to him. "Go on then."
Azriel sighed heavily. Time to get this over with.
"Lucien, may…"
"Full name and title, please. Start again."
Az growled. Of course he had to make this difficult.
"Lucien Vanserra, Emissary to the Night Court. May I…"
"And Spring Court, you forgot that part. Start again."
"I'm not starting again, dammit! Now quit interrupting me."
The fox chuckled and motioned for him to continue.
"May I have your blessing to marry your daughter?"
"No." Azriel reached over to slap him but Lucien dodged it with a hearty laugh.
"Just joking. Of course, Azriel."
Soft claps sounded behind them. Rhys and Cassian stood in the doorway with devilish smirks.
Cassian wiped a fake tear. "They grow up so fast, brother." He hung onto Rhys who pushed him off unceremoniously.
"If you two are done being sappy, it sounds like we have something to celebrate tonight." Rhysand prompted.
"She hasn't said yes yet." Az told them.
In unison all three of his brothers chimed,
"She will."
Author's Note:
The inspiration and purpose for Call Me Home was for it to read similarly to a romance novel. And what good is a romance novel without a happy ending?
Thank you all so incredibly much for supporting me and following this story from start to finish.
I will be back soonish with another story, although I can't promise when. But what I can do, is give you a teaser ;)
The Power Of Three
Twas' the night of Starfall and everyone gathered round. Not a frown or a scowl or a tear to be found.
The Inner Circle stood close, admiring the sky, waiting for the souls to fly right by.
As they started to fall the gang looked on in awe, then confusion as one stuck out to them all. The star was hurtling fast and as it neared closer, it was clear it wouldn't pass.
Quickly they moved out of the way, for its path was destructive and clear as day.
In the rubble and smoke sat a large stone. Glowing softly all alone.
Rhys approached first, with Feyre in tow, the rest watched on. What was it? They didn't know.
The stone held runes too old to read. They called over Amren who looked on with greed.
Waiting impatiently for her to respond
Eventually she announced: "It's a riddle from beyond."
A look of worry passed between the Lord and Lady. They squeezed each other's hand before telling Amren they were ready.
Three rights made a left then
Three Fae came along, you get
Three chances to make right
What they did wrong.
Three brothers cut ties that
Three sisters will sew, you have
Three chances to fix
What they still owe.
Three stones are the key to fix
Three mistakes
Three sisters now go
You have no time to waste.
I hope to see you all again on our next journey. This time for a mystery! And no, it won't be written as a poem, that was just a fun way to tease the story, haha.
Until we meet again,
Meagan
propagandaprincess on ao3, ffn, wattpad and if you want updates on when the next story will be coming out follow me on tumblr!