Chapter 220

When Kays freed himself from the curse, Bahira was beside herself with rage and once again chose deception. She even had a perfect pretext for her “resurrection”: the spell had fallen, so she had come back to life. But after five hundred years, Kays was no longer that reckless young man—and he managed to slip free of the bonds of the former marriage. Hungry for revenge, Bahira left the palace and continued gathering magic, intending to finish off Karadeylis and his key forever. While collecting magic, she left too many traces, and rumors of a skirefen reached the human magical guild—this was when Naufal entered the game and began hunting the creature.

When she appeared in the palace in Zergedia, not only did Kays marry me, but it also turned out that Laverna’s curse had been lifted—which drove the skirefen into a frenzy.

Naufal said that Bahira had tried to infiltrate royal families more than once, in different kingdoms. But because of the magical order, her plans kept failing, forcing her to lie low for long stretches of time. The truth was shocking—but everything finally made perfect sense.

Naufal vanished as mysteriously as he had appeared, leaving behind only a pile of unanswered questions about himself.

We stayed in Zergedia for another two weeks, restoring some semblance of order after our undoubtedly unforgettable wedding. Administrative matters of the kingdom took time as well, but once they were settled, we were finally ready to head for Virolia.

The road back to Briol was nowhere near as difficult as it had been when I was just a candidate—after all, there were now four formidable mages traveling together.

My powers have grown very significantly. Now I can not only read people, but also influence their consciousness, heal them, and even create simple objects.

As for Kays and Laverna—I won’t even start. They’re like the fully maxed-out final boss from a video game now. But Anton got a very interesting gift too. He can create objects simply by thoroughly imagining and designing them in his mind! Letting a mage–engineer–inventor like that slip away would have been madness, so Anton and Laverna will stay with us at the palace.

Looking ahead a bit, I’ll say this: the fiery demon didn’t leave his “battle sisters,” the daughters of Rasfata, to boredom and sorrow. He created a sort of prototype of a man for them—magnificent like a god, strong, exceptionally skilled in bed, and completely devoid of brains for anything else. Exactly what those ladies needed! In return, they liked the design so much that they literally showered the guy with gold and money.

In Briol, I finally met the Bretyan family in person. To be honest, I was very nervous before that meeting—after all, they hadn’t accepted Kays’s first wife, and I didn’t exactly have blue blood either, even though Gerald had made me his heir. But contrary to my fears, I was welcomed into the family warmly and kindly. They are wonderful people, and little Salsabil is an absolute whirlwind!

Upon our arrival, I noticed something else interesting too: how sweetly and enthusiastically Vielfdem was talking with… Fisa! That vixen never misses her chance—but here, it was clear they were truly enchanted with each other.

Speaking of Vielfdem. After our lavish wedding and another coronation—this time in Virolia—Kays and I decided to hand the rule of the kingdom back to the Bretyan parents and remain to restore order in Zergedia ourselves. But Caspian and Dalila said they’d had enough already and passed the throne to Viel. So now Fisa has very real chances of getting herself a king, just as she wanted.

In Briol, we married Yafi and Iolanta, and a few months later—already in Zergedia—we celebrated the wedding of Anton and Laverna.

I’m so happy for our friends, because in my world I never really had people this close to me, except for the redhead.

Speaking of my world—our wedding happened there too! Since our powers increased, Kays and I can now open a portal to my world together. That’s where I introduced him to my parents, and we got married for the third time. But living between two worlds wasn’t very practical, and I couldn’t abandon my parents, so after a while we admitted that Kays wasn’t exactly “from our world.” My parents were shocked and didn’t believe it at first—but a couple of tricks later, everything became undeniable. And later, we brought them to live with us in the palace. After all, help will definitely be needed with triplets.

“Maybe you’ll finally read me that book you wrote about us in your world?” Kays asks softly, touching my bare back with his long fingers, sliding them from my shoulders down to my lower back, then stroking my already noticeable belly, sending shivers down my spine.

“Are you sure?” I smile at my beloved husband. “It’s not all that cheerful. You remember yourself,” I add sadly, looking into the dark, bottomless eyes of the dark-haired man.

“But the ending is happy, right?” he kisses my shoulder, hugging me, and I roll my eyes blissfully, snuggling closer to my king.

“Let’s say it’s an open ending. Let the reader imagine the rest. I didn’t really share our happiness back then, because… I didn’t know it myself yet and genuinely started thinking I’d gone insane.”

“I’m already looking forward to it,” Kays laughs, and I settle comfortably against his chest and begin my story:

“Evening fatigue settles on the shoulders like an unbearable weight. Gently swaying, and unpleasantly jolting over potholes, the passengers in the overcrowded minibus sat in gloomy silence, counting the stops until theirs…”

_________

Thank you to everyone who read my book. I’m truly grateful to you all. If you enjoyed this story, please join me in reading the second book set in this world. It’s Fisa’s story and is titled When Fate Changes Plans.