Chapter 54: Epilogue

One year had passed since the God Gate had opened, the transformation was now totally different. The north no longer carried the scent of frozen iron and ancient snow, it now carried the fragrance of blooming moon lilies and the laughter of a kingdom that had been reborn.

The dead lands was now a sanctuary where magic flowed, but inside the frozen citadel, the atmosphere was hushed, charged with tension that even the High King could not command.

Fenris paced the length of the royal solar, his heavy boots muffled by the thick white fur covering the floor.

To his people, he was the Ancient, the Unshakable, the High King who had united the Realms together.

But in this moment, he looked like a man who was ready to fight the stars if they dared cause his wife any more pain.

“Sit down, Fenris” kaelen said from the doorway, leaning against the frame with a knowing smile.

“You are going to wear a hole in the ground. She's a zenith, she's the daughter of a goddess. She has handled harder things than this.”

Fenris stopped, his eyes filled with worry. “She's been in there for six hours, Kaelen I can hear her heart beat it's fast, and the magic, the air in the hall is vibrating so hard the windows are rattling.”

“That's not pain, brother,” Vane added, appearing behind Kaelen. “That's power. You are not just having a pup. You are having a miracle.”

Suddenly, a shockwave of silver light rippled through the walls, followed by a shout that made every wolf in the citadel stop in their tracks. It was a miniature version of the zenith wolf.

The door to the inner chamber opened. Elder Kara came out, her face bright by the radiance that didn't come from the torches.

She bowed low to Fenris.

“The moon has blessed the north, my king. You may enter.”

Fenris moved faster than a shadow. He burst into the room, his breath catching in his throat.

Astraea laid in the middle of a Silk fur, her silver hair spread out on the bed. She looked exhausted, but she was smiling and her skin shining with sweat and a bit of post partum glow.

In her arm was a bundle of white fur.

“Astraea,” Fenris whispered, dropping to his knees beside the bed. He reached out with a shaking hand to hold the small bundle.

“Meet your son, Fenris,” Astraea said, her voice soft.

The babe was not a normal pup, nor was he a human infant. He was something entirely new. He shifted in his sleep, his tiny hands reaching out to grab Fenris' thumb.

He opened his eyes, and the room brightened. One eye was the molten gold of the ancient king, the other the piercing celestial silver of the Zenith.

He carries the star on the earth” Fenris said, a single tear, the first he had ever shed, falling on the bed. “He's beautiful.”

“His name is Valerius,” Astraea murmured, leaning her head against Fenris' shoulder. “The strength of the moon.”

#. #. #. #. #.

An hour later, Fenris and Astraea stepped onto the great balcony. The entire north was gathered down below. Alpha’s from every corner of the world, commoners and the Shadow-sect warriors that had guarded their lines for centuries.

Fenris held the child high up in the air. As if sensing the importance of the moment, Valerius didn't cry. Instead, he let out a tiny high pitched howl.

In response, the god gates in the distance flared with light. forming a crown over the citadel that could be seen as far south as the human villages.

“Behold ‘Valerius’,” Fenris voice boomed, across the valley, the roar of a proud father, “the prince of the new dawn, the blood of the ancient and the soul of a Zenith.”

The roar of the crowd was deafening a sound of pure joy that echoed into the sky.

Later that night, after the celebration had settled down into a hum of feasting, music and dancing. Fenris and Astraea, sat by the hearth in their private quarters.

The cradle, carved from a single piece of weirwood, sat in front of them. Fenris pulled her closer, his lips brushing her temple.

“I used to think my life began when I took the throne, then I thought it began when I found you in that snow.”

He looked down at the sleeping Valerius, whose tiny chest rose and fell in perfect rhythm with the magic of the land.

“But I was wrong,” Fenris whispered, “our life begins tomorrow, and every other tomorrow, for as long as the moon follows the sun.”

Astraea smiled, closing her eyes, as the warmest of a mate and the light of her son enveloped her. The north was no longer a land of ice and iron. He was a land of infinite possibilities.