Epilogue

***15 years later***

Viktor frowned down at his tablet as he pushed open the door to his throne room. The graph on the screen of the device made him raise a brow. The company had made two hundred percent profit this year? Even more than he’d predicted. Was this a hoax or was Viktor really that good a business man? He sighed. Since his finance department valued their jobs far too much to pull a prank, it had to mean that Viktor really was the best to ever do it. It was so burdensome to be this damn perfect.
Pushing the door closed, Viktor glanced up at his throne and froze.

There, on the gold and black of his priceless throne, grinning evilly from ear-to-ear was the second-biggest villain in all of Onyx, after her mother.

His daughter.

“I’ve taken over your Kingdom!” she said in what Viktor assumed was supposed to be an evil growl. “The throne of Onyx is *mine*!” Throwing back her head of dark red curls, she let out an evil laugh that was perfect enough in its evil to make Viktor genuinely concerned about this child’s eleven-year old soul.

“Ava,” Viktor said slowly and carefully. “What did I say... about sitting... on my *throne*?!”

Startled by his sudden yell, her perfect mask of evil crumbled to be replaced by the huge grin that always melted her father’s heart.
“I was keeping it warm for you, your Majesty!” she said, patting the golden arm of the chair.

Giving her a look, Viktor walked up to his throne and nudged her out of it before sitting down. She was immediately leaning on the arm of the chair and peeking at the screen of her father’s tablet.
“What is this? What’s that?” asked Ava, pointing at random things on the screen.

“It’s work, little one,” Viktor told her. “You don’t need to concern yourself with this until much later.”

“Why not now? Teach me now, dad! Teach me now and I’ll stop challenging Uncle Damon to sword fights!” she said, her bright blue eyes sparkling.

Viktor looked at her, barely able to stop the smile that curved his mouth. Who would’ve thought? A Vampire King whipped for a woman, and then even further whipped for the tiny version of her. His daughter changed his world the minute she’d opened her big blue eyes and stared at him. It was unlike anything Viktor could have ever imagined.
Never before had he been more in awe of and thankful to Kamilla for making this precious girl with him. He’d been thankful enough to even give his wife his entire Vampire’s soul and all the power that came with it, if she’d only asked for it.

“Well?!” Ava demanded, breaking Viktor out of his thoughts. “Deal?”

“You always lose those sword fights anyway,” Viktor pointed out with narrowed eyes. “Did you complete all your lessons for this week?”

She blinked, her smile dimming. “Huh? Look, dad! My fangs are getting bigger!”

Totally avoiding the topic of her lessons, she bared her teeth, showing her father how she'd improved in controling the lengthening of her fangs and how absolutely perfect she was as the next heir to the throne.

Viktor scoffed out a laugh, tugging on the red ringlets of her head. “Little rascal. I feel sorry for Onyx when you’re Queen.”

She flicked her hair and turned her nose up, much like her mother. “Onyx loves me already. I'm the only daughter of Viktor and Kamilla King!”

A sound reached Viktor’s ear and he turned his head to the side. Even before the doors burst open, Viktor could hear them coming, their running feet nearly as loud as hooves.
Sending the doors to the throne room flying open, they ran in. His two sons.

They stood before him, two-and-a-half feet tall, identical from the top of their dark-haired heads to the bottom of their feet. And naked.

The twins stood shoulder-to-shoulder before his throne and bowed just the way they’d seen the Legion do countless times. “Good morning, King!!”

Viktor rested his chin in his hand and looked at his little sons with a sigh and a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. They’d escaped the bathroom again.

Ava gasped at her younger brothers. “How dare you two enter the throne room and stand before your King with no clothes on?! Off with your heads!”

Viktor blinked at her, his brows raised high. “Can you *relax* and not threaten to chop your brother’s heads off? I swear you’re just like your mother.”
Ava smiled brightly. “Really? I’m just like mom? Thanks, dad!”

“We have a loryal request, your Majesty!” yelled Keane, repeating what he’d always heard the Elders say and, thereby, dragging his father’s attention back to him and his brother.

“*Royal*,” corrected Ava dryly.

Deciding to forgo formalities, Kaden took tiny steps forward, blinking his big green eyes up at their father. “Daddy, m-mommy’s making us bath!” he complained pitifully.
Viktor raised a brow. “Well, do you want to be stinky Princes? No son of a Vampire King avoids his bath, Kaden.”

There was a sudden movement in the doorway and Viktor raised his gaze.
Breathing heavily from her race all over the castle, Kamilla lifted her gaze from her sons to her husbands and grinned widely at him. “Found ‘em,” she whispered.

Viktor stared at her for a moment. Her hair curled dark and red down to her waist and her shoulders were bare, his flannel shirt far too large so it hung unbuttoned and slipping off her shoulders, her chest covered only by a black sports bra. Viktor leaned back on his throne, taking in the sight of her. His mate was bloody stunning. The most beautiful in all the four Vampire Kingdoms was surely his Kamilla.

Kamilla slapped her black denim covered thigh. “Keane, Kaden, what are you boys doing here?"

Startled, they turned around at the exact same time to look up at their mom.
“Mommy, *noooo*! I hate bathing!” Kaden cried as Kamilla wrapped him in her arms.

“I can be the stinky Vampire prince!” offered Keane, darting away from his mother only to be caught by Viktor.

“Not on my watch, buddy,” he told the wriggling three year old.

“They bath or they’ll be hanged from Witcher’s Cliff, mom,” said Ava, resuming her self-imposed duty of warming the throne.

Kamilla looked at her, passing Kaden over to Viktor. “You sound just like your father.”

Ava hopped off the throne and went with her mother, wrapping an arm around Kamilla’s hip so she could look adoringly up at her. “But dad said I’m like you!”
Kamilla gave the back of Viktor’s head a look as he carried the boys to their bathroom.
“Did he now?”

Viktor turned around. “She’s exactly like you,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “That spit-fire temper and the violence!” Shaking his head, he sighed. “I’ve got plenty to deal with.”

“Alright, already!” said Kamilla with a laugh as they entered the children’s wing. She brushed back her daughter’s red hair with a happy smile. “If you’re like me then it’s great, love.”

“It means I’ll be a kickass Queen!” cheered Ava.

Kamilla laughed and kissed her cheek. “Damn right!”

“Language!” Viktor barked from ahead, making Kamilla wince.

Grace closed the tap and looked at the boys as they filed into the bathroom. “Oh, you found them!” She laughed, taking Kaden from his father. “Let me, my King.”

Viktor handed the kids over and left them to it, tugging Kamilla out with him.

“I wanna help, Grace!” said Ava, grabbing the bottle of bubble bath to pour half the contents into the tub.

Grace gasped. “Too much, Ava, dear!”

“Just a little more, please!” said Ava happily, likely pouring more.

Kamilla didn’t see because she’d long ago been tugged out of the room by her pain-in-the-ass King.
“Where are we going?” she asked, laughing as Viktor hooked an arm around her shoulders and led her away from the children’s wing.
He looked down at her, one dark brow raised suggestively. “Where do you want to go, my Queen?”

Kamilla narrowed her eyes. “I have a seminar in London in three hours, okay, I don’t have time for your little games.”

“Who’s playing little games?” asked Viktor. “I am outraged by your words.”

Kamilla bit her smile back as she gazed up at him for a moment. So many times, he sounded like Charming and gave her heart a start. But now she was used to it. Damon was right. She’d said goodbye to Charming, but he hadn’t left. She’d only said goodbye to him because he was no longer Charming, he was now a part of Viktor and it showed.

Which wasn’t too great for Kamilla. Viktor was hard enough to resist with his dark gaze and sardonic smirk, but now he, by himself, could also be the sweetest, most charming existence to have ever been and that destroyed Kamilla’s defenses immediately. The duality was the most dangerous weapon he had.
But deep down inside, Kamilla didn’t care. She’d pick any side of him, as long as it was still Viktor.

“Will we go to Cassius?” she asked, looking up at him.

Viktor ran his tongue over the tip of one sharp canine and thought it over. “They probably invited us to have some peace treaty or something equally useless.”

“I don’t think it’s useless,” said Kamilla. “It will give both Kingdoms joy and peace from their past enmity. Most of your subjects don’t even know the reason for which the two Kingdoms are enemies, Viktor.”

“Because Darrius never told them.”

“Because Darrius knew he was wrong!” she said firmly. Stopping, she turned Viktor to face her. “Where’s Rogan? Do you know?”

Viktor turned his gaze away. “Do I care?”

Kamilla crossed her arms. “Even if you don’t, the truth remains the truth. He is the way he is because of what Darrius did to him. Killed his mother and brought him to a foreign land to live in secret. I’m sure Rogan always thought Darrius was ashamed of him. That is what caused this hatred between the two kingdoms.”

“I know that, Kamilla.”

“And I’m sure you also know how to fix it, Viktor. It’s been nearly two decades since Darrius died. Let Cassius make peace, since it was all Darrius’s fault anyway.”

Digging his hands into his pockets, Viktor dragged in a breath. “Is that what you want?”
Kamilla brightened. “Yeah.”
“Then I’ll do it.”
She smiled. “Really?”

“Of course.” Viktor tugged her close and lowered his head to press a kiss to soft her mouth, welcoming that deep desire Kamilla always brought to life within him. “Whatever you want, my Queen, I’ll do it.”

Kamilla smiled. There it was. The charming sweetness that melted all her defenses away. Sighing in delight, she slid her arms around him and hugged him tightly, smiling into his chest.

“What’s this?” Viktor asked, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her head. “Suddenly overwhelmed by your love for me? It’s alright, I understand. I am awfully perfect.”

Kamilla scoffed, but still laughed. And there was the cocky son of a gun that was her Vampire King.

And, boy, did she *love* him.



***The End***