Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
But these are the only gates on that whole road. Of this, I’m sure. I’ve checked.
So even though I don’t recognize any trees, I know these are my gates. And if I could just make them open, I will find him.
Even if he is nothing but bones, I don’t care.
I just need to find him.
So I take a breath, call on the hallway gods for help and then tack Pressia’s name on at the last moment out of desperation, and say—with sudden confidence like this is the whole point of everything—
“A horn, a hoof, an eye, a bone.
A man, a girl, a place of stone.
They fight, they fall, they rise again.
A brand-new dawn, a new domain.”
It’s the second curse that appeared over the doorways after I banished Saturn from the sanctuary.
But it’s not a curse.
It’s my answer.
And when I pull those gates open and rush through, my hooves dancing across the grass as I shout his name, I cry happy tears when he runs over the top of the hill towards me
Because he’s not bones.
He’s not dead.
And I’m not either.
And this is the whole point of everything.
EPILOGUE - TOMAS
As soon as I pass across the threshold of my door I know where I’m going.
Home.
And when I step out into my familiar, but at the same time unrecognizable, dungeon it all becomes clear.
I smile at first, then chuckle, then guffaw as I take in my wall of doorknobs. They glow a soft pink color and they are neatly lined up in the stones. Each one has a silver tag above it. And on each of those tags are stamped places and times.
Destinations that lead to star-crossed lovers.
But the doorknobs don’t simply line one wall, they are everywhere. Hundreds—no, thousands—no, tens of trillions—or even more than that, who knows.
All the places and times belong to me.
I am not the dragon of Saint Mark’s—I’m the timekeeper.
Oh, the irony.
Because in this last iteration of my life I am the hallways.
A slow clap emanates from a dark corner. And then his eyes glow. “Well done, good sir. Well done.”
“Thank you.” I take a little bow. “Would you like some tea and biscuits? I’m famished.”
“As you should be. Two thousand years. That was a long game, friend.”
I walk over to my small kitchen, fill up the tea pot, and put it on the flame. “Indeed. It really was. Pie and Pell were sweet, but a little bit slow to catch on. Still, they made it. Happy endings are my specialty.”
“Your penance, you mean?”
“You say potato, I say tomato.”
My friend chuckles and gets up, walking over to me with a little bit of hunger in his eyes. And those eyes really are something. The greenest green ever imagined. “How do you do it?”
Eros is quite possibly the most spectacular specimen of a god that was ever created. Even I am not immune to his charm. I would do very dirty, dirty things with him if I wasn’t on the opposite side of the game.
But I am nothing if not in control. “One hand tied behind my back, my friend. That’s how I play. I like the challenge. And still, even with no memory—even playing as a dragon!”—I have to pause to laugh—“I still find them all a happy ending when it’s over. I am unbeatable!”
He’s very close now. One hand goes to my hip, his eyes burning into mine, his chest pressing forward, as he leans in to me like we are going to kiss.
We are not going to kiss.
Though, to be honest, one day, when this is all over, I might take him up on a future provocation.
But not right now. I tap the pad of my finger gently against his chest. “You know what I find funny?”
“Tell me, you evil, evil thing.” He whispers these words, his voice seductive and low.
And yes, his attraction is godlike. I pity his targets. They have no chance at all.
“That you had a direct route to Pressia and you gave it up. Pell could’ve taken you to her. At the very least, he could’ve given you the books. You don’t need to seduce me to get what you truly want, Eros.” I shrug my shoulders. “Well, you didn’t. Now that I have produced yet another happy ending, Pell is off limits.”
“I let you win.”
“Did you?” These words come out as a laugh.
He places the back of his hand on my cheek, stroking my face as he looks into my eyes. “I wanted you to win.”
“You threw a mutant dragon-girl at me, Eros. Nice play. However, I feel it went against the rules.”
He tsks his tongue and steps back, his voice back to normal now. “Not so. Totally within the rules.”
“I feel otherwise and I will be filing a complaint. If it wasn’t for Darrel—”
“Fuckin’ Darrel,” Eros growls. “I don’t like him. And now I’m stuck with him. Thanks for that, by the way.”