Chapter53: Epilogue of Sleeping Beasty

*Max* One Year Later The salty air drifts softly through the open windows of our chamber, carrying the scent of sea and pine, wild and fresh. Moonlight spills across the stone floor, catching on the scattered toys my son left behind, tiny wooden dragons, and wolves. I lie in bed next to him, where he sleeps half-curled like a wolf pup. His tiny fingers twitch, and I swear I can feel the pulse of ancient power mixed with untamed instinct in his breath. He is ours, wolf, dragon, and witch all tangled into one perfect soul. Kael traces delicate circles along his soft skin. “Look at him,” he says, voice thick with something like awe. “Our little Lykos.” Life here on the Emerald Coast is nothing like the life I once knew. I used to be trapped behind my castle walls at all times, my father afraid of the danger of Morgathra’s spell. Here, the dragons of Starfall protect us, and we live wild and free. Kael and I walk through the villages often, watching our people grow into something new, some