114 Epilogue

They were standing beside the shoreline of the gently flowing river, staring at the slow moving current while schools of fish swam upstream. It was midday, the sun was high in the clear sky, and a warm breeze was blowing through the tree line. The sound of twigs breaking beneath pairs of feet was the only thing that disrupted the silence in the woods.

"You sure like doing things the difficult way, don't you Loki?" Eskil chuckled.

The light brown-haired god snickered. "It all worked out in the long run though, didn't it?"

Eskil scratched his head, giving Loki and his father, Odin, a sideways grin. "That it did. I don't understand why you all had to have events occur in the order they did."

Odin laughed. "Because it was my grandfather's plan. Búri was quite interesting to listen to when he spoke of you, Eskil. Your birth was a grand moment for him, and despite his desire for your kin and man to become allies, he knew war would occur at some point. It always does."

Eskil stared at the ground while they walked. "It was preventable, I hope you know."

Loki snickered again. "I may have had some involvement in starting the war."

The god king Odin glared at his son. "I thought I told you to not involve yourself in mortal affairs."

Loki shrugged. "I couldn't help myself. Besides, look at how it worked out. Eskil finally has his lifemate because of my interfering."

His father sighed, "I suppose that's true. Eskil, you were always a pain in my side without her."

Eskil laughed, stepping over a log. "I won't apologize for that. However, I do owe you thanks, Loki. Truly, if you hadn't meddled in her journey, I never would have ended up here."

"You're welcome, Eskil. I'll be sure to meddle some more if you appreciate it so much."

Odin smacked the back of his head. "You will do no such thing!"

"Mother! Father!"

Eskil spun around at the shrill cry from his daughter, and then turned back to speak to the gods who were keeping him company. "I'm sorry, I have to..." They were already gone, their forms vanishing into air as they returned to Valhalla. He would speak with them another day, he thought.

"Father! Bjorn is being mean to me!" cried Astrid who rushed from the tree line and ran into her father's arms. The young girl's brown hair waved in front of her sky blue eyes. "He keeps chasing me! He knows I can't fly as fast as him, and he keeps chasing me with a something rotten!"

Eskil chuckled, picking his youngest child up in his arms and kissing her forehead, wiping away her tears from her tanned skin. He walked towards their large home; a manor constructed by the King of Edinburgh in an attempt to apologize for the actions of so many who went against his word.

Deep within the forests, in the most southern part of the islands, Eskil and Libelle lived peaceful and quiet lives while raising their two children; Bjorn, their son who was thirteen, and Astrid, who was soon to be celebrating her ninth birthday.

Many years had passed since the war between dragon and man had ended, the two sides coming to a peaceful resolve and truce between them. Dragons were once again gifted land for nesting, and man and their livestock were safe from the dragons' hunger. The gods were more involved, and all had become much more relaxed in their new way of life.

"Astrid! Did you tell on me?"

Bjorn hissed at his sister, his scaled dragon features trembling with anger as he slammed his silver colored tail onto the ground. His form slowly changing back into a young boy's with short black hair and deep navy eyes, a young boy who was snarling like a beast at his younger sister.

Astrid stuck her tongue out at him. "You wouldn't stop, so what else was I supposed to do?"

He pulled her hair and she screamed, the sound piercing Eskil's sensitive ears. Peaceful lives, yes. They lived peaceful lives. Perhaps if he kept repeating it, it would become true.

"Bjorn, stop it," Eskil said coolly. "What were you chasing her with anyways?"

His son shrugged. With each passing day, his personality reminding Eskil of his own. "Just some dead thing I found rotting by the river."

Both Eskil and Astrid scowled. "Ew."

Bjorn glared at his sister. "She burned my fort down! It was just revenge!"

"Because you tripped me!"

"Because you stole my eggs during breakfast!"

Eskil sighed, chuckling to himself as he picked up his son by the waist and carried his squabbling children to the open doorway of their home. He set them down in the entryway, Astrid suddenly gasping and running away into the kitchen.

He heard her scream, "Uncle Theron!"

Bjorn groaned, "Father, he's here a lot now, isn't he?"

He patted his son's shoulder with another sigh. "That he is."

They walked into the kitchen and saw Theron sitting at their dining room table, the red-scaled dragon reclining in the wooden chair in a pair of linen pants. His brother glared at him, the man's copper colored eyes narrowed beneath his long red hair. Theron's mortal form was a gift from Libelle who had spent countless hours nose deep in books that she had no business being in. Researching the curse she had placed on him in greater detail, and finding a way to grant a dragon the ability to take a mortal's form. With the gods' permission and their help, many dragons had accepted the once referred to 'curse' as a blessing.

"How many times have I told you to not teach her to call me that?" Theron asked.

Bjorn chuckled, "A lot. Like, over ten, no, maybe over a hundred times."

Eskil shrugged, shaking his head as he realized where his son got his attitude from. It most definitely was not from his mother.

"Well, Uncle Theron, I guess it has to be one more," he said.

Astrid squealed as Theron lifted her into his lap and pecked her forehead with a gentle kiss. "How is my little lifemate today?"

Eskil snarled and took a step towards his brethren when a small hand grasped his. He turned around, and beside him stood Libelle with a warm smile. She was carrying a basket of damp clothes that were ready to be hung on the line to dry. Eskil quickly took the basket from her and set it on the ground, his palm softly massaging her swollen belly.

"You shouldn't be lifting heavy things, beloved," he said to her, kissing her curved lips and feeling his unborn baby kicking at his hand.

She rubbed his jawline. "You shouldn't be giving your brother such a hard time. You know he won't hurt her. He loves her dearly, just like you and I."

He grumbled, "She is not even nine yet, far too young to have a lifemate."

He knew he was right, however, he also knew there was nothing he could do about it. Theron had met Astrid when she was just a babe, and he instantly felt a connection with her and knew she was his lifemate. Libelle had nearly beheaded him when he'd almost refused to give Astrid back to her, his instinct to be close to his lifemate was almost nothing in comparison to her instinct to be a mother. Now their roles were reversed, Libelle had grown comfortable in sharing Astrid with her future mate, while Eskil grew to detest it.

Libelle giggled, "It's not like they'll be doing anything you and I would do."

He rolled his eyes and Bjorn groaned in disgust while walking away from his parents. "You two are so weird."

Libelle laughed again, calling him back to her side where she cupped his cheeks and kissed his forehead. Playfully rubbing her nose to his, Bjorn's cheeks turned red from embarrassment as he tried to pull away.

"Stop it, Mother," he whispered.

Libelle and Eskil laughed, letting their son return to the table where he bit into a large red apple. Astrid was proudly showing off her new drawings to Theron who smiled softly at her, enjoying her presence and company while ignoring the harsh glares Eskil was giving him.

Libelle took Eskil's hand when he lifted the basket up and led him back outside, walking towards the long lines where she would hang their clothes. They took a few minutes to drape the wet gowns and blankets over the line together, enjoying each other's company in silence while they listened to their children laughing and hollering in the house.

Poor Theron would be deaf before dinner.

Eskil wrapped his arms around Libelle, his hands resting on her belly as she leaned her head back against his chest. She sighed softly, contented.

"Eskil?"

"Yes?"

"Did you ever imagine your life like this?"

There was a moment of hesitation before he kissed her neck and spoke gently. "Beloved, I never could have imagined my life to ever be this perfect."