She didn’t have it in her heart to say he took after her more than his father. Though he looked like Donnacha, Iain was going to be as tall as she was. Annaleise, however, was going to be as short as a dwarf and likely have a thick beard like the rest of them.
The father of her children approached them with a broad grin on his face. Time had aged Donnacha as it did all dwarves. The lines around his eyes were deeper and a thin thread of gray had spread from his temple.
He was just as handsome as ever.
Dirt smudged her husband as well, covered him in fact. Elva rolled her eyes and placed her son on the ground. “Take your sister back to the house.”
“Mamaí,” Iain whined.
“Go on.”
He took his younger sister in his arms and scampered toward the small hut with pink roses growing all around it. A curl of smoke lifted into the air, and a goat feasted on grass in the front where she’d tied it to a post.
Donnacha placed a hand on her waist and turned her to him. Dirty and grinning, he leaned up to plant a kiss firmly to her mouth. “Hello, wife.”
“Hello, husband.”
“Do you know how happy I am with you?”
She grinned. “Well, you only tell me every day.”
“And I will tell you each and every day we are together.” He pulled her closer, pressing another kiss to her lips before pulling back. “I love you, Elva. More than the sun in the sky.”
In that moment and every moment after, she was infinitely happy. After all the struggle, all the times when she had hated the world and herself, Elva had finally found her home.
Afterword
This was a very difficult story for me to write. I’m sure some of my fans and dear friends picked up on the small hints throughout the previous books. Elva’s story hits close to home for me.
I almost didn’t want to write her story because it felt a bit too much like I was baring my soul, and my editor mentioned that I pulled a few punches that really could have hit home.
However, I felt it was necessary to write this side of the tale. To breathe life into the struggles that a lot of women survive through.
Relationships can be hard. Memories of relationships can be even more difficult, when you wonder if you were the problem all along.
In the end, I hope you know that whatever you decide is right. However you heal, that is the right answer for yourself.
And that no matter what, I’m here to talk. Your healing is more important than anything else.
You are strong.
You are capable.
And you are loved.
Also by Emma Hamm
The journey began in Heart of the Fae, a Beauty and the Beast retelling.
Continued in Veins of Magic, the second book in the Beauty and the Beast Duology.
Dove beneath the waves in Bride of the Sea, an Otherworld Companion Novel and retelling of The Little Mermaid.
We met the Unseelie Prince and Witch in The Faceless Woman, the first book in the Swan Princess Duology.
We continued their story in The RAVEN’S BALLAD, the second book in the Swan Princess Duology.
About the Author
Emma Hamm grew up in a small town surrounded by trees and animals. She writes strong, confident, powerful women who aren't afraid to grow and make mistakes. Her books will always be a little bit feminist, and are geared towards empowering both men and women to be comfortable in their own skin.
