Mona Lisa Awakening

Epilogue

I called Lord Thorane to inform him of what had become or Sandoor and five of his men and found out that the other two rogues had been killed in an encounter in Indiana.

When I heatedly mentioned that it would have been nice to have been notified of this earlier, Lord Thorane invited me to bring up the matter before the Council when next it met. The inefficiency and infrequency of communication among the territories had long been a complaint of his, as well, he said blandly, and took the opportunity to remind me once more of the next session's date. Oh joy.

We buried Thaddeus's parents in a small quiet ceremony. I stood beside my brother as his parents' coffins were lowered into their graves and made a silent promise to them. You did a good job raising him. He's a wonderful young man. I'll do my best in your stead. I'll do my best to keep him alive.

Thaddeus arranged for Mr. Compton, first his parents' and now his attorney, to have the house listed and sold. He packed his belongings, selected a few precious mementos of his parents and traveled with us back to the island of Manhattan where I closed down my apartment.

A new private jet picked us up at LaGuardia Airport. It came along with the territory, I was informed. A lot of other things would come with the new territory, I suspected, both good and bad, and perhaps a few unpleasant surprises left behind by Mona Louisa, the bitch Queen I'd kicked out of there. I hoped she hated her new territory and prayed that she stayed far, far away from me. Not because I was afraid of her, but because I was afraid I'd kill her the next time I saw her.

Lastly, I prayed for wisdom and the power to protect all who depended on me now. Yes, power. It was not just me anymore. I could no longer afford to hide from my beast, that dark power that I had kept muted and leashed all my life. It was a living, growing force now that prowled restlessly within me, eager once more to be loosened. More powerful and difficult to control, perhaps, because of how long I had suppressed it. I had embraced the wild beast within me once to save my brother and would do so again to keep him safe. To keep us all safe.

Dear God, I prayed, pressing my palm over the gold gilt cover of the Book of Holdings, the scepter of my Queendom. Please help me be able to control my beast. And to control that other even more frightening part of myself that was emerging, that part that enjoyed another's pain, exulted in it. That was my most ardent prayer of all. Please, don't let me become like my mother. Let me become myself, a new breed of Monère Queen.