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HALLIE AND WYN WERE halfway back to their demesne, the sky clearing of clouds and rain, stars beginning to peek through, when Hallie suddenly froze. Wyn, whose arm had been linked through hers, jerked to a stop with her.
“What is it?” Wyn asked.
Hallie looked up at her friend.
She knew who Nathan was. She had suspected before, but in the chaos of the night, she had forgotten. And now she had the proof.
He’d shown her his mother’s grave, the woman who had died on the last day of the War.
He’d told her how young he was when she’d died.
And more importantly, he’d resurrected that mouse. Something only a member of the royal family could do. She knew exactly which royal he was now.
“I know who he is, Wyn.”
“You what?”
“We’re going home!”
***
HALLIE GAZED AROUND the room, the room where she had first been transported to the Spring Court, eyeing the same creatures that had been here that first day. The trees stood tall and resolute around the clearing, the grass soft underfoot and the golden beams of evening sunlight streaming down around them. The crickets already sang with the spring peepers, signaling the approach of the night.
But despite the peace, she was unsettled. It was the final day of the bargain, the day of reckoning. Time to give her final answers.
She was right about Nathan. She knew she was. But she couldn’t keep the fluttering pixies of fear out of her stomach anyway.
She was about to do something she knew was dangerous, but for once, she knew it was the right thing to do.
She had to change the bargain. Again.
Nathan appeared at the doorway, and the murmuring around the room stopped as if someone had cast a spell. He strode to the center of the clearing and stopped, gazing up at the cotton candy pink clouds scudding across the deepening sky.
“Your time is up, human,” he said without turning.
“I know,” Hallie said, voice shaking.
He turned to face her, the light catching the gold threads in his white tunic. “It’s time for your answer. Who am I, human?”
Hallie couldn’t help the nervous smile that overtook her face. But she reminded herself again that she had to be right.
“At first you told me to call you Nathan,” she began. “But we both know that’s not your name. As you said, that’s the name of your favorite human actor.”
He nodded, and she saw his muscle twitch as he clenched his jaw. Was his heart pounding as hard as hers was?
“I knew you had to be a person of power to exert enough control over the Court to keep them from helping me. So that eliminated anyone outside the noble class. And when Vesque answered to you, I suspected you were royal.”
He stood still as a statue. “These aren’t answers.”
She swallowed. If she was wrong about this, her life as she knew it was over. “But what really gave it away was our chat in the forest. The mouse.”
His face paled, but she still didn’t know what it was he wanted: her to win or fail. “Your answer. Now.”
Hallie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “You are Prince Arion of the Spring Court.”
Murmurs rippled across the assembled Fae, and the pixies, including the one who had shown her the hidden room, swirled around her, lifting her hair in the breeze.
She was right. She could see the defeat in Nathan’s—no, Arion’s—face. And perhaps disappointment? Expectation? Or had she imagined that?
He turned his back to her. “You’re free to go. For now.”
She stepped forward. “Wait. I...I need to talk to you first.”
He glanced over his shoulder, and his voice was bitter. “You got what you wanted. Go tell the rest of the humans what you know. That we can resurrect people. Bring back their dead and upset the balance of both our worlds.”
She took a breath, steeling herself for what she was about to do. “But I don’t want to. I don’t want this knowledge anymore. I...I need you to take it away.”
He slowly turned to face her, a cautious smile on his face. Was that affection in his eyes? Anticipation?
“What are you saying, Hallie?”
Vesque appeared at his side. “Yes, what exactly is the meaning of this?”
Wyn’s expression turned from cloudy confusion to clarity. “Oh, Hallie! I’m so proud of you!”
Arion and Vesque fixed Hallie with their confused stare.
“A new bargain. One last bargain,” Hallie explained. “Take this knowledge away from me, from the humans. In exchange for one small thing.”
“And what’s that?” Vesque demanded.
Hallie’s gaze softened as she looked at two Fae she hoped could be her friends. As she took in the beauty of a dangerous, magical world she was growing to love. “That I can come visit you both. As much as I want. Or you want.”
Arion, Vesque, and Wyn broke into bright smiles.
Arion extended his hand, his face emanating a golden light, and she was struck with a moment of panic at the power he held...this being with whom she was striking one last bargain. But she knew him; he knew her.
One last bargain to heal so many wounds.
“Deal,” he said. He leaned closer. “And to be clear, I was hoping you’d come to this decision on your own. To give up this knowledge. And perhaps...be our friend. Besides, I might not have kept you here, but Vesque...she’s formidable.”
Vesque smiled at her, her teeth sharp, sparkling points.
Hallie gratefully took Arion’s hand, feeling the tingle of magic. Feeling the knowledge leave her, first like a flood, dwindling to a stream, and then a trickle, until all that remained was the knowledge that there was something she used to know.
But she couldn’t quite remember what.
“Thank you,” Wyn said, tears sparkling in her eyes.
Hallie wasn’t sure what she’d lost, but she knew she’d gained so much more.
A sparkle on her hand caught her eye, and she lifted it to see the delicate rose gold ring. “I suppose you’ll be wanting this back.”
Arion shook his head. “You should keep it. You’ll need some way to summon me when you’re ready to visit.”
Hallie smiled, nodding back. “It’s beautiful.”
“And very special. Take good care of it. Now,” Arion said, clapping his hands together, “I believe your spring break is almost over. And Hallie, I’m afraid you’ll have to find a new topic for your paper.”
Hallie’s stomach dropped. How had she forgotten her paper?
She grabbed at her dark, undyed hair. “Ack, fairy circles! I have to call my advisor!”
The three Fae laughed, and Hallie felt like she was still missing something. But since Wyn wasn’t likely to be laughing at her, she relaxed. And looking at her friend’s smile, her sparkling eyes, she was struck with a realization.
For the first time in over two years, Hallie was happy.
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If you enjoyed All That Glimmers, you may also like Pumpkin Spice Pie-Jinks, another Fae fairy tale novella.
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