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With Perdy’s journal tucked under her arm, Ophelia walked Joseph and his children out to his Expedition a couple days later. “Joseph?” She closed the drivers’ door as he settled behind the steering wheel. “Why do you do this? I mean, why help me and my family?”
Joseph rested his arm on the open window. “Science is replacing magic as humanity’s method of understanding the universe around them. The world is changing. My people, and yours, must adapt or we will all go extinct.”
Ophelia sensed regret in his words. “Maybe humanity needs mythology still. Otherwise, they’d have nothing left to wonder about, nothing left to explore.”
“Maybe.” Joseph rubbed his smooth chin. “Edmund believes domination is the only way to survive. I believe in forging strong alliances.”
“The Oldbloods are losing this war.” She waited for him to flit his eyes up at her. She’d surprised him, and he wasn’t used to surprises. That much was obvious.
“Yes.” Joseph shifted into ‘drive.’
“I will encourage my grandmother to cooperate with the Benevolents for mutual survival.” Ophelia turned Perdy’s journal over in her hands, examining the vines etched into the leather.
He smiled. “Spoken like a true diplomat. Your father would be proud.”
“He is.” Her face warmed. “I can feel it.” She stepped back from the vehicle as the window rose. “Elves may not be immortal, after all, but they do have eternal souls.”
“Yes, I know.” Joseph paused for a full second more, obviously choosing his words with care. “Good-bye, Ophelia. Remember, keep your sugar under control or the Newbloods will sniff you out.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“Oh, and one more thing.” He stopped the window. “I really don’t want to bother shipping this vehicle across Canada to Minnesota. You and your sister need to come out to the airport after we’ve flown away and drive it home. I’ve already signed it over to your mother, since both your parents’ trucks were lost in Newblood attacks. Seems only right.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks.” Ophelia watched the window rise. “Are you rich?”
“Yes, very, hundreds of years accumulating wealth and passing it down to a younger version of myself.” Joseph shrugged a shoulder and lifted a few fingers for a final wave. “Farewell, Princess.”
“Good-bye.”
The Expedition rounded the playground corner and was gone.
Leaning back against her car, Ophelia opened Perdy’s journal in her hands. She carried it with her always. The language was such a mash of real languages and Perdy’s shorthand, translating complete sentences proved challenging. Stringing them together took a lot of time.
Several minutes passed as she tried to figure out a paragraph describing the changing nature of Perdy’s relationship with the Newblood who eventually kidnapped her, the ex-boyfriend who wouldn’t go away. She’d just discerned the words ‘I’m a glorified pet’ when other words from somewhere else crept into her mind.
The Ice Princess is his mate. She’ll help us.
Heavy breathing brought her attention up from the page. “Oh, my dog.” And she scrambled backwards, up and onto the hood of her car.
Blowing clouds of breath around their spindly antlers, a caribou herd gathered. The orange tags in their ears identified them as the Ninilchik herd, the same one which had stampeded down Main Street and freed her from Martin only weeks before.
Most likely at Adrian’s command. They adored him, that much was clear.
“Have you seen Adrian?” Ophelia said before she could stop herself over the silliness of talking to animals. But, it’s not silly. Not anymore.
Yes. He ran very fast. We don’t know where. The caribou massed around her in shades of shaggy white, gray, and black, all centered on her, long, black eyelashes blinking. We love you.
“Uh...” Ophelia closed the journal and clutched it to her chest. “Um...okay.”
One stretched out its neck and licked her boot. We love you.
Ophelia looked at her cedar-sided house and hoped like crazy her mom and sister didn’t notice. They’ve witnessed enough weird stuff over the past few days.
What’s to eat?
Ophelia pointed and tried not to let her finger shake. “Uh...try...the house at the end of the street. I...I think they have some extra hay.”
Thank you. The herd moved in a crowd and trotted on their way across her yard. We love you. Bye.
“I...I love you too. Bye.” Ophelia watched them lope around the corner of the house, right over her mother’s snow-covered rose bushes.
The barn owl perched near the top of a birch tree, ice crystallized on the bare branches all around her. She opened one eye as the herd passed. Uncultured swine.
Ophelia’s lips fell apart and her tongue freeze-dried until the last of the caribou tails vanished around a snow berm. “That wasn’t a very nice thing to say.”
Well, it’s true. The owl closed her eye.
“What’s your name?”
Sara. Now be quiet so I can sleep. Obviously, owls were not bound to royal protocol regarding elves.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Ophelia half-grumped, half-chuckled and made for her back porch. “Okay, so I’m a freakin’ elf princess who can talk to animals and blast bad guys into icy rivers.” She let the journal fall open in her hands again and resumed her study. “And now I am also free to live.”
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THE END