I had to stop them. But I needed help. I needed South. I needed him to help me.
When we got back to the manor, I followed South to the barn. What I wanted to do came in pieces. I have to save the prince but still give the Queen her due. I must stop my sisters but not reveal myself or them. I need a way to save them from themselves. A way to save the Hinter. A way to save all the Queendoms. A way to save the world. But with my fractured magic, it would take more than my wand, more than myself. Now I just had to ask for help. But South of course would already know before I said a word.
“I know what the Entente are planning,” he said, taking off his shirt suddenly. “I think the answer is you.”
“What are you talking about? And what are you doing?” I demanded.
As he spoke, he extended his wings to their full span.
“You said it yourself. My wings shouldn’t be here. But they are. Hecate shouldn’t have survived death, but she did. What do these things have in common?”
“I don’t know, magic?” I said, slightly distracted as I looked at South’s muscles.
Was it possible that he had developed more of them despite barely leaving this room?
“You, Farrow. You,” South said. “Galatea and Iolanta both said that great emotion can make magic last. Hecate loved you so much that when she gave you the kiss of protection, she did not leave you. She did not go into the Ever After. And you gave me my wings.”
“I had no idea what I was doing. It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“I was scared that day. And you were too. That fueled the spell. I wanted to have magic more than anything in the world. And Hecate wanted to stay with you more than anything. Farrow, maybe you have been granting wishes all along.
“You’ve proven that you can make magic last. You just have to do it again. We’ll use their plan against them. You must get the prince out in the garden and kiss him first.”
“South . . . ,” I said, still unsure.
“Kiss the prince, grant the wish, and hope,” South added.