I open my eyes a crack. Even that movement hurts. It’s as if the insides of my eyelids were covered in sandpaper or something. New beams of light shine out from under the basement door. I’ve been tracking the days. It’s Saturday morning.
Tonight, there’s the Glass Slipper Ball.
Squinting, I try to focus on Grunt. The room warps around the troll. Colors merge and slide. Some part of me knows that I’m turning delirious. Marchesa gave me just enough water to last through the Glass Slipper Ball.
That’s almost here.
Through the haze in my head, I notice that Grunt’s eyes are shut. Is he sleeping at last? I open my mouth, ready to call for him. My throat is too dry.
No sound comes.
My mattress undulates beneath me, like it’s made of water. I look up. Gustav sits nearby on his back haunches.
“Don’t give up, Elle,” he says in his little mouse voice. “We’re all here for you.”
I force my head to raise an inch. Kokkivo stands nearby, too. So does Harvest. There’s Doc Eight as well. Even little Ooks jumps up and down.
If this is a hallucination, at least it’s a nice once.
Kokkivo’s body erupts in fire. The room becomes consumed with flame, yet no one burns. Grunt stays asleep. Kokkivo focuses his glowing yellow eyes on me.
“You will live,” declares Kokkivo.
I force a smile, which is a bad idea. My lips crack and bleed afresh. Kokkivo is sweet, but I’ve tried to reach out to my magic for days now. Not a chance.
The flames roar higher. Now Mom and Dad step out from the fire. They look just as they did before Mom ever got sick. Dad’s all things solid and strong. Mom’s simply radiant. Together, my parents kneel by my cage.
“You’re a fae warden,” says Mom. “And more.”
“Nothing of fairy calls to you, does it?” asks Dad.
I want to shake my head. Can’t find the energy, though.
“You’re both fae and enchanter,” adds Mom. “You’re the only you in all of space and time. No cage can hold you.”
With every corner of my being, I want to touch Mom’s hand one last time. I try to raise my arm, but it’s just too hard.
The flames roar higher once more. When the fire lowers, everyone from Cynder Mercantile is gone. A new figure stands surrounded by low flame. Alec.
“Get up, Elle,” he says.
Finally, I find my voice. “Can’t. So thirsty.”
“What did you say when I asked for your kiss?” he asks. “Yes. Hold to that.”
Closing my eyes, I pull on the magic inside me. This time, it’s not fae power. It’s enchanter energy. Being a fae warden is something that happened to me. But caring for Alec? That’s who I am. The enchanter in me connects to the wizard in him.
I focus within my soul. For a long moment, there’s nothing. Then, I see it. Loops of red light and power shift inside my deepest being. I pull on those strands. A refreshing surge of magic careens through me.
“Yes, Elle.” The flames burn more brightly behind Alec than ever before. “Come back to me. You can do it.”
Energy and life move through my limbs. I force myself to roll onto my hands and knees.
In my mind, I command my magic.
Make the cage liquid.
Red tendrils of smoke appear around my hands. Those magical lines moves to wrap about the metal structure. For a moment, the entire cage is surrounded in a crimson haze. Then the power soaks into the structure itself. The metal shifts. Undulates. It’s no longer solid.
I rise. As I move, my body goes right through the bars. I step out of my prison.
Alec smiles. “It’s just as I said. I’m here when you’re ready.”
Both the fire and Alec vanish. I stand in the basement. No question what I’ll do next. I step over to the shards of the glass slipper and pumpkin carving. Reaching out with my enchanter magic, I send new swirls of red power around the broken pieces. One moment, they’re in pieces. The next, the slipper and pumpkin are reformed and perfect. Picking them up, I grip one in each hand.
Then I turn to Grunt.
The troll opens his right eye. “Hired to watch you, I was. Saw you in the cage, I did. Now I see you out of the cage. Watch you go. All watching. All what I promised.”
I tilt my head. I wasn’t expecting him to be kind. “Are all trolls like you?”
“Some good, some not. Part of the Faerie Lands, we are.”
“But you told Marchesa you’d watch me. Now you’re watching me leave.” It may seem nutso to hang out and ask Grunt questions, but if you’d been talking to him non-stop for days with no answer, you’d pause a hot minute, too.
“Trolls twist things to suit them, if you know my meaning.”
“What a very Fairy Land thing to do.”
Grunt chuckles in a low and rumbly way. “And chocolate is my favorite food.”
“Called it.”
“Plus, we can hold our pee for weeks.”
“Good to know.” Honestly? I might miss Grunt a little when this is all over. Assuming I’m still alive and everything.
Turning, I face the basement door. “Here goes.”
And I leave.