EDWIN HAD been back in Paravale but a day, and already he was feeling the loss of Trick keenly. He had reacquainted himself with his family, and they’d mentioned plans for a celebration with his friends. While that was kind of them and made him feel most welcomed, it nevertheless could not fill the Trick-sized hole he felt in his heart.
Sighing, Edwin fingered the pendant he wore beneath his tunic, which he was once again wearing now that he was back at Felicent Palace. Tugging it free of the fabric, he held it before him, a small smile coming to his lips at the memories the fairy dust evoked.
Fairy floss. Roller coasters. The glittering lights of New York City. Trick.
Trick.
The longer Edwin was away from Trick, the more wrong it began to feel. There was no way he could consider any other person—mortal or fairy—for his lifemate. He was convinced of this, heart and soul, and he needed to convince his family of it too.
There wasn’t any precedent for such a course of action, though. What would it mean for him? Would he be considered a failure? Would he be punished for even asking?
Edwin worried his lip as he skimmed over the pale aquamarine sky above Paravale. Hidden on another plane with its mortal access point outside of Kansas City, the serene lands had always been his home. He had always known its temperate climes, its softly sloping hills, its verdant greenery and friendly fauna.
Somehow, though, it no longer felt like where he belonged—it no longer felt like home. Home felt like…. Edwin’s eyes went wide, his gaze hardly registering the peaceful lands before him.
Home felt like where Trick was.
“Edwin! Edwin, I was just telling Eriel here that she should inquire about—Edwin?” Estella’s voice broke into Edwin’s thoughts, and he turned to face her and his younger sister.
Dropping the pendant to let it dangle from its chain, Edwin inclined his head toward them both. “Hello, Mother. Hello, Eriel.”
“Edwin, Edwin! It feels like you’ve been gone forever. Yesterday I forgot to tell you, and I must show you my new unicorn. She’s quite brilliant and has a rainbow mane.” Eriel grinned widely, her enthusiasm visible in the way her small body seemed to constantly be in motion.
“That sounds most exciting,” Edwin agreed, a smile coming to his lips that slid off a moment later.
“Edwin, is there something amiss?” His mother searched his gaze, and when she darted a look at the pendant around his neck, her silvery brows furrowed gently.
There was definitely something amiss, and he would do well to speak with her about it sooner rather than later. However…. Edwin frowned thoughtfully and cast a glance at Eriel. Seeming to catch his meaning, Estella turned to her only daughter.
“Darling, why don’t you clean up before luncheon? We’ll join you in the dining room shortly, and you can show Peachy to Edwin afterward.”
“But I—”
“Eriel,” Estella said sternly, giving her a pointed look.
With a put-upon sigh only the most unjustly treated adolescent could understand, Eriel said, “Yes, Mother.” She dragged her feet as she exited the room. By the time she reached the door, though, she seemed to regain her enthusiasm and began skipping down the hall.
“Now, Edwin, talk to me.”
Edwin began fidgeting with the pendant again, an action that had brought him comfort in the last couple of days. As he’d ridden the bus to Kansas, he’d thought of Trick and how it felt all wrong to be moving farther and farther apart. He’d wanted to call, but his cell phone—so foreign an object for him to be carrying—had met with a tragic end when it’d clattered to the concrete at a rest stop early in his journey. His communicator had been useless in reaching a mortal device, and by the time he’d arrived in Kansas City and been whisked back to Paravale, he’d made the unfortunate discovery that electronic communications between Paravale and the mortal realm might as well have been between two galaxies.
He had promised to call, and he felt like he’d failed Trick.
Gripping the pendant, Edwin straightened his spine. No, he hadn’t failed Trick. He would do his fairy best to fix this, and if it meant standing up to the Fairy Queen, then that’s exactly what he would do.
“I cannot do it.”
Estella blinked at him. “Do what?”
Sucking in a deep breath, Edwin took the plunge. “I cannot be your successor, I cannot stay in Paravale, I cannot find my lifemate here—” Edwin broke off and met his mother’s gaze steadily. “I’ve already found him.”
“What exactly are you saying?” Estella asked cautiously.
“I’m saying I wish to go back to New York City. My lifemate is there. My life should be there. I wish to leave Paravale.”
“You wish to leave us?”
Swallowing, Edwin nodded. “Yes, I… I hope it would not be forever, for I would miss everyone here. But my life is no longer here in Paravale—it’s in New York City. It’s with Trick.”
“Trick,” Estella said slowly. “Your charge?”
It’d been so long since Edwin had thought of Trick simply as his charge that it took him a moment to speak. “Yes, but truthfully, he is much more than that to me.”
“Edwin, I didn’t know.”
“No, there was no way you could. I tried to come back, and I thought I could be a dutiful son. I thought perhaps things would feel acceptable in time, but I was wrong. I know I’ve just arrived, but it feels so wrong already. I… I’m not sure I can be happy here. Not without….” Edwin bit his lip.
There was a long pause, and Edwin chanced a glance at Estella. What he saw on her expression surprised him.
“Well, I certainly don’t want you to be miserable, and I would never force you to consider another’s suit if you’d find it distasteful,” she said, laying a gentle hand on Edwin’s shoulder. “This is rather unprecedented, though. We’ve, of course, had fairies in the mortal realm, but only in the capacity of supervising a charge. And they always would return to Paravale following the fulfillment of their duties. Even Frederick has returned year after year after his duties have been fulfilled. You—you want to stay there forever?”
Hope swelled in Edwin’s chest at the possibility there could be a solution. He rushed to speak. “I wish to stay there, yes, but I would also like to keep contact with you. With Elwood and Emory and Eriel. With Paravale. I don’t know if such a thing is possible,” Edwin said hesitantly.
Estella drew herself up to her full height and tossed her silvery hair over her shoulder. “When you’re queen of the realm, anything is possible, Edwin. Anything.”
EDWIN HADN’T known how true Estella’s statement was until he found himself facing the Council of Fairies and their litany of questions the next evening.
Yes, he was aware of what he was asking.
Yes, he knew it was something never before done.
Yes, he was positive he belonged in the mortal realm.
Yes, he absolutely agreed to the conditions.
There were conditions to his permanent return to the mortal realm. Of course there were.
He was to receive a restricted-use wand, whose only purpose would be for communications and transportation between the mortal realm and Paravale. He was not to do magic under any other circumstances. He would no longer have a charge for whom to perform such magic, after all.
He would have Trick, and by the fairies, that very fact was magic unto itself.
Losing the vast majority of his magic would be strange. It had been a part of him all of his life, and he’d had a wand at his side practically since birth. Never mind that he’d had difficulties with his fairy godfather curriculum; the magic of fairies was in his heritage, and it was something he did not give up lightly.
The magic he had with Trick, though—that magic was his future.
Edwin stepped away from the council meeting with his head swimming and his heart full to the brim with hope. They would grant his request, and he was free to return to New York City—once he mastered the act of portalysis.
His mother had added that condition.
It was obvious to Edwin that she wanted him to be easily accessible, and he found no fault in her desire. It was born out of love, he knew, and he loved her, their family, and Paravale as well. He would be thrilled to have Paravale at the veritable tip of his fingers—or his wand, if he were being precise. New York City was in another realm, let alone simply far away, and refining and mastering portalysis could shrink that distance to a wave of his restricted-use wand.
Over the next day or so, Edwin practiced and practiced some more, beginning small and increasing his distances. Portalysis was a precise skill and relied heavily upon the mind and body’s memory of a place. As such, one could only port to a place he or she had already been.
Thus, Edwin began small. From his room to his en suite facilities. From his chambers to the dining room. From the castle to the stables. From the grounds to the bakery in the village nearby. From the town to another region of Paravale at which their family had once holidayed.
He had motivation behind his movements, and such a drive facilitated portalysis for him greatly. No longer did his body refuse to move where his mind sought to send it. Instead, his mind and body were in sync, as though they had only been waiting for the right reason to send him properly through space and time.
EDWIN WAS ready.
He had perfected his portalysis to the best of his abilities within this realm, exploring every part of Paravale that was within his repertoire. Since the council’s decision two days ago, he had spent every waking hour practicing until all that was left truly unknown was whether his portalysis would succeed off realm. The twilight hour was near, and he had only one thing left to do before his return to New York City.
His return to Trick.
He hoped Trick would be there. Edwin had missed him dearly over the last several days, and his guilt over not being able to communicate with him had only magnified in that time. He’d promised to call, after all, and no call had been made. He hoped Trick was not too cross with him, but if he was, Edwin would just have to make things right.
After all, he would have a lifetime in the mortal realm to do so.
Edwin took a look around his chambers and nodded. This was the last he would see of them for quite some time. Much as he would miss the familiarity of his life in the castle, a new sense of home had developed for him while living with Trick, and he was ready to return to that life.
Lifting his new wand, Edwin outlined a portal before him and crouched in order to step through it. He found his mother at her desk, where she was sorting through certain parchments and taking a tally with glistening stones.
As the faint smoke and glimmer faded, Edwin cleared his throat. “Mother, I will depart soon.”
Estella looked up and set her parchments down. “Edwin. You’ve finished your preparations, then?”
“I have,” Edwin said, inclining his head. “I… I’ll miss you. All of you.”
With a sad smile, Estella rose and approached him. “As will I and the others.” She brushed his hair back from his brow and grasped his shoulders. “You’ll always have a place here in Paravale, Edwin, but I understand. I truly do. Your place now is with your lifemate, and I’m so proud of you for what you’re about to do.”
Swallowing down a lump in his throat, Edwin pulled her in for a hug. “Thank you. Thank you for understanding.”
“Of course,” Estella said, returning the hug fiercely. “This is not good-bye, though, but only a farewell. You’ll return for visits, and I’ll see you on-screen.”
Edwin nodded, trying not to be affected by the hitch in Estella’s voice. “I will. I promise.”
Leaning back, Estella met Edwin’s gaze with a smile. “Perhaps I will see this city of yours soon. And meet your Trick.”
His Trick. Edwin loved the sound of that.
“I’d like that, Mother.”
After squeezing his shoulders one last time, Estella stepped back a moment later. “Farewell, Edwin. Until next time.”
“Until next time,” Edwin replied, smiling.
Edwin raised his wand hand and outlined the portal he would need to return to Trick. The air within its borders swirled with colorful facets and a mysterious shimmer, and his pulse fluttered with excitement.
He met Estella’s gaze one last time, and they shared a nod.
With a deep breath, Edwin faced the portal. He channeled his thoughts toward New York City, toward the feelings of home, toward meals shared and time spent together.
Toward Trick.
Edwin grasped his pendant, shut his eyes for a long moment while he held on to those memories, then opened them and stepped through.
“Dios mio!”
“Oh shiiiiiiiiit.”
Edwin blinked away the array of sparkles that had crossed his vision and found it instead filled with an earthy-smelling smoke.
“Dude… who are you?”
The space hadn’t changed much since Trick had moved out. For a moment, Edwin surveyed the dingy walls and small windows of the apartment before landing on the two men and one woman who occupied the room. They all sat around a small, low table, their backs up against a threadbare floral couch. A large package of cookies was open in front of them.
The dark-haired woman blinked at the funny-looking cigarette in her hand and turned her gaze slowly to the blond man. “Mickey, Rick… man, this shit is for real. You see that?”
Mickey let out a strange low-pitched giggle, while the other man—Rick—reached for a cookie. “Yeah…,” Mickey said. “Here, lemme have another hit.”
Edwin cleared his throat. “Er, pardon the intrusion.”
He had made it to New York City! He’d successfully ported off realm and landed exactly where he’d wanted.
Well, almost where he’d wanted.
Close to where he’d wanted.
Retrieving his wand, Edwin again traced a portal in the air before him. He focused on home, on sharing his life with Trick, on the lazy mornings and intimate nights he’d enjoyed in Trick’s company. His breath came a little faster, and he felt a rush of heat wash across his skin at the memories.
Edwin stepped through the portal.