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Pou took a deep, haggard breath. At some point, the girls had become a pile, and none of them had a dry eye, himself included. "There you have it," he said.
"I knew Margot's wolf," Amy said, voice strained. "She was incredible. I wish you could have met her, too."
"And Aunt Carney is coming for the wedding," Dia added. "So I'll get to fulfill that wish for Mama."
Ember remained quiet. Pou motioned to her and she sat next to him on Amy's old bed, where she sobbed into his shoulder. "I miss her so much."
"As do I," he replied. "But she never truly left us. She lives on in each of you. In what you've done. Amy, you brought the swans and wolves together at last. Dia, you saved an entire people and gave them a new home. And you"—he kissed Ember's hair—"brought us out of hiding. The world isn't perfect, but it's much, much closer to what she wanted. She's so proud of all three of you."
"Have you ... seen her?" Ember asked. "I haven't seen her since ..."
"I have," he replied. "She wouldn't miss your big day." He gazed at his incredible, strong-willed daughters who carried their mother's fire. "But you will if you don't get some sleep."
"Papa?" Dia asked in a small voice. "Can we all sleep in here? Like we used to?"
How could he deny any of them a single thing? "Of course."
They piled blankets and pillows onto the floor. It was far more cramped than their old hut, but having all three of them so close after so long apart more than made up for the lack of space. Ember curled up next to him, still shaking every so often with quiet sobs, until finally she settled into a deep sleep. Amy snuggled her baby sis, and Dia stretched out above them, like a protective wing.
He didn't deserve this moment, but if people got what they truly deserved, he'd have died a hundred times by now. Trina never would have fallen in love with him and given him this beautiful family. They wouldn't have shared so much love for so long.
After they fled the village, Amy's small body struggling to keep up while little Ember rested on his back and Dia disappeared into the stars, he raged against Tane-mahuta, against his own weakness. Trina had always been a protector, a warrior, and it fit her perfectly to die while trying to save their youngest. Unfair though it was, he understood that it was her time. What had caused him to crumble so hard was knowing that he couldn't measure up to her. It was his pride that had caused him to withdraw from the family he still had, who needed him so desperately.
I will spend the rest of my days making it up to you, my treasure.
***
Amy's alarm went off far too early. While his girls worked themselves awake, he headed downstairs to make coffee. Ember drank it by the gallon these days, so he always had a pot ready when she came to visit and she returned the favor when he stopped by the café for lunch or dinner. Dia's return had patched a large hole in his spirit, and he found he missed Aotearoa more than he wanted to admit. He and Dia needed to return someday to cleanse the area and ensure the dead traveled the spirit road.
For now, he focused on making coffee so that maybe his baby girl would stay awake through her wedding.
When she staggered into the kitchen, he handed her a steaming mug already filled with far too much creamer, the way she liked it. She shared her mother's sweet tooth, which made him smile. "Thank you, Papa." She planted a kiss on his cheek and took a seat at the kitchen island. Amy and Dia followed a few minutes later.
"This kitchen feels so small," Dia said.
"Not all of us get to live in a castle, Elsa," Amy shot back.
Ember peeked at them over her "World's Okayest Chef" mug. "How big is your kitchen, Dia?"
"Bigger than the downstairs." Dia added a spoonful of sugar to her coffee. "It's ridiculously huge."
"Showoff," Amy muttered, pouring into the tallest mug. "That's okay. We have community kitchens. Never the same experience twice." She chuckled. "Rarely the same cook twice."
"Yeah ... well ... I'm getting a studio so ..." Ember grinned and Pou burst into laughter. That had been a long conversation between him, Austin, Ember, Austin's producer, and about three bottles of very expensive French wine—and more water for him. In the end, though, Ember's excitement won out.
"WHAT?" the sisters said in unison.
"'Ember's Kitchen Secrets' will be coming to GourmetTV next fall. We start shooting after the honeymoon."
The kitchen erupted into a flurry of words and sentiments and questions upon questions, which continued while Pou cooked breakfast, while they ate breakfast, and while the girls cleaned up from breakfast. Having this much energy in the house again was like breathing in the air after a summer storm. He wasn't sure what he'd do when they went their separate ways again.
"All right, bride-to-be, time to get dressed." Dia shuffled Em out of the kitchen, glancing back at Amy, giving her a nod.
Pou eyed his middle daughter. "Yes, tamahine?"
Amy took a deep breath. She had never been shy. She came into the world wailing and ready to conquer it; she was an opinionated and headstrong child who grew into an opinionated and headstrong adult, and he loved that about her despite the grief her teenage years had caused. Now, though, she seemed so unsure. He sat next to her and laced her fingers through his. She laughed in the low way she did when she was nervous. "I wanted to ask you somethin'. Been wantin' to ask for a while, actually. Since we had our big talk."
"Go ahead, Amy. You can ask me anything." For once, it was true. He kept no secrets from them, and nothing was off-limits. Not anymore.
"I want you to move to Windsor," she said in a rush.
Well, that was unexpected.
"You're, uh ... you're gonna be a granddad soon and I want you to be there."
That was unexpected. "You're pregnant?"
She nodded, violet eyes welling with tears. "Yeah. Dia only found out first because she's freakishly observant. But, uh, yeah. I'm gonna be a mum."
Pou fought to catch his breath. He squeezed Amy's hand. "You really want me there?" he asked. "After everything?"
"Papa." The dam broke. She pulled her hand from his so she could wrap him in a tight hug. "I need you there. We've wasted too much time. I want you to be a part of my life. And the baby's. And to meet the wolves because you'll love them so much."
They held each other for a long time, the only sound the ticking of the clock in the living room.
"My life started in Windsor," he said. "It would be an honor to finish my days there."
Amy pulled away, grinning through the tears that streamed down her face. "Everyone will be so excited."
He chuckled. "Even Carney?"
"Believe it or not, it was her idea."
Well. "I hope she's forgiven me for stealing her sister away."
"She has. I think this reconciliation with the wolves has brought her a lot of clarity. We're all so sick of grudges."
"Nature is healing," Pou said.
Amy blinked a couple times. "Papa, did you just quote a meme at me?"
He smiled. "I've been spending time at the library." He kissed her hair and then pressed his forehead to hers. "You need to help your sister get ready."
"Right." She hesitated. "Don't tell anyone about the baby yet. I don't want it to overshadow Em's big day."
"Of course."
He watched her leave, unsure of what to think. He'd half-expected Dia to ask him to move in; she'd held to their traditions far more strongly than her sisters, and she still doubted herself as a leader to her new people, despite the constant reassurance from Kano and Milos. But once they got Wi-Fi in the castle, and the nice people at the library helped Pou understand Zoom, they were able to talk a couple times a week. She took him on the "grand tour" and showed him the garden and told him about the green witches. He instructed her on how to grow large amounts of crops, how to store them to keep through the cold, how to cleanse the land each year. But no, leave it to Amy to keep surprising him.
The afternoon passed in a blur of activity. The first tingles in his fingertips signaled the very beginning of the Great Shift. They needed to hurry if they planned to get to the reservoir before they became swans in fancy dress.
Ember and Austin had planned two weddings. One would be for the paparazzi at a beautiful seaside resort with all the guests and all the trimmings. This one followed more closely to the marriages Pou had performed over the years. Whakamanu always held their weddings at the lake on the Solstice. Then they enjoyed their true forms and performed the courting rituals that all swans, shifter or not, knew by instinct. She wouldn't be able to do that with Austin, but she wanted the chance to be on the water with her siblings for the first time. Pou caught his breath every time he remembered that her first shift was the night of the slaughter. She'd never shared the water with them.
At last, the sisters emerged. Pou grinned as each one descended the staircase, clad in their different dresses, with pieces of their heritage attached. Dia wore a simple black shift dress with dozens of rauru spirals embroidered in fine silver thread. Amy's dress was made of moose hide and had been gifted to her by her aunt for this occasion. In bold orange, she'd had a band of mangōpare added. "The hammerhead got me through a lot of bad times," she'd said.
But Ember ... she came downstairs slowly, each step precise. She'd chosen a long, strapless dress, a simple dress, because she wore the korowai Pou had made for her. The Internet was truly a magical place, and he'd been able to locate Māori artisans to help create this perfect cloak for this most special day. She had draped the cloak in the traditional way, with one part draped over her shoulder and the other tied beneath the opposite arm. This particular kind, the kaitaka, almost reached the floor. The lights in the living room caught the different colors of the feathers that adorned it, and hidden within them with simple down feathers was the constellation of the Seven Sisters.
Amy had adorned Ember's face with moko and Dia had arranged her hair into an intricate knot at the top of her head that cascaded down her back like a waterfall. She took his breath away. They all did.
"My treasures," he said, fighting tears. He opened his arms, and they filed in.
"Emmie, don't cry. You'll ruin your makeup," Dia said.
"I'm trying," came Ember's reply. "We need to get going, or else I will."
The Ngata family piled into Pou's small Honda. Ember's cloak took up more room than anticipated, but somehow they survived the drive to Pathfinder where Ember and Austin's friends and selected family had already gathered, including Carney. Pou’s heart lurched. He hadn't seen her in ... a long, long time. Putting a number to it just made him feel a million years old.
He pulled in at a distance so as not to spoil the surprise of Ember's appearance, even though her beauty couldn't be contained. Amy and Dia exited to take their places, which left him to gather his baby girl out of the back seat. "Are you ready?" he asked her.
She nodded enthusiastically, eyes already glassy.
Arm in arm, they walked toward the crowd. Amy and Dia stood with Greta to act as Ember's witnesses, while Austin's TV crew—Joel, the cameraman; and Raylan, the editor—stood for him. He prayed this next surprise would be received well. Dia deserved a do-over more than anyone.
"Greta got the box?" he asked Ember.
"She did. It's tucked away."
He loved having conspirators for daughters.
Soft music drifted on the calm summer air. The crowd turned to watch Ember Ngata walk down the makeshift aisle toward her true love.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Trina walking next to him, ethereal beauty unmarred by the spirit world. She looked to him and smiled.
He remembered watching her the same way, resplendent in the dress Sawira had helped weave, on the arm of his mother, who had become hers so quickly, belly swollen with their perfect first child. Dia already wiped at her eyes.
When they reached the end of the aisle, Pou nodded to Austin. He embraced the man who had changed their lives for so much better and pressed his forehead to Austin's, a gesture that those unfamiliar with their culture didn't understand. When they parted, Austin pulled him in for a bear hug. "Thank you," he whispered.
"No, I thank you. Love my daughter, pākehā. That's all I ask."
Then he hugged and kissed Ember, who took her place.
All that was left was for him to take his. He nodded to Greta, and with a devious smile, she retrieved a large white box from behind some decorations and presented it to him. Looking at his eldest, his successor, he opened the box. The cloak wasn't a perfect replica of the one they'd lost, but it came damn close. "Papa?" Dia gasped.
"You are Tane," he whispered to her. "This is what you were meant for."
"Oh, bloody hell," Amy muttered. "I'm gonna ruin my makeup."
Greta took the box back so he could remove the cloak and drape it over Dia's shoulders. "You have a wedding to perform."
"Papa ... I don't remember the rites."
"Speak from your heart," he replied. "That's all it ever was."
"A Tane, an Alpha, and a world-renowned chef walk into a wedding ..." Amy chuckled.
Rolling her eyes, Dia stepped between Austin and Ember.
"They're perfect," Trina said.
"They are," Pou replied.
As the sun dipped below the horizon and Matariki made their appearance, the spasms started. When Austin and Ember kissed to seal their vows, Trina said, "You did good, Pou."
"It was all you, my treasure," he whispered. "I miss you."
"I know. I miss you, too. I'm waiting for you."
The Great Change came swiftly, though it never grew less painful. Pou unfurled his jade wings and headed into the water. All at once, he was nineteen again and landing in the Avon River to meet the love of his life and begin a journey he never expected. And just like then, and every Solstice after, Trina waited for him.
THE END