The Throne Room
Meanwhile
Michael knew he probably needed to get up at some point, but he was comfortable the way he was, with Sophie nestled against his side. He was trying hard not to think about what had happened to him and what it meant. “Don’t you have a matinee?” he asked after a while.
“Oh dear, don’t remind me,” she said with a groan. “But this is when manipulating the Realm comes in handy. I can take a nap here and get home barely after the time I left.”
“That is handy. Do you think I’ll be able to do that sort of thing?”
“Don’t get too excited about maybe having powers.”
“I know. We need to figure out what it means.”
“I’m sorry all this happened to you. It’s my fault.”
He tightened his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t say that. You didn’t mean for anything to happen. It was some kind of destiny thing.”
“And you got all tangled up in my destiny.”
“Have you considered that it might be my destiny, too?”
She looked up at him with her odd eyes. “Well, you must be different in some way to be able to respond to things the way you have, so I suppose that’s a possibility.”
She slid out of his arms and stood, moving far more gracefully than he’d expect of someone who’d been through what she had. He needed her helping hand to drag himself to his feet. “Now, about that nap,” he said with a groan.
Leonie’s people ushered them all to rooms in the palace. Since time didn’t really work here, he wasn’t sure how long he slept, but he woke totally refreshed. He found his way back to the throne room, where Sophie was waiting. They were soon joined by Emily with a yawning Beau, Mrs. Smith, and all the enchantresses. Guards brought the now-human Maeve. “Okay, everyone ready?” Sophie asked before leading the group out of the palace to a spot where she could open a gateway.
While the Drake sisters hugged their grandmother good-bye, the woman in white approached Michael. “I have been given permission to stay,” she told him, beaming radiantly.
“That’s good,” he said. “But I hope I’ll still see you around.”
“I’m sure you will.” She rose on tiptoes to kiss his cheek before scampering away.
He noticed that Eamon wasn’t among the group and wondered what was up with that. He and Emily had seemed pretty close, but then it wasn’t as though this was a permanent parting. He was back and forth all the time, so he was probably busy doing something for the queen. And he likely was too smart to get close to Emily in front of Sophie.
When all the farewells were said, Sophie opened the gateway, and they stepped through, emerging in the predawn park. The others fanned out, and Michael noticed Emily giving the guards instructions about Maeve, but he hung back with Sophie. “So, rest or food?” he asked.
“I’ve had plenty of rest, and I’m starving,” she said.
“Then how about a very early breakfast?”
“Sounds like a brilliant idea.” She took his arm as they began walking. “You know, I planned all this for Sunday night, when I had a bit of a break.”
“Too bad Josephine didn’t cooperate.”
“Is it weird that I feel a little sorry for her? I think if I’d been in her situation, I’d have reacted a lot like she did.”
“I don’t think you would. Remember, the coup came before your ancestor gave up the throne. Maybe if she hadn’t been a traitor to her own sister, she’d have had the throne honestly. I don’t see you betraying your grandmother to get power.”
“I gave the power to my grandmother.”
“My point exactly.” They walked a little while longer, and he noticed that light flurries of snow were falling. “The world still feels a little magical. They must not have fixed all the barriers yet.”
“Or maybe it’s in the eye of the beholder,” she said.
“So now that I’m a little magical, the world will be more magical to me?”
“No. The world is magical to you because you’re willing to see beyond what you expect, and you look with your heart.”
“That sounds like the kind of thing Mari says when she’s mocking me.”
“Are you so sure she’s mocking you? Maybe she’s sincere and covering it in snark. I think she admires you a great deal.” She hesitated a second, then added, “And I don’t blame her.”
“And just imagine what she’d say if she knew I was part fairy—you won’t tell her, of course.”
She looked up at him, grinning. “Never. It’s our little secret.”
He couldn’t resist imagining the dancing snowflakes forming themselves into a crown that hovered just over Sophie’s head, then was startled when they did so. He quickly scattered them as it struck him what he’d just done, and the flakes settled on her hair.
“Don’t let it go to your head,” she said.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Still, it was going to take some getting used to.
THE END