by Marisa Mills
In the main entrance, a corner had been filled with glowing candles and pictures of the students and teachers who had died in the attack. Du Lac stood near it, considering the pictures in rigid solemnity. Evidently, he’d beaten us here. His long black robe nearly touched the ground, and he held his hands together almost as if he was praying. He frowned when he saw me, but gave me a nod of acknowledgment.
I darted away before he could interrogate me.
I bet he’s angry about his missing tiara, but I doubt he’d have the audacity to accuse you of stealing it. It is yours, after all.
I walked through the arched hallways, flanked by marble statues of important mages, and knocked on the door of Gareth’s office. I bit my lip and rocked back on my heels as the doorknob slowly turned. My skin chilled when Professor Gareth opened the door. One eye was milky white, and his face still bore burns from the demon fire. But he was alive and awake.
He broke into a wide smile when he saw me, and I reached out to hug him.
“I did it,” I said into his shoulder. “I freed the demons.”
Gareth smiled.
“That’s what Markus said,” he replied, hugging me back. “Come in! Come in!”
I entered, grinning. Someone had cleaned up the mess and the small office was as cozy as ever. Elaine, in her form as a sleek, white fox, lay curled up on Gareth’s desk.
Hello, Wynter, she said.
“Hello,” I replied.
Gareth took his position behind his desk and smiled.
“You have to tell me everything,” he said.
I took a deep breath and began.
***
Hours later, I parted ways with Gareth, who sheepishly admitted that I’d made him at least ten minutes late to a meeting with Du Lac, who was meant to inform the rest of the Academy staff about whatever changes and news Kit had brought. I promised to visit Gareth again soon and then, headed to the dormitories.
Viviane awaited me. She looked more like her old self; the beautiful noblewoman’s daughter she’d been before this all began. Her hair was curled and pinned up with delicate, sparkling pins. Her face was painted, and she’d donned a dress of purple silk.
“Hello, Summer,” she said, smiling coyly.
“Why are—Kit sent you?”
“No,” she replied. “Kit’s carriage driver told Dorian where you were, and I volunteered to fetch you home. Besides, most of my clothes and cosmetics are here, and I would…very much like to impress someone.”
“If it’s Sterling,” I grinned, “he already liked you when you were dressed as a maid and sleeping in the forest. You don’t need a fancy dress or makeup to impress him.”
I bit my lip, wondering if the opposite was true for Alexander. He knew I was just a girl from the Scraps, and he didn’t need me to talk to the demons any more. I’d barely seen him since we’d been back, and I was starting to think he was avoiding me.
“He has a sort of…rugged charm to him,” Viviane replied, her eyes gleaming. “I just want to make sure I hold his attention.”
“You don’t mind associating with a boy from Plumba?” I asked, smiling.
“Didn’t anyone tell you?” Viviane asked, with a playful spark in his eyes, “my mother was a whore. I may not be a girl of easy virtue, but I’m not afraid to make an effort to get the things that I want.”
I opened my trunk, looking through my old clothes, but Viviane grabbed a box off the shelf, tied with a red bow.
“Dorian sent it,” she shrugged, when I asked what was inside. I pulled off the handwritten note and unfolded the paper.
I’ve been told my debts have been cleared, and I’m tired of seeing my niece in rags. I figured a new dress was the least I owe you, and appropriate considering you ruined the last one. I’m told it’s your color.
Viviane whistled when I lifted the lid and unwrapped the parcel, revealing a navy blue dress with a subtle sparkle and intricate embroidery.
“That’s gorgeous,” she said, running her fingers over the fabric.
“It’s a replacement for the one I was supposed to wear when Dorian died,” I said.
“And he just kept on living, didn’t he? What a horrible man! He never keeps his promises,” Viviane said. “Still, it’d be a shame to waste such a beautiful gown.”
“Will you hate me for this?” I asked softly.
Viviane sighed. “I might have, once. I never felt like I truly belonged here. I needed Alexander to legitimize me. I suppose that doesn’t seem as important anymore. People should be with who they want to be with.”
I smiled and slowly undressed, donning the blue dress. Viviane helped me lace it up and brushed out my wild hair. When we descended the stairs, my breath hitched as I caught sight of our reflections in the crystal. I stared at my face and at Viviane’s.
“You don’t like it?” Viviane asked, tilting her head.
“No, I just didn’t realize I was…pretty,” I said. My face had thinned, and the dress made my blue eyes stand out against my dark hair. I’d never looked so much like my mother. Viviane linked her arm with mine.
“You’ve always been pretty,” she said. “Even when you first arrived from Plumba.”
“Really?” I asked.
Viviane shrugged her slender shoulders. “You didn’t think so?” she asked.
“I guess I never thought of it,” I replied.
You were too busy digging through garbage, Lucian joked, but there was a sadness in his voice.
“Well, you were and are,” Viviane said, “which isn’t surprising considering what a great beauty Gwen was.”
We crossed the Academy grounds, passing through the tall iron gates, and followed the road to Rosewood. Through the buildings I could catch glimpses of the green and brown landscape.
“I can’t believe we weren’t always friends,” I said softly.
“I can,” Viviane replied. “It’s the Rosewood way. We’re obligated to simultaneously love and hate all our relations.”
We’d barely stepped through the decorative fence of Dorian’s estate before the door opened. Francisca waited in a light blue dress, tattoos on her bare arms. I was used to seeing her in black leather.
“Lady Wynter, Lady Viviane, welcome,” she said.
“Thank you,” I replied.
I felt vaguely embarrassed for being so dressed up.
Viviane tossed her hair and stepped inside.
“Where is everybody?” she asked.
“The parlor by His Lordship’s study,” Francisca replied.
Viviane made her way to the stairs, swinging her hips far more than she usually did. She had such easy confidence about her. I was less eager. I don’t think Sterling or Briar had ever seen me like this, though it wasn’t their reaction I was anxious about.
“You look very lovely, Lady Wynter,” Francisca said.
I smiled awkwardly. “I felt like dressing nicely, although it’s…strange being here. After everything that’s happened.”
“I imagine so,” Francisca replied, “but perhaps, it’s time for us all to turn our minds to a different sort of game.”
“You think war is a game?” I asked.
“Life is a continuous struggle, and there are always winners and losers. You learn the rules and do the best you can with what you’re given. But I’m just an apothecary,” Francisca said with a wink. “What would I know?”
“More than you let on,” I replied. “Is that something you taught Dorian or something he taught you?”
“I suppose it’s something we have in common,” Francisca said, nodding towards the stairs. “Go on. They’re waiting for you.”
I smiled and climbed the winding staircase to the second floor. A knot twisted in my chest, but for the first time, it was more than just simple fear. It was more a promise. The promise of something new and potentially wondrous.
It’s hope, Lucian said gently. You’ve just never felt it before.
&n
bsp; I opened the door to the familiar waiting room, trimmed in blue and silver. Amelia had tried to sell her children here. When he and his sisters had been more marketable. Briar’s laughter drifted through the doorway as I entered. It was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. He sat on the rug, his head leaning against the sofa arm. Viviane plopped down next to him, arranging her thick purple skirts around her. Sterling was seated in a chair to her right, waving his arms as he shared a story, but he seemed flustered by Viviane’s appearance and couldn’t stop looking in her direction.
Alexander had pulled over the piano bench and placed it beside Sterling. They hadn’t noticed me yet, and I hesitated outside the door.
“Jonathan is bringing more furniture,” Dorian spoke from behind me.
“Did you hide in your office, hoping to ambush me?” I asked, feeling slightly embarrassed that he’d caught me spying on my friends.
“Of course, I did,” he replied.
I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.
“Thank you for the dress,” I said, smoothing down the blue fabric.
“Red was never your color,” Dorian said, “and I’ve underestimated you for the last time.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You don’t need a prince to take care of you, and you shouldn’t choose your wardrobe trying to please someone else. The only person you need to please is yourself.”
“That’s awfully profound,” I said.
“It took me far too many years to learn that particular lesson. I’m hoping my accomplished niece will figure it out for herself sooner.”
He pushed open the door and I followed him inside. My throat grew dry, and any clever words flew from my mind as Alexander’s eyes flitted over me. He crossed the room to greet me.
“You look beautiful,” he said. “Is the dress new?”
Dorian hummed and left, muttering something about chairs and slow servants.
“It was a gift,” I said, turning to swish the skirts.
“It’s nice,” Alexander said. “Of course, you’d look lovely wearing a flour sack, but…”
A dusting of red spread across Alexander’s cheeks. I held back a nervous, little laugh. It seemed he found this as awkward as I did. After our time sleeping on the ground in the woods, it felt like we were playing at being nobles again.
“Would you like a tour of the gardens, Your Royal Highness?” I asked, nodding my head towards the patio. “The Rosewood estate has an excellent view—”
Or it used to, anyway.
“It does,” Alexander replied. “Though it’s much changed. Shall we examine it together?” He offered his arm, and I took it without hesitation. I’d let him escort me anywhere. Once outside, his hand slipped into mine, and a pleasant sort of lightning tingled up my arm.
At the edge of the kingdom, we looked down off the cliff into the forests below. They were close enough now that I could see birds flying between the trees. In the distance I could see Aubade, with its colorful balloons, and just past it a thin blue line split the horizon.
“Is that the ocean?” I asked, pointing.
“Yes,” Alexander said. “Dorian seems very pleased his estate now has a view of the sea. Apparently it will increase the property value significantly.”
“What now?” I asked, looking towards the gray settlements of Plumba and Argent. We’d accomplished so much, but there was so much left to be done.
“Well, you could get a job sweeping,” Alexander joked. “I hear the mages are desperate for sweepers now that their demons are gone and they have to clean their own streets.”
“How will they even survive without magic?” I asked.
“About that…” my breath hitched as he ran his palm over my waist. “Kit has sent ambassadors to Selene. They’ve discovered a new kind of mage tech that doesn’t require demon energy to fuel it. Instead it’s in the fabric. Thousands of tiny, deliberate stitches. Effort and intention. It creates a very strong magic. We’ll educate the citizens of Plumba. They can create the magic through their labor and will be paid handsomely for it. Everyone wins.”
He lifted his eyebrows, waiting for my reaction.
“Is that what my dress was made of?” I asked.
“Yes, though where Dorian secured so much of it is beyond me. Who knows,” he smiled, “maybe you’ll become a humble seamstress after all.”
I’d almost forgotten my cover story.
“Is that what you want?” I asked, taking a step closer. “A humble seamstress?”
Alexander sucked in a quick breath, then looked back towards the window, furrowing his brow.
“I don’t want anything for you,” he said, “or from you.”
A jolt of fear shot through me, and my heart pounded, but then he met my eyes and gripped my arm loosely as if he was afraid I’d run away.
“I want you,” he said, his voice husky. “Not your abilities, or your support, so I can achieve my own agenda. I only want to try each day to make you happy. I also know my father pushed us into being together, maybe your uncle did to.” His eyes dropped in defeat and he took a deep breath. “You never chose to come to Reverie, or to leave the Scraps. Sterling is a good man. If you’d rather be with him…”
I threw my arms around Alexander and kissed him. He was too surprised at first to react, then he wrapped his arms around me and crushed me against him, nearly lifting me off the ground. I pulled away slowly, keeping my arms around his neck and balancing on my toes.
“Does that answer your question?” I asked.
“Well in that case,” he said, pulling out a small box. “I have something I need to give you. He pulled open the box, revealing a ring with a blue sapphire. For a second, I thought it was one of my father’s enchanted rings, but they’d all been destroyed. This one was finer, with gold filigree and tiny roses holding the stone.
I lifted me eyebrows in confusion as Alexander bent down before me, holding up the box.
Why was he getting down on one knee?
He’s proposing, you idiot, Lucian snorted.
“It was my mother’s,” Alexander said softly. “But it’s yours now, if you’ll have me.”
I tugged the ring out of the box and slipped it onto my finger. It fit perfectly. Then I grabbed Alexander’s shirt and pulled him up so he could kiss me again. Behind us, a pair of doves fluttered past the sculpted bushes of Dorian’s gardens, and the rooftops of the Lower Realms turned orange in the glow of the setting sun.
Epilogue
THE FOLLOWING YEAR PASSED IN a whirlwind. I spent my weekdays attending classes in the Academy and most weekends at the palace, meeting with the hundreds of noblemen who’d suddenly decided I was worth the effort of knowing. Lucian came and went, spending his days split between hunting in the ocean near Aubade and exploring the Lower Realms. Sometimes, he chose to linger in Gareth’s office, looking over research. My friends picked up the pieces of their lives. Jessa’s parents were both pardoned for their actions during the war. They returned to Aubade, while Jessa continued her studies at the Academy. Tatiana’s father Oberon was given his formal apology and an honorary position on the Council, much to Du Lac’s horror. Tatiana helped him manage the bookstore, which became something of a museum, displaying my father’s early research and even organizing tours through the tunnels beneath Reverie. Oberon was even writing a book entitled the rise and fall of our kingdom.
Dorian continued much the same as he had before, although with less scheming and more quiet reflection with his pipe in the garden. Viviane had decided to pursue potion brewing rather than either sigils or battle magic, and both Francisca and Claribel seemed eager to share their extensive knowledge of apothecary and herbal remedies.
Alexander, who had only been to Rosewood once or twice, seemed to be there every evening. I gave him tours of the estate and flipped through books in Dorian’s study and library with him. Alexander and I practiced dancing and swordplay in the ballroom, and he
showed me how to play the piano in the parlor, patient through all my fumbling efforts.
My birthday came and went. One cold night, I realized I’d done so much, and yet still felt like it wasn’t enough. After a restless night, I set out at dawn for the Scraps. I could’ve taken a carriage or brought people with me, but this seemed like the sort of thing I needed to do on my own. The trolley system had been rebuilt, but now there was a station to both Argent and the Scraps, which was closer to where Reverie landed and had become an important passage for traffic going to and from the kingdom.
The streets were still rough and crooked, but new shops and restaurants had popped up everywhere for the rising middle class; without magic, manual labor had suddenly become much more valuable and trade schools offered specialized skills. Alexander had even begun talking about building a university for the Lower Realms.
I traced the same path where Sterling and I used to return home with our stolen mage tech before waiting for Gabriel’s approval. My boots slapped upon the subway steps, as I descended into the rubble that used to be my childhood home. The damage had been too great to restore, so the surrounding area was abandoned. Roots and trees pushed their way up through the stones.
I climbed into the narrow crevice that led inside, careful not to snag my dress against the stones and rusted metal. Inside it was musty, and dim light shone through cracks in the ceiling. I took in a deep breath and shivered, rubbing my arms against the sudden coolness. My fingers pressed against the scars on the inside of my arm, and for a moment I could almost hear Gabriel shouting at me to come and receive my punishment.
“Lucian, would you mind?” I asked. A ball of blue fire sprang up in front of me, leading me deeper into the labyrinthine remains. The walls were scratched with graffiti and open fire pits dotted the ground; it had obviously been looted and used by squatters.
The subway was silent. Lucian’s light bounced off the concrete walls. Hair rose on the back of my neck as I entered Gabriel’s bedroom. Part of me still expected him to leap from the shadows, grab me by my throat, and demand to know what I was doing.
