"Yes, I'm certain she'll have a headache for a while," Glissando replied, giving his friend an uncertain stare. "We'll appeal the ostracism," he blurted.
"No, I don't want to grovel when I know it won't help. The best action for me is to accept judgment and go on."
"But where will you go?"
"I'll visit various stations, try to find the trolls—perhaps trap them underground before they can do any harm."
"But you can't get your elixir. It's locked up in Jubilant."
"Never fear. I have several megasectors stashed in various other places."
"You do?"
He didn't like the manner in which Glissando stared at him, as if he knew it was all a bluff. "You know us Sopranos. We're thrifty." Turning to hide his fear, he tested his wings and decided flight would cool off the bum. "Send my regrets to Dulce for abandoning her at the party. Just tell her I'll see her again in a year."
"All right," Glissando said uncertainly.
The chances of him surviving a year without the protection of Jubilant were next to zero—he read the truth in Glissando's eyes. Putting on a brave front, he waved in a carefree manner he didn't feel. "I'll be seeing you." To leave without seeing another pixie for a year, no one to talk to in all that time, swept over him like a desolate wind. And that was at best.
At least he could try to conquer the creatures who had most likely escaped the underworld. With dogged determination, he flew south, toward the enchanted lock, planning to retrieve some of his elixir hidden in the woods before he approached danger.
A low hum sounded behind him. Curious, he glanced back.
"Allegro! Wait up."
He halted in midair, confusion sweeping over him. "What are you doing?"
"I'm coming with you. Do you think I'd let you get all the glory by trapping the trolls alone? No, sirree. Besides, you need my pixie dust to have a chance out there."
"Glissando, it will be dangerous. Even with buckets of pixie dust, we still might not make it back alive."
"Do hippos fly? Are trolls trustworthy and goblins clean? Of course it's treacherous. How else are we to become famous?" Glissando flew ahead. "Well? Are you coming or not?"
"What about your loss of powers?"
"Can't we stay here a bit, revel in our success with Nicola and Malcolm and allow my powers to return?"
"I don't see why not." Deep happiness swelled inside of Allegro, so strong that he felt weak with it, dipping in the air for a moment. Then he let out several treble notes. Glissando harmonized with deep baritone slip notes.
"Together we'll make it," Glissando called out.
"Yes, with pixie power!" Allegro agreed. With a proud salute to each other, the pixies flew toward the woods, already planning their strategies for their adventures with the trolls.
Finale
"Where are you taking me?" Nicola asked as Malcolm carried her through the woods. Soft light from the late afternoon sky shone through the leafy canopy of the trees.
It had been a little more than a month since the accident had nearly taken her life. Her head still ached occasionally, and she was just now able to go out into the sun, but overall she was hale. Since the accident, her father had visited her, as well as all the stockingers. Lady Teresa now spent time recalling fond memories about William with Malcolm.
The healing those discussions generated was awesome to see. Even the Duke of York had sent his condolences. Not to mention Ramsey, who still periodically apologized for his reckless behavior, who promised to study and bide his time for Parliament. And now Malcolm served in Parliament regularly, talking to Nicola about issues and including her on all major decisions.
Her beloved Malcolm. The clouds had lifted from his eyes. She marveled over the sound of his laughter, the manner in which he experienced life with her.
"I'm taking you where I can have you for myself." Malcolm gave her a tender look. "Have I told you that I love you?"
"At least five times today, but I'm not complaining. I'll never tire of hearing you say it."
He stopped suddenly and hugged her close. "Bloody hell, Nicola, I was such a damn fool. I have loved you almost from the start, when I first saw you defending Ramsey in that brawl. If not then, it must have been when I caught you with that axe in the workroom." His arms trembled as he continued to hug her to his chest. "I love you, sweeting, and I almost lost you. I would have if not for your pixies."
"So I didn't imagine it. You do believe in magic," she murmured, cupping his face.
"How can I not? I got scolded rather harshly by Allegro—not that I'm complaining. He showed me how to channel my love to bring you back to me."
"Oh, my dearest. And it was beautiful the way it happened." She smiled, happiness swelling her heart so much that she felt as if she would burst into a million stars. "You never told me—how did you find me in that mob?"
"A strange light came from the sky." His eyes widened in wonder. "As if from the heavens. I didn't know it then, but it must have been from one of the pixies."
He continued to carry her through a ravine and across the stream. "I've had several revelations these past weeks."
Patiently, she waited for him to speak.
"When I first found you lying unconscious amid the violence, I sort of went berserk. I lashed out at Ramsey." His face twisted in agony.
Nicola squeezed him, hoping to give comfort.
He stopped and looked at her. "Then I realized my reaction wasn't that different from my father's when he banished me. I discovered myself comforting Ramsey, telling him he was not to blame for your injury. I realized the incident with William had been an accident, too."
Her eyes burned with the knowledge of how hard it was for Malcolm to have lost his brother because he'd loved him so much. "I'm so glad that you've found peace within."
His gaze was melancholy but not tortured. "So am I." When he turned toward the cliffs, she knew where he was taking her.
"Our little hunting cottage," she whispered.
"Our refuge." Nibbling her ear, he walked down the path with her snug in his arms. Then he swung open the door.
The cottage had been redecorated. Georgian chairs and a chaise longue had been recovered with the Forsythia and Clockwork Blue fabric with miniature pixies woven in the pattern. Her grandmother's old clock sat on the mantle, the inspiration for the dye that had brought Malcolm to her in the first place. Tears pricked her lids.
"Those stockingers are amazingly talented. The whole village worked on making this our special retreat."
A tapestry depicting Allegro and Glissando with amazing likeness hung on one wall. "So Allegro truly did reveal himself to you. They're not ever supposed to reveal themselves to a human who isn't a Chosen One."
"They did it because they needed my belief, my love for you to bring you to the living again."
Her heart was so full of happiness that she could barely take a breath. "How very wonderful," she whispered.
"Life couldn't be better."
"No? Not even if I told you that we are going to have a baby?"
"Life just became better." Joy shone in his silver eyes and he cradled her close.
She stroked his cheekbone and square jawline, her Falcon, her savior, her love. As she became lost in his spell, she glanced through the window. Allegro and Glissando waved from the clouds, knapsacks on their backs. With a last merry salute, the pixies laughed in harmony before spinning away and dissolving in a shower of glittering fireworks.
"Thanks to the Clockwork Blue, I found my salvation," her husband whispered. Then his lips found hers.
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Clockwork Blue (The Lumière Chronicles) Page 32
