Glimmers of Thorns

by Emma Savant

  He reached out and put his hand on my knee. Its weight pressed gently on me through the blanket.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “This is going to take a while to process. Everything I’d planned for is gone.”

  “Me too,” he said.

  I frowned at him.

  The corner of his mouth quirked a little bit, like he couldn’t decide whether or not to smile, and he held out his other hand. A tiny light glowed in his palm. It solidified and formed into a pale purple flower that opened its petals and rotated slowly in his palm.

  I sat up straight. The movement made my head throb.

  “Wait, what?” I said.

  “Apparently, you leaked,” he said. His mouth finally surrendered to a smile, and the corners of his eyes crinkled. “You suck at taking magic from big evil faeries, Liv.”

  “Well, excuse me for living,” I said. “I’ll try to do better next time.”

  I leaned forward and pulled his hand toward me. The flower spun in a lazy circle. I plucked it from his palm and examined it. A soft floral scent rose up to greet me.

  “So what, you’re a Glim now?”

  “Maybe?” he said. “I don’t know. Everyone in the garden got a dose of her magic when you pulled it out of her, but I got a whole lot extra. Something to do with the necklaces Amani gave us. I’m never going to be the world’s greatest faerie or anything, but I’m not exactly a Hum anymore, either.”

  “Morgan le Fay,” I breathed.

  “Haidar had heard of the theory, but this is kind of new ground,” Lucas said. “I’m going to be a science experiment for a while. A couple wizards have already contacted me for a ‘comprehensive energy mapping,’ whatever that is.”

  “You’re such a shiny new toy,” I said. I laughed.

  It felt bizarre to laugh, but so, so good.

  “Are you okay with it?” I said.

  I watched his face to be sure he was telling me the truth.

  He nodded. He seemed calm.

  “It’s good,” he said. “I think I was supposed to be part of your world from the day I found out. It would have been hard to be on both sides of that line forever.”

  His hand was still in mine. I laced my fingers through his and looked at our hands there together.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “I didn’t give myself magic, you did,” he said.

  “No, I mean, for helping me in the garden. And before.”

  He’d risked his life over and over again. He’d helped me collect the wand and bring Imogen out of that icy palace. And he’d been with me in the garden, offering his support so I could make it through.

  “I couldn’t ask for better friends,” I said.

  His hand tensed in mine, gently crushing my fingers and pressing our skin more closely together.

  “I’m glad I ran back into you,” he said.

  “Stay in touch next time,” I said. I nudged him with my knee.

  Downstairs, I heard a door open and close. Voices rose and fell for a moment, and then I heard the galloping sound of footsteps racing up the stairs.

  The door burst open.

  “Olivia!” Imogen said.

  She was at my side in half a second, pushing Lucas out of the way without a glance. She flung her arms around me and squeezed me so hard I coughed.

  She didn’t apologize for crushing the air out of me. I didn’t want her to.

  “I’m so sorry I’m such a stupid idiot,” she said. “Lucas, go away. She was my friend first.”

  He rolled his eyes and held up his hands. I smiled as I watched him go.

  The heavy wooden door clicked closed, and we were alone.

  Imogen slid into his vacated seat. She leaned forward and propped her head on my lap.

  “I’m the worst friend in the universe and I’m sorry for being an asshole,” she said, looking up at me with her big blue eyes.

  Everything in my body relaxed.

  “I’m an anxious, anal-retentive jerk with chronic communication failure,” I said.

  I ran my hand along her hair. Imogen always melted when people played with her hair. She was a needy cat that way.

  “Are we okay?” I said. “Can we please be okay?”

  “I miss you so much I can’t see straight,” Imogen said.

  Instantly, the back of my throat closed up. I was going to cry, like an idiot. Instead, I leaned over and squeezed her head.

  “I’m not trying to shove my boobs in your face; I just love you,” I said.

  She wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed me so hard I coughed again.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  FOUR MONTHS LATER

  I leaned into Tabitha’s office.

  “Do you need anything else before I take off?” I said.

  She shook her head and tapped a stack of papers on her desk.

  “Nope, you’re free to go,” she said. “Have fun.”

  She waved, wiggling her long black fingernails at me, and I practically skipped out of the office.

  After the whole Oracle situation, Lorinda had almost been in tears at the thought of losing me. That had more to do with my new role as Faerie-Queen-in-training than my mediocre godmothering skills, but Amani and I had agreed the job would be a good experience. I spent so much time talking with the Council and studying magic at the Waterfall Palace these days that filing papers a few hours a week was a relief—especially now that I had my phone loaded up with the awesome botany and science podcasts Lucas had found for me.

  Today, though, I was done with Wishes Fulfilled, the Council, and everything to do with leading the Glimmering world.

  Tonight, I would just be Olivia.

  Imogen met me outside, two Pumpkin Spice mocha iced lattes in hand. She handed me one and I took a grateful sip. A second later, I leaned back.

  “Faerie dust? Really? It’s three in the afternoon.”

  “The Rose Galas start tonight,” she said. “Don’t even think of getting boring on me, Your Honorable Fancypants.”

  I rolled my eyes at her and took another sip. It was beyond delicious.

  A few hours later, I looked at myself in Imogen’s bedroom mirror. She’d loaded my eyelids with more glitter than I’d thought possible, and my lips gleamed like I’d been chugging olive oil. Somehow, the overall effect came together gorgeously. But then, Imogen’s glamours always turned out well.

  “Your dad offered to write me a recommendation letter for my first job when I get out of Institut Glänzen,” Imogen said. She leaned over and swept a curl back from my face. “He’s turned into such a suck-up.”

  “He’s always been a suck-up,” I said. “We’ve just never been important before.”

  Out of all the changes the past few months had brought, literally becoming one of my dad’s bosses had been one of the best. It wasn’t so much that he had to do whatever I told him now. More than anything, it was the way things had calmed down around our house. Maybe he felt like he could finally relax now that our family was on the map. Or maybe he just figured I’d tattle to Queen Amani if my home life wasn’t good. Whatever the reason, he was nicer these days. He’d even sat down and watched a movie with Mom the other week like a normal person.

  I could only hope it would last.

  As for Mom, she’d headed up the rehabilitation of the Oracle’s sprites and was doing brilliantly at it. Kelda was gone, safely established in a new Humdrum life in another city, one that didn’t come with a risk of triggering her memories. She was happy, Amani told me, although there had been a sadness in her eyes as she’d spoken that I didn’t think would ever fade completely.

  We’d decided against appointing a new Oracle. Instead, Kelda was replaced by a second Council, this one dedicated to making sure every Glim had a voice in the way our world was being run.

  “I got you a present,” Imogen said. She scurried over to her closet and pulled something down. When she turned around, a tiny neon green pot was in her hand, spilling over with sparkling pink flowers that s
pun in circles on their stems.

  “What is that?” I said.

  Not that it mattered. I was in love already.

  She handed it to me, and I leaned in to inspect the delicate, glittering blooms.

  “I thought your Council office didn’t, you know, have enough flowers,” she said. The sarcasm in her voice was so thick I could probably chew on it. “This is a pink tanna,” she said. “It lets off a perfume only on the day directly after the full moon. I only got it a couple days ago but they say the smell is amazing.”

  “You’re my favorite,” I said.

  “You talking to me or the plant?” she said.

  I stuck my tongue out between my teeth at her. She leaned over me to look in the mirror and pressed her fingertips to the space just under her cheekbones. Her skin seemed to indent as though it were made of clay. A second later, she pulled her hands away to reveal perfect contoured hollows.

  “Let’s get out of here,” she said. “Leave the plant. You can pick it up tomorrow. We have to go!”

  I followed her as she flew down the stairs.

  I stepped through the door and onto the roof. Imogen was in front of me, already shaking her arms to the beat of the music. A sea of Glims and their Humdrum loved ones spread out in front of us, standing on a floor of sparkling gold. Past our roof, the same glittering net of gold stars stretched across the gaps to every building beyond, and further gold nets stretched past them, connecting downtown Portland in a single web of light. Some of the nets climbed to the tops of skyscrapers; others fell to cover single-story buildings, and every net was crawling with people.

  “Whoa,” Daniel said behind me.

  “They seriously outdid themselves,” his friend Devyn said. She took Daniel’s hand and pulled him forward. I waved as they disappeared into the crowd, and he lifted his chin at me.

  “Is it like this every year?” Lucas said.

  I shook my head, marveling at the way the floor glinted and sparkled.

  “Sometimes it’s held in gardens connected by portals,” I said. “One year it was in glass domes at the bottom of the Willamette River.”

  “This is crazy.”

  “Welcome to your world.”

  The rainbow roads shimmered overhead. And off the edge of the building, far beneath the net, I could see Humdrum cars driving by on the street below. The Humdrums didn’t quite remember all that had happened a few months ago, but an air of mystery and adventure had floated around Portland since. It was as though the entire city was trying to recall an interesting dream that kept slipping through their fingers.

  “I told Mom I’d check in with her,” I said.

  Imogen stood on her tiptoes and we scanned the rooftop. A moment later, I caught sight of Mom through a crush of people. She was dancing with my dad. He was actually smiling, and they almost looked like they liked each other. I sent a tiny pulse of energy toward her. It was thin and targeted, and it weaved through the crowd and hit her in a way I’d never been able to manage before I’d taken in Kelda’s energy.

  She looked up, confused for a moment, and then her eyes met mine. I waved, and she smiled and pursed her lips in a kiss. My heart warmed for a second, and then Imogen was dragging me into the crowd.

  In the center of the rooftop, a fountain rose up in a spray of water and pink light. In its center was a silver statue of a blooming rose, and water fell from between its petals and into the pool.

  I eyed it warily. Fountains were not my thing these days.

  But Lucas nudged me and nodded toward its base. This fountain must be okay, because Haidar and Isabelle were sitting on its edge. Haidar had a tiny pink rose in his hands, probably plucked from one of the arrangements that sat on the tables at the edge of the rooftop. He tucked it carefully behind Isabelle’s ear. She smiled up at him, and he bent to kiss her forehead. She closed her eyes and leaned in, savoring the touch.

  “Let’s get drinks,” Imogen shouted across the noise of the band in the far corner. On the stage, the guitarist was playing a busy lick on pearly unicorn-hair strings, and the tiny pixie behind him kept flying up in his seat whenever he hit the drums too hard.

  The punch bowls and arrangements of champagne in flutes were interspersed with silver vases overflowing with yellow roses. One of the blossoms drooped over the edge, its head too heavy. The poor thing looked thirsty. I flicked my finger and sent a little zing of magic its way. An instant later, I felt the pull as its stem began sucking up water. The bloom floated up toward the sky as though it had woken from a nap.

  I remembered what the legends had always said: The Faerie Queen made the grass grow.

  “Stefan is here!” Imogen hissed into my ear in an excited whisper.

  “What?”

  “Stefan!” she said, looking at me like I was hopeless. “Super hot sprite guy? Wasn’t really into Kelda’s plans? I’ve told you about him a million times?”

  It had been at least a million and a half. I looked to where she was pointing. Like every sprite, he was tall, thin, pale-haired, and ridiculously hot.

  She bumped my hip with hers and then she was gone. A second later, she tossed her hair and looked up at him, her aura glittering gold.

  Remnants of Kelda’s enchantments had clung to Imogen for months. I’d seen it in little flashes of self-hatred, or moments where my normally obnoxiously optimistic friend turned dark and cynical. But those moments were becoming fewer and farther between, and tonight, she was utterly herself. She glowed.

  Lucas handed me a glass of punch. I took it and knocked half of it back in one go, loving its rose scent and the way it made me feel instantly a few degrees cooler.

  “This looks amazing,” he said.

  “Whoever designed it deserves a raise,” I agreed.

  “No,” he said. “I mean, this looks amazing.” He gestured toward the crowd with his glass. “They’re safe. Everyone’s happy.”

  “That’s the Allures talking,” I said. But I smiled as I looked out over the party. He was right: They were happy. They were safe, at least for tonight.

  I followed Lucas to the edge of the roof. We leaned against the railing.

  In front of us, a witch stood on tiptoes to kiss her Humdrum husband’s cheek. The Humdrum wrapped his arms around the witch’s waist and said something to her. She blushed and giggled.

  “I’ve been thinking,” I said.

  Lucas bent down so he could hear me.

  “I agree with a lot of what Kelda was fighting for,” I said.

  His ear was so close to my lips that I felt the heat rising from his skin.

  “I think everyone should be able to be themselves,” I said. “Even if that means being openly Glim or being obsessed with Humdrum biology and culture.”

  He nodded.

  “I know that can’t happen overnight,” I said, as if he’d been about to talk me out of it. “But I’d like a world where Glims and Hums know about each other, and it’s isn’t necessarily better to be one or the other. I want a world where people can choose. Maybe we’ll find better ways to give Humdrums powers, or to tone them down in Glims who are overwhelmed by their magic. I just want people to have… whatever they want.”

  “You think that’s possible?”

  I laughed. “I have no idea. I just want to create a world where everyone can pursue their dreams—whatever that means.”

  His hand closed around mine. I leaned against him and let out a sigh I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

  In front of us, a college-aged girl with honey-colored hair almost to her knees walked by. A guy followed behind her, looking at her as if he couldn’t see anyone else.

  “I feel a Rapunzel coming on,” I said. Lucas laughed.

  The crowd writhed and pulsed in front of me. The song changed. Overhead, the rainbow roads glittered and the stars twinkled as steadily as if the planet wasn’t moving through space at a thousand miles per hour.

  And in the middle of all of it, I stood, feeling the magic and emotions of our people sp
arkling and shifting around me.

  A memory of Queen Amani in the Garden of Glims surfaced.

  I was never going to choose this, she’d said. No sane person would. But this work chooses you. I don’t regret it. It’s a hell of an adventure.

  I set my drink down.

  “Let’s dance,” I said.

  I took Lucas’ other hand and pulled him toward me as we disappeared into the crowd.

  About the Author

  Emma Savant lives with her gorgeous husband and adorable cat in a small town in Oregon, where she spends way too much time watching Star Trek and eating nachos. She loves fairy tales and once took an archery class in the hopes of becoming more Narnian.

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  A Note from Emma

  Reviews help other readers find books, and are invaluable to me as an indie author. If you enjoyed Glimmers of Thorns, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads. I welcome all feedback, positive and negative, and am deeply grateful to you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

  Thanks for being part of the Glimmering world!