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…Duke Wellesly’s finger brushed the back of her hand and her heart fluttered like a moth drawn recklessly to his rakish flame…

I flip back to the cover, where two humans embrace inside a border of roses.

Hmm.

Why not?

I take the book back to my room, and when I shut the door, I notice the little black rabbit on my nightstand.

Ezzy.

I pick the soft toy up and stroke its worn face. I’m sure Ezra would tell me to go to Bear’s class, if he were here.

“What should I do, Ezzy?” I murmur. But Ezzy only stares back at me silently.

I can’t remember the last time I slept in the hammock, but tonight I climb inside, tucking Ezra’s plush toy against my chest. My nightmares have come back with a vengeance, but it’s the loneliness that aches the most. Ezzy smells like him, warm, sweet, and comforting, and I breathe it in deeply.

At the front of the room, Bear deftly wraps the fake leg in a demonstrative tie, weaving the rope into a perfectly symmetric pattern. I follow along clumsily. As usual I’m out of place as the only fairy, and a highly recognizable one, but at the back of the room no one bothers me. I touch the soft lump in my shirt for comfort. Like his namesake, Ezzy doesn’t care about any of that stuff.

“Your knots are uneven.” Bear’s gruff voice comes from above. I look up, and he crouches next to me. “Pull the rope snug and work quickly. If you practice until you can do it from memory, it becomes easier to even the knots.”

I hold back a sigh. “It’s harder than it looks.”

“For a beginner, yes.” Bear’s nostrils flare. “You know, there’s no reason we couldn’t re-open the suspension show.”

My fingers still. “What do you mean?”

“Your magical potency calmed down after the King’s Oath.” He shrugs. “Figured you knew. Then you never asked to keep going, so I figured you didn’t want to.”

I hesitate.DidI know?

I at least suspected. But I didn’t reach out to Bear because deep down, I thought it might be different now. That it wouldn’t work for me like it used to.

“It’s kind of you to offer,” I murmur.

“It’s up to you.” Bear picks up the rope and lashes the next diamond around my leg without touching my skin once, as always, perfectly in control and unafraid. He ties it off and hands the ends back to me. “It’s a quick-release knot so you can practice pulling one open. But remember, the quickest release is a blade.”

I nod.

Bear’s gaze meets mine. “You know, Cassandra may have sheltered you, but I would’ve thought she’d teach you more about love.”

“What do you mean?”

“The myth that fairies don’t know how to love is earned, don’t get me wrong. If the fairy king hadn’t spurned his human lover and pretended their trysts meant nothing, maybe there would be no azeroths.” His eyes flare. “But Cassandra was different. She dared to love the king’s son, and for that, her story was written in history.”

“Then she lost my father,” I murmur. My mother had loved me in her own way, but not the way I needed.

“But she still had you. And Elsabeth.” His gaze burns. “Fairies are capable of great love when they choose to be. Your sister loves you and will do anything to protect you. Don’t doubt her — or yourself.”

37

EZRA

When I finally work up the courage to open my text chat with Lysander, the first thing I see are his little hearts. He uses emojis a lot — I have a suspicion he just thinks they’re cute. My avoidance hits me over the head as I stare at them.

Just because I’m forbidden from seeing him doesn’t mean we can’t talk. I want the rest of the staff to be friends to him, so I could at least do the same, even if it’s from a distance.

I tap out a simple, straightforward message and hit send.