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“Oh, yes,” Aspen said, grinning. “The Committee quietly pulled me aside and asked me to take her place since I already had all my paperwork in order.”

“How fortunate.”

Aspen took my hands, shaking them, bubbling over with excitement. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did, Leda. But I have to know…howdidyou do that? How did you make Lavinia see monsters that weren’t there?”

“Who says they weren’t there?” I countered with a sly smirk, waving Dreamcatcher out of the shadows. Cupid was by her side.

“You did this?” Aspen asked them. “How?”

“Dreamcatcher has very unusual magic,” Cupid told her.

Aspen’s brows peaked. “More unusual than controlling people’s feelings by shooting them with magic arrows?”

“I can manipulate interdimensional energy,” Dreamcatcher said. “I used my powers to reveal the interdimensional creatures in the ballroom, butonlyto Lavinia. That’s why she was the only guest who saw them.”

Aspen looked at me. “And this was your idea?”

“One of my better ones,” I said, feeling pretty good about myself. “Since no one else could see the creatures, people naturally assumed Lavinia was imagining things. Dreamcatcher just made sure she ‘imagined’ them quite vividly and publicly.”

“Yes, my friends put on quite the performance,” Dreamcatcher chuckled. “I’ll need to remember to bring them a thank-you snack basket.”

“What do interdimensional creatures eat?” Aspen asked her.

“Most of the same things we eat,” said Dreamcatcher. “Fruits, vegetables, healthy grains…”

I frowned. “That doesn’t sound like the kinds of things I eat.”

A chuckle rumbled in Nero’s chest, soft and subtle. He was being very careful not to wake Sierra.

“Duke the Duck is particularly fond of bananas,” Dreamcatcher continued.

“Duke the Duck?” Aspen blinked once. And then again.

“A very large, very glittery purple duck,” I told her.

“I see. Lavinia mentioned such a creature. I would love to meet him.”

Dreamcatcher laughed. “I’m sure that can be arranged. Though be warned, Duke is a real ladykiller. He’ll probably try to woo you.”

Aspen looked like she didn’t know what to make of the idea of a duck wooing her.

“In any case, it was your magic that saved the day.” I bowed my head to Dreamcatcher and Cupid.

“Oh, yes,” Aspen said, giving them a polished curtsy. “Hopefully, if I become Queen, I will be able to thank you properly.”

Aspen returned to the ball, and Cupid and Dreamcatcher returned to their exciting lives. Nero and I brought Sierra and Angel home. We’d planned to have a quiet romantic evening, but our daughter had other ideas. The journey had jolted her awake, and now she was dancing back and forth across the living room, pretending to be a princess at the ball.

“So I guess we won’t be taking that bubble bath together after all,” I said to Nero.

“Apparently not.” He caught the pillow Sierra had used as a dancing partner—until she lost her grip mid-twirl, and it zipped across the room.

Chuckling, I took the pillow from Nero and tossed it onto the sofa. “Well, our lives have never been predictable.” I darted in, swooping up Sierra as she spun. “Hey, I have an idea, little princess. How would you like a magic crown?”

She giggled. “Yes!” She backflipped out of my arms, twisting herself midair to land facing me. “A crown! A crown!”

So I spun her a crown out of magic. And, just for kicks, I made myself one too.

“Look.” I brought her over to the mirror. “Now we match. What do you think?” I asked Nero as he walked up behind us.