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We get homeright before sunset.

It’s weird enough to think of it as my home, but lately, it’s felt a little like Ballsy’s, too. “Do you think the Baron King would allow a search party?” he asks, gathering up his bag. “I could get DKS out there, maybe even LDZ. They keep what’s theirs.” He conspicuously doesn’t request PNZ, even though we’d give them.

Shrugging, I admit, “I doubt it. But I’ll ask.”I’ll have hissonask.

If Remy’s going to be related to half my family, then he can damn well make himself useful to it.

We part ways in the foyer, Ballsack going left, me going right. I watch the dejected line of his shoulders as he trudges toward the room he once basically shared with Stella, and I feel a twinge in my chest.

What if it were Verity?

I find her in the solarium with Effie, hanging back a second to watch as she waddles from urn to pot, considering the plants inside. “This one won’t make it through the winter. I guess we cull all these and find some evergreens, huh?” At first, I think she’s talking to Effie, but then I see her stroke her belly. “I won’t have much time to tend to it once you come, but maybe when you’re a little older, you can help me in here. Would you like that?”

The sight of her soft smile makes my stomach swoop, that twinge in my chest transforming into a clutching fist. Sometimes she hardly seems real. How did she bloom her way into our lives, filling it with such soft, sweet, warm things? And how on fucking earth did we ever think of smothering it?

“Hey,” she greets, eyes lighting up as she turns at the sound of my footfalls. “I was wondering when you’d—hey!”

“Come on,” I say, tugging her by the hand toward the doors. “I need to show you something.”

She protests with a sputtered, “But—” even though she follows easily. “Pace, I have Effie.”

Pausing, I glance around the space. There’s something I’ve kept in here for a few weeks now, trying to work up to the idea of actually using it again, while we’ve let Effie practice her flying. Snagging it from the bench, I decide, “Good. We’ll take her outside with us.”

Verity’s eyes widen. “Really?”

“Just for the walk,” I assure, clipping one end of the tether to my belt loop. “Effie. Pretty bird?” I click my tongue against my teeth, holding out my hand, and Effie effortlessly swoops down from the rafters to perch on my wrist.

It’s not hard to clip it onto Effie’s leg. She barely looks curious about it, instead walking up my arm to perch on my shoulder. Verity lets out a surprised, airy laugh as I take them both out the door.

Both of them are quiet as I lead us to the shore, eyes on Verity’s footfalls as I navigate her over stones and branches. The back of the palace grounds is notoriously neglected, mainly an access to the waterfront that’s never really used. The moat around the palace is actually a branch off the main Forsyth River, a creek that splits off before rejoining it upstream. It’s nothing like the riverfront, the water mostly still and placid, a thick layer of algae resting on top.

The whole walk, Effie just stretches her neck, taking everything in with uncharacteristic stillness. When another bird squawks in the distance, she shrinks low into her plumage, crouching into my neck. But it’s not long before she’s curious again, twisting this way and that.

As soon as the jon boat comes into view, Verity gets a little buoyancy in her step. “Oh, you were serious about the boat ride.”

“Deadly,” I say, helping her into the boat with a steady hand—one foot over, then the other. Once she’s seated on the little bench, I unclip the tether from my belt, handing it to Verity.

Effie looks dubious when I prod her onto Verity’s knee, but ultimately lets out a trilled, “Gentle, gentle.”

“That’s my good girl,” I say, giving her head a little scratch. “Hold on tight.”

Verity’s eyes hold mine as I push the boat into the water, planting my feet with a series of strong heaves that make the hullscrape against the muddy rocks. “We could wait for Wicker,” she offers.

“No,” I wheeze, giving another push. “Got it.”

Just then, it slides into the water and I jump in, easing myself in behind her. The boat has a motor that probably hasn’t been primed in a decade, so I give it a wincingly hopeful yank.

Luckily, it flares to life.

Unluckily, it scares the shit out of Effie, who flaps her wings with a panicked, “Suck my balls!” Making sure she’ll stay put, I steer the boat into open water.

As soon as we get up to speed, Effie trills, spreading her wings against the wind.

Verity laughs. “She thinks she’s flying!” That’s exactly what she looks like, her wings extended to full span as the air speeds through her plumage. “This is a really big deal, Pace. Look at her—she’s loving it.”

Effie’s little head sways in the breeze, her beady eyes taking it all in, and it’s not quite what I was expecting. The worry of her escaping is there, but it’s buried so far beneath the warm, happy feeling of hearing her delighted squawks that it’s impossible to get to.

I take the boat out to a quiet cove surrounded by trees ablaze in yellows, oranges, and reds. Just like I promised. Satisfied with the location, I cut the engine, and the boat rocks gently, and everything around us is abruptly serene.