Page 32

“I do not eavesdrop. Hearing is an unavoidable part of being in spirit form and residing in the wand, which is merely an extension of the inn. I would never violate someone’s privacy on purpose.”

“Aren’t you the same witch who suggested I poison the fairy queen’s spy with iron-pot tea? That’s worked beautifully, by the way.”

Jezel grunted. “Those two things are not in any way related.”

I waved the wand around just to see Jezel wince. “I disagree. Once you start bending the rules, it’s hard to find a place to stop. I’ve been lucky to have people in my life who stopped me from using my powers for bad things. For instance, the spell I put on Ethan was one of the worst things I’ve done to anyone in my life. I did it for nothing more than petty revenge.”

“Yet you would do it again. I can sense your lack of remorse,” Jezel said, looking at my face.

“Yes, I would do it again. That was the point of why I tend to surround myself with people better than me. I warned you I wasn’t the innkeeper you were looking for.”

Jezel rolled her eyes. “Well, the inn thinks you are, so you must be.”

“Well, let’s see what the inn thinks after I’ve caged the fairy queen. The inn might change its mind about me.”

“But you won’t change yours about summoning her.”

“No,” I said, smiling at her. “It’s the only way I can think of to help get this resolved. People avoid things they don’t want to deal with or pretend they aren’t as they seem. Queen Mum needs a life lesson about both and about listening to her eldest child.”

I convinced Peace to walk with me through the gardens. As a fairy, she possessed a relationship to the natural world that I envied. She also had excellent ideas about where plantings would do their best.

“How are things between you and Robin?” I asked.

“They are good. We are catching up with each other. I’m glad to discover we can be friends again,” Peace answered quickly.

“Can I ask you something?”

Peace shrugged, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“If your mother didn’t care who you ended up marrying, what would you do about your love life? Would you wait another millennium to choose someone? Or would you give Robin a real chance?”

“My mother is an unchangeable force. She has made up her mind.”

“Haven’t you done the same?” I asked. I looked away and shrugged. “You’ve ruled Robin out simply because your mother chose him. You even tried to ruin things between you before you even knew each other. That’s your real problem with him wanting no one else but you. It’s that you don’t want your mother to be right.”

Peace frowned at me. “Things are not so complex as you make them seem. Robin and I are not equals in any way, no matter how much I wish to find common ground with him.”

“Would you truly like to be his equal?”

“Yes,” Peace said. “I think I would like that very much.”

I pulled the wand from the back of my jeans. “I’m an innkeeper, Princess. Your wish is granted.

Peace’s squeal echoed through the garden. In the stable, an excited centaur broke the walls of his stall trying to get out it.

13

Lord Alfred hopped around me as we left Robin and Peace meandering in the backyard. They were holding hands and laughing. I wish I’d thought of making them equals from the very beginning. Now the curse couldn’t bother either of them.

“How could you do this to them?” Lord Alfred demanded.

“Peace said she wished she could be Robin’s equal. I couldn’t turn her into a software engineer or a gaming nerd, so I had to go a different route. The bottom line is that what I did worked. Now she’s his true equal. I don’t see what your problem is.”

“Princess Peace and Harmony is the future fairy queen. She’s of royal blood. You turned her into a creature she was never meant to be.”

“Her mother, the queen, obviously doesn’t care what kind of fate her daughter meets. Why should you care, Alfred?” I shrugged when he didn’t answer. “Prince Robin is a royal and just as important. His mother cares about him and sent someone to make sure he was doing okay. I met Prince William, his royal brother. Despite his initial threats to unleash his army on me, I thought he was nice.”

Alfred stopped hopping. “I thought his mother sent an emissary to check on him. Robin didn’t say Prince William came here in person.”