Page 23

Tess

Saturday: Our wedding reception

And, apparently, our final trial

A unt Ruby stormed over to stand next to me and Jack, and she pointed a shaking finger at Queen Viviette. “This is a step way too far. You have no right to interrupt my niece’s wedding. And if a single one of your horses even thinks of making a mess …”

The queen blinked, undoubtedly never having faced a mortal in full Mama Bear mode before.

I was tired of it, though, and just wanted the trials to be over. Plus, we really needed that town charter renewal. “Okay, Your Majesty. Here we are. Not sure why we couldn’t have done this last night, but whatever. Who has to do what to prove compassion to you?”

Viviette, dressed beautifully in shades of autumn red and gold, swung down from her horse and approached us. “Tess, Jack, we are pleased to accept your invitation to your wedding.”

“We’re glad you’re here,” I said, trying to mean it. “Would you care for some food? Champagne?”

“We would be delighted to partake of both. And we brought a gift of our own.” She nodded toward the tables, and we saw a bounty of gorgeous fresh fruit and delicate sweets now decorated them. Individually wrapped tiny packages sat at each plate as well.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I protested. “It’s too much. We only wanted you to enjoy our party, not give so much.”

The queen smiled at me—really smiled—as if her whole heart shone in her eyes. “I have one last proclamation for you, if you would lend me your ears and your patience.”

“Of course,” Jack said, because what else could we say?

Viviette delicately stepped onto a small stone that hadn’t been there seconds before, and she held up her arms, catching the attention of everyone in the square. When the party fell silent, she began.

“Dead End, you have completed our Trials with courage and heart. With alliance and kindness. With wisdom and farsightedness. And now, tonight, you show the beauty in your hearts in this celebration of love.”

“She skipped compassion,” I murmured.

The queen turned her head to give me a sly smile. “I skipped nothing. You, yourself, Tess of the Callahans, have won the final challenge by protecting us from harm, even when you may have been inconvenienced by our actions.”

“Ha! Inconvenienced!” Lorraine muttered.

“By taking in and loving a child of the wild and supporting her in her magic.” Viviette smiled at Shelley, and suddenly the little magical Fae girl was there, skipping toward us.

“And, finally, in what we designed to be the original Trial, by demonstrating Compassion to one of the least of us.” The queen raised her arm and pointed at the line of horses to the left of us, which suddenly split in two, revealing Braumsh as he walked toward us.

“This unfortunate troll, loved by none, came to Dead End expecting hatred and derision. Instead, he found kindness and compassion.”

“And baked goods,” the troll said, flashing those shiny white teeth in a smile.

Before either of them could continue, I stepped forward, my hand in Jack’s.

“Hello, Prince na Garanwyn,” I said cheerfully. “Welcome to our wedding.”

Both the queen and the troll froze, shocked.

Jack turned to study my calm face, and then he nodded. “Right. The teeth.”

“How did you know?” Viviette asked.

“When did you know?” asked the troll, who dropped his glamour and showed us all his true, shining, princely self.

“Not till yesterday,” I said, answering the second question first. “How? You left clues. First, trolls have truly unfortunate teeth, since they can’t practice good dental hygiene in their swamps. But your smile was immaculate.”

Rhys grinned. “Couldn’t quite do it. But that couldn’t have been all.”

“No. There was also the way you wouldn’t say thank you. I did some research. Most trolls have no problem with thanking people, not that they do so very much, but they can if they want. You, though, tried every tortured way in the book to avoid saying it.”

“But I finally did,” he reminded me, and Viviette nearly fell over at the revelation.

“Finally, both versions of you called me ‘lovely Tess,’ which was unexpected enough to stand out.” I shrugged. “I’m pretty enough when I clean up, like tonight. But ‘lovely Tess’ was a bit much.”

“Not to me,” Jack growled, pulling me close.

“The tiger speaks the truth,” the queen said. “Rarely have I seen a bride as lovely.”

“Well, thank you ,” I said deliberately. “So, are we good for the next five hundred years?”

The queen raised her hands above her head, and dancing silver lights flashed through the night. “You are!”

“Hooray!” Jack and I shouted, and everybody cheered with us.

Later, much later, when Rhys asked me to dance, and after he explained that his magic blocked my gift from touching him, I waltzed around the Dead End town square with an immortal Fae prince.

“Am I still the prettiest man you’ve ever seen?” He laughed and pretended to preen.

“No,” I said honestly. “That would be Jack. But you’re the prettiest Fae prince I’ve ever seen.”

He pulled me a little closer and whirled me through the steps of the dance. “I wish you only joy in your marriage, Tess Callahan. You deserve nothing less.”

When the song ended, he bowed to me and then to Jack, and then he vaulted up onto a snow-white horse, and they leaped over the gazebo and disappeared.

“Showboat,” Jack said disgustedly.

“Who cares?” I gazed into his beautiful green eyes. “The most beautiful man in the world is going home with me tonight, and then we’re going to Alaska.”

Jack cleared his throat. “About that.”

“Oh, no! What happened to Alaska?”

“There’s a minor bear shifter uprising going on …”

“So, where are we going to go for our honeymoon?”

From behind us, a deep voice filled with amusement spoke up. “We were thinking you could come to Atlantis.”

I whirled around. “King Conlan! Queen Riley!”

The queen of Atlantis smiled at me. “Riley and Conlan, please. You’re family, now.”

“You’re in for it,” I said, laughing. “Everybody knows who you are now.”

A while later, I leaned against my new husband and smiled, watching Rooster swing the queen of Atlantis around in a line dance. “Our lives will never be the same, will they?”

“Thank goodness,” he said fervently, tightening his arms around me. “Now, let’s get out of town before the next crisis comes up.”

And so we did. For two glorious weeks, we vacationed and slept and played and laughed and loved, and not a single dead body showed up in Atlantis.

But a couple weeks after we got home, at the Fourth of July celebration … everything went horribly wrong.

Again.

Respectfully submitted,

Tiger’s Eye Investigations

Dying to know what happens when newlyweds Tess and Jack find a dead body during the fireworks at Dead End’s Fourth of July celebration? Help them solve the mystery! Preorder A DEAD END FOURTH OF JULY now!