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Vincent kissed my neck as he zipped the back of my dress.

After slipping my feet into shoes that I’d take off as soon as we got to the beach, we walked hand in hand to the inn.

It was finally Long Night.

There was one room vacant, but looking at the warm glow emanating from the inn’s windows, I could happily say I was alright with that.

We’d filled almost ten rooms in as many days.

I couldn’t be prouder.

Plus, tonight, we were hosting the celebration to be at to make a solstice wish.

This was a great start.

We’d have plenty more time to celebrate the inn’s success.

In about an hour, when full dark fell, we would lead our guests and friends to the beach.

Ambrose was already busy using his Vesten element to start the bonfires.

Seraphina had closed the tavern for the night, and she and Evelyn had set up an impromptu bar on the beach, serving Solstice Sips to anyone in need of one .

“You should be proud,” Vincent said, kissing the back of my hand still interlaced with his, as we walked up the steps to the inn’s porch.

“I am,” I replied.

“Thank you for believing I could do it—as me.”

He laughed.

“You know you can do anything. You never needed me to tell you that.”

“Sometimes I am over here just faking confidence until I believe it,” I said quietly.

“It’s nice to know someone else bought the act.”

He tugged gently on our intertwined fingers, pulling me to face him.

“I bought the act the moment you accidentally threw your drink at me.”

We’d kept testing my magic.

I didn’t need much moonlight to control my element.

Darius was helping me understand its capabilities.

Vincent glanced up, probably thinking about the pull of my magic that had sent his drink flying at his face the night we met.

The sky was dark.

The solstice fell on a new moon this year; the moon was barely visible, but the power thrumming through my veins was now recognizable enough for me to realize it was there.

“So, it’s my magic you’re after,” I said playfully.

“You are magic to me. It has nothing to do with your element.” His wind swept in and wrapped around us even as he said it.

“ Your element might have something to say about that.”

He glanced over his shoulder like his magic was a physical thing perched there.

“We’re still in a heated debate about which of us brings you more pleasure.” He winked.

“I’ll never tell,” I replied, dragging him to the front door.

The inn was packed.

So many people from town had shown up to celebrate.

“Hi Daisy, hi Earl.” I waved .

“Luna, this is Patricia and her partner, Sara,” Vincent introduced me to his boss, who was standing to the left of the door.

I noted that Vincent and Patricia seemed to be on better footing with the new funding structure announced for the paper.

“Wonderful to meet you both,” I said, closing the door behind us.

Before it clicked shut, a large black bird flew in and landed atop the front desk.

I stared at it as it tilted its head, examining the silver call bell.

There was a sign that said Ring me if no one is present next to it.

It allowed me to slip into the kitchen without guests waiting too long.

My mouth hung open when the bird’s long black beak closed around the handle and lifted.

It was ringing the bell.

“Excuse me,” I said as I left Vincent with Patricia and Sara and walked over to the desk.

Vincent’s gaze followed as I slipped behind it, but he stayed put.

I felt more than a little ridiculous as I cleared my throat and looked at the bird.

“Can I help you?”

The sentence wasn’t out of my mouth before the bird transformed.

My eyes widened as a man, fully clothed, appeared before me.

He must be Vesten to shift from animal to fae like that.

I’d never had someone do so right before me like this.

He was tall, well over six feet, and had long blond hair messily tied back.

His green eyes were bright with mischief at my surprise.

“I thought all were welcome here,” he drawled.

“Don’t tell me it doesn’t apply to Vesten…or gods.”

My mouth remained open, trying to work through the order of his words and make them make sense.

“Gods?”

Each of the fae courts was connected to one of the four gods.

They were responsible for creating the fae, their courts, and granting the elemental magic.

It was rumored that the gods had been seen on the continent again, some even working with the Compass Points to remove the recent mist plague.

“Of course you’re welcome…” Admitting I’d never paid too mu ch attention to the gods didn’t seem like a great idea, but I struggled to find the name for the Vesten god.

Evelyn walked up at that moment.

Her mouth hung open farther than mine.

“Lord Arctos?” she whispered, sliding into the space beside me.

I knew her big brain would continue to prove useful.

I let out a sigh of relief as she glanced between me and the being…

or god, Lord Arctos.

“Can we help you?” Evelyn asked, realizing I still hadn’t said anything.

“Yes, I’d like one room, please.” He peered at her like he was trying to place her.

“You’re not the proprietor here, are you?”

She shook her head and pointed to me while she went about the registration necessities.

“That would be me,” I said, finally collecting myself.

“Hi, I’m Luna. Welcome to Cliff House Inn. We’re happy to have you. You’re just in time for the solstice celebration.”

“Very good.” His gaze followed Evelyn, still watching her.

“You, then, who are you? You look familiar.”

At that moment, Ambrose walked up.

“Evelyn, are you coming down to set up the bar? I started the fires.” He, too, stopped in his tracks.

I was pleased to say his reaction was much more like my own.

“Lord Arctos,” he said in a whisper.

The god nodded.

“Miss?” he pressed Evelyn.

She handed him his key, obviously ignoring his question.

What was going on?

“How long will you be staying?” she asked, continuing with the check-in list.

Lord Arctos tilted his head in thought, the motion so bird-like I wanted to laugh.

Instead, I was too focused on his interest in Evelyn.

A light seemed to go off in his head, and a smile crept across his face.

“Ahh, well, then, I think we met this afternoon. You would be Evelyn Knowles, if memory serves. And I’ll stay as long as it takes you to complete my research. ”

Ambrose’s mouth hung open.

He shook himself free of his stupefied expression to say, “Excuse me?”

He immediately realized his mistake when Lord Arctos’s penetrating green gaze snapped intriguingly to him.

“Who are you? Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, my lord, of course not. I meant nothing— Evelyn…could I speak with you?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Whatever mutual respect they’d built for each other while we’d sorted out the blood magic used on the inn might be fracturing before my eyes.

“Welcome to Cliff House Inn,” Evelyn said, handing Lord Arctos the key.

“You are all set. Please enjoy the night’s festivities.” She slipped back out from behind the desk as quickly as she’d fallen behind it.

As she turned the corner, I couldn’t help but watch with my own stupefied expression.

She was doing research for him?

We would be talking about that later.

“What she said,” I echoed, noting that Ambrose followed her closely, hissing in her ear the entire way to the door.

“Well, then. I’ll pretend she was excited to see me and work on my project.” Lord Arctos’s gaze roamed the room.

“I’m sure she is,” I said with a forced smile.

“It’s a busy night. Will you be joining us on the beach?”

He glanced down the hallway toward the library.

“No, I think I’ll watch from up here. Seems as good a view as any.” He sauntered into the library as the rest of the guests started to exit out the back door.

Vincent waited for me there as the inn emptied and the guests traipsed through the woods toward the beach staircase.

“What was that?” he asked, his hand slipping around my shoulder and pulling me close.

He pressed a kiss to my temple.

“I think we just had our first…godly guest,” I said.

He turned his head, and his brow arched.

“Which one? Oh, wait, I know.” He snapped his fingers.

“Don’t tell me. It’s Lord Arctos, right? Ambrose told me he was coming to town for a special research project. Ambrose was hoping to be assigned to it at the Vesten Library.”

I covered the laugh that slipped out from behind my hand.

“I think Evelyn must have beat him to it.”

His eyes widened.

“So, they’re rivals now? I thought they made a nice team working together to figure out the magic used on the inn.”

I chuckled.

“I’m sure they’ll figure it out.”

His hand slipped from my shoulder, and our fingers intertwined again as we descended to the beach.

We were almost to the bottom when I realized what Lord Arctos’s arrival meant.

I pulled Vincent to a stop at the bottom step, turning to face him.

“We filled the inn,” I said.

“Lord Arctos took the last room.”

I was so giddy with the accomplishment I hadn’t taken a moment to appreciate all those already gathered on the beach.

Darius tapped my shoulder, and I turned my beaming smile on him—and Gram standing beside him.

They must have seen us descending the stairs, as Darius was prepared for our arrival, handing Solstice Sips to me and Vincent.

“You do realize I was never going to sell it, right?” he asked.

“I may have put that together, yes,” I said, tucking my blond strands behind my ear.

“A girl still likes achieving her goals.”

He chuckled.

Before he could say more, Eloise cut him off.

“Don’t let him fool you. The inn has been under your name for years. He couldn’t have sold it even if he wanted to.”

Darius’s eyes narrowed.

“Mother.”

She shrugged.

“She’ll realize it when she looks at all the family paperwork.”

I laughed.

“Thank you both for being here. It means so much to me to celebrate with you.”

Darius took a moment to respond.

Eloise elbowed him in the ribs when she decided she was done waiting.

I could tell he was working through his own swell of emotion, but I enjoyed the family dynamics at play.

“Well, congratulations.” He held up his drink for Vincent and me to cheers.

“To many more solstice celebrations on the beach at a full Cliff House Inn.”

I smiled, looking around.

Seraphina worked the bar she’d set up.

Evelyn rushed drinks to guests around the fire, clearly avoiding Ambrose after what had happened upstairs.

I was sure that wouldn’t be the last we heard of it.

“Let’s go say hi to your sister.” I dragged Vincent toward the water.

“Hi, Skye!”

She stood alone.

It hadn’t occurred to me until that moment, the enormity of the responsibility she’d picked up with her parents’ banishment.

“Hi, you guys.” She kissed Vincent’s cheek and hugged me warmly.

“Thanks for inviting me.”

“Didn’t you have all manner of invitations as head of Andiveron House?”

She sighed.

“Yes. Most of them wanted to gossip about Mother and Father. The others wanted to ensure their work or status wouldn’t change with my tenure.” She flipped her hair.

“So, I’m quite happy to be here. No one seems to want anything from me. It’s nice.”

“We want you to have a good time,” Vincent said.

His brow furrowed at her response.

I knew Skye wanted the responsibility, and he’d been happy to give it to her; I hoped it wasn’t worse than she expected.

“I’m so happy to see the inn full and so many here to celebrate,” she said.

We continued chatting as the sky grew even darker.

There were dozens of guests and dozens more here for the party, everyone waiting for their chance to make their solstice wish.

Vincent’s arm slipped around my waist as we found spots near one of the fires and waited for the shooting stars.

The first one elicited a cheer from the crowd.

Then, a rapid-fire display of lights spread across the sky faster than the crowd could track.

We stood in awe.

Children pointed and shouted, “Look there!” while the rest enjoyed being here, together.

As the lights continued to shoot across the sky, the group quieted, everyone whispering their wish for the coming year.

“This is perfect.” I rested my head against Vincent’s shoulder.

“What did you wish for?”

I smiled.

“I have more than I ever needed.”

“You deserve nothing less.” His warm lips pressed against my cool skin, and I snuggled closer.

I watched the Long Night star show with the male I loved, knowing that all I had to do was wish for thousands of nights like this one—where, together, Vincent and I had found our haven while creating a space where everyone could belong.