Page 41

Hannah

Shit. Meloria just won the trial. I’m now living in the darkest timeline. Everyone’s going to sprout a black goatee any second now.

I hate that she won, and I super-duper extra hate that she did it by hurting people. The wood nymph representative is still unconscious, and even Meloria’s own minion looks rough.

And Severin… He stands in front of her, proud and defiant, but there’s a red mark around his neck. She freaking strangled him! Anger fills me. I’m not normally a violent person, but she’s sure tempting me to go all stabby on her ass.

Varyn sounds like he’s chewing glass as he reads the parchment that appears. “Meloria is the current winner of this trial with a time of thirty-seven seconds.”

I get a bit of a reprieve while they revive the representatives, and I spend it wracking my brains. What can I do? And how can I do it as quickly as possible? I not only need to find the real Severin, I have to beat Meloria’s time.

“Finn,” I say. “You with me, little bud?”

He presses against my leg, looking up at me with trusting eyes. “Always.”

As soon as everyone’s back on their feet, columns of white light swallow Severin and the four representatives and whirl them through the air. More columns are added, and by the time nine Severins appear spread across the middle of the garden, I have zero clue which one is him.

Varyn shoots me a glance.

I nod and step forward, and my hour glass flips over.

“Bird friends! Come to me now!” I call out. “Sit on the heads of these people and show me who’s real.”

Severin’s idea from last week pays off big time. All those trips to his garden to practice my magic mean these birds know me. Masses of them fly from the trees, my robin friend in the lead.

Clumps of two or three try to sit on top of each of the Severins, and four of the groups drop to the ground with a confused flap of wings when those Severins turn out to be nothing but illusions.

“No, no, no, no!” I point at each of them, and they pop out of existence, clearing the area.

“Finn, go smell the others and find Severin!” All of my research has told me that glamours are made to fool all of a person’s senses.

But Finn’s sense of smell is way keener than any human or fae’s, and I’m betting he can tell me something.

My familiar races forward, nose to the ground. He reaches the first Severin and yells, “Wrong.”

I say “no” to that one, and Naomi appears.

Finn slips past the next, saying, “Maybe.”

Then he discovers the wood nymph and gnome representatives for me before finishing with another maybe. After making one last circle of the two Severins left, Finn looks at me, his voice a whine, “I can’t tell. They’re both smoky.”

“It’s okay, little bud. That’s the glamour trying its hardest to fool you. You did great.”

Good news? I got it down to two people a lot more quickly than Meloria did. Bad news? I’m out of ideas for how to use my magic to figure out the rest.

It’s up to me now, regular old me, Hannah Wylde.

But I’m not regular! I’m a witch with a whole coven of besties at my back. I’m the youngest mayor ever of Ferndale Falls, ready to fight for my town.

I’m the woman who loves Severin.

The first Severin looks exactly like the real thing, down to the unbelievably perfect hair and the tiny smirk at the corner of his lips. I stare into his eyes, looking for something, a spark, a connection, but there’s nothing.

That’s fine. If I have a connection with the other Severin, this will be easy!

Only… the second Severin looks exactly like the first. His eyes give nothing away.

I had some intro psych classes in college, the kind that’s supposed to help you deal with people in your political life, and I remember learning that everything about people’s eyes is down to the micro expressions the surrounding muscles make.

With the bridal cr ystal’s magic locking them in place, they can’t show anything.

Which means I don’t have any way to know which man is Severin.

Despair swamps me as I stand halfway between them, afraid to move.

Which is the real Severin? Which is the fake?

The sand keeps falling in my hour glass, reminding me there’s no freaking time for hesitation.

But what if I make the wrong decision? Oh, god!

I can’t get this close and fail. Fifty-fifty sounds like fine odds if you’re playing cards with friends or something, but when you’re determining the future of thousands of people and your one shot at true love, it freaking sucks.

My magic swirls inside of me, wanting to do something, but I can’t think of a single animal that can help me now.

The start of a sob hitches my breath.

Magic surges from the right in a flow of power I know almost as well as I know my own. My magic leaps forward to join it, tangling together just like it does when we make love.

It’s Severin! I know it in my heart. I feel it in my soul. I leap toward him, my arms circling his neck.

The second we touch, he’s released from the magical hold. His arms crush me to him. “Hannah, my enchanting Hannah.”

“I found you.” Happy tears blur his dear face.

Varyn’s voice rings through the garden. “Hannah is the winner of the trial of discernment with a time of thirty-three seconds.”

“Yes!” I give a loud whoop. Joy fills my chest with bubbling brightness. I did it! I won! I saved Ferndale Falls. I’ve given Severin and his people a permanent home here on Earth.

My hands tighten around Severin’s neck as I press closer. I also won an entire year with the man I love.

A loud chime echoes from the pillar of rose quartz, followed by a booming voice: “King Severin, you have three successful candidates to choose from, Elowen of the wood nymphs, Ruby of the gnomes, and Hannah of the human witches. Who do you choose as your bride?”

Severin meets my eyes. “I choose Hannah, my betrothed.”

Finn rushes over, yipping with joy. “See! I told you I’d help you win!”

“Thank you.” I crouch down and give him a hug. “You’re the best familiar ever.”

He licks my chin in a little kiss.

Severin leans over to scratch around Finn’s ears, a little hesitant, like someone who’s never had a pet, but trying. “Thank you, Finn.”

Naomi reaches us next, throwing her arms around me as soon as I stand up. “You did it!”

“Thank you for all of your help!” I sink against her for a moment, thankful once again that my friend gives the best hugs.

My phone vibrates in my jeans, and Naomi laughs. “That’ll be the others saying congrats. I used the group chat to let the Witch Bitches know!”

Varyn claps Severin on the shoulder and gives me a nod, grinning happily.

Ruby and Elowen approach and offer congratulations, the two walking very close together.

And Elowen’s made herself shorter! It’s the opposite of what she did to climb the waterfall, her height contracting until she’s only a couple of feet taller than Ruby.

As they turn away, I grin. They’re even holding hands!

Meloria stands frozen, her eyes flashing pure fury as her hands clench and release, like she’s trying to strangle everyone again. Her minion flutters by her side, but she ignores him.

“Banish her from Earth, or she’ll continue to play her petty games,” Severin growls in my ear as he steps close behind me. “As the winner of the competition, you currently have that power. It’s an ancient safeguard, to prevent bloodshed and preserve the sanctity of the trials.”

“I don’t know how.”

“I’ll show you.” His magic flares behind me, and mine rises to join it with a third strand of power coming from the bridal crystal.

He whispers words in my ear, and I repeat them as our magic surges forward.

“I banish thee, Queen Meloria of Markan. You and all who swear allegiance to you are not welcome on Earth.”

A force like a giant invisible hand plucks her up and tosses her through the sky in the direction of the waterfall and the door to Faerie. Her representative is hurled after her, and another two shadow fae are yanked from inside the palace, all of them disappearing from view.

“What an easy way to get rid of spies,” Severin murmurs. “I approve.”

I spin to face him, my heart skipping as I remember something. “If the trials are over. The temporary protection spell for Ferndale Falls is going to stop! We need to—”

“It’s all right,” Severin strokes a soothing hand down my back, and a couple of his shadows slip free to coil around my waist and legs. “I already paid my best casters. They put the permanent spell in place yesterday.”

Shock zips through me. “But… but…” Yep, that’s me! The queen of eloquence. I finally force out, “Why? You didn’t know you’d be able to stay.”

“I’ve grown rather attached to the town. I wanted Ferndale Falls to be protected, no matter what happened here.” He brushes the back of his fingers over my cheek. “I wanted you to be protected.”

“Thank you.” I throw my arms around him as relief crashes over me. Ferndale Falls is finally safe. “That means more than you can ever know.”

“There’s one more thing.” Severin flicks his fingers, and our marriage agreement appears in his hands.

Excitement zings through me, bubbling my blood and setting my butterflies fluttering. I get to marry him! I get to marry the man I love!

Then Severin raises the parchment and rips it down the middle, tearing my heart in two.

“Wait, what? You don’t want to marry me?” I can barely speak past the lump lodged in my throat. Oh, no. No, no, no. It really was all fake for him.

“No.” He shakes his head.

All of my butterflies die and drop to the bottom of my stomach like little stones. Oh, god. This can’t be happening. I did it. I won the trial. So why don’t I get the guy? Sure it’s only for a year, but a year with Severin would be better than a lifetime with anyone else.

“Not like that,” Severin says. “Not with such limitations.”

I gape at him. What does that mean?

Severin drops to one knee before me. “Hannah Wylde, will you be my wife and my queen? Not for a year and a day, but forever.”

“Forever?” It comes out as a squeak from behind the fingers I have pressed to my lower face.

“Nothing less will do,” he growls. “I lived a half-life before I met you, an existence lacking color and warmth. Then you blazed into my world, full of fire and determination. You’ve brought me joy, lighting all my shadows and showing me everything I’ve been missing.

“I love you, Hannah. I love you with everything I am, your name written upon my soul, your name whispered by every beat of my heart. You are already mine in here.” He presses his palm to the center of his chest, then extends that hand to me. “Be mine forever.”

I stop breathing, frozen in place, my whole body quivering with shock. I’ve been through so much in the last hour with all the stress of the third trial. It’s been scary and exciting and wonderful, but this…

Nothing can touch this.

Giddy joy fills me until I feel like I can fly. He loves me.

Severin loves me!