Page 15 of Out of Time (The Ice King Chronicles #3)
Glori
Ethan held me in his arms all night, and then the next morning, as soon as the sun came up, he got up and left, saying he had to dispose of the ashes in the sea. From what he’d told me, the ocean wasn’t far from Salem, though I didn’t ask too many questions.
Within an hour or so, he was back, and showed me the empty plastic bag. “She’s gone. I think I’ll burn this bag in the fireplace, just in case any ash or grave dust remains.” He threw the bag over into the fireplace in his bedroom and a blaze sprang up. The flame was blue-tinged, so it didn’t smell bad, and it blazed up so effortlessly it boggled my mind every time I saw him do it. But then everything he did was amazing, as far as I was concerned.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, sitting down beside me on the bed.
“Wonderful. I feel lighter, like a weight has been lifted.”
“It has been. Oh, Marcy was downstairs, along with Dee, and they opened the shop. She told me that Pat retracted her statement to the police last night. She admitted she must have moved the candle herself, and she’s claiming her mind was unclear. The police are letting her get away with it, but Marcy is so mad I don’t know if she’ll ever just forgive and forget, the way Pat wants her to.”
“I hope she doesn’t. Marcy is much too nice for the ogre.”
He smiled, shaking his head. “Oh, and Dee said not to worry about buying her a new cake. Marcy brought us cupcakes to celebrate later.”
“But we could have cake too, right? With the sprinkles? Doesn’t cake go with cupcakes?”
He laughed, dropping a kiss on my forehead. “I don’t see why not. Though I think I did notice a little bit of a belly on you in those tights you wore in the Fae realm. Do you think you could be putting on a few pounds?”
Horrorstricken, I jumped from the bed to go to the mirror on his dresser. I turned sideways and jerked down my sleep pants to look at my still flat stomach.
Laughing, Ethan came up behind me and cupped the cheeks of my ass. “No, looks like I was mistaken. Since I have you here like this, though, I may have a few minutes to spare. It would be a shame to let all this go to waste.”
****
Ethan
Standing at the front of the grand hall, waiting for Glori to come down the aisle, I glanced over at Drogheda, who was standing beside me, dressed in a somber black gown to match my tux. She gave me a reassuring smile and a nod.
Across the aisle from me were two of Glori’s brothers, the Princes Charmello and Radiense, both impossibly good looking and both dressed in their fanciest, most colorful outfits, like the plumage of exotic birds. I believed Charmello was wearing eyeliner and lips gloss, though I couldn’t be sure.
The door opened and the little Leprechaun page emerged quite self-importantly, wearing white livery complete with a fur cap this time. He blew his little horn, and said, “Announcing His Majesty, King Lorimach of the Woodland Fairies.”
The king, accompanied by his dogs, came in and proceeded slowly down the aisle past the glittering rows of nobility, including many of my Sidhe relations, as everyone bowed to him. He took his place before the throne and beside me, as his dogs arranged themselves behind him. Lorimach would be officiating at our wedding.
A string quartet began softly playing Mendelssohn’s Wedding March. Prince Fabulosa, Glori’s eldest brother, began escorting Glori down the aisle toward me. I looked at him properly for the first time that morning and felt my heart might just burst then and there. It wasn’t good to feel so much for this Fairy prince, but it was far too late for that. I sighed deeply and put the last of my reservations behind me. This was my true love—it was a rare thing to find that in life. As soon as the ceremony was over, and we received the best wishes and congratulations of our family and friends, I planned on taking him on a short honeymoon.
Fabulosa had told me of a lovely cottage on the River Dee, in the Gwragedd Annwn Kingdom. It belonged to his wife’s family, and he’d offered it to us for the rest of the week. It was supposed to be a beautiful spot, but I wondered if I’d see much of it. From the way Glori looked in his all-white wedding finery, I would be taking great pleasure in him for a long time to come. We may not even make it outside.
It was after the wedding, when we were on our way in Lorimach’s golden coach to the River Dee cottage, that Glori leaned over and whispered a name to me.
I looked down at him and laughed. “What was that?”
“My true name. My secret one.”
“Are you serious? Your true name is Gandalf ?”
“Yes, of course. What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing at all, sweetheart. It’s a lovely name. Thank you so much for trusting me with it. Can you explain to me, though, why you have that name?”
He shrugged. “My mother gave it to me.”
“I’d like to meet this mother of yours one day.”
“Good luck in finding her.”
“Why did you decide to tell me your true name now?”
“Because I’m afraid you still think I might leave you one day, like you said your grandmother did to your grandfather. I would never do that. But now that you have my true name, you can always use it to order me to return, and I’d have no choice but to do as you said.”
“Excellent,” I said, and gave him an urgent kiss. I might have gone farther, but he began pressing on my chest.
“Wait. Now you have to tell me your true name.”
“No chance,” I said, pulling him closer again and nuzzling his throat.
“But what do you mean?” he protested, his lips already sticking out in a pout. “I shared mine with you!”
“You have way too much power over me already. No way I’m giving you more.”
He pushed me away and got up with a flounce to move to the far side of the carriage. “Be that way, then. See if I care.” He folded his arms over his chest and looked pointedly out the window with that maddening little pout on his lips.
I smiled. “Hey, Gandalf, take off those leggings and get your little ass over here in my lap,” I said, and held my arms open for him. “Now.”
Whimpering and moaning, my Fairy prince scrambled to do my bidding.
The End