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“This makes no sense,” Bart said. “If she created the spell so she and Adelais were the anchors, why didn’t she record that in her book?”

Rod looked to me, but I couldn’t answer him. Nothing I’d read explained the omission.

“That would be our doing.” Percy motioned toward the original guardians. “We knew that whoever created the new Great Ward would be like Aunts Katarina and Adelais—selfless and determined to shoulder the entire weight. We hoped by removing that part of the spell, everyone would share the burden.”

The emotions coming from Rod were strong.

To him, anything that saved his family was worth the cost, but he also welcomed the peace.

“After forty years of waiting for this day, we’ll be fine,” I said.

“We’re going to live in Adelais and Katarina’s house.

We’ll be close to my family, and there’s plenty of room for visitors. ”

“In a few hundred years, people will forget what we look like,” Rod added. “Maybe by then we’ll want to be more social.”

“Or we can teach you the spell Bart and I created,” Leo said. “When we thought we were going to have to go into hiding, we created a ‘don’t notice me’ spell.”

“Who gave it that name?” I asked. “It sounds like something a school kid would use.”

“That’s what Leo calls it,” Otto said. “To the grownups, it’s an anonymity spell.”

“Some of us had trouble pronouncing an-o-nym-ity,” Cael said, sounding out the syllables slowly. “Whatever its name, it works.”

I didn’t understand what that meant, but Rod did, and he was skeptical. “Can you explain that?”

The group looked at Bart, but he shook his head and pointed to Leo. “It was his idea, I just helped.”

“By helped he means he took my idea and made it work,” Leo said, nudging his older brother.

“When we were at Grandpa Hollen’s banquet, we tested the spell.

In a room full of powerful mages eager to meet the new gryphon alpha, get selfies with the world’s only arch mage, or talk politics with the reclusive dragon king, no one bothered us.

We sat in the front of the hall, just below the dais. ”

Rod opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. He pointed to his brothers, cocked his head to the right, and stared. I’d never seen him this confused.

“You were there,” he said. It wasn’t quite a question, but it also wasn’t a statement. “Of course you were. Mom, Dad, and Grandma would’ve fussed if you didn’t make his birthday party, but I don’t recall seeing or talking to any of you.”

“That’s because the ‘don’t notice me spell’ works,” Leo said proudly. “If we could be anonymous in a setting where people knew we were there and wanted to speak to us, imagine what it will do if no one is expecting you.”

“Neither of you have predictable schedules,” Otto said. “You’re not alphas, kings, diplomats, or teachers.”

“Or concubines,” Cael said. He shrugged when Leo shot daggers at him. “What? You’re the one who said it first.”

“Staying on topic.” Bart elbowed his mate. “If you don’t take on a public role, you can use the spell to live normal lives. You can go out in public, visit friends and family, or whatever else you want, so long as you don’t announce your plans.”

“And what happens if one of the four pairs dies?” Hro asked. “Would three pairs be enough to support the Ward in place of you two?”

“We can be replaced,” Conall said. “Because we are not anchoring the Great Ward, losing one pair won’t destabilize it. There would be time to find new guardians.”

“I have a question,” Gund said. “How is it you two can do the work of eight guardians?”

The answer appeared in my mind as soon as Rod thought about his response. It was going to take some work keeping our thoughts separate. “Our connection is stronger,” I said. “We created the Great Ward. We were already a part of it before it locked into place.”

“Katarina had to force the link onto the four pairs,” Rod added. “There wasn’t time to transfer it slowly.”

“So you could pass it to one of us if you wanted?” Bart asked.

“In theory,” Rod answered, his words revealing his disinterest in that idea. “I understand what you’re asking, Bart, but it’s not something we plan to do. We don’t know if it will destabilize the Ward. Why risk it needlessly?”

The others had more questions, but they could wait. We’d given them the important bits, and I needed to rest. As if he sensed my thoughts, Rod’s father and mine waved us over. We lagged, because we needed a moment alone.

Walking slower than the rest, I took Rod’s hand in mine. His skin, as always, was cooler than mine, but where our palms met, we created a perfect balance of heat. Around us, the air carried the promise of tomorrow and new beginnings. Not just for us, but for everyone.

“I think we’ve earned a month or two off,” he said. “The others can deal with whatever still needs to be done.”

He wasn’t as convinced of his words as he sounded.

Taking a step back was hard for him after all these years at the forefront, but he was right.

Our contribution from now on was to guard the entire world.

There were no days off or vacations. No one would begrudge us if we stepped aside for a short time.

“Agreed.” I pulled him to a stop. “After forty years of separation, we deserve time to figure out what being together looks like.”

“Let’s go home, my firebird.”

He hugged me, and his joy filled me. It swirled around, joined with mine, and flowed back into him. The pain of sacrifices made would take time to heal, but we no longer had to fight off the soul-draining sadness of being apart.

The world gave us back so much more than it asked. We finally had each other and the promise of all the days to come stretching before us. “I already am.”