Page 70

Chapter Forty-Four

W hat happened next was mostly a blur. Nerida and the Five agreed that they would negotiate what to do with the scepter over the course of the next few months. Meanwhile it would rest in the trunk of the weeping willow, protected by both Spirit and Faerie magic.

Nerida had wasted no time in letting Serena know she wanted her to come study under her in her Court.

She said something about how they had a lot of work to do and no time to lose, but Serena suspected part of it was also because the queen was lonely.

She had lost Arcana, and then Maeve, and Serena felt like part of Nerida worried that she would leave as well.

She had accepted the offer of course, under the condition that she be given time to go back home and make sure everything was in order and she had a sufficient cover story for her family.

There were many reasons she wanted to go to Faery, but one stood out the most. Lore’s words about her aunt’s death still haunted her, and she had a feeling that Faery would be the best place to find the answers she sought.

Grim would come with her of course, along with his new title of Spirit Ambassador to the Faery Court.

“Why do I have to do this?” he had grumbled to Serena.

“Because no other spirit wants to risk going to Faery so early on. While you have a very good reason to be hanging around there,” she had replied with a cheeky wink.

When she had returned home she had found another surprise waiting for her—a letter from her mother.

Dearest Serena,

Thank you for your letter. I cannot tell you how much it eased my heart.

Know that we are all waiting and look forward to meeting Just Serena.

Love,

Mother

Oh, and do be sure to bring Mr. Grim along on your next visit.

Tears had sprang to her eyes when she had read the letter, and while she knew that she and her mother had a long way to go, this was the most progress they had made in years.

“Why did she ask me to bring you along, though?” she had questioned Grim, whose cheeks turned pink as he narrated what her mother had said before leaving .

“Oh no,” she’d groaned, “she’s going to be insufferable now. I hope you’re ready for all the wedding questions.”

Realizing what she had said, she had been quick to stammer out, “Not that I’m saying we need to get married! I mean I would like to get married, that is to say eventually, but not now— ”

He had laid a finger on her lips then, giving her a roguish grin.

“Hush, silence, enough,” he teased. “I battled a centuries-old faery king for you. I’m not going to run away just because someone mentions the word marriage.”

“You make a fair point,” she conceded with a grin.

There was still a lot left to figure out: how they were going to reintroduce the Faery Trials, when they would open the borders of Faery, and how the Lumina King was going to handle the news that Faery was alive and well.

But there would be plenty of time to figure that out. Serena raised a steaming mug of tea to her lips. For now, she would relax in front of the fire with a book in her lap, listening to Grim yell at pesky, glove-stealing squirrels and rabbits who chew holes through shirts.

“Once upon a time, there were Happily Ever Afters,“ she whispered to herself with a smile.