The queen carried Shadow back to the palace on her back. Elric, Wynn, and Flame all followed. A long line of exhausted, wounded elves and fairies leaned on one another as they marched back to the safety of the palace. The queen entered the throne room, then carefully laid the tigereon on the great seal. The pieces of the shattered crystal lay around her.
The queen transformed back into her human self, and picked a small piece of the crystal and inspected it. She brought the crystal to her heart and it glowed.
“What is happening?” Flame whispered next to him.
“I don’t know,” Elric said. “The queen is using her magic.”
The queen knelt beside the tigereon. She touched the crystal shard to the beast’s chest. It glowed with the golden light. “A piece of my life. A gift freely given. Your life is now bound to mine, and mine to yours.” The queen pressed the shard of crystal to the center of Shadow’s heart. It turned into a small golden light, and sank into Shadow’s body. Shadow’s large eyes slowly opened as Elric watched the wound on her side glow with light. Slowly it healed, and the tigereon pulled her head up and purred. “Thank you,” the queen said, stroking the tigereon’s head, “for saving my daughter.”
“Shadow?” Flame cried. She pulled away from Elric and took a couple of tentative steps forward. Shadow huffed at her in greeting, and Flame fell to the floor, throwing her arms around Shadow’s neck.
The queen touched her daughter’s shoulder. Flame turned to her mother with a tear-stained face. “Thank you for saving her life.”
“Thank you for saving all of ours,” the queen answered. “My daughter.”
The great seal glowed as the rest of the remaining shards of the crystal heart lit with a fire within. They rose into the air, spinning and twirling around until they came together and fused in a bright flash of blue-white light. The cracks and fissures in the heart were gone, save a small missing chip close to the center.
Blue light shot through the center of the tree. The hall full of elves cheered their greatest invention as the crystal heart glowed bright. They mingled together with the fairies and watched as the light spread out over the Nightfell Wood. There was no more shield surrounding the fairy lands. No more barrier between them. It would take time to heal all the rifts between them, time and patience. Some hurts would always leave scars, but for the first time, peace was possible, and that gave Elric hope. He caught Lexi’s eye and smiled at her. Her cheeks turned a darker green and she looked away, then scooped up Mildred and went to join Wynn. He felt Zephyr blow past him with a hard knock to his shoulder, then felt the steady presence of Master Elk on his other side.
The queen walked over to Headmind Axis. “I understand there is a portal that needs repair,” she said with a grateful smile. “Thank you, for your aid.”
“It will take time to rebuild our city,” Axis responded. “But we will. And we will welcome the fairies once more.”
He bowed his head to her, and she returned his regal nod.
As dusk set in, the fairies poured into the courtyards of the palace. They watched the stars appear over the great tree for the first time in centuries. Bright pinpoints of light swirled in clouds of colorful dust shining in a clear and endless sky as the songs of the elves rose into the night. Streaks of light in gorgeous glowing greens and pinks flowed in waves of color through the night sky as the planets rose behind them.
Wynn came over holding Mildred. Elric reached out and stroked the hen.
“I like the stars,” she said. “They’re pretty.”
She craned her neck to see the magical sky, before turning to Elric. “And I love my family,” she said.
Elric watched the queen embrace Flame for the first time. Osmund gave him a proud nod.
Wynn stroked Mildred, then reached down to take Hob’s hand. “Maybe now we can play in the garden,” she said. “Or walk in the woods. Things are better now.”
“Thanks to you, Wynn.” He smiled at his little sister. She smiled back and nudged him with her elbow.
“And you too, big brother.”
Elric watched the moon rise for the first time over the fairy realm. Its soft light smiled on them. They were free. And it was beautiful. “You’re right, Wynn,” he said as he threw his arm across his sister’s steady shoulders. “Things are much better. We are together now.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The first person I have to thank for every single book I write is my brilliant and tireless critique partner and friend, Angie Fox. We have been working together for over ten years of ups, downs, and a few books that went sideways. I always deeply appreciate her guidance and support. I wouldn’t be a published author without her. She has the first eyes on every story and she makes me a better writer every day.
My editor is also deeply responsible for making me a better writer. Her insight with this book was especially helpful. There was a lot of work to be done to make this book shine, and Alex Arnold led me carefully and creatively to my best story. I appreciate all the work she does behind the scenes as an advocate and cheerleader. She is an amazing editor and it is an honor to work with her.
These books wouldn’t exist without the support of my agent, Laura Bradford. She has never failed to fight in my corner. I rely on her cool head and dry wit in times of stress. No matter how much things have changed over the years we have worked together, she has my deepest trust, gratitude, and appreciation for all she does.
I was also
