Page 120 of Crown of Wings and Whispers

Though he’d whispered the last, the words reached the far corners of the house. Everyone had been listening. And now, they held their breath, waiting for answers.

I chuckled. “Well, husband, you won’t be king with Orion’s arse on your throne. Unless we can remove it, you’ll have to settle for being my bridegroom.” His worry was no joking matter though, so I asked him what bothered him most.

“What if…” He gestured to my gorgeous wedding gown, or more specifically, at my bare shoulders.

“You’re suggesting he might seduce me? You have no more faith in me than those fairies?”

“I cannot possibly answer either of those questions safely. I trust you, but I can’t see…how he can resist you.”

I suppressed the impulse to laugh. “Believe me. He can resist me. I’m sure the only one Orion will ever love is Orion. And he wants more important things than a roll in the hay.”

“Yes. He does. He wants a DeNoy of his very own.”

“Then he’s fresh out of luck. They’re all taken.” I wrapped my hands behind his neck and pulled him back for a long kiss. “I’m going to do this, Husband. For us. For all of us. And if you’re done puffing out your royal chest, I really believe we can catch him. But we need you to take us back to Moire’s Embrace. We’re going to need practice. And we need it fast.”

The hour was growing late when, out of the blue, Urban announced that his wife would not be participating in our plans to snare Big Bad. He leaned close to Everly’s face and said, “As yer husband, yer king, and the father of yon bairn, I forbid it.”

She smiled her deadliest smile and shrugged. “Then I forbid you to participate. If you think this baby only needs a mother, you’re sadly mistaken.”

Everyone in the room concurred. The Mackenzies were uninvited. Archer was only too happy to take Urban’s place in our little ruse since Kitch was unavailable for anything but protecting Persi’s Six.

In the middle of our brainstorming, at two in the morning, Wickham’s phone rang. It was his sisters. They were calling to volunteer, though they weren’t sure what for. Since our plans wouldn’t take us anywhere near a Bridge of Sighs, Wickham accepted their offer.

They added a warning that they had no intention of living forever, and if they were still around in a couple of years, they planned to buy a flower cart and sell flowers next to the Bridge of Sighs until someone took them out.

While the rest of the team made bets on how that plan might end, Griffon dragged me out of the house and drove me to a small hotel. Sadly for him, I fell asleep with my dress on…

45

Back To The Ending

Kivi had no trouble fitting into the judgment hall when I called her. As an enchanted, ethereal place, it seemed capable of adjusting according to need as proven by the ceiling hovering much higher than I remembered.

I climbed on first, and once I was seated, my saddle stretched and folded itself into an impressive line of seats that looked like an exterior spine. Plenty of room for everyone. We weren’t going far, just popping back to Inverness, and I promised everyone we would save the rollercoaster tricks for another day.

As one, we thanked Anrai and the others for their help, and I assured them I would be back to finish what was expected of me. Then I willed us within a mile of the rental house so my friends could have the experience of coasting in and landing.

It was late, but the boys were still awake. After a little whining on their parts, I caved in and agreed to take them on a short ride without the adults. Ivy saw how they were secured and begrudgingly agreed to let them go. Griffon was busy saying goodbye to Bridie and Archer. Wickham popped his sisters home. Alwyn and Rinky left in a car.

Rides at night were more exciting, with all the lights flashing past beneath us. Once we were out of sight of the house, Kivi treated the boys to a couple of loops and a series of rolls that made them all pee their pants, even the twelve-year-old.

Back at the house, we found the adults gathered in the parlor, waiting for me to fill in the details of the day while the boys went off to shower. Near the end of the story, told by us all, Ivy realized Wickham was no longerSeanairof the Muir Witches.

She turned in her seat to face him. “You’re joking.”

Wickham’s head swung back and forth very slowly.

“You’re joking! You really did it?”

“I promised I would find a way. Now it’s just us, love. Ye’ll die of boredom in a matter of days.”

Ivy’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Are you happy about it?”

“Nothing else could have made me this happy. What the Muirs need is a loving leader now. Something Persi can give them but I never could.” He smiled across at his replacement. “I’ll be here for ye, supportin’ ye, of course.”

With tears pouring down her face, Ivy got to her feet and mumbled something, then started dragging Wickham toward the doorway.

Wickham laughed, trailing in her wake. Over his shoulder, he said, “Ye can catch me up in the mornin’. I believe we’re in for the night.”

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