Page 91 of A City of Emeralds and Envy
“Which we will,” Riordan adds smoothly. “With the greatest pleasure.”
Gulch pales and nods.
I survey Mam and Pap, taking in their faces for the last time. “Goodbye. Thank you for—for them.” I nod to the boys and girls clustered around Jasper. “They are treasures, each one, and I hope someday you will see that.”
I don’t wait for an answer. Turning my back on them, I approach Jasper and my siblings. “All right then—who wants to hear a story about a girl who jumped down a rabbit hole and ended up in Faerie?”
When we’ve finished our business and left the mortal realm behind, Dorothy drops us off at the door of our new home. It’s a sprawling mansion constructed by Ygraine, formerly known as the Hatter—who, when she’s not sitting on her new throne as the Queen of the Unseelie, still enjoys crafting wonderful things.
Ygraine now owns a pair of bracelets from the Isle of Oz—the royal bracelets that enable their owner to build anything they can imagine. Apparently the North Witch left them behind when she was banished, and West discovered them in the Emerald City vaults, after the Wizard’s demise. He gave them to Dorothy, to do with as she pleased, and she passed them along to her brother. Rather than keep them himself, Riordan gifted them to Ygraine, as her payment for creating Jasper’s new heart.
Delighted with the gift, the Hatter built a house for us, to all our specifications, and in exchange Lir, the King of the Seelie, opened a trade gate in the border wall between the Seelie and Unseelie kingdoms. Maybe one day, when enough trust has been established, the wall can come down entirely.
Until then, my partners and I are the guardians of that gate, and the founders of a new town that’s quickly forming around our estate. Riordan never wanted the throne of the Dread Court, but he seems willing enough to take on the joint leadership of the town with me, provided that we still have plenty of time for study and research. Our new mansion contains laboratories, specimen rooms, supply closets, and a library, and he can’t wait to fill them with samples, ingredients, and books.
The estate also has gardens where I can finally indulge my love of cultivating and studying plants, and a lovely forest beyond that, in which Caer can roam whenever he has the urge. Last week, we surprised Jasper with a small menagerie containing a few of the Seelie Kingdom’s most adorable animals, gifted from the Court of Delight by its queen, Louisa. Jasper was ecstatic and actually sobbed, which shocked both Riordan and Caer so much that they slunk awkwardly off into the garden, while I kissed away the Scarecrow’s tears.
Even now, as we stand before our house, Riordan and Caer keep glancing at Jasper apprehensively, as if they’re afraid he might cry again. He seemed very reluctant to leave my little siblings behind. They called him “the fancy elf who brings gifts” and appeared more dejected about his departure than mine. I tried not to mind—they’re children. I know they’ll miss me, just as I’ll miss them. I won’t be able to visit them often, since Lir and Finias think it best to limit Fae appearances in the human realm, especially around Lord Drosselmeyer’s place.
Of course, the Seelie Court can’t control what the folk of Oz do, since the Isle is self-governing. Dorothy has hinted that she and West plan to travel in the human world, and though the idea unsettles me, I’ve decided to be happy for her, and not worry about it.
“Thank you for this,” I tell Dorothy, as she prepares to return to the Isle. “Are you sure West doesn’t want a vial of water from the Unending Pool, to dispel his cursed wish? Lir has offered to provide one.”
She shakes her head. “He wants to keep his transport abilities. And both of us rather like the green skin.”
“If he changes his mind, let us know.”
“I will.” She gives her brother a nod. “Until next time.”
“Soon, I hope.” Riordan returns the gesture.
With a click of her heels, Dorothy vanishes, and we’re alone: the Cat, the White Rabbit, the Scarecrow, and me.
We stand together on the broad, white-stone doorstep of our home, with the flowering vines dripping from the balcony overhead, scenting the blue dusk with delicate sweetness.
I look at each of them—Riordan’s crimson eyes, like glowing coals in the gloom—Caer’s slit-pupiled cat’s-eyes, filled with a sultry violet heat—and Jasper’s blue eyes, sparkling with pure, devoted lust.
“It’s been a long day,” I murmur, a smile curving my mouth. It’s a phrase we’ve begun using with each other during these past weeks of upheaval.
Caer grins. “And how do we deal with long days?”
“With longer nights,” Jasper answers.
Riordan says nothing, but he takes the gold leash from his pocket and steps forward, towering over me. The very heat and bulk of him makes me weak and wet immediately.
He bends, his broad lips grazing my ear like heated velvet as he attaches the collar. “Tonight, I will take you. And they will watch.”
I nod, my breath catching.
“Hear that, Jasper?” Caer croons. “You and I can have a little fun while we watch them.” He drapes his arm across the Scarecrow’s shoulders. “Gods, I love how you blush. Makes your cheeks so damn lickable.”
Riordan tugs at my leash. “Come, kitten.”
I follow him obediently inside, while Caer and Jasper trail after us.
A dazzling array of pink and gold orbs fly upward from Riordan’s palm, illuminating the hallway as we pass through the silent house. It’s only partly furnished, but I don’t mind. It gives us something to work on together. Something to build as we test all the challenges and glories of our new family.
Each of us have our own rooms, all adjoining a great central chamber with a bed large enough to hold half a dozen Fae. Its silken expanse gives us plenty of room to act out our most complex and debauched fantasies together.
