Page 203 of Cherish

“Follow me,” I say, and everyone does.

114

Smells Like

High Spirits

Day of the Ceremony…

This time, when we land at the Witch Court, it’s with all the pomp and circumstance that Imogen and Linden’s tradition-loving hearts can handle—on dragon back and covered in brambles.

“I still can’t believe the first thing you wanted to do after tearing down a realm was go back into said realm,” Flint complains after shifting back.

“Hey, we had to go see Smokey,” I tell him. “We couldn’t just leave her there and not visit.”

“That makes sense for you and Hudson,” he agrees begrudgingly. “But what about Jaxon?”

Hudson laughs even as he delivers a shoulder bump to his brother. “I think he just wanted another chance to see his adoring fans.”

Jaxon rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t deny it.

Hudson’s smile fades as quickly as it came, and I know he’s thinking about Smokey. And how we’ve tried everything, used all of our combined powers, and come up with absolutely nothing that will let her cross from that realm to live with us in ours. Umbras can’t leave the Shadow Realm, and neither of us, with all our powers, can find a way to change that.

On the plus side, the Shadow Queen built him a permanent portal between the two realms, so he can visit whenever he wants. Which has pretty much been twice a day since we brought the Shadow Realm down.

But the invocation is this evening, and she won’t be able to come. He hasn’t said anything about it, but I know it weighs on him. I just wish there was something I could do about it. At least we were able to spend several hours with her today—which is obvious from the dirt smudges Hudson is trying to wipe from my face right now.

Thankfully, we’ve still got several hours before we need to be at the ceremony site. With all the glamours they have at their disposal to use on my friends, surely the witches running the event can make even us presentable in that amount of time.

The witch queen, however, doesn’t look nearly as certain as she gingerly approaches me. “This isn’t quite the look I was going for, Grace,” she comments, gazing down her long, aquiline nose at me.

“Sorry,” I say, running a hand down my ripped T-shirt and jeans. “Hudson’s umbra wanted to play a very enthusiastic game of Hide and Seek in the Shadow Realm today.” What I don’t mention is that the game was really I hide and Smokey seeks Hudson, leaving me in the brambles for at least thirty minutes until I finally crawled out. I just really don’t think that image is what I want to put out there as they crown me head of the Circle today. So instead, I simply say, “She’s enthusiastic with her love.”

“So we’ve heard.” Her normally disapproving face smooths into a real smile for maybe the first time ever. Or at least the first time that I’ve ever seen. “Nice job on the Shadow Realm. That’s been a long time coming.”

The praise startles me so much that I just stare at her for a second. Which has her sighing heavily. “Open mouths are so unbecoming, Grace.”

And then she whirls around, the long skirt of her high-necked Dolce & Gabbana gown slapping me in the legs.

“Are we supposed to follow her?” I ask Hudson, completely baffled.

He shoots me an amused look. “Unless you plan on getting ready out here.”

“It might be better.” I sigh as we follow her through the front doors and down the long, elaborate hallway of the Witch Court. “God knows what she’s got in store for us in there.”

Turns out what she has in store is Macy, who’s sitting in the middle of the bed in the room she leads us to.

“There’s a second room through that door,” Imogen tells Hudson. “Your valet and clothes are over there waiting for you.”

He nods a quick thank-you and then—like the coward he is—fades at top speed to the other room. The last I hear from him is the door slamming and locking behind him.

“What about our friends?” I ask. “They need—”

“My ladies-in-waiting are getting them situated as we speak,” Imogen tells me. “I know glamours don’t work on you, so you might want to take a few minutes—or more—to avail yourself of the very nice shower in the other room.”

“Is that your way of telling me I stink, Imogen?”

She sighs. “That seems a bit gauche, but there is a certain malodorous truth to it.”

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