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He thought his children were the same way.
He forgot we were small and fragile. He forgot we needed care.
Cal and I didn’t need a father anymore. But Malcom did.
Cal swallowed before speaking. “I’m uncomfortable leaving him for too long. I’ll stay.”
I exhaled. “Good.” I smiled gratefully and admitted, “I already said you would. I’m really sorry.”
“I’m an adult next year—I’ll stay with Malcom then,” Eliza offered. “You can sign the pension to me while you study mathematics.”
“One year.” Cal nodded. “I can handle that.”
That would leave Malcom with Eliza for three years while Cal studied. And put a great deal of faith in their relationship enduring. Beyond that, academics weren’t like painters—they were sent to whichever island needed them. I wouldn’t know where they’d end up after Cal finished his apprenticeship. I wouldn’t know how any of their stories ended. This moment in time, this was all I’d get. Whatever happened to me, whatever happened to them, our tales were no longer intertwined.
I struggled to speak. “You take care of them,” I told Eliza. “Malcom is sensitive and innocent, and Cal can get so wrapped up in work that he forgets to eat. Please take care of their gentle souls.”
She squared her shoulders. “I will.”
The patter of Malcom’s feet silenced us. He flung himself around the corner with a toy in hand and held it out like an offering for me. One of his soldier men—the typical toy for a child on the center island where strength was valued above all else. Its left arm was broken from when Malcom was younger.
“Your favorite soldier?”
“Antonio will be your guard when you feel scared.” He rolled it from his palm and into mine. The cool metal of the tiny soldier pressed against my fingers and I closed them around it.
“It’s perfect. He and I will have quite the adventure together.”
Malcom grinned, but his eyes glossed over. I picked him up in my arms. “Don’t be sad. I’ll see you again.” Outside, the fae bumped against the door. “I’ll come back each year, especially for you.”
“We only see last year’s selection,” Malcom said though a pouted lip.
“Well,” I said as Mother used to, “that’s because the other girls are so in love with the fae realm, ruling with a handsome fae king and living lavishly. They no longer have taste for our world. But that won’t be me. I’ll always love the five islands. I’ll be back, little one.” I put as much confidence into my voice as possible.
“Uhnepa te,” he said. I love you.
“Uhnepa te,” I repeated. Cal wrapped his arms around us until we were a ring of affection squished so tight, my mask pushed against my cheeks. From the side, Eliza tried my mother’s language on her tongue as well. We’d taught her for a few years, but she couldn’t get the dialect right. I’d thought Mother was silly for creating a language no one would know aside from us, but it became a token of affection to speak it, even more so when she was gone.
She’d be delighted if she were here today. This was what she spoke of more than anything, and she’d always been so that determined I’d be chosen. While the rest of us were battling tears, she’d be the one singing through the halls and reminding us what an honor this is. Telling tales of the fae realm as if she’d been there, while her late parents could attest to the fact she had not.
I let some of that excitement seep into me, if only to feel her once more. It wasn’t hard to summon. The world that had been closed off from us would now be mine, and I’d soon see if the tales were true.
I tried to show none of my eagerness as my brothers stepped back, only the bits that would fiercely miss them. Each of their eyes were brimmed in red. Cal found his voice first. “Go ahead. Go be queen of the fae.”
The soldier toy, Antonio, clinked against my paint brushes as he fell into the bag before I picked it up, and the rest of the house sat quiet as it watched the spectacle. I almost couldn’t move.
You are leaving them with a generous pension and great marriage prospects, I reminded myself. This is the kindest thing I can do for them. Still, my feet were heavy as they led me to the door.
I stole one last look. “Take care of them.” Eliza nodded and, satisfied, I twisted the brass handle and stepped back into the warmth of day.
The ambassadors waited in an arch. Gaia stood in the center with a slight tremor in her leg and scanned the courtyard with the first real sign of life today. The dark fae placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her.
The third fae, the silent one, took it all in with an unblinking eye.
“With your permission, my Queens,” the silver fae said. She reached for me with fingers adorned with ruby rings. Each ruby was larger than anything we had on the five islands, and they belonged to someone ranking two earrings below me. I could only imagine the glamor of the life I was about to enter. “The fae realm eagerly awaits its new Mortal Queen.”
“Take a last look at your world. You won’t be seeing it again,” the silver fae said before we left. She raised her hand. I opened my mouth to counter that I’d be back next year until I realized she’d been speaking to Gaia. Gaia’s breathing quickened beside me, but she said nothing.
The fae might not have meant me, but I soaked in another glimpse of my realm: the hunched fig tree in the middle of the courtyard and stone walls like a cage around us. Bits of dust collected between my toes to join me on the adventure and remind me of the home I left behind.
