“I’m the queen of New York!” I said, getting into it.
We rode on, laughing and talking about nothing much at all. You don’t always appreciate those moments ofnothing muchuntil you’ve been through the fire. As far as I was concerned, I would be holding each and every one of thosenothing muchmoments close like they were the last drops of sapphire-berry juice shaken out of a flamingo-stemmed goblet.
By the time we had ridden out and back, it was time to meet up with the others for our field trip.
Mom had gone safely home—and Lily with her, for a winter family vacation in Florida.
Victorine, the fuddy-duddy, had claimed that one place was much like another, and she would rather stay in her Upper East Side home and tend her orchids.
But Poppy, Daniel, Jessica, James, and the Princess were game.
The Princess of Arrows returned with Berron when he took Sybelia back to the Forest of Emeralds, and the three of us headed for the appointed subway station to meet the rest of the gang.
“I have never ridden this ‘subway,’” the Princess of Arrows said, once again resplendent in gold.
What do you say to that?You’re in for a treat? “It’s something,” I said.
“I prefer Sybelia,” Berron said, “but she doesn’t carry seven.”
Underground, I scanned the subway platform. “James!” I called.
His black leather duster spun open as he turned. A gray streak in his hair caught the light like ice. He waved.
Since I’d started slowly moving his vampire magic to Jessica, he was the happiest almost-middle-aged man in Manhattan. It required holding hands with both of them for long periods of time, and left me craving steak afterward, but they were both getting what they needed.
Jessica, Daniel, and Poppy joined us.
And we were off, a small crowd moving through the larger one that milled around the subway platform. A breeze kicked up, pushed out of the tunnel by an oncoming train.
“That’s ours,” I said. “Last one to Battery Park’s a rotten egg!”
The train squealed to a stop and the doors sighed open. People made their way off the train and we made our way in, settling into hard plastic seats underneath ads and diagrams of the subway system.
At the last second, two more men jumped on.
With a guitar and an accordion.
The Princess of Arrows clapped her hands in delight. “Musicians!” She looked at the other passengers, who—every single one of them—immediately became fascinated by their phones, a book, or looking in any direction but at the two musicians. “Why do they not show their joy?”
“It overwhelms them,” Berron said, obviously trying hard to keep a straight face.
“Ah,” the Princess said, nodding. The two subway performers struck up a folk song. The Princess of Arrows rose to her slippered feet and began to delicately soft-shoe.
“Go on, my Berron,” I said. “Just try it.”
He shot me a look. “Someday,” he said, “I will have my revenge.” He stood, took his sister’s hands, and joined her in the dance.
“That’s actually quite catchy,” Poppy said. She stood up, gripped a subway pole for balance, and began to boogie side-to-side.
James jumped up and struck a Saturday Night Fever pose.
Jessica shaded her face with one hand. “I don’t know any of you.”
I was too busy watching the antics to notice that Daniel had glided over. “May I have this dance?” he said. “For old times’ sake.”
And then we were dancing, too, but laughing too much to do it well. When the next stop came, everyone switched partners, and Daniel dragged Jessica to her feet.
By the time we arrived at Battery Park, we had entertained, confused, or annoyed hundreds of subway passengers.
