“That’s the plan.” Zani nodded. “But who knows how long that will take?”
She’d thought it would be easier to catalog the paper, parchment, and scrolls in the archives before moving on to the artifacts and objects. But it was excruciatingly slow going. She’d vastly underestimated the number of secret family potions for broomstick-induced motion sickness. There just seemed to be no end to it all.
“But in the meantime, you and Will?” Maida’s gray eyes danced back and forth between Will and Zani. Her friend’s hopeful expression did nothing to hide her wishful thinking.
“It’s not like that.” Zani blushed.
Will was certainly growing on her. She thought of him as a good friend. Maybe even more. A partner. Someone she could rely on. But that was all. Zani knew herself well. She avoided long-term relationships. Kind, reliable men like Will Porter weren’t for flighty types like her. She was better suited to brief go-nowhere flings with questionable men like Cosimo.
At least that’s what she kept telling herself.
“It’s complicated,” she said.
“It usually is with you.” Maida’s tone was fond. “But you can’t blame me for hoping. You’ve always been like a sister to me, Zani. And I was really hoping that once you were settled here, you’d consider staying a little longer.”
“Primrose Court is a lot nicer than I thought it would be,” Zani allowed. “I always thought that living in a cloistered community would be boring, but there’s a lot going on here. You certainly don’t lack for interesting characters.” She gestured to the customers in the busy bookshop. There was a wide variety of shifter types, witches, and more than a few Fae sipping tea and reading in the cafe. “It’s delightful to see so much love and diversity here.”
When she saw Maida glance across to the table where Arthur Hart was working on a legal brief, she added, “And I’m so happy for you and Arthur. The two of you give me hope for magical folk.”
“I didn’t expect to fall in love when I inherited this place,” Maida mused. “But I suppose Arthur and I were destined to end up together. And now I’m like one of those dopey characters who tries to fix everyone else up. I can’t help it. I just want all my friends to be happy.” She glanced back at Will, who was still teasing Rosie and Granny at the counter. Snippets of their banter filtered over.
“I absolutely willnotbe making a stop to buy you some new unmentionables while we’re in France, Granny Luna! Quick or otherwise,” Will was saying.
“Why do you think they call them unmentionables?” Rosie pondered.
Maida and Zani exchanged a look and broke out giggling. A part of Zani wanted to bottle this moment—the warm, homey feel of the bookshop cafe, and the sweet sensation of being surrounded by friends who felt like family. She would miss that when it was finally time to move on.
“You know,” Maida said tentatively, “I’ve been thinking. The old garden shed on the side of the Mudpuddle needs rebuilding. We could turn the structure into something else. What if we enlarged it and made it into its own separate shop? Maybe you could think of something to do with it. And upstairs, maybe we could create a couple of small apartments in case you or Will wanted to?—”
“Stay here for a while?” Zani finished, hearing the gentle suggestion in her friend’s voice.
“Will’s already here so often. I think he might like the idea. And I’m sure you’d prefer having your own space here, if you were to come back for any length of time. No pressure, though!” Maida watched Will return with his armful of pastries piled on top of the pastry box. He nearly dropped a raspberry-filled croissant as he dodged Gemini who wound her way around his ankles.
Zani followed her gaze. Will had a smudge of powdered sugar on his nose, and his hair was sticking up where he’d been running his fingers through it. Something warm and entirely unfamiliar fluttered in her chest. She pushed the feeling aside, focusing instead on the memory of Cosimo’s mysterious smile, and the way he’d helped her steal the stone. She was surprised to find that she was having trouble remembering the vampire’s face, though. All she kept seeing in its place was Will’s teasing smile.
“I really can’t think about putting roots down anywhere right now,” Zani said firmly, pinning one of the Pair Tags to her collar. She held out the other to Will as he sat down. “Here. Put this on so we don’t get separated.”
Will took the tag, his fingers brushing hers. The metal tags warmed instantly.
“Well, I guess I’ll leave the two of you to it, then.” Maida stood to go. “But think about my idea, Zani? There might come a point in the future when you want to plant yourself somewhere. At least for a time.”
Before Zani could ask Maida what she meant, Will slipped into her spot and dumped his feast on the table. He glanced around cautiously before launching into their plans.
“I’ve been thinking about what we should wear on this trip,” he whispered in hushed tones. He handed her a rather squashed pain au chocolat. “We can’t exactly walk into the court of a sixteenth century monarch looking like this.”
Zani appreciated Will’s newfound attempt to be discrete. After the incident with Granny Luna, they’d both realized they needed to be more careful when discussing their plans. She didn’t want to have to use the fan again.
“We need to blend in.” Will leaned forward. “That’s why I packed some classic French snacks. He held the box open for her to peek inside. “But I’m afraid I have nothing to wear.”
Zani grinned, reaching for her satchel. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ve got just the thing. I’ve packed us each a Reversible Rogue’s Cloak.”
* * *
The groundbeneath them bubbled like a belch, and then spit them out as they slid through the portal. It pitched Zani and Will forward. Will’s arm shot out instinctively, steadying both of them as the world blurred and reshaped itself around them. This time, there had been no hitches. The Port had been relatively smooth. One moment they stood in the dusty stacks of Maida’s bookshop; the next, they were standing, albeit unsteadily, in a shadowed alcove. The drone of distant voices and occasional twang of stringed instruments filtered through the heavy tapestries that hid them.
“Did it work?” Zani whispered, her hand still gripping Will’s arm as she slid off his back.
He peered cautiously around the edge of the alcove, then jerked back, eyes wide. “Either that or we’ve just landed in the middle of a very convincing historical reenactment,” Will muttered.
