“It is a medication,” Moth interjects. “And it is taken daily.”
“A medication?” Queen Plume cocks her head in mydirection.
“It is impossible,” Holly says, running her fingers through her short blue hair. “It took me years to master creating a portal in the first place, it’s closed by now, and I’m without the resources to cast another spell.”
“That is unacceptable.” Moth’s deep tone leaves little room to argue. Holly’s eyes widen, as if the words caused a physical blow. She doesn’t expect us to stay forever,does she?
“A week, ” she finally relents. “Give me a week to gather the supplies I need.”
Moth looks down at me for approval and I nod. A week. Yeah, we can do that. My thyroid has been pretty balanced, and I’m sure a few days without medication won’t make me flare up. Not too badly,at least.
“One week,” he agrees with a nod. It’s not like we have much choice. Medication or no medication, this will be a good chance for Moth to finally get to see wherehe’s from.
“Don’t worry about me. Seriously, it’s just one week,” I insist before Moth has a chance to overthink this. “I’ll be fine—probably—definitely.”
We stand in an awkward huddle before going on another impromptu tour with the queen as our guide and Sprout at Moth’s heels.
I hope Moth’s sanity is faring better than mine because every moment in this castle feels like I’m being pulled deeper into a dream. I mean, how am I supposed to act in this situation? As rude as Holly’s comment was, she’s not wrong. I am a commoner and can’t even begin to piece together the rules of this world.
Is Holly going to run me through with her sword if I don’t stand ten paces behind Moth while we walk down the hallway? Is there going to be one of those long dinner tables with both of us sitting on opposite ends? Can she get us home by the end ofthe week?
“Heather.” Moth’s voice makes me squeak like a mouse caught in a trap of my own thoughts. His mouth picks up in a smile at the sound. Despite himself, he chuckles, pullingme close.
Okay, there goes the whole “walk ten paces behind” thing. I glance at Holly to gauge her disapproval, but she says nothing. Instead, she looks up at her older brother with stars in her eyes, like a child meeting a princess at their birthday party.
Behind the tough-murdery-sword girl thing, there’s a lonely child who dearly missed her brother. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling. In influencer world, it would have meant someone to collaborate, share ideas, and maybe even start a podcast with. And most of all, it would mean having a teammate when my mom was driving me crazy. By the way Holly stares up at him with awe, it’s clear Holly missed her brother every day. It would be sweet if she wasn’t so damn scary.
Honestly, the whole murder thing shouldn’t put me off this much. I mean, Moth has done somequestionable thingsin the time that he’s been in the moral realm. But in the past year, we’ve stayed up late trading stories, regrets, and our dreams for the future. There’s been a deep sadness in his eyes when he talks about his past. With Holly, there was no remorse. I didn’t know King Atlas. Maybe he deserved it, maybe not. But in a weird way, I’ll always be grateful to him. Moth getting transported to the moral realm is the reason we’re together. If it had never happened, then, well,wewould never havehappened.
However complicated, a future without him isn’t what I want to think about.
All that said, King Atlas did sound like a giant dick. If I were a stabby kind of person, maybe I would have taken the same route. Queen Plume seems more like the poisoning type, but if push came to shove, Moth would definitely claw someone’s face off. I think—
“My flame…” Moth’s urgent whisper shakes me out of my meandering thoughts, back to the ivory hallway. In an instant, I’m keenly aware of his iron grip atmy waist.
“Hi, yes, sorry!” I squeak, hopping to attention. “I’m here. Sorry, long,long day.”
“You two require rest.” Queen Plume hums thoughtfully. “At the end of this week, we will have a ball to celebrate your return.”
“Mother, you are just looking for an excuse to throw a ball.” Holly groans, a hint of a smile on her lips. There’s no bite to her words; if anything, she is amused. After all, her brother is home, why wouldn’t she want tocelebrate?
“The gesture is unnecessary,” Moth protests. He doesn’t like much of a fuss. My interest however is fully piqued. I mean hello, aball? Despite my desire to keep life low-key, I have never been able to resist the sway of a fancy dress. Just throw me in a pile of chiffon and hand me a plate of hors d’oeuvres already.
“Nonsense.” Moth’s mother clasps his face in her elegant hands, placing a kiss on his forehead. For a moment, his angular face looks uncharacteristically boyish.
Her eyes glitter with tears as she looks at her son, seeming to study every crack and wrinkle that age has given him—which admittedly is not much. The deep mossy color of her eyes reminds me of a forest aftera storm.
“We have much to celebrate,” Queen Plume says, never taking her eyes from her long-lost son. It makes me wonder, how much have they all changed since the last time they saw each other?
If the day gets any weirder, I think I might pass out from exhaustion.
“I’m not usually that rambly, right? Like, I know I ramble, but that was bad. Like, bad-bad. That’s my first impressions with your family just out the window.” I groan. “I’m normally so cute and charming! What evenwasthat?”
“At least you managed to say something.” Moth covers his beak with his hands and sighs.
“Hey, you are allowed to be in shock, okay?” I take his rough hands in mine, stroking up and down the rows of downy feathers. He nuzzles me, pulling me down onto the bed next to him.
He transformed the minute we were alone. Considering everyone else was in human form, I don’t blame him for waiting. Moth has said time and time again that both forms are equally comfortable, but I know that when I’m tense, I like to stretch my wings. It makes sense he’d like to flex his claws, wings, and feathers all at thesame time.
