“Holly, wait! No, they’re kidding!” I shout after her, laughter overflowing from us at her bewildered expression.
“So, no birds?” my future sister-in-law asks, tilting her head.
“No birds.” I nod. “I’m sure whatever you’ve prepared is perfect.”And preferably doesn’t involve swordplay.
“Enjoy the evening.” Moth comes down the steps to steal one more kiss I will happily give. His lips taste like worry and wanting—the need to keep me close, but the knowledge that sometimes, we have to spread our wings separately.
Sprout has followed us down from the house. His fur has gotten so long and fluffy he appears to be floating like a dark cloud down the steps. As per usual, he’s walking closely at my heels. The two of us have become pretty inseparable in the past year.
“Sprout, watch over Heather,” Moth commands, reaching down and gently patting his head.
“Arf!”Sprout sits at attention as if he’s a guard dog and not a oversized marshmallow.
“You trust a dog over me?” Holly whines, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Yes.” After what she pulled when we first arrived in Eclipsica, I can’t say I blame him. I may have forgiven her for trying to break us up, but I’m not sure Moth has let his guard down.
“I’ll be home soon,” I say, letting my wings unfurl and fluttering up to give him another kiss—a good one this time. You’d think after the dozen exchanged in the past few minutes, one of us would be sick of it, but when it comes to Moth, I only want more.
“So, where did you park?” Clara asks, looking up and down our driveway for Holly’s car, because of course my human friends are going to assume we’re taking a logical mode of transportation and going to a run of the mill venue for my bachelorette.
But there’s nothing ordinary about the night Holly has planned, at least I can guess that much, the details are supposed to be a surprise.
“Oh, um,” I exhale. How exactly am I going to explain this? Holly leads us deeper into the woods until we reach the shining gold spot in the hollow of a large tree.
“How do you feel about spending the night in the faerie realm?” I ask.
I had no idea what to expect when Holly took charge of my bachelorette party, but this is beyond perfect.
The east side of the castle houses a well-maintained garden with hedge mazes—actual hedge mazes! Not only is it the dreamiest backdrop for a party, but you can almost hear the echoes of drunken escapades from the past with every step. I imagine faerie royals chasing each other through the overgrown hedges of the maze, drinking wine, and having the time of their lives. Best of all? Now we get to add to the gorgeous memories.
My buttery yellow dress spills out of the dainty white garden chair, and the smell of lavender punch and faerie wine practically sings through the air. Holly has spared no detail, making sure the tables are lined with allergy-friendly treats. She even dressed to theme in a light-colored periwinkle dress that matches her hair, a breastplate with butterflies etched into the silver over top.
She hands me a cone of rose candy floss with a look of uncertainty on her usually stoic face.
“I love this so much,” I say, taking a bite of the cloudlike candy and letting the honeyed taste of flowers melt across my tongue. Incredible. Reason 1001 for not making assumptions about people. I never thought Holly would pull off such an amazing andthoughtfulgarden party.
“Mother helped me with the decorations. To say I achieved this on my own would be untrue,” Holly admits, casting her eyesdownward while her feet shuffle almost nervously, “But I am glad this makes you happy.”
Happy is an understatement. I’m overjoyed, but also relieved. I half-expected a night of ax throwing and dueling. Instead, she’s fully customized this night for me. Best of all, most of my very best friends are here.
Ruby, who looks like a literal star dressed in silver sparkles, the gown beautiful against her dark brown skin. She greets us at the portal with hugs and a warm introduction to our human party guests. Widow shut the dress shop down for the night just to come celebrate.
Sure, Rosie and Clara are … understandably shocked about the whole portal travel thing. They spend the first thirty minutes whispering, “What the fuck?” which, like, honestly, isso fair. Thankfully, they’re adjusting, I think. Widow whisking them away and offering them clothing samples to “match the theme” certainly is helping. Still, they mouth the words “What?” to each other now and then—which seems like an improvement, so I’ll take it.
Now we’re all in pastel colors, and despite the human realm being in the thralls of autumn, it’s nice to enjoy a night that feels like spring, we even adorn Sprout with a yellow ribbon so the two of us match.
Together, we sip alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, while listening to one of Rosie’s killer Spotify playlists. Holly even hired Oak to paint our portrait, and considering no one can stop giggling, that might have been a terrible idea.
“You may together be the embodiment of a lovely bouquet of flowers, but you are absolutely the worst group of models I’ve ever seen,” he huffs, setting down his paintbrush. “I beg you:stop moving.”
His frustration makes the giggles worse. I’ve been sticking to the punch for fear of a flare-up so close to the wedding day, and clearly don’t need booze for the sillies to kick in.
“Oh, here!” Rosie says, handing him her cell phone. After a quick tutorial on how to use the camera, Oak captures our picture in an instant, and I promise to have it printed so he can use it as a reference if he ever wants to finish the painting.
“Such technology is certainly a novelty here,” he says wistfully, giving me a look I pretend not to see. There are things Oak and I have talked about in the past year that I don’t want anyone else to hear—or, frankly, discuss tonight.
“You are truly having a good time?” Holly asks, snapping me back to the present, blissful moment. “I conferred with our chefs to make sure nothing would trouble your diet, and since you enjoy photographs, Moth suggested the backdrop and portrait—I did not plan for music or games, so I am thankful for your humans.”
