The group shouts, writes, and debates their answers while I comfortably sit watching the chaos unfold before excusing myself to refill my lavender punch.
Oak sidles up beside me. Ugh. I guess there’s no use putting this off any longer.
“Dropping out of the game?” I ask. I know he wants to talk, but I figured he’d be more competitive…
“You know I’m seeking answers of a different kind,” Oak says, tapping his foot expectedly.
“Oh, come on, it’s a party.My party,” I whine. It’s not that I’ve been avoiding him the entire party … except I have. Oak and I have been exchanging letters over the last few months. He throws one through the portal and I send one back before it closes. Unless I miss it, then I have to wait until he realizes and sends another message. Moth thinks it’s nice–like an interdimensional pen pal.
The brunette faerie leans in closer to me, a hungry gleam in his eyes. “Have you told your betrothed what we’ve discussed?”
“The thing is…”
“Which is a ‘no.’” Oak runs his fingers through his messy hair.
“It’s a yes. We’ve talked…” I shake my head. “And it’s a no. I just didn’t know how to tell you because…”
Because it’s all I have been thinking about,besides, of course, the wedding.
“You have mentioned the cabin like it’s something you’ve outgrown,”he grumbles, crossing his arms. “And we’ve talked at length about how your creativity could—”
“Oak! That doesn’t mean I want to move to Eclipsica!”
He hushes me, but luckily our friends are too focused on the game to pay attention to ourvery annoyingconversation.
“Clearly you have not explained our exciting business venture well enough!” he says, his amber eyes flaring. I feel badly that I’ve made him wait this long for an answer, but our communication has been shoddy—and a shining example of why this just won’t work. Still, the idea of it makes something in my heart ache with longing.
A portrait studio attached to Widow’s dress shop. It would use a mix of mortal supplies—like instant cameras, film, ring lights and other bobbles—and Oak’s talent when it comes to painting. When he saw how I art-directed for Moth’s portrait and my portfolio, Oak became interested in bringing me on as a partner. The few times he’s visited our cabin we’ve made some really fun pieces too; same for whenever Moth and I visit the castle. Not only have we become great friends, but we work well together.
And the thing is, I love the idea. Sure, I’m overwhelmed by the logistics—like how do we explain bringing mortal tech to Eclipsica? A studio like this would be run-of-the-mill in the mortal realm, but here? The novelty alone would drive businessto us, but also to Widow’s shop, which, thanks to Queen Plume and Ruby wearing her pieces in court, is finally blooming.
“Moth said he’d support anything I wanted…”
I enjoy spending time here without the pressures of royal life—Oak knows that. Still, I’m happiest at home with Moth. It’s a soft, comfortable life, but that doesn’t change the fact that it feels like something is shifting…
“So then … I don’t understand.” Oak rocks back and forth on his heel. “You want to say ‘yes,’ correct? Why is it not a ‘yes’?”
“Because I don’t want to move here,” I explain. Not when my half my friends, mom, and home would be a world away. “The magic you use for letters is—”
“Finnicky?”
I nod. Making a leap this big could change everything, and that’s not something I’m willing to do. Last year, we made our choice. I’ll help Oak out by giving him some equipment and whatever novelties he needs, but commuting to work with only one portal? Yeah, that’s not going to work.
“But what if—”
“It’s not like I can get on a bus.” I sigh, shaking my head. “Oh, a bus is like a big mode of transport—”
“I know what a bus is, Heather,” Oak snaps.
“Okay, well! The magic is weird, and I can’t rely on you or Holly to pick me up every single day. What if something happens to Queen Plume’s portal and I’m stuck here?”
The few times we’ve hung out, Oak is always at least two hours late. He says time runs differently in the faerie realm, but I suspect it has more to do with him losing track of time with a certain seamstress. Who, given the way she is looking at me from across the garden, absolutely knows what we’re talking about.
I have been actively working on the whole people-pleasing thing. I’m not about to give in to peer pressure at my own bachelorette party!
“What I am hearing is,” he begins with hope in his eyes, “if I can find some way to reliably steal you away, we can discuss this again?” I glance toward our friends. Holly stares for just a moment before returning her attention to the game.
Ugh, I need to keep it down. She would jump at the chance to have us move closer.
