She made her way to the kitchen, rummaging around in the cabinets until she found what she was looking for—an unopened bag of coffee beans, still vacuum sealed. She pulled out the coffee grinder and opened the bag.
“What is that?” Casimir stepped up beside her.
“Remember when I told you about coffee?” She held up the newly opened bag and inhaled deep before tilting it to Casimir.
He breathed in, following her lead. “I like the way it smells.”
“Me too. I’m going to bring this back so you can all try it. But I need to grind it first.” She poured the beans into the topand closed the lid. “Ummm…don’t freak out. I promise this isn’t dangerous but it’s very loud. No need for swords or any of that.”
Ava pressed the button and the kitchen erupted with the sound of the grinder.
“That’s fucking awful,” Raine called over the noise.
It wasn’t long before she’d finished, pouring the coffee grounds into a storage bag. Casimir stood beside her, tense as he stared at the grinder, his hand on the pommel of his sword.
Ava couldn’t help her giggle. “It’s not going to attack you, Cas.”
He straightened. “I know. I was just…keeping an eye on things…”
“Exactly what I thought. If we spend too much time in the human world, you’ll probably destroy anything that makes a weird noise with your sword.”
Casimir rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry.”
After grabbing her french press, they spent the next half hour exploring the home. Ava gave them a brief tour, showing them her bedroom, the attic where she had found the book on portals and then the yard.
It was strange for her worlds to combine, albeit momentarily. To have her friends and family here among her old life and former belongings. Though they appeared human, they all looked ridiculous with their fae clothing and weapons, as if they were headed to a renaissance fair.
Now standing near the greenhouse, Ava took a deep breath. “Do you have it?”
Casimir reached into his pocket and handed her a small carving of an open book with flowers sitting atop the pages. Ava had asked him to carve it weeks ago, something to represent her memories with Eleanor. Her career as a librarian, the stories her grandfather had told them, and flowers to represent their time as children on the farm.
Ava knelt, digging into the dirt with her fingers and ignoring the cold ground until she had a large enough hole for the trinket. She laid the carving down, covered it back up and tenderly placed her palm on the earth.
“Thank you, Eleanor. For being my friend when I was alone.”
Taking a moment, she let the memories of their friendship play in her head. Making ‘witches brew’ as children on the farm. Playing hide and seek among the stacks of books in the library. Baking cookies in the kitchen with Ava’s mother. The numerous dinners they shared on the back porch. Getting stoned and making horrible jokes in the greenhouse.
With one last deep breath, she stood and rejoined her friends. Her family. They made their way back up the porch to the front of the house and stopped, allowing Ava a few more moments of closure.
Looking over the fields, she released a sigh. She remembered the day she stood in this very spot, longing for her grieving soul to be healed through this land and hoping her spirit would be comforted.
She had been so lost and broken, unsure what to do with her life as she attempted to navigate her role as the new proprietor of her grandfather’s farm.
Little had she known that the farm wasn’t the place she would be nourished. It wasn’t the place where she’d be picking up those broken pieces and remaking herself. Nor was it the place she truly belonged.
“You’re our missing piece,”Raine had told her months ago.
And it was true. The farm had only been the beginning of that long and arduous journey. The journey that brought her to the people she loved. That brought her to the place where she finally fit in, a lost puzzle piece clicking into place.
“Do you miss your home?” Casimir asked, slipping an arm around her waist.
She looked up at him. “This isn’t my home. You are.” She turned to the rest of them. “All of you are. Eorhan is my home. Mosshaven…is my home. It always has been. I just never knew it.” She gave them a teary-eyed smile.
Thorne put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. “Then let’s go home, little sister.”
EPILOGUE
FOUR MONTHS LATER
