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I glance over my shoulder at Darwin. He’s smiling, the open, innocent smile that suffuses his eyes, his face, his soul.
He nods. “Ask,” he mouths.
I turn back to Callan. “Release Darwin. Un-heir him. Whatever you have to do so he’s no longer in the line of succession.”
“Un-heir him.” Callan’s smile is sad and small. “I can, indeed, un-heir him. Darwin will become a duke of Thistlemist, like Kathleen’s boy. Is that what you want?”
I nod fervently.
“If that’s what it takes to balance the debt this Court owes you, then that’s what will be done. Darwin will still have duties to Thistlemist, but they will only be ducal duties. He need not live in the Court. He need not attend Court except once a year during Yule. Although you’ll upset your father-in-law a great deal if I don’t see you four more often.”
“We won’t be strangers,” I promise.
“Good. I lost family today. I can’t afford to lose any more.”
He has a huge family, but I don’t point that out. Between Dark and Callan, I have a good picture of how the older Dùbhghlas generations feel about the younger generations.
“I’m sorry about my part in that,” I say, still feeling a niggle of shame.
“Sorry that you brought the traitor in my own bed to light? I’m not sorry, Teddy. I should thank you, but I don’t want to incur another imbalance. One a day is enough.” His smile widens to something that’s almost real. “I hope you’ll stay through Yule.”
I nod. “I want to make sure our professors and Mr. Lords get back safely, but otherwise, I’ve got no plans.”
“Except the Oath Night ball,” Callan says, with a teasing lilt.
“Haven’t forgotten that. I just hope Hog and Stinkle have finished doing their thing before we have people trooping all over the show.”
Gabe clears his throat. “It’sSparkleand I wouldn’t count on it.”
Callan and I share a small laugh and that’s when I know everything’s going to be okay. If we can still have a laugh, things can’t go too far wrong.
Epilogue: A Tale Of Two Parties
My first ball.
I think it goes dead well. There are two fist-fights. One broken punch bowl. And Callan catches Orlaith and Struan in such a compromising position in the library—yes, the same one where Hog and Stinkle are sleeping, or doing something I really don’t want to think about, in the other snuggler chair—that he has to announce their betrothal at the end of the ball, despite Struan being sommat called a Cait Sidhe. I’m not sure what a Cait Sidhe is, but their betrothal has a lot of the courtiers frowning and whispering behind their hands.
Orlaith doesn’t care. She’s glowing with happiness.
Quite a success all around, I’d say.
I dance with Dark, and Auntie Jill, and my boys, and Rachel, who Lords has let join us now that we’re not threatened by either Klotho or Da. Former Dean Gravka is still out there, but not even Lords thinks he’s crazy enough to come after me at Thistlemist.
And if he does, I have a spell or two from the Acta I still want to try out.
I wear my Docs under the ball gown that allegedly belonged to another of the Liusaidh’s granddaughters. Which fits me perfectly. And is in my favorite color. The fae are so weird. Whatever. It looks great and my feet don’t hurt even after dancing for hours.
I have good tunes to dance to, too. Being demoted to a duke hasn’t hurt Darwin’s wallet any. I don’t even want to know how much dosh he throws at it but freaking Hardman! shows up to DJ. Gabe’s so excited he wears a concert T-shirt under his tuxedo jacket like the adorable fan-boy he is. Watching Gabe and Darwin dance together fills my heart so full Charlie catches me sniffling. I have to give him a very un-princess-like punch in the arm to shut him up.
Good thing I’m not a princess anymore.
As for Lords himself, I ask him to dance, but he glowers at me until I leave him alone. I think he’s still a bit miffed about missing the whole battle with Klotho. And probably about losing two days of his life stumbling around through the planes. And maybe a little about it being one of Uncle Jou’s minions who found him, Doctor Prince, and Madame Serpa, and brought them back to our world, after we used our Hail Mary for a different purpose.
I keep telling him Uncle Jou will grow on him if Lords would just loosen his britches. Lords just glares.
I’m so happy to have him and the professors back that I don’t even mind.
Normally, I’d celebrate the success of hosting my first ball with an excess of bubbles, but not tonight. My boys and I have somewhere important to be in the morning. Something important to do. We agreed we’d have clear heads. So it’s fizzy water only, and we’re all in bed by two.
