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Ironic that he hadn’t liked St. Claire as a little kid, and he couldn’t wait to leave once he graduated from high school, butthe third time was the charm, as now he couldn’t imagine himself anywhere else. It felt faintly ridiculous to be homesick for a house he’d only lived in for a couple of months, but he missed the people too. Sally had promised him a scarf for the winter, and everyone had agreed to cook together for Thanksgiving. Christmas too. He’d been looking forward to all that, dammit.
Silently, he let himself back into the rented apartment and called Gamma. “Everything’s finalized. You should have the money from the sale.”
“Yes! I’ve got the wire transfer, though all the funds won’t be available for twenty-four hours. Thanks so much, little man.” Gamma paused, and he could hear somebody talking to her in the background. “Just a minute, Jim. I’m talking to my grandson.”
“Did I call at a bad time?”
“Not bad.Breaking Bad.”
Eli laughed without quite understanding what Gamma was getting at. “What?”
“We’re going on aBreaking BadRV tour! We’re leaving in ten minutes. I’d love to chat more, but I don’t want to be the last one on board. I’ll get stuck sitting by Mary Jo.”
“Uh, yeah, definitely try to avoid that. Have fun!”
Gamma sounded as excited as a little kid. “I’ll send pictures. Supposedly, we’re visiting a bunch of actual film sites. I can’t wait.”
He couldn’t resist teasing her a bit. “Who needs Universal Studios, right?”
“Exactly! Love you. Talk to you soon, little man.”
The conversation lightened his worries a bit. At least Gamma wasn’t regretting her decision to upend everything and move to aretirement community. It sounded like there was always something going on, new friends and new adventures. She’d carpe’d the hell out of that diem, by any standards.
Time for him to do the same. He sent the initial email at once with a subject ofI’m interested in selling my condo. Next he went into his bathroom to strip.
For most people, that would mean he was taking a shower, but Eli opened the small window within the stall and shifted; then he swooped out into the waning sunlight. It had been a while since he’d flown, and the winds carried him toward Violet Gables.
No surprise there—it was where his heart and wings always led him. But today, the view was even more breathtaking.
The whole house glowed different than before, akin to the kaleidoscopic, incandescent hues that burned around Iris like a living rainbow. He circled overhead, taking in the new corona. He didn’t know what it meant, but the change likely heralded some massive shift. Feeling like a stalker, he perched on the roof, watching the street for a moment or two. Home might be where the heart was, but it didn’t mean he could stay.
So Eli soared away, wheeling toward open skies.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“We want you to comehome,” Fen said, as if that should be obvious.
“Home, as in…fairyland?” Iris felt silly calling it that, but she had no other word. In fact, up until finding out that she was fae herself, she’d never given much thought to the lore, too busy trying and failing all over the place.
“There have been many names over the years,” said Rain. “Avalon, Mag Mell, Elfhame, Annwn. But Otherworld works well enough.”
Fen nodded. “Even better in modern tongue, I should think.”
“Look, I might be willing to visit at some point, after I get to know you better, but…I have a life here,” Iris said.
“If you stay, especially if you remain in that form, you’ll age,” Rain said softly.
“And eventually…cease,” Fen added in an anguished tone.
“Okay, Ireallydon’t want to talk about my mortality right now. I get it. If I choose to go with you, I’ll be immortal and learn how to turn into a fairy horse that lives in the sea. And admittedly, that sounds cool as hell, but…”
“You’re not ready to sever all ties to this place,” Rain said.
“I was unhappy here sometimes,” she admitted. “But I’m just starting to figure things out. I love this house.”
Fen glanced around, a faint smile creasing their extraordinarily beautiful features. “That much is clear.”
That said, she did want to get to know her…parents? Progenitors? Whatever. “Can we leave the anchor in place? And the door in the basement. That way, you can visit whenever you want. Once we get closer, I’d like to see the Otherworld too.”
