Warrior Fae Princess (Warrior Fae 2)

“Next time, perhaps.” He bowed to Charity again before zipping out of the area, so fast that it was startling. She never got used to it.

“He will be capable of quite the bloom, yes,” Romulus said, eyeing Reagan as the shifters drifted back in. “Come, Charity—let’s go walk among Devon’s new and refreshing gardens and remember the good times. I want to hear more about your life growing up. It is time to lie within the shade of memories.”

Feeling soggy and strung out, Charity let Devon and her dad marshal her toward the SUV. As she climbed in, her head spinning from Reagan and Vlad’s exchange, she noticed the way Reagan and the mages were standing. Reagan in the front, at the position of power, with Emery and Penny behind, in a pyramid. A pyramid not unlike the hazy grouping Charity recalled from her hallucination. They’d stood halfway between the two forces, facing off with another collection of vampires she hadn’t recognized.

She shook her head. All of that was a concern for another day. Or another decade, if they were lucky. Right now, she just wanted to clutch her mom’s note to her chest and remember the good times, as her father had said. She had to admit that even though Vlad had made her life hell, she would forever be thankful for the closure he’d afforded her.

She entwined her fingers with Devon’s and leaned against his arm, waiting for everyone else to load up.

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?” Devon asked.

She smiled, sad but her heart full. “For everything. For helping me lock down the life my mother always wanted for me. She sacrificed herself so that I might one day find you. Maybe she hoped I’d find magic one day, too. She would’ve thought it was a job well done, having me end up here. She wouldn’t have been sorry. I can see that now. I can respect it.”

Devon kissed her on the forehead. “She’d be proud of you.”

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, having found her place, finally.