“I told you there’d be consequences.”
As we fly toward town, Luke’s arms holding me tight, a little voice wonders if I might like to be kidnapped after all. The castle already feels like home, his library a marvel I’ve only seen the tiniest bit of—there’s so much left to explore!
And Luke…
I snuggle closer to him, breathing in his smoky sandalwood scent and enjoying the strong press of his bodyagainst mine. He’s surrounded us in a bubble of warm air, but his tail still wraps around my bare calves, and I love it.
I want to remain in Luke’s arms forever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Lukendevener
Skye has me set us down behind the library instead of on the town green. “I know the protection spell is in place, but people are primed to look for us right now. Appearing out of nowhere is weird, and we need to be asnot-weirdas possible. It’s the only way to calm the gossip.”
We cut through the building, and the brownie steps out of thin air to sketch a small bow. “Head Librarian Summers.”
“Hi, Bumbleboots. Everything going okay?”
“A man called Harold complained that the fishing magazines are digital instead of print. I didn’t know what to tell him.”
“Oh, that’s normal. He’s been complaining about it for years. Tell him the magazines went digital five years ago, so it’s impossible for us to get print editions.”
“Thank you.”
“You’ll have to tell him the same thing next week as well.” Skye gives a small head shake and huffs in amusement. “At this stage, I should make a poster, and then we could point at it each time instead of needing to tell him over and over again.”
Bumbleboots perks up. “I will make one immediately.”
“Oh, I didn’t actually mean it. It was a jo—”
But he’s already gone.
“Welp, there’s a problem for future-Skye,” she mutters, then heads for the front door. “Let’s deal with the one for today.”
We step outside, the town green and downtown directly in front of us. Morning sunshine makes the little shops gleam with brilliant color. The plants inside the greenhouse look more colorful than they should, aided by Severin’s plant magic. Bright red birds flit from tree to tree, chirping and ready for spring.
Someone on one of the sidewalks lets out a yell. Within seconds, Skye’s phone chimes. She pulls it from her coat pocket, huffs in amusement, and holds it up for me.
“She’s downtown, and she’s with him!” I read aloud. “Why are there weird little faces flanking the word ‘him?’”
“Those are scream emojis,” Skye says. “They’re for… emphasis.”
“Why are they sending you messages about yourself?”
“It’s a general broadcast to one of the big group chats instead of a text sent specifically to me,” she says. “But it’s good. It means we can keep track of the rumor mill.”
My tail lashes. From her tone, the scream emojis aren’t a good thing. “Can we get something from Cake My Day andtake it back to the castle?”
“Nope, that’s not going to cut it.” Her rosebud mouth purses, pouting her pink lips. I want to lick them, see if she’s as sweet as I remember. “We’re going to eat breakfast at Slice of Life, in full sight of everyone. And we’re going to make sure we look really,reallynormal doing it.” She eyes me dubiously.
“I can do normal.” I straighten. “I’ll have you know I have impeccable manners. I drilled in the etiquette of eating at the high king’s table.” I might not have used those skills for over three hundred years, but it’s not as if I forgot. I donotforget information.
To prove my point, I cock my elbow and tuck her hand into the crook. Shortening my strides, I escort her to the door of the restaurant and open it for her with a flourish. “After you, my lady.”
“Act normal,” she whisper-hisses as she walks past. “Normal doesn’t mean sounding like you stepped out ofBridgerton!”
My teeth grind, and I grit out, “I don’t know what that means.”
