“Which part?” Faith asks. “Us being tortured or watching Ivy be tortured?”
“The food.” Marion rolls her eyes.
Lydia lays a hand on her arm. “You’re welcome anytime.”
Lydia then looks to Emmett.
“I’m going to miss you, Lyd,” Emmett says, a shade quieter.
She opens her arms, and they embrace. “You’ll visit so often, there won’t be time for all that,” Lydia replies briskly, but her voice is thick with tears.
They pull apart, and then she turns to me. “And you.”
I wave my hand dismissively. I’ve never been good at goodbyes, not when they hurt this much. “No more tears, I can’t take it.”
“See you soon, then, yes?” and I reach for that space inside of me I still don’t quite understand, where the door resides, just to make sure it’s still there. I brush over it mentally, and it gives me comfort.
I nod, my eyes stinging. It feels so unnatural to leave her behind, even if it is what she wants, even if no other future is possible for us.
“I’ll see you soon.” It’s a promise.
I open the door and the rest of them follow me like good little soldiers. Lydia waits until the very last moment it closes, waving the whole time, silent tears sliding down her cheeks and a smile on her face.
Rhion is back in England as her official emissary to track down the members of Bram’s court who remained here. We’re lucky thatmost of them returned to witness the spectacle of the trials, and Lydia will handle them back in the Otherworld, but Rhion is here to deal with any stragglers who remain.
London is still and sleepy after the sparkling chaos of the Otherworld, but when Emmett and I slide into bed that night with Pig nestled between our legs under the covers, there is no doubt that I am home.
It’s at breakfast the next morning that we’re startled by a pounding on the door. A footman opens it to reveal a palace guard in full regalia, clutching a scroll in his hand. I set down my toast and look at him with raised brows.
“It’s for you, ma’am.” I unfurl it as Emmett looks on silently.
“So?” he asks after a sip of tea.
I sigh. I knew this was coming but I’d hoped we’d have more than a few meager hours back home before it did. “We’ve been summoned to Parliament,” I say glumly.
Emmett sighs and rolls his head back. “Then we’d better get dressed.”
Lottie is still in Bath, so I have a skittish housemaid help me into the most regal gown I can find in my old wardrobe, something made of cream silk with a square neckline dotted with pearls. On my head, she places a tiara fashioned of diamonds in the shape of ivy leaves I received as a wedding present from some lord or another.
Emmett is waiting for me in the foyer, looking unfairly handsome in his black frock coat, his dark hair tucked behind his ears. He’s kept his earring in. His hands are clasped behind his back and he turns as I descend the great staircase.
“You look perfect,” he says, and kisses me.
I push him off with a playful shrug. “And you look distracting.How am I supposed to do any political dealmaking with you in the room?”
We walk out into an uncommonly sunny October day. Emmett laughs and helps me into the awaiting carriage.
It’s a little dizzying to see London unchanged when I feel so different. What has been weeks for us in the Otherworld has only been three days here.
Our carriage slows in front of the Palace of Westminster and we can hear the roar of voices inside from the road.
“Surely that’s not all for us?” I ask, nervous energy suddenly coursing through me.
Emmett pulls the folded-up summons from his breast pocket and reads it once more. “We’re in the right place, it says the Painted Chamber.”
Hand in hand, Emmett and I enter the ancient palace on the banks of the Thames.
There’s a section of roof caved in from where a faerie’s firework show got out of hand a few months ago. I remember asking Bram to fix it and he said he’d get around to it eventually, but never did.
