“You were right,” Silas finally managed. “It was a good idea to come tonight.”
When I finally broke away from his gaze, I found a sea of small gnomes staring up at me. Noses red, eyes hopeful, starlight reflected on their ruddy faces. I realized they were looking at me, waiting for me to do something—say something?
Silas gave me a subtle nod, then a wink. “You’ve got this.”
“Thank you all for hosting me tonight,” I said. “Thanks, especially, to Chuck for explaining the meaning behind the full moon celebration. As you all know, I’m new here. I’m trying my hardest to learn about magic. Not just my own Fae powers, but all magic that exists on this island. Gnomish magic, your culture, is important, and I appreciate this glimpse into your world.”
Applause, whistles, hooting and hollering followed. One by one, the gnomes all bowed to me. They bowed so low, their noses almost swept the ground. A rush of gratitude ran through my very bones as I returned the gesture with a bowed head of my own.
When we all straightened, the music resumed. Gnomes approached me one by one, pumping my hand, offering me drinks and food. Several of them had tears in their eyes, salty rivulets streaming down their cheeks, as they thanked me for returning to The Isle, as if I had any control over the matter.
“A Fae Queen,” one woman managed to squeak out as she wrapped me in a hug. “There’s hope yet.”
“The Court of Isles,” another said. “We thought it was lost forever.”
“A long and happy reign for you, My Queen.”
When the gnomes had returned to the general celebrations, and the mood had settled between giddy and raucous, I took a deep breath.
“Something to eat?” Silas asked.
“Nah,” I said. “Millie fed me today. Would you believe she taught me how to make a loaf of bread?”
“Did it turn out?”
I frowned. “I don’t actually know yet. Supposedly it’s got to puff up on the counter all night long.”
“Huh.” Silas ran a hand through his hair. “Seems like a lot of work for some bread.”
“Tell me about it. Her starter is practically alive. You have to feed it like a child. She has anamefor it. Doughlores.”
“The what?”
“Never mind. I’m going to take a few minutes of quiet to look through my book, if you don’t mind. I just need to decompress after all the chatting.”
“Of course.” Silas glanced up, squinting at the night sky. “I’m about due for a perimeter check. Do you mind staying put so I don’t have to worry about you while I head out on patrol? It won’t take long. The grove’s not that big.”
In answer I slid onto an old wooden picnic bench tucked discreetly into the shadows. By now, the moon had risen high in the sky. The horrid gnomish music had been replaced by something that sounded significantly more contemporary.
Gnomes were dancing, or something that looked kind of like dancing, out on a cobblestone patch in the center of the party. Bonfires raged in pits around the dance floor. Wine and meadflowed, food was grilled, warmed, baked, and set out on long, buffet-style tables.
I smiled, then cracked my book open, relieved to have a moment to myself. The attention from the gnomes had been wholeheartedly positive, but it had still been attention. I wasn’t used to so much conversation in general, let alone directed at me.
I pored over the book, gingerly flipped through its ancient pages. Slowly, I became absorbed in the book, to the point where the music faded to an ambient thrum in the background, and the dancers became a blurred whir out of the corner of one eye.
I became so absorbed in the book I could smell the pages of it—the musk and dust and papyrus preserved for ages—over the smell of barbecued meat and baked goods.
When I finally reached the page about the full moon, I paused on the passage that looked like a spell. I pressed the spine of the book gently so the pages unfolded to open more, and as I did, the most peculiar thing began to happen.
As moonlight flooded onto the page, the illegible symbols suddenly became legible. I wasn’t sure if it was that the symbols on the page were actually changing, or if it was me that was changing—seeing the words in a new light, quite literally.
I blinked at the page and saw what was very much a spell. It said so, right in the title.
A Spell for the Full Moon
Moon of silver, lantern high,
Unlace the seams of midnight sky.
