“It’s a perfect idea,” I said, taking his hands in mine.
“You’re perfect,” he muttered, looking into my eyes as he pulled me closer.
“Eww, are you going to kiss?” Nellie said, and I grinned.
Zane shot Nellie a look. “All right, time to head back to the Spring Court,” he said before turning to me. “Then I’m taking you out. Alone.”
Nellie stuck her tongue out at him, but her gaze reflected happiness.
I laid a hand on Zane’s stubbly cheek, looking into his gorgeous blue-and-brown specked eyes, and my heart swelled. He was so handsome. So kind. So much more than I even knew to hope for. I couldn’t imagine my future without him, and I was just so glad that now I didn’t have to. There was nothing I was looking forward to more than spending time with him and getting to know him better.
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do more,” I said honestly, and he smiled, and then a wicked gleam entered his gaze.
“I can think of one thing,” he said, and then, much to Nellie’sdistress, he leaned forward and captured my mouth. And just like every other time we’d kissed, the world fell away until it was just the two of us, lost in the warmth and certainty that we were exactly where we were meant to be.
Three months later …
When we used the faestones to heal each of the Faerie courts, the lands in Ethereum were restored as well as we’d hoped. Refugees from the courts in Faerie and the kingdoms in Ethereum started to return to their homes and work to rebuild what they’d lost. It was going to be a long road to recovery for everyone, but we were hopeful the worlds we were now building would be even stronger than before.
Less than a week after we returned from the Savage Lands, Dawn, Isolde, and Aribella returned with their husbands to the lords’ kingdoms. It was sad to see them go, but each lord had his own kingdom to rule.
As the monarchs from each of the courts and kingdoms returned to their lands and homes, it was discovered that there was a mirror portal connecting the two realms in each of the throne rooms, just like the connection between the Spring Court and the Western Kingdom. That meant that the princesses could live with their husbands, but still help their courts as well.
With his brothers now returned to their respective kingdoms, it was just Zane in his castle in Ethereum now. I visited daily. Sometimes, immediately after waking up, I’d rush over to have breakfast with him.
Nellie had taken up my offer to stay in the Spring Palace with my family and me. It started by having sleepovers in our palace, and eventually, she just never left. Both of our dogs slept beside her every night. She had the room next to Octavia’s, and the two of them had become inseparable. She also visited Zane daily and had even started asking when we were all going to share a home like a “normal family.”
Zane and I had been having such an amazing time together, taking turns showing each other our favorite places in both Faerie and Ethereum. Every day we spent together, I fell a little more in love with him, and every night when we said goodbye, it was a little harder to leave him.
For the last month, I’d been dreaming of becoming Zane’s wife. I was ready for the next step, and I’d even dropped hints about what type of ring I wanted. Just last week, I’d pointed out a pink sapphire in the shop window of one of the boutiques in Windreum, going on and on about how beautiful it was, but rather than picking up on the hint, he’d gotten distracted by a street vendor selling candied almonds and rushed off to buy us some.
I’d told him I wanted to take things slow, but now I feared he was going to take years to propose. I was done waiting for him to catch my hints. It was time to ask for what I wanted and hope his heart hadn’t changed.
“What do you have planned for today?” I asked Zane as we atea late breakfast in his study. The cozy little room in the corner of his castle was fast becoming a favorite spot of ours.
“Today’s a big day,” he said as he picked up his coffee cup. “I have to oversee the train extension in Weldstone. We’re connecting the tracks between Faerie and Ethereum this week.”
He sounded excited, and itwasexciting. The people of Faerie had taken very well to the idea of a train running from the mirror world into Faerie and then extending throughout our realm. The queens from all four courts had signed off on the project, and now it was just a matter of time.
“Oh, that’s too bad. I thought maybe we could get engaged today,” I said casually, just as he took a sip of his coffee.
He started choking immediately, his eyes going wide as he cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry, what?” he said when he finally cleared his windpipe.
I pretended to itch my nose to cover a smile. The look on his face, half-shock, half-hopeful, was priceless.
“I know I said I wanted to wait and take things slow, but it’stooslow, Zane.”
“Is that so?” Zane said, and as his shock faded, a smirk started to lift the corners of his mouth.
I nodded. “It is. Spending time with you these past months has been amazing. But now I want more. Don’t you?” I asked, feeling a little unsure as nerves crept up on me.
What if he needed time now, and I was pushing him? I didn’t want that. Zane had been so understanding and patient with me. Shouldn’t I be offering him the same? If Zane needed time now, then that’s what I would—
He stood and pulled something from his pocket and then placed it on the table in front of me, cutting off my runaway thoughts immediately.
It was the pink sapphire ring I’d seen in the shop.
