Epilogue
Three Years Later
The highest point in the castle of the Summer Court had once been an aviary. When Florian first uncovered it, there was little more than a mess of dust and dirty, warped birdcages. The view, however, was unmatched, so Florian had cleared it out and made something of an observatory, as his first fun project once the major living spaces were repaired. Now, it was a small, cozy room with a reading chair and plump pillows—one of Florian’s favorite places in the castle.
When the weather got warmer in the summer, he would sometimes sleep up there, reveling in the cool breeze filtering in through its many open windows despite the humidity of the day. With clear skies, he could see for miles. Occasionally he even saw birds, though none had ever tried to fly into the former aviary.
It was summer again. The weather was always balmy in the Summer Court, but it got especially humid this time of year, so he’d been sleeping up in the observatory often, especially since Kade was away. He woke early with the sunrise and watchedthe sunlight spread across the expanse of land—still rocky, but becoming greener every spring.
Kade would be expecting him to call in a few hours, so he stretched, pulled on a light robe, and made his way back down to the kitchen for breakfast. He ate in the courtyard, looking out into the distance.
From this courtyard, he could see down into the gardens where Elodie now lived. She had come to the Summer Court of her own accord just a few months after Florian had arrived here, telling him how Rune had come to her to explain what had happened. After a lengthy discussion, she’d sent Rune home and then made her way across the continent to the Summer Court. Like a hag out of a story, her cottage walked—the tree roots animated like a dozen spindly legs, so the journey had been a slow one.
“I figured we could both use the company,” she had said, as if it was completely unremarkable that she had traveled halfway across a continent to live away from her swamp. “And I’m sure you could use some help to get this place up and running again.”
That had certainly been true. He wouldn’t have sent her away regardless, but she had taught him much: between the two of them, they had the castle cleaned, repaired, and mostly livable within a year. She still lived in her cottage out in the garden, but what had once been a squat, shrubby swamp tree was now a thick, towering oak.
After that, Florian had lots of time to fill. He’d set up his observatory, started numerous gardens around the grounds, and tinkered with more magical tools and devices than he could count. That was how he’d come up with the little two-way mirrors he and Kade used to talk when the wolf shifter was away, like a video call. With Elodie’s help, he’d even made a handful of teleportation stones, so Kade could get to the Summer Court from anywhere else in the Veil in the blink of an eye—along withKoji, Rune, and his aunt Tatiana. Kade was his most frequent visitor, of course, but Rune was a close second. She cycled between each of the remaining kingdoms, having taken on a sort of ambassadorial role between all of them, trying to foster better relations between them now that they could communicate more easily with each other. So she came regularly to the Summer Court, teleporting there with her stone so Florian could send her on to the next destination, always spending at least a day or two with him first.
Florian had been working on a ring, too—the same kind of ring Thaddeus wore that allowed him to remain in the Veil. Elodie had helped him draw out more of the old memories that Thaddeus had left behind, which gave him enough information that he could make, if not an exact replica, something pretty close. He was relatively sure it would work, but was hesitant to experiment with it. Still, the last time Kade had been in the Summer Court, Florian gave him the ring and told him to do whatever he thought was best to test it. Kade promised he would, and he would be returning soon, so Florian was eager to find out if it was a success.
He had been feeling a bit like a mad scientist lately, so he was looking forward to Kade returning—he always got restless when they were apart for long. Not that he was completely lacking in social interaction: Elodie was surprisingly good company, and, shockingly, two other witches had contacted her now that the Blight was gone, becoming frequent visitors of the Summer Court. In addition, a handful of more adventurous fae and dragon shifters had taken residence in the city below the castle. But even with the small but growing community around Florian, Kade was still largely his lifeline to the outside world. Despite all his own responsibilities, Kade talked with him more than anyone else, letting him see the world everyone was exploring, so he didn’t feel like he was completely missing out.
But he would be here soon, maybe even today. Florian smiled down at his mug of coffee at the thought.
From the garden, he saw a door swing open on Elodie’s tree as she stepped out. She peered up toward the courtyard and waved her long arm. Florian waved back.
“Good morning,” he called. But she didn’t respond, already busying herself with gathering flowers and herbs from the garden. He didn’t know what she was working on today, but he was sure she’d fill him in on all the details soon enough. Florian watched her from a distance for a little while as she moved methodically around the landscape; eventually he wandered back inside, dropping his dishes in the sink that an invisible servant was already filling with soapy water.
Florian showered and dressed in actual clothes. The morning was getting quite warm, so he decided to stay inside for their call, settling in what had once been one of the Summer Queen’s many libraries with a big, breezy window.
The oval mirror had been laying on the desk where all of Florian’s sketches and plans were strewn about. With a swish of his hand, he lifted it into the air to hover at eye level, then tapped the surface to activate it. A faint shimmer spread across the glassy exterior, and his reflection dimmed, which would signal to Kade’s corresponding mirror that he was ready and waiting.
Florian busied himself with sorting out his messy notes while he waited. His latest projects had mostly been making more of the two-way mirrors to communicate with more people; but he and Elodie had also been doing some research together on how the original curtains between worlds were made, and if it might be possible to create a new one within the Summer Court. Florian claimed it was so that travel between the worlds could be made easier for those who had relocated to the Summer Court, modest as their population was; but he also had a small, secrethope that maybe he could cross through to Earth if he could only access a curtain.
He was sure Elodie suspected him from the start, but she hadn’t broached the subject, so Florian allowed himself to hope that her silence meant that, maybe, it was possible. There was no magic on Earth, after all, whether fae or old magic—and it was old magic that bound him within the borders of the Summer Court. If he could get back to Earth...
He pushed the thought from his mind—while it was motivating when he was busy, it made him depressed to dwell on it for too long when he was idle. He wasn’t even sure if it was possible, so there was no point in worrying over the specifics now. It was a problem for the future.
It was taking longer than usual for Kade to answer, long enough that the mirror was still blank when Florian finished sorting his notes and placing them in neat stacks. So he brought the mirror with him as he moved to a comfier armchair, summoning a carafe of iced tea from the kitchen at the same time.
Finally, the mirror flickered with activity, and Kade’s face appeared. Florian grinned, sitting up—Kade smiled back at him, waving.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Morning!” Florian replied, then paused. The scenery behind Kade looked oddly familiar, the sky a recognizable perpetual twilight. Before Kade could respond, he blurted out, “Are you in the Winter Court?”
Kade chuckled, his eyes flickering to something out of sight. “Yeah. I had to check in with Tatiana. But I’ll be coming to you pretty soon. Just need to wrap up a few things here.”
“What are you doing there?” Florian asked, surprised. It wasn’t completely out of the blue—the Winter Court and the wolf kingdom still had strong ties, of course, even if it wasnow Tatiana in charge—but he didn’t think Kade had mentioned anything about needing to stop there during this trip the last time they’d talked.
“Nothing exciting,” Kade replied, but he looked like he was suppressing a smile. “Signing some trade agreements. That sort of thing.”
“You’re being sneaky,” Florian pressed, grinning. “What are you and Tatiana planning?”
“You’re going to ruin the surprise if you keep asking questions,” Kade replied, chuckling. Florian laughed, leaning back in his chair. Well, if they wanted to surprise him, he supposed Kade would be here soon enough.
“Okay, okay, fine,” he relented. “What else have you been up to?”
