Parker blinked, opening his mouth, and Zahide waved her hand. “Go now.”
With a look at Nick, Parker shrugged and grabbed his hand, dragging him back through the shop into the small storage space between the yoga studio and the escape room.
“Close the door,” Parker said, gesturing.
Nick shut the door, turning back to Parker. “Isit the fae?”
“Yep,” Parker said. “We need to talk to the Spring Court. Acacia is convinced this place is Spring Court, and the whole building reeks of fae magic. But we need to be sure. If Durkavic caught the alchemy circles here, then that explains a lot of things. Maybe he pissed off the fae, and that was their way of punishing him?”
“Are you allowed to ask them that?” Nick looked at both doors, deciding that if they were going to contact the fae, they needed to make sure they were going to be uninterrupted. He pulled out his notebook and pen, twisting the cap as he considered his options.
“I think so? I mean, it’s notagainstthe rules to ask what’s going on, and I have a pretty good relationship with QueenCelandine. Not like we’d do each other’s nails and gossip about boyfriends, but like, we wouldn’t avoid each other at the coffee machine in the office break room.” Parker made a face.
“Your relationship with Queen Celandine, the Spring Queen, is the same as the one I have with the guy in records who keeps mispronouncing my name?” Nick asked, raising an eyebrow. He’d have to use Ralston bridges—that would be the only way to keep the doors shut while making sure it was temporary in case something happened to them and he wasn’t around to defuse the magic.
“No, no, way warmer than that. Okay, we’re like coworkers that go to happy hour together. Maybe we don’t get invited to each other’s weddings, but we like each other.” Parker’s eyes followed Nick as he began sketching the circles and powering them up.
“Only youdidinvite her to our wedding,” Nick pointed out, attaching one of the circles to the yoga studio door.
“So coworkers who go to happy hourandeach other’s weddings, but we definitely don’t vacation together or do weekend brunch.” Parker rolled his wrist. “Friendly, but not friendly enough that we wouldn’t throw each other under the bus for a promotion.”
“I think your idea of what happens in offices is tied to that sexy medieval show you’ve been watching. I don’t think there’s that much backstabbing in a normal office.” Nick finished attaching the circle to the other door. “Done.”
“Maybe,” Parker acknowledged. “Stand back.”
Nick took a few steps back, positioning himself behind Parker. When Parker opened a doorway into the Far Realm, Nick could always tell it took more magic than Parker let on. There was a straining in Parker’s arms, a sharp exhale, and then reality just shifted in a way Nick’s mind couldn’t quite make sense of.
Suddenly, there were three doors in the room. The two that Nick had already sealed, and a brand-new one, opening into the most gloriously green room he’d ever seen. The scent of fresh flowers rolled over him, making him nearly sigh in pleasure.
He was reminded of long spring days in a meadow out ofThe Sound of Music. All flowers and greenery and songs like bells in the distance. A fae looked through the door. Her skin was a pale green, and she was wearing what Nick assumed was a bodysuit of flowers. It clung to her skin, outlining a slender waist and narrow hips, her clavicles in sharp relief.
“Windrose! In what way can the Spring Court serve?” She nodded her head, not nearly a bow, but with the same hint of respect.
“I need to talk to your queen,” Parker said. “Tell her I wait on her pleasure.”
“Of course.” The fae nodded again, disappearing.
Parker sighed and closed his eyes. Reality shimmered, and he was holding his oak staff when he opened his eyes. Nick didn’t ask how he did it, but sometimes watching his husband made him appreciate the witchcraft tenet:The universe is vast, and my comprehension is incomplete.
“Windrose!” Queen Celandine stepped up to the door. “My courtier said you requested my presence. Come. Join me.”
She stepped back from the door, the invitation clear. Parker hesitated a split second, long enough that Nick knew he was running through every possible political calculation. Then he looked over his shoulder at Nick and raised an eyebrow.
Nick nodded.
They stepped through the door into the Spring Court.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Every time Nickwent into the Far Realm, a small pit of fear opened in his stomach, a small, hesitant wonder:What if the stories are true and they steal me away for a thousand years?
His mother had, through hesitant, jerky storytelling, explained the traumatic history of their family and the fae. Nick was constantly reminded of the horror of losing Bastian during their battle with the Sun god and how he would have felt if Bastian hadn’t been recoverable, if he’d been simplygone.
But Parker was there, and the tension in his shoulders showed that he was feeling the same, that he had the same level of anxiety as Nick entering the Far Realm.
“Queen Celandine, we thank you for your welcome,” Parker said formally. “Myhusbandand I are grateful for the chance to ask you some questions.”
The queen tittered. Her skin was a pale pink and her eyes a darker shade of the same. Before Parker, Nick had bought into the Hollywood-produced version of the fae: all gorgeous, thin, young ingenues with glittery skin who wore variations of bikinis made out of different plants.
