I sit up, gasping as the sweat trickles down my body and makes my hair stick to my neck, the fear slowly subsiding from my body as I remember that I’m not in battle and that the warmth surrounding me isn’t the fires of hell but the warmth of the naked Fae bodies pressing against me.

I carefully lift Tyler’s arm off my foot and squirm my way free, pausing as I look down at my newfound lovers. The past two days have been a mix of exhaustion, recovery, and passion, with all of us touching, teasing, and engaging in so much foreplay I wonder how we’ve had time to do anything else. Unfortunately, with Tyler suffering a broken arm and Jacob a concussion in their fighting, we’ve resisted doing more to give both a chance to heal. Even now, I can see Tyler’s left arm lying out to the side, thankfully, nearly fully healed with the help of a little Fae magic.

I walk quietly out into the living room of my apartment, where Cole is standing quietly at the window, wearing just his jeans and boots, his sword in front of him as he watches the night.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asks quietly as I approach. I’ve gotten used to their hypersensitive hearing, but Cole still gets me sometimes with how he can look focused in one direction but then in an instant know exactly where I am and be able to make a helpful comment over his shoulder.

“You know you don’t have to stand watch any longer,” I reply, running a hand over his shoulder and turning his chin to give him a kiss. “I appreciate it, but you don’t have to.”

Cole smiles a little, shaking his head. “Until we are back in Lunaria and you are safe, we shall remain vigilant,” he says. “After today’s busy schedule of writing reports, I do not trust your government to not, what was it Jacob said? Kick in the door, wavin’ a four-four?”

“Something like that. Your accent sucks for it, though,” I reply with a chuckle. “But I’m not worried. The Feds are too bureaucratic to get off their asses in time now that the mayor’s rescinded his state of emergency. It’ll take them until tonight just to finish reading the report and watching our depositions, then at least another two days just to figure out whether we’re for real or a bunch of kooks.”

“Be that as it may . . .” Cole says before shrugging. He doesn’t really care about how the world absorbs the fact that faeries are real. He’s just worried about me. To him, I’m the most important thing on the planet . . . yeah, I’m getting used to it, and I love it. “I don’t think your bed could take the strain of another body.”

I smile, nodding. “Thankfully, only another day. I still don’t know why I agreed to this ceremony tomorrow.”

Cole steps away from the window, turning to face me. The connection we formed with that mental link between us hasn’t faded, and while I don’t know everything about his past, I know him in his soul, and he knows me. It’s . . . amazing, because it still gives us the opportunity to express to each other our thoughts without worrying that the other person’s going to miss the feeling behind it.

“You know why,” he says. “It is perhaps the most difficult duty for people like us. To be symbols.”

I think, then nod. “I feel like a fraud, Cole. I mean, I was partnered with Joe for a long time. I thought he was one of the good guys, and to know that he’s been pulling the strings my entire life, manipulating everything around me . . .”

It’s even worse, really. Stories have come out in the past two days about how Joe was caught on camera at various vigilante events, never the leader, always in the shadows. Through a combination of direct and indirect magic, he’d stirred the pot on both sides of the river.

All it took was the right trigger, and when the first lynchings happened, he provided it by killing people and letting it be blamed on vampires. Of course, the vampires retaliated, and with a little ego stroking of Marcus’s lust for power, the tinderbox almost went up into flames.

“It was just an opportunity to create chaos, which demons feed and thrive on,” Cole says quietly. “And I have felt like a fraud often. I serve as a symbol for a government that is not always worthy of having symbols. I’m supposed to stand up for justice, for security and peace . . . yet I have not always been able to provide those.”

“You’ve always done your best with me. I know I’m not the easiest person to protect.”

Cole chuckles, nodding. “True. But the people need symbols. Especially now. Those symbols, they give the people a rallying point. A flag, a statue, an event that people can find heart in during the dark times, when their courage wanes and they need something to help them face the future. But symbols must be created, must be guided, or else, they can be perverted.”

“Speaking of perverted . . . you boys are feeling rather repressed,” I murmur, chuckling as I run my hands over his chest. “How do you feel about me and all four of you?”

Cole shrugs, smiling before placing his hands over mine and kissing my fingertips. “It wouldn’t be the first time, would it? I’ll admit that while we Fae are more open than humans, this is a new level for me. But you, Eve . . . you’re more than I ever expected.”

“As are you, Cole. Some part of me feels stupid. Any one of you is more than enough to be a man—a husband—for any woman. So, is it stupid for me to feel a little greedy?”

Cole smiles, shaking his head. “Is it greedy for us to rather share you than not have you at all? Come, it’s nearly sunrise. I’ll make some breakfast and we can get ready for the day.”

“You cook?” I ask, grinning. “Cole, is there anything you can’t do?”

The mayor’s in a neck brace. Apparently, as part of his escape, he picked up a severe case of whiplash, but that isn’t stopping him from standing at the podium in front of City Hall, the media not just local but national, and even some international correspondents, if I’m reading things right. Thousands of Havenites are gathered, and as I look, I see Alyssa, Zack’s arm around her shoulder, giving me a thumbs up as I stand on the stage, itchy in my dress uniform.

“It was another type of prejudice that created these words, but they hold just as true today as they did generations ago, that we should be judged only by the contents of our character,” the mayor says before sighing and lowering his head as best he can. “For too long, we have judged those different from us with another lens than we have judged ourselves.”

There is polite applause. The line doesn’t have quite the impact the mayor wants, and he looks back at me, moving on. “For too long, I found myself just as guilty as anyone. I judged Paranormals by the fear, the scary stories I was told as a child. That all Paranormals are evil . . . that it’s in their very nature. But if anything, the events of two days ago reminded us of something. Not all Paranormal beings are evil, nor are all humans good. We are all the contents of our characters. When all else failed, it was the people up on stage with me who stood against the forces of chaos. When chaos said that it was time for eternal night, they were the ones who stood up and said that they will not allow this city to go quietly into that night.”

I glance over where my four guardians are standing, still armed, their Fae clothing exchanged for white suits, all of them handsome and making my heart swell.

“The past three days, we have seen so much. How a vilified woman who could have abandoned her city stood up and did her duty. How four . . . well, it seems hard to say it, but four faeries stood with her, even as we humans reacted with the same fear we did when shifters and vampires were proven to be real. You have shown us the light, and today, I vow that in this city, that light will not fade.

“So, starting today, I declare that there will no longer be an ‘Old Haven’ and a ‘New Haven.’ We are Haven again, for one and all. Our police force will be reformed, with a vow to uphold the justice for all citizens of Haven, human, vampire, shifter, or whatever else might be out there.”

That’s a bit of hyperbole, but not one I disagree with. With the most powerful lord defeated, most of the vampires in Haven have left, although those who remain have pledged to live by the law.

“And our laws will be reformed,” the mayor says. “No longer will those who are not human be treated as second-class citizens, separate and unequal in poorly-maintained and herded ghettos, restricted to poorly-paid, poorly-respected menial labor or the black market to survive. No longer will it be one system for us, and another for them, whoever that us or them may be. Instead, we shall live by the shining example that Detective Eve Carter and the Fae have shown us.

Now, I know that the hate that festers inside us, our own personal demons, will not die overnight. But just as the cameras showed us, overcoming those demons is a fight, and it is a fight that we can win. And it starts when we decide to set down our weapons and open our hearts.”

The applause this time is greater as the mayor approaches me, shaking my hand before shaking hands with each of the Fae, exchanging a few words with all of them. Jacob makes him laugh, and I glance out at Alyssa, who’s got tears running down her cheeks as I take the microphone.

“You know, I’m not used to public speaking,” I begin, blushing a little.

Symbol, Cole says quietly in my head, and I turn to see him watching me, all of them watching me, and my heart swells. Okay, Cole. I understand.

“When I started on the police force, I’ll admit that I distrusted Paranormals. By now, the tabloids have said why. I don’t want to rehash that today. Because you see, it doesn’t matter. The problem lay within me. For a time, I thought that Paranormal was bad, and that justice meant distrusting them. Control was my word, not . . . not justice. But everything isn’t black and white. The world, it’s a rainbow, and without each color, the world’s a little dimmer.”

“I’ve done a lot of learning, especially over the past week or so,” I continue, taking my papers that I’d prepared and tucking them in my pocket so I can speak from the heart. “And what I’ve learned is that together, we can build our future. And while there might be evil just around the corner, we don’t conquer that evil with fear but with love. I love Haven. I always will. And we will be stronger after this.”

The cheer for me is bigger than for the mayor, and I shake hands with him again before accepting his award. “Are you sure about this, Detective?” he asks when the microphones are off. “You know, the 54th could use a new captain.”

“I’m sure, sir. Maybe one day, I’ll pick up the badge again, but for now, I need to learn what I am, what I can do, and how to control it.”

The mayor nods. “A detective slot will always be open to you. Actually, I’ll make sure your file is moved to ‘on temporary assignment’ rather than ‘left the force.’ Good luck.”

Joining the crowd, Alyssa hugs me. “You still suck at speaking.”

“I know that.” I laugh, hugging her back before looking her in the eyes. “I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’m gonna miss you,” she says, swallowing.

When I told Alyssa that all four of the Fae have become my lovers, she was supportive . . . after a few initial moments of shock. According to her, since I’m in good hands, I’ll be safe.

I let go of Alyssa, warmth and joy filling my heart. I’m going on the biggest adventure of my life, and looking at my four guardians, I can’t think of better companions for it.