“You can stay, daughter.”

It was the third time he'd made the offer, and with each invitation to stay, it was harder to say no. Fortunato was dead, and because of that, the nobles finally showed me respect or at least gave me a wide berth.

“Father, you’ve been making that offer for three days. I have a job, obligations. If you weren’t the king of the Fae, I’d have been fired by now for my absence.”

He took my hand across the small breakfast table in his study, where we’d begun to have our talks over breakfast or warm ambrosia at night. “You are the heir to the Seelie throne, Morgan. You must learn the rules and responsibilities of governing the Fae.”

“I will never be queen, and we both know it,” I countered for what seemed to be the hundredth time. “I age faster than any Fae. The people would see my mortality as a weakness and never let me take the throne.”

“But the gateway to Fairy is blooming again, the wee folk returned to their homes. You are a leader of this people.”

I laughed and squeezed the hand that held mine. "Okay, you win. Send a tutor, and I will learn all things related to Seelie court, and ruling, and laws. But I will do it in San Francisco, and when I come back for the holidays, you can quiz me.

His face fell. "I have made so many mistakes. I hope someday you want to come back for good." He sighed, and for a moment, he looked old and tired. "You should have been raised among your people, not left with…"

"I needed to learn how to control that power too, you know. My Fae magic is the gentler part of me. It is the witch that needed taming." My mind went to the blade wrapped and hidden in a trunk in my room, and the beast that still roamed the pit, squelching and rasping as it searched for blood to drink. "I must go back to my aunt, and resume my training if I am to control the blade."

He nodded. "I understand. But would you at least allow me to send you home as a proper Fae Royal?" I agreed, and he continued. "Then when you are ready, meet me by the reflecting pool at the gateway. I will obligate you to stay, no longer."

My heart fluttered at the thought of seeing Gray again and talking to Penelope. So much had happened in the last three days together, I could hardly remember it. Not to mention the amount of real estate in my head being taken up by an inanimate object.

Millie cried when I told her it was time for me to go, but she packed my bags, refusing to let me help her until she came to the linen-wrapped sword. “My apologies, Miss, but I will not touch that thing.”

“No fear, I wouldn’t either if I were you. Hell, I wish I didn’t have to.” But it was quiet as I slid it into my pack. “At least traveling like a Fae means I don’t have to try to get it on a plane.”

I met my father and his entourage by the pool, the Fae gathered on one side, Carl and his pack on the other. I introduced the two leaders and my father marveled at Prescott, who Sheryl admitted could hardly be kept in his human form since his first change, making up for lost time.

He was in wolf form by the pool, begging my pretty attendant for ear rubs while the adults took measure of each other. The gates of the garden shone like a beacon now, and that meant it would be harder to keep humans away. My father expressed his distress and his envy that Carl could simply hide among them without concern for their privacy.

“You know, Carl’s pack helped me hunt a feral shifter. They do good work, and at times were more disciplined than my own people.” I remembered Gray’s face when I wouldn’t let him kill Farley, and wondered if that was the real reason Fortunato’s soldier had died the way she did, a life stolen from me, for the death I stole from him.

“You would have me use the pack like mercenaries of the past?” He and Carl eyed each other carefully.

"Or give them the land that borders the gate. They have homes in the nearby cities, but the land they gather on is a state park. If they could patrol the land beyond Fairy, and watch the back door of the pit where the crone lived, it would serve you both."

“The prisoners have all been released. Most of them will be in Ravenna’s care for years to come, but the prison is empty, but for the beast.”

I nodded, ignoring the sharp pang of discomfort in my gut from the reminder of how I'd corrupted Fairy. "But that makes it a dangerous backdoor into Fairy, that my magic will make difficult to protect."

Carl scoffed and shook his head. “You’re the least corruptible person I’ve ever met, Morgan. If you do something, it’s for a good reason.”

My father puffed out his chest, his glow brightening. "She is the culmination of magic, and one day, I hope that she will lead the Fae to thrive in the modern world."

The alpha chucked and stroked his short beard. “I dunno. You put her in charge, the Fae will elect their next king.”

My father didn't respond, for the naiads had appeared. They began to sing, first the one who had spoken to me, then others joined her until there was a chorus of sweet, soothing voices, the kind that could lure a traveler to his death at the bottom of a lake.

I wish Pen were here. These might be her family.

As the last note trailed off, I glanced at my father. “I’m not ready.”

"Good. Then you will certainly return." He gestured to the water sprites, and they opened a portal of sorts in the water. I could see my apartment through the void where I'd been held under the water for my warning about the attack on him.

I bowed to him, and when I straightened, he pulled me to him in a quick embrace. "I'll see you soon, Dad." I stepped into the water and walked slowly toward the space, my pulse racing. I couldn't tell if it was fear or sadness, but tears burned my eyes, and my hands trembled as I hugged myself.

One final step put me in the center of the pool, and I felt a push before I stumbled onto wood flooring, a wide-eyed Pippi staring at me from her seat at my table.

“Well, it’s about time you came home. I was afraid that doorway was a permanent fixture int eh living room. Or worse, I was being summoned home.”

I hugged her so tight she coughed. "Sorry, no, I'm the one who's home. We should probably sit down and talk about everything that happened. But I've got to get into work and find out if I still even have a job." I grabbed my purse and started for the door. "Oh, um, don't touch the luggage. We have a new roommate, and I need to figure out how that's going to work out."

Gray and I almost collided as I jogged to the elevator. “You’re back.”

“Yeah, just. Like, I was in Fairy twenty minutes ago, and then I walked through a hole in reality, and now I’m here, just.” I grinned at him, but he didn’t even crack a smile. “Uh, I’m on my way to see if I still have a job.”

"Your father accepted you, I'd think you could pretty much run the place, and Orson wouldn't peep."

My stomach sank at his tone. “Uh, yeah. But I don’t want to be that way. Thank you again for coming with me. You showed the Fae that shifters are a force to be reckoned with. Carl and my father are working something out for Fae land for the wolves.”

He scoffed and shook his head. “You’re in better with the pack than I am, and they’re my kind.”

“I was helping you. I thought that’s what all this was, right? Teamwork, making each other stronger…”

"Since when had being with you made me stronger? No matter how much power I gain, you're always more powerful." He paused, and I stammered, looking for something to say, but I didn't know how to apologize for being exactly the person I'd always been. "And now you're blood-bonded to a legendary sword that talks to you and sucks the blood out of people like a vampire?"

“Can we talk about this later? I honestly don’t know what to say right now. My head’s reeling and…I was really looking forward to seeing you…”

He groaned. “I’m sorry, Babe. That was an asshole way to say hi after leaving you unconscious in a bed the way I did.”

“It’s okay, I understood.” Or at least I’d thought I had. But that damnable sword had cost me Tryst’s good graces, and now Gray’s. Worst of all, I still didn’t want the stupid thing.”

He wrapped me in his arms the way I’d been waiting for, kissing me hard, his mouth crushed to mine. I opened to him, invited him in with my tongue until he relaxed, and his kiss softened, deepened, dragging a moan from my throat.

“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for,” I chuckled breathlessly. “Damn you are something to come home to.”

He kissed my hair, but he still wasn’t smiling at me, and the knot in my stomach tightened. “I’ll pick you up at seven, and we can talk.”

"Yeah, sure. I'll, I'll see you at seven." The elevator slid open with a woosh, and I got on, but he didn't, even though he'd been waiting there before I was. As the doors closed between us, a woman approached him from the nearest apartment, moving in close as she spoke.

Another challenger. Well, I certainly was home.