“Because you are our trusted allies, I’ll allow it,” said Arden.
Siwan nodded. “Then we are even more deeply in your debt, Sir Daye. If ever you need anything, you need only ask.”
“I need you to let me talk to your changelings.” The words burst out in a rush. Siwan looked startled. So did Arden. I pressed on: “Most of them have never seen the mortal world. They never got the Choice. All of them have been exposed to goblin fruit, and some of them are already addicted. We have a hope chest, in the Mists, and if Queen Windermere isn’t willing to risk bringing it here, we have me. I can offer them a Choice, a real choice, one where they get to belong completely to whichever world they want. It’ll cure the addictions. It’ll give them a chance.”
Siwan looked from me to Arden, brows raised. “Can she really do that?”
“She can,” confirmed Arden.
“She won’t, for several days,” said Tybalt firmly. “She needs her rest.”
“But after I’ve rested, please,” I said. “Let me help them.”
Siwan turned back to me. Tears were running down her cheeks, but her smile was still serene. “Thank you,” she said. I managed not to flinch from the words. The fact that I felt like hell probably helped. “I never thought to have my Kingdom back, and now . . . thank you. All of you. You are heroes here.”
“We have more to do, Your Highness, and Sir Daye looks exhausted,” said Arden respectfully. “Shall we?”
“We shall,” said Siwan. The two queens turned and walked away. They didn’t say good-bye.
Quentin broke the ensuing silence first. “Huh,” he said. “I guess that happened.”
“I guess it did,” I agreed. I turned to Walther. “Are you going to be staying here after the rest of us go home?”
He shook his head. “Hell, no. I have classes to teach, and kids who depend on me. And I meant it about the tenure.”
“Good.” I leaned to the side, resting my head against Tybalt’s shoulder. There was so much left to be done. I had a promise to keep to the local King of Cats. I had a lot of changelings to talk to. I needed to eat my own body weight in sandwiches. And none of that really mattered, because we’d done it. We’d prevented the war. We’d saved the people of Silences.
We’d survived.
“Have you seen enough?” asked Tybalt quietly.
“I have,” I said. “Let’s get going. I want to go back to bed.”
Together, the four of us turned and walked out of the room, leaving the past to sleep behind us. It was time to head into the future.
It had been waiting long enough.
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