Bryce hadn’t the nerve to ask whether that support was due to her being the bastard daughter of the Autumn King, a Starborn Fae, or the bearer of Luna’s Horn. Perhaps all of them.
Bryce settled onto one of the wooden benches along the quay, the Bone Quarter a swirling, misty wall across the water. The mer had come—had helped so many escape. Even the otters had grabbed the smallest of the city’s residents and carried them down to the Blue Court. The House of Many Waters had risen to the occasion. The shifters had risen to it.
But the Fae … FiRo had sustained the least damage. The Fae had suffered the fewest casualties. It was no surprise, when their shields had been the first to go up. And had not opened to allow anyone inside.
Bryce blocked out the thought as Syrinx leapt onto the bench beside her, nails clicking on the wood, and plopped his furry butt next to hers. Bryce slid her phone from her pocket and wrote to Juniper, Tell Madame Kyrah I’ll be at her next dance class.
June wrote back almost immediately. The city was attacked and this is what you’re thinking about? A few seconds later she added, But I will.
Bryce smiled. For long minutes, she and Syrinx sat in silence, watching the light bleed to gray, then to the palest blue. And then a golden thread of light appeared along the Istros’s calm surface.
Bryce unlocked her phone. And read Danika’s final, happy messages one last time.
The light built on the river, gilding its surface.
Bryce’s eyes stung as she smiled softly, then read through Connor’s last words to her.
Message me when you’re home safe.
Bryce began typing. The answer it had taken her two years, nearly to the day, to write.
I’m home.
She sent the message into the ether, willed it to find its way across the gilded river and to the misty isle beyond.
And then she deleted the thread. Deleted Danika’s messages, too. Each swipe of her finger had her heart lightening, lifting with the rising sun.
When they were gone, when she had set them free, she stood, Syrinx leaping to the pavement beside her. She made to turn home, but a glimmer of light across the river caught her eye.
For a heartbeat, just one, the dawn parted the mists of the Bone Quarter. Revealing a grassy shore. Rolling, serene hills beyond. Not a land of stone and gloom, but of light and green. And standing on that lovely shore, smiling at her …
A gift from the Under-King for saving the city.
Tears began rolling down her face as she beheld the near-invisible figures. All six of them—the seventh gone forever, having yielded her eternity. But the tallest of them, standing in the middle with his hand lifted in greeting …
Bryce brought her hand to her mouth, blowing a gentle kiss.
As swiftly as they parted, the mists closed. But Bryce kept smiling, all the way back to the apartment. Her phone buzzed, and Hunt’s message popped up. I’m home. Where are you?
She could barely type as Syrinx tugged her along. Walking Syrinx. I’ll be there in a minute.
Good. I’m making breakfast.
Bryce’s grin nearly split her face in two as she hurried her steps, Syrinx launching into a flat-out sprint. As if he, too, knew what awaited them. Who awaited them.
There was an angel in her apartment. Which meant it must be any gods-damned day of the week. Which meant she had joy in her heart, and her eyes set on the wide-open road ahead.
EPILOGUE
The white cat with eyes like blue opals sat on a bench in the Oracle’s Park and licked his front paw.
“You know you’re not a true cat, don’t you?” Jesiba Roga clicked her tongue. “You don’t need to lick yourself.”
Aidas, Prince of the Chasm, lifted his head. “Who says I don’t enjoy licking myself?”
Amusement tugged on Jesiba’s thin mouth, but she shifted her stare to the quiet park, the towering cypresses still gleaming with dew. “Why didn’t you tell me about Bryce?”
He flexed his claws. “I didn’t trust anyone. Even you.”
“I thought Theia’s light was forever extinguished.”
“So did I. I thought they’d made sure she and her power died on that last battlefield under Prince Pelias’s blade.” His eyes glowed with ancient rage. “But Bryce Quinlan bears her light.”
“You can tell the difference between Bryce’s starlight and her brother’s?”
“I shall never forget the exact shine and hue of Theia’s light. It is still a song in my blood.”
Jesiba studied him for a long moment, then frowned. “And Hunt Athalar?”
Aidas fell silent as a petitioner stumbled past, hoping to beat the crowds that had filled the Oracle’s Park and Luna’s Temple since portals to his world had opened within the quartz Gates and the beasts of the Pit had taken full advantage of it. Any who had managed to return were currently being punished by one of Aidas’s brothers. He would soon return to join them in it.