“Do I get to walk you down the aisle?” Linus asked.
“I haven’t decided yet. I’m still mad at you and Benjiro Heart is very nice to me.”
Alessandro laughed. I wrapped my arm around his waist, and he put his good arm around me.
Everything was going to be all right.
Epilogue
I lay on the grass and stared at the sky. It was very blue. The grass was itchy, and I was naked, but I didn’t have enough energy to get up, so I just lay there trying to catch my breath.
The Russian prince panted next to me, also naked.
We had brawled for the better part of an hour. Maybe longer. I wasn’t sure how long, but Catalina and Alessandro got tired of waiting and went inside. I was pretty sure the other Russians had also gone inside, too.
We should have stopped before both of us ran out of magic. I had never fought that hard for that long before. Apparently when I ran out of anger, I reverted to my human shape. Good to know for the future.
It was starting to get really warm. If I didn’t get a move on, I would get sunburned on my boobs. Most of me was tan, but my natural skin color was somewhere between mozzarella and snowflake.
I groaned and forced myself to sit up.
The prince was looking at me. I could either demurely clutch my chest to cover up or look back. I decided to look back.
Okay, so they built them really well in Russia. Like, really well.
“You didn’t win,” I told him.
He just kept staring like I had grown a second head. All things considered, a second head would have been less shocking. He must have thought he was the only giant in the world. Ha!
“You’re lying next to a fire ant hill,” I told him. “Roll left when you get up.”
I climbed to my feet, a little unsteady, but upright, brushed the dirt off my naked butt, and started toward the wall. Knowing my sister, she would have left a robe or a blanket out for me.
Our home was smoking, and there was a big crack in the wall, which would be expensive to fix. Later on the so-called authorities would show up and want things explained but none of that was my problem. I had done my part. Arkan was dead, my sister and Alessandro would get married, Grandpa Linus was officially part of the family, and nobody I cared about died in the final battle.
Now we just had to fix the gaping hole in our wall. Money didn’t grow on trees, but it did crawl somewhere in our office, and I had two hundred and fifty thousand reasons to find it. Jadwiga and I had a date.
It promised to be another beautiful day.
A Happy Goodbye
The autumn night was warm, the heat of the day a distant memory. Fairy lights shone in glowing strands all over the main patio, and in their soft light, Bern and Runa danced to slow music. Runa’s long shimmering dress floated like a white cloud around Bernard, dressed in black. Her red hair fell on her shoulders in beautiful waves. It was magic. I don’t think the two of them even knew that the three hundred of us were here, seated on the periphery of the dance floor at small tables.
Runa’s bouquet lay on the table in front of me, a big bundle of fiery orange celosia. The florist had suggested golden roses, but she told them it would give Bernard the wrong idea about their marriage. Roses were elegant and calm, and she wanted to let him know he should expect fireworks. I did my best to get Mom to catch it, but somehow it landed in my hands.
The family looked on, murmuring to each other in soft whispers. On the far left, Connor and Nevada sat with Connor’s mother. Mrs. Rogan swayed gently to the music in her wheelchair. Connor and Nevada sat close. I was pretty sure they were holding hands. Arabella sat with them, baby Arthur asleep on her lap. She had informed me that I had zero chances of being his favorite aunt. She was probably right. That spot was clearly taken.
Runa had chosen a beautiful sage green for the bridesmaids’ dresses and from this angle both of my sisters looked remarkably similar. Arabella was shorter, her hair was much paler, and she didn’t look like Nevada, but there was something so alike about the two of them.
Across the dance floor, Victoria Tremaine and Linus Duncan sat at a table together. I was still mad at the two of them, Linus especially. Runa and Bern both wanted them in the wedding, so Nevada and I solved that problem by pretending our grandparents didn’t exist. We would sort this out eventually, but meanwhile making the two most manipulative people in our lives sweat was quite satisfying.
Benjiro and Mom sat at the next table. They were sipping wine and holding hands. Benjiro Heart had announced his intention to retire. Arkan attacked us on short notice—the nerve—and Sgt. Heart hadn’t been able to disentangle himself fast enough for his liking to rush over to take care of Mom and the rest of us. He decided to find a permanent solution to the problem of being always busy. Mom didn’t say anything about it, but I knew she was happy. It was obvious. Mom deserved all the happiness.