NATHAN

We stood in the ruined garden of Amaranth Manor taking in the absolute destruction of the property. The fire hadn’t spared the garden, and the tree where I had carved mine and Sophie’s name had died in the flames, too. I looked at the blackened trunk and felt a sadness settle in my heart.

"Even with the snow dousing the embers, I wouldn’t dare to check the dungeon again," I said.

"Just as well," said Tilda. "It seems that what was left of the kitchen caved in on it."

"I don’t feel like the Rosebrights were down there," said Scanderoon.

"We didn’t do a good job of looking," I pointed out. "And I believe you were the one who said they were."

Sophia took my hand, her wide-eyed gaze on mine. "Are they truly my family? The Rosebrights, I mean?"

"Very likely," I said. "I’ll get you answers, butterfly. I promise."

She leaned into me and I put my arm around her shoulders. She felt like a wisp. As soon as we go to the Capital, I was taking her to Dr. Rhine. She needed more than just healing. I wanted her to eat more and worry less. Perhaps the doctor could give her supplements to aid in strengthening her body.

I’d already lost Sophia in our last lives. When she told about her own remembrances of being stabbed and drowned by Penelope, I felt my heart break in two. I still needed to confess about my first life, too, but that was a matter for another day.

Today, we said good-bye to the past. And would, quite literally, fly into our future.

"So how does the Pixie dust work?" I asked.

"I’ll sprinkle it on you and then you’ll be zooming through the sky. To try keep your arms and legs from flailing.Trust the dust."

"Trust the dust sounds like the name of a David Bowie tribute band," said Tilda. "RIP David."

"Who is David Bowie?" asked Hune.

"A musical god," said Tilda. "So how long does this trip last?"

"I’d say about a half-hour."

"Thirty minutes?" I asked. "When it takes six hours by carriage and three by airship?"

"Yes. When I say you’ll zoom, I mean it."

"How do we stop?" I asked.

"The amount of pixie dust determines how far you go. Lucky for you, I know the right amounts for getting us to the landing site in the Capital."

"Where do we land?" asked Tilda.

"On the roof of my house in the city center, of course." Scanderoon pulled the vial out of his inner pocket. "Are you ready?"

"Hune and my guards have already started the journey back to the Capital. We’ll get there hours before them," I said.

"Unless we crash and die," muttered Tilda.

Sophia grabbed my arm. "Are you sure about this?"

"Not in the least. But we have to stop the Willowmarches from disappearing. If they make it out of the Northern Realm, we’ll never get answers."

"Don’t worry," said Scanderoon. "We’ll arrive there long before they’re able to leave." He uncorked the vial. "It takes a few seconds before you start to float. Act like you’re swimming, and go up as far as you can. Close your eyes, or you’ll be blind by the end of the trip. When you start to slow, you can open them again. Remember, go as high as possible. Once the journey starts, you don’t want to run into anything along the way."

"What will happen if we do?" asked Tilda.

"You’ll die."

He sprinkled each of us with the pixie dust.

As soon as we started floating, I took Sophia’s hand and together, we swam upward. I moved faster and took her along. We were practically at cloud level when the power kicked in. I managed to wrap my arm around Sophia’s waist. Side-by-side we shot through the air.

As Scanderoon had suggested, I closed my eyes.

The air was cold, and we moved so fast, it felt like razor blades scratching my face. All I could do was hold on to Sophia as tightly as possible, and wait for the crazy journey to be over with.

The thirty minutes passed fairly quickly. I could feel us slowing down, and I opened my eyes. Sophia’s eyes were open, too. We were far above the Capital, the buildings and carriages and people looking like a child’s playset.

"Almost there," called out Scanderoon. He and Tilda were holding hands. He was slightly ahead of us, so we followed him.

In the center of the city, a tall pink house that looked a lot like a multi-tiered cake, came into view.

I had been to Scanderoon’s residence once or twice, but it’s appearance was always somewhat startling.

I watched as Scanderoon and Tilda floated down onto the roof. I scooped Sophia into my arms and held her tightly as I sank down onto the roof, too.

"That was fun," said Tilda, grinning. "I think I scared a pigeon, though."

Scanderoon laughed.

"I never want to do that again," I said.

"Same," said Sophia. She patted my shoulder, and I put her onto her feet.

"No time to waste," said Scanderoon.

"How did your hat stay on?" asked Sophia. "And where did you keep your cane?"

"Magic," he said, and winked.

***|***|***

NATHAN

We took a few moments to clean up, and then we piled into Scanderoon’s carriage. We went straight to the Willowmarches’ house, which was near the palace. When we arrived, we saw footmen loading two carriages with luggage and crates.

Sophia’s gaze was on Mrs. Willowmarch, who stood on the street directing the movers. Mr. Willowmarch wasn’t outside, so I assumed he was in the house.

Scanderoon stopped the carriage in an alleyway across the street. Mrs. Willowmarch was so busy trying to get people to load up her belongings, she didn’t notice us until we were practically in her face.

She immediately paled. "S-sophia." Her wide-eyed gaze fell on me. "Your Grace. What are you doing here?"

"We just got in from Velvetleaf," I said pleasantly. "And thought we might drop by for a chat." I nodded toward the carriages. "Are you going on a trip? So soon after burying your son?"