━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

Wind whipped Garreth's face as the far distant ground passed in a blur of teeny tiny structures. One fairy had her arm hooked under his left armpit and the other had grabbed his waist as his right arm was painful to move. Together, they flew him through the air. The trees looked like toothpicks, and Garreth squinted to spot the rivers and towns they had previously passed through on their long trek north. It was one of those moments that Garreth knew he would never forget. He was untethered to the world and its expectations anymore, and it was incredibly freeing.

Inside the ziggurat, he had died. The last thing he had seen was the sword piercing his chest. All he had been able to think of was regret that he hadn't dodged that last icicle. But, then, miraculously he had awakened to the Sphinx lying dead and Kendra sobbing on his chest.

The wonder of that washed over Garreth. He had felt the terror of death and survived. He had known what it felt like to see the end and become it. Now, he was on borrowed time, and he intended to make use of it.

The original crew, the recovered Fablehaven court, and any other rescuee that had decided to come to Fablehaven had departed the temple soon after arriving as Warren wanted to utilize the Fairy Queen's blessing to recover Fablehaven. The army of fairy soldiers was like no other, and never ceased to impress.

Before they had taken to the skies, he had worried that it would take weeks of travel to reach Fablehaven. But then the fairies gained such rapid speed that Garreth had trouble focusing on any landmark before it disappeared. And when they reached a fever pitch of flight, a brilliant white flash blinded him.

Once his eyes readjusted, he saw grassy hills and blue, clear skies. The weather warmed him up in seconds, and his fur clothing saturated with sweat. Raxtus glittered in the ample sunlight, flipping and twirling through the air at the front of their vanguard with Kendra riding on top.

Huh. So that was what teleportation felt like. Leftover adrenaline tingled in his body.

Fast approaching was a citadel Garreth assumed was Fablehaven. Sandy-colored crumbled stone walls encircled a wasteland of broken wood and smoke. A tall, skinny castle sat on the highest hill and cast shadows over the town.

Like a swarm, masses of soldiers filled the surrounding hills. Even in the distance, Garreth could see mayhem erupt as scouts spotted the flying army. The soldiers looked like tiny ants scuttling around after someone stomped on their hill. Even the archers seemed to have forgotten their job, and their bows hung uselessly at their sides.

To be fair, most armies would look like that upon spotting dozens of flying, giant armored fairies led by a prismatic dragon.

Plus, the sunlight glinted off Raxtus's scales in a way that made Kendra look like she was glowing.

No, wait. Garreth blinked his eyes and focused again on Kendra. She was actually glowing.

Scents of new soil, flowers, and clear spring rain twirled through the air—the same aroma that Ronodin, Patton, Muriel, and Kendra had sworn was the Fairy Queen way back during their last strategy sessions. Now, it was familiar enough for Garreth to recognize it as well. All around them, the fairies sighed in happiness and fluttered their wings even faster.

"Citizens of Fablehaven," Kendra addressed. Her magnified speech carried the undercurrent of a deeper, older voice. Raxtus treaded the air, allowing Kendra to stand on his back. "The Fairy Queen stands with us. I have rescued King Stanley and Queen Ruth from the clutches of the Sphinx among others. I have now journeyed back with the help of the Fairy Queen's warriors."

The wind began to pick up around Raxtus, and Kendra rose off his back. She stayed suspended in air, her hair and long dress whipping in the current. Awe washed over Garreth. This was his girlfriend. He was the luckiest man alive.

"To the armies of the Sphinx, your leader is dead. I killed him. You have no business here anymore and there is no place for hatred and fear-mongering in our land. Leave and we will not harm you. Stay and face the consequences."

A mass exodus of shiny, armored warriors streamed out of the citadel toward the country side like beetles. However, some broke from the hurried exit, strolled to the ground beneath the vanguard, and threw down their helmets.

Raxtus flew over and around the hillsides, scanning the area to ensure an orderly exit. The fairies descended to the ground and released their passengers. Cheers and weeping filled the air as the Fablehaven citizens stormed the broken streets to celebrate freedom.

Kendra's glow faded and she descended to the ground as if on a heavy cloud. Garreth ran to her side, holding his right arm tight against his chest to not inflame his injury with his speed.

She approached the few soldiers who had stayed behind, and Garreth followed. He drew his sword. Their chest plates gleamed in the sun, and each one knelt upon Kendra's arrival.

"Handmaiden," one of the men said. "We thought we were protecting magic. We were not. We humbly ask for forgiveness and to join the citizens of Fablehaven and honor you."

"Rise," Kendra said. "Go join the celebrations."

The soldiers left, and Kendra turned to Garreth. She let out a breath and ran to him. Tears traveled down her glossy cheeks but the genuine smile that stretched across her face reassured Garreth.

He threw his sword down and hugged her close. She smelled like the pine trees of the northern lands they had departed and he didn't want to let go. To be with her was a blessing too precious to squander.

"Home," she whispered into his ear. He knew the depth of her longing for Fablehaven. He knew how precious this ground was to her. She pulled back, hands still wrapped around his back, and looked up with wide, wet eyes. A smile broke her face yet again. "I'm finally home."

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

Medical emergencies, tearful reunions, celebrations in the street, and introductions constituted the blurry next few hours following the city's reclamation. But by the sun's peak, the clamoring had died down to a dull roar.

At the edge of the forest, the mass of armored fairies and various spectators gathered to say goodbye. Fablehaven's walls were still in the near distance, but nature surrounded them on all sides. Oak trees stretched long limbs to block the sun and the underbrush tickled Garreth's ankles. Everyone watched Kendra and the fairies perform a ritual that Garreth still did not understand even after everyone tried explaining it to him.

Two fairies placed the life-size statue on the ground. The marble face of a beautiful woman with wings stared them all down. Garreth had first seen it in the Sphinx's antechamber and had seen firsthand the power the conduit was privy to. Kendra set down a miniature version of the same statue next to it.

"Holy mother of magic. Holder of light. As your handmaiden, I dedicate this shrine to you to forever honor your power and protect this city upon a hill."

A glow spread across the skin of the statues, burning off the accumulated dirt and grime until white marble shone through. Sunlight bent toward the statues, and bright light filled the clearing. Kendra closed her eyes as her body began to rise off the ground.

Concern flooded Garreth. He turned to the unicorn next to him. "Is she being possessed?"

"A little bit. The Fairy Queen can be kind of a control freak about her shrines," Ronodin said. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Get back!"

The crowds shuffled backwards at his exclamation. The ground underneath the statues rose and the surrounding earth depressed into the ground. Water spouts erupted at the bottom of the circular depression and fed water until there was a filled moat around the statues. Flowers and hedges sprung up, creating a square fencing around the entire area. Garreth glanced around until he found the archway to enter and exit. For a moment, he had thought they were trapped. Not the best feeling after just escaping the ziggurat.

Garreth stumbled as a mountain of emotion hit him along with the sweet scent of the Fairy Queen's presence. Others around him showed similar signs of shock, except for Ronodin who just sighed. Pride, excitement, and happiness rushed over him, overwhelming his thoughts. He smiled involuntarily.

Kendra returned to the ground and the light faded.

The resulting shrine was gorgeous. Hundreds of flowers blossomed in the hedges despite the chill of winter, reminding him of his mother's gardens. The water gleamed a turquoise color Garreth had never seen in a lake before. The statues themselves radiated power. He didn't even need magical ability to detect that.

The same orange fairy that had first talked to them during the battle descended to Kendra's level. Her yellow wings tucked behind her back as her feet found the ground. "It is time for my brethren to return home. Thank you, handmaiden, for protecting magic."

She kissed Kendra on the cheek and then dived into the new moat. When the bubbles cleared, she was gone. The rest of the hundred or so fairies descended and followed the same procedure. However, some popped back out of the water, finger-sized again and zipped around the shrine instead of returning home—wherever home was. Once again, the fairies' speech was incomprehensible to him and their wings flapped too quickly to gain a clear image of their appearance.

Garreth looked around. Fairies weren't the only magical creatures assembled. He saw satyrs, dryads, centaurs, witches, goblins, and more species he couldn't name. Months ago, this crowd would have made him draw his sword. But now, he witnessed the congregation in peace.

It was a weird thing, when beliefs fundamentally changed. He didn't feel a connection to his old self anymore.

For the immediate time before, during, and after the Battle of Terrabelle, he had been terrified he was brainwashed and making the wrong decision. He had felt seven summers old again in the throne room with his mother falling dead to the ground amidst fires and riots outside the castle gates and knights' swords covered in blood. But, now he couldn't run to his father for safety and stability. Garreth was forsaking him, instead.

Garreth's formative years had been marked by fear, bloodshed, and hatred. His earliest memories visit him now only as nightmares that leave him in a cold sweat. Over the last weeks of journeying north, he had begun to revisit his old memories of Terrabelle and of his family—especially the ones with his mother—and think of them in a new light. The guilt of his past actions weighed on him. But, he couldn't dwell on the past.

A little over two months ago, he had never thought differently than how he had been raised. Now, he met every assumption with skepticism. He was rebuilding his own worldview brick by brick with firsthand observation. His future would be better, and his allegiance to such a magically diverse crowd was a hallmark of such change.

He saw two dryads embrace, weeping tears of joy. Newel and Doren even wore somber, respectful expressions. Centaurs bowed with their front legs bent. Bystanders removed hats and head coverings. Everyone around felt the enormity of this new shrine.

This marked a new era. Not one defined by fear, but one defined by courage, acceptance, and magic.

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

That night, the shrine held a smaller crowd with only Garreth, Seth, and Kendra in attendance. The new moon darkened the inky black sky, but eternal orbs of lights floated around the shrine.

Together, Garreth and Seth had carried a wooden canoe holding Muriel and placed it on the shore of the shrine's lake. At Seth's touch, blue fire lit the canoe. Sweet-smelling aromas rose as the flowers covering Muriel burned. Kendra closed her eyes and pushed the canoe off the shore.

It cut across the waters of the moat, but it never reached the island. Within moments, the canoe burned and fell beneath the water. The floating orbs of light stilled in their paths for several moments before resuming their aimless directions.

Garreth squeezed Kendra's hand and traced patterns on her palm with his thumb. He knew the difficulty this moment held for her. Grief was a common refrain within their lives, but the guilt that had settled upon her shoulders seemed heavier than usual.

Kendra stared at the peaceful waters. A string of ribbon tied her curly hair back in a bun. "The Fairy Queen told me Muriel had finally paid her debt. With her life."

"Her power," Seth said.

Kendra nodded. "I think she must've been fairy struck. She never told me."

"She must've had a reason," Garreth said.

Garreth hadn't known Muriel very long yet he had found her to be calculating despite her outward demeanor. She had journeyed into the ziggurat knowing the likely possibility of death. They had all done so. Muriel's death was no more Kendra's fault than it was Muriel's own.

Kendra sighed and pulled her gaze away from the water. "I'm my own teacher now."

That sentiment encapsulated his feelings as well. They were no longer students, and it was time to apply their teachings. Fablehaven needed to be rebuilt and protected, and that required strong leadership.

"Thank you both for being here." Kendra let go of Garreth's hand and knelt at the shore. "But, can I be alone now?"

Garreth and Seth both agreed. The hedges closed around them as they left. Garreth retreated to the castle dining hall where he was assigned a bed roll. Dozens of others were already asleep, and so he followed suit.

The next months were going to be hard work, but he was going to do it alongside Kendra, his sister, and his new friends.

He couldn't wait.

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

Two weeks into rebuilding, Kendra declared a rest day for all citizens. After some cajoling, Kendra agreed to be included in the "all citizens" part as well. Which was amazing for Garreth, because he got to spend all day with his girlfriend.

Kendra's bed's gauzy canopy created a haven where it felt like their own little world. Purple pillows crowded the headboard and blankets upon blankets laid haphazardly around them. They had already spent hours sleeping and cuddling the day away. It was bliss.

"You know, this isn't the first time Fablehaven has been rebuilt," Kendra said. Her eyes were closed, and her cheek was pressed up against his chest. They were lounging on her bed and his arms were wrapped around her. It was nice. His father hadn't been into physical affection, but Garreth remembered his mother's love for hugs. He was grateful he finally had someone to share that with. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

Garreth felt like he was blind-folded and trying to feel his way to an answer when Kendra asked these sorts of questions. They were to figure out what he already knew, but usually his lack of knowledge was so deep he had no clue what she was even hinting at.

"Maybe." He ran his fingers through her soft hair and scratched her head. She always fell asleep when he did that. "Tell me."

"Five years ago, when my parents died, it wasn't because they were sick like I had told you."

When she stayed silent, Garreth realized she was waiting for affirmation that he understood. Understood that she had lied to him again. She hated bringing up the lies she had told Garreth. But, he understood that most were simple covers for magic, and it didn't bother him as much as it bothered her.

"Okay," Garreth said. Strands of brunette hair twirled around his fingers. Soft sunlight filtered through the gauzy canopy to highlight the beaded pillows.

"Five years ago, a demon named Bahumat awoke from thousands of years of sleep. When he had gone to bed, humans were just animals running around with simple spears killing and being killed. When he awoke, there were chains on his cave and an entire citadel of humans outgrowing what he had thought to be their place."

Garreth kicked one of the blankets onto them to cover his cold feet. "Must have been a nice sleep."

He felt her smile against him. "A rude awakening, though. He ravaged through Fablehaven..." Her voice left her and she cleared her throat. She didn't need to say it in as many words.

"I understand," Garreth said. His hand stilled in her hair.

So, they had both lost their parents to magical forces. He understood now the impatience Kendra and Seth had held toward him. The siblings had understood his anger, but hadn't turned to hate like his family had.

"Isn't that when you got your magic, too?"

She nodded against his chest. "It's when I became a handmaiden. One could argue I could've had the capacity to learn magic my whole life. But I never tried. So, that was my first taste of it."

He hummed. Her hair became tangled in his fingers and he took the time to pick out the knot as he mulled over her words. That would've been like if the night his mother was murdered, he had suddenly become a magical priest. He tried to imagine how that would feel. Most of all, he wondered what his father would have done.

Would he have still turned to the purge and the treaty? To hatred and fear?

Sometimes he wondered what his father was doing now. Was he hearing petitions from the court? Was he getting ready for lunch? Was he signing a declaration of war? Or was he waiting for his children to return home?

The thoughts were unpleasant and curdled guilt in his stomach. Of course, then Garreth remembered the terror of his father slashing and stabbing and trying to kill him. With that particular recollection, paralysis would flood his body like it was physically forcing himself not to leave Fablehaven and return to danger.

After a long moment of respectful silence, they picked up the conversation with lighter, nonsensical topics, and against their better judgment, fell asleep on top of the covers and in their day clothes.

It was nice.

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

A fortnight later, Garreth placed a brick on a slab of mortar laid by Eve and glanced at the sun. It was dipping just beneath the tree line. Perfect. That would be their last brick for the day.

They washed their hands off and admired their work. They had finished the interior walls for the school house today. Children had run around their feet from sunrise to now, demanding slides and seesaws and a bunch of other things in the school that would unfortunately not come to fruition. But, Garreth could tell Kendra that the kids wanted a park. That would be a lower priority, though.

It had already been a month of rebuilding the decimated citadel. The immediate priority had been shelter and safety—housing, clinics, farmland, and wells. The castle had survived the siege, and for the first couple weeks, every hall and chamber had been packed with people. Garreth had worked alongside countless citizens of Fablehaven, learning their names, lives, and hopes.

He did half as much as everyone else with his right arm still in a sling, but he still tried. Everyone emerged from the horror of the winter with a loss of some kind, but in the warming breezes, a web of community stretched across the citadel.

After briefly cleaning up in the river, Garreth and Eve made their way to the castle square and picked a spot in the corner. Slowly, the courtyard filled up with the trickling of tired citizens. As the sun finally disappeared, magical citizens tossed up orbs of light to illuminate the square. Some were tiny, some were large, some were colorful, others dim, and it was a tradition Garreth could never tire of.

Every day was the same. Breakfast in the square. Working as long as the sun was up. After the sunset, everyone would gather for dinner in the square. It was just natural at this point.

While healthy and strong workers helped with the rebuilding, the castle servants and volunteers unsuited for physical labor spent the day gathering herbs and cooking and all the important tasks that couldn't fall by the wayside during the rebuilding process.

The sandy city walls gleamed in the magical glow of the various orbs. Those had been fully repaired and reinforced with a bunch of charms and spells Garreth didn't yet understand as everyone worried about an attack while Fablehaven was vulnerable. The memory of the complete decimation at the hands of the Sphinx's forces lingered in everyone's minds, and having strong defenses assuaged the collective anxiety.

But soon, the rebuilding would be declared over and the citadel could transition back to normal. People could go back to their trades and jobs, kids could go back to school, and life would return to normal.

But, it wouldn't really be normal. The graveyard had swelled in size, and in a month, as everything else returned, absences would be felt from the schoolyard to the dinner table to the tavern. The affairs between nations had changed, and the chess pieces had yet to fall into place. So as some things resumed smoothly, others would tumble raucously through change.

Cheers erupted across the square as servants lugged out a huge cauldron full of bubbling stew. Others followed with armfuls of bread, bowls, and utensils. They smiled as citizens blew kissy noises and celebrated their entrance as usual.

As Garreth and Eve waited for the servants to make their way to their corner, Seth and Kendra plopped down next to them. Seth still had dirt on his face from whatever he had been doing, and Kendra had her curly hair tied with a bandana on top of her head. She gave him a small smile as she sat down, and Garreth's heart fluttered. He grabbed her hand and they leaned against each other.

"Excited to leave soon on your adventure, Eve? Seth has been talking about it non-stop," Kendra said. She folded her legs underneath her.

"Absolutely," Eve said. She had her own coils pulled into a bun at the base of her neck with a few twisty escapees falling in front of her eyes, and she pushed them out of the way as she talked.

"Escaping the hard work," Garreth grumbled.

Seth accepted a bowl of soup from a servant and grinned. "You know it!"

Eve and Seth were going to fly out on Raxtus to Wyrmroost to deliver news of the Sphinx and his defeat once the bulk of the rebuilding concluded. It was all Eve could talk about while they had laid bricks earlier. Dragons this, treasure that...

As they talked, servants delivered food to the rest of them and they all dived in.

It was foreign to Garreth the way the royalty sat with their people. Eating the same food from the same utensils and sitting on the same floor. It was so different from what Garreth had grown up with.

He liked it.

Kendra finished her soup and nudged Garreth's shoulder. He looked down at her and smiled.

"Warren just made a new list of all the repairs the farmlands need. Most of the crops were destroyed in the West, but we still have the grain fields to the East to replant," she said. "I'm going to go out tomorrow to help regrow them. Come with me?"

"Sure."

A day with Kendra in the country? He couldn't think of anything better.

"Don't get too distracted together," Seth said. His little conniving smile carried the weight of his implication.

"Seth!" Kendra narrowed her eyes, and a weed grew between the floor stones and whipped his ankle.

"Just saying."

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

Green wallpaper covered the walls of Garreth's new room inside the castle. He smiled. He hadn't told Kendra his favorite color, but she had sure guessed quickly. The bed was comfy, the desk polished, and the fireplace warm. But, Garreth knew he would spend most of his time in Kendra's room anyway because she had the nicest view.

Another feature was an antechamber that connected Garreth and Eve's room and allowed for easy access between the siblings. However, instead of Eve, Seth burst into Garreth's room from that door.

Seth had his cloak on and he stopped in his tracks when he saw Garreth. Guilt plastered Seth's face but he grinned nevertheless. "Oh! Didn't expect to see you here."

Inside, Garreth held great mirth. At this point, Seth felt like his own little brother. But on the outside, he raised an eyebrow and tried to look serious. "Then, why were you coming into my room?"

"Well, you know," Seth said. He skirted around the room, picking up the various trinkets Garreth had collected and laying them down after a cursory inspection. Silence stretched until Seth spun back around, an idea lighting up his face. "Hey, what are you doing tonight?"

"Sleeping?"

A wry smile painted Seth's lips. "You are too perfect for Kendra."

"See, I feel like you meant that as an insult, but I love Kendra so I will take that as a compliment."

Seth laughed. "You know, when I first met you, I thought you were a coxcomb."

"You're just full of kindness today."

"Come with me and the boys to the taravan tonight." Seth ran to his closet and shuffled until he pulled out a long, black coat.

Garreth grimaced. There was no world in which he wished to go to the tavern with Seth and his friends. He loved the kid, but...that was not his idea of fun.

Seth took Garreth's face as an negative answer and pleaded with his hands clasped together. "Warren won't let us go unless someone responsible is there. You're just as much of a wet blanket as Kendra so I figured you fit the bill."

At this point, Garreth's serious face broke and he laughed at Seth's audacity. "Why aren't you just sneaking out?"

"The alewife knows me. She kicks me out if I don't have someone. It's 'cause I keep winning every round of cards."

"I'm sure that's the only reason."

A grin grew on Seth's face as he watched Garreth's defense fall. "Please?"

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

The boys turned out to include Ronodin, Newel, Doren, and Eve. However, Eve wasn't old enough to get into the tavern yet, so Garreth made her stay home in the castle. She wasn't happy about that at all, and Garreth worried about their adjacent rooms. With such easy access, he imagined he might find a toad in his bed tomorrow.

After Garreth cleared Seth's presence with the alewife, the princeling raced to the card tables to immediate groans from the surrounding patrons. Seth hadn't been lying about his winning streak.

Newel and Doren split off early and spent the night chasing around dryads and hamadryads. Of course, they ended up leaving with just each other, as always.

In contrast, Garreth spent the night surveying the tavern from his corner seat, ensuring Seth didn't get into too much trouble. He didn't want to have to tell his girlfriend that he let her little brother tangle himself into a knot. That, and he cared about Seth.

After a few drinks with random patrons, Ronodin slid into the booth with Garreth. He handed Garreth a pitcher of ale. They hadn't talked much since the shrine dedication, but Garreth had long since lost his animosity.

"How does it feel to be anonymous?" Ronodin asked.

No one in Fablehaven knew his true identity yet. It was incredibly freeing. Garreth was able to work through all his own business privately, instead of having all eyes on him. What a breath of relief.

"It's nice," Garreth said.

Ronodin nodded and they sat in the cacophony of the tavern for a few more moments before he spoke up. "So, when are you and Kendra having the wedding? Autumn?"

Their friends had echoed a similar refrain. Garreth smiled. "We're just courting."

"Is that what we call being irrevocably intertwined now?"

Garreth couldn't help but chuckle. It was true. Their relationship transcended the shallow connection courting suggested. But, it was also true that they were only courting at the moment. Neither was the type to rush into things. Not to even mention the diplomatic consequences that would have to be considered regarding a union.

That was for later.

"How's your scamming business going?" Garreth asked.

Ronodin waved a hand dismissively. "I gave up on that."

Garreth raised his eyebrows. "Then, what are you up to?"

"Rebuilding. Just like everyone else. Maybe I'll help Kendra with her new magic school once it's over. But, I think I'm going to take advantage of the new shrine and visit some family."

It was times like this when talking about magic where Garreth knew each word individually but could not hope to parse the meaning of the sentence. Instead, he hummed noncommittally. "Has it been a long time?"

"Yes. It has. My family are not the social type. I'm probably one of the few unicorns you'll ever meet. We tend to not come to Earth."

Garreth gazed at Ronodin critically. Ronodin looked like a human in every aspect. If he was being honest, sometimes he doubted that Ronodin was actually a unicorn. Avatars were explained to him and all, but...really?

Ronodin saw his gaze and laughed.

It was for that reason, that twenty minutes later, Garreth and Seth ended up riding a sleek black unicorn with a red horn over the hills of Fablehaven just outside the citadel's walls. Seth whooped with delight and Garreth held onto the mane hair with white knuckles. Ronodin as a horse retained all of his personality, which was to say that he bucked and threw them off into the meadow.

Seth rolled over in the grass, laughing to himself as Ronodin transformed back into the man Garreth knew and cracked his neck.

"Goddamn, you guys are heavy."

Seth, still engulfed in his laughter, sent an accusatory pointing finger in Garreth's direction and Garreth sighed.

But, it wasn't a sigh of exhaustion despite the late hour. It was a sigh fighting back a smile.

They made him feel like the kid he never got to be in the wake of his mother's death. The people here made Fablehaven feel like his home.

He was eternally grateful.

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

The next week saw the grand re-opening of the school house. Bright, blue paint covered the bricks Garreth had laid with Eve and dozens of tiny faces looked up at him and Kendra as they stood at the front.

He held a potted plant for her. It held a few closed bluebells, not yet bloomed.

"See, when I do this." Kendra stretched her fingers to the plants and spoke an incantation. Garreth knew she didn't need one to do such simple magic, but it was more for the benefit of the students. The bluebells opened and bloomed. New shoots darted up beside the first two. "This happens."

Gasps and excitement burst from the juvenile crowd.

"What could we do with this type of nature magic? Anyone have an idea?" Kendra scanned the raised hands. "Yes, you?"

"Make a lot of flowers for the festivals." The culprit was a elven girl with pointed ears. Stars filled her eyes as she stared up at Kendra. Kids absolutely adored her.

"Yes. Absolutely. Anyone else?"

Another hand shot up from a boy in the front row. His smile had two gaps. "Grow food."

"Exactly!" Kendra said. She leaned in conspiratorially and whispered to the kids. "Guess what we're using to regrow our fields right now?"

A chorus of "magic" lit up the room. Snot flew as kids blew their noses and grubby hands flew into the air.

"Any other questions?"

A boy in the front raised his hand. Before Kendra pointed at him, he started to talk.
"Can you do any tricks?"

Kendra smiled. "Yes. Remember the more practical applications we talked about with magic, too."

"Pretty art is a practical application," Garreth said. As an artist himself, he felt it necessary to defend his craft.

"Right." She sent him a smile.

Kendra opened her palm and revealed an orb of light. It floated up to the ceiling. She handed Garreth a quill and he popped it. A shower of sparks descended onto the children below to oohs and aahs.

As the two left the school for regular instruction to resume, Kendra reiterated her most important point. "Remember, if you think you have a talent for magic, stop by the shrine! In a few short weeks, we're going to have a school there for magical instruction on the weekends."

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

Several colors swirled together as Garreth's paintbrush bristles twitched back and forth on the canvas. He focused, trying to hold the handle tighter but his hand wouldn't stop shaking. His goal of a precise white highlight on the flowers became unreachable as the canvas turned into a mess of white blobs.

Garreth sighed and put the paintbrush down. Bitterness swelled and he stretched his shoulder. The scar tissue pulled as he went through the exercises that relieved the bulk of the tingling and pain around his shoulder and arm. After almost two months now, his injury had still not healed, and the doctor, Tanu, had told him to adapt to his new way of living.

With his left hand (his new good hand), he placed the paintbrush in the water and sat back on his stool, staring at his unfinished painting of blobs.

The vision of a pretty blue flower bouquet had been a wash, and he had no one to share his frustration with as he hadn't shown anyone his recent attempts at painting yet. Thinking of doing so made Garreth curl in on himself.

It was enough that everyone knew he couldn't fight with a sword or write his own thoughts down anymore. It was enough he felt like he was a child again, learning how to do everything with his other hand.

Even seeing the kids in the schoolhouse write swooping letters better than he could caused tears to well up in his eyes. Tears of shame and of frustration.

Garreth scrubbed at his face and tried to make the thoughts stop. Logically, he knew he had escaped death by a margin much smaller than anyone liked to tell him. He was the luckiest man in the world. But, he still struggled to accept his new challenges.

The next night, he found himself on the knight's training grounds. Over and over, he used his left hand to parry and stab but it just wasn't the same. After frustration clouded his thoughts, he switched the sword back to his familiar right hand and slashed at the training dummy. The impact reverberated up his arm and into his shoulder, causing him to instinctively drop the sword in the face of such blinding pain. He stumbled into the castle wall and sunk to the ground, cradling his right arm as he rode out the worst of the spasms.

Tears fell from his eyes and his vision blurred until the training ground was almost as much of a blurry mess as his paintings.

Only in the dead of night did he try these things and yet he still failed. It didn't feel good. He had relied on his swordsman ability so much to save his life in Terrabelle and in the ziggurat. He had only stayed up to par with the magical crew due to his excellent slicing and slashing. Now, without it, did he measure up? He wasn't a prince anymore, he wasn't a swordsman, and he couldn't even paint a pretty picture. Who was he?

A purple blob expanded at the center of his blurry vision, and Garreth blinked the tears away until Kendra emerged, concern pulling her face into a frown. Her curly hair was tucked into a long braid and her purple night dress scraped the muddy ground. Her beauty still never failed to astonish Garreth.

She pried his vice-like grip off of his trembling arm and cradled it in her own. Her eyes glowed as she pulled the pain away from his body. That was a new thing—her eyes glowing with magic. It had stuck ever since the Reclamation of Fablehaven. It forced everyone to come to terms with the fact that the bubbly, sweet princess quite literally had the force of a goddess behind her. Of course, even without it, she was always intimidating when it came down to it.

Despite his pride for Kendra and her accomplishments, sometimes he worried she would grow tired of him and leave him for someone on her level. He felt so reduced compared to who she had fallen in love with.

"I'm sorry," Kendra said. She finished alleviating the physical pain and massaged his shoulder.

Garreth shook his head. Guilt settled in, a new pain taking over. "Stop it."

"I should've been more careful when I was healing you. I could've done it better."

"You saved my life." Garreth used his good hand to cradle her cheek and wipe away her tears.

Garreth hated this. He didn't want to make her cry. Not again. Not after so many tears. She blew everyone's minds, but she still felt she could do better. Garreth knew the feeling of immense responsibility. But, it wasn't something you could ever fulfill. Expectations always stayed just above your reach.

He could take some of his own advice.

Kendra pursed her lips. "I just hate seeing you in pain."

"As do I. Don't cry. Without you, I wouldn't be alive to have these problems."

"Without me, you would be safe at home and perfectly healthy."

"Don't do that." Garreth frowned. He pulled her in for a hug. "I never want to see a life without you. I love you. More than anything."

It was true. Despite all the changes and challenges his new life had come with, he cringed at the thought of returning to his old. Garreth didn't want to be the person he once was again. He wanted to be himself now. Even if that meant he needed to learn a few new things.

"I love you too." She pulled back and helped him to his feet. "Now, let's get back inside."

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Despite the warmth of his new life, Garreth still felt out of place. The food was different, the clothing was different. Fablehaven didn't celebrate the same festivals and Garreth found himself missing the safety of familiarity.

On one hand, he felt ungrateful to even think these thoughts. But, Garreth wasn't alone.

A steady stream of magical refugees flowed into Fablehaven ever since the they had reclaimed the citadel. Despite having no magic of his own, Garreth related to the new citizens and felt like one of them. He ate lunch with cyclopes, babysat satyr toddler triplets, and played in a sports league with all sorts of centaurs, hags, nymphs, dryads, and dwarves.

His out-of-placeness allowed him to find a place with other refugees that missed an unwelcoming home. However, together, they built a community worth staying for.

Soon enough, Terrabelle ceased to cross Garreth's mind when he thought of home. Home became his bedroom within the castle. Home became Kendra. Home became the raucous dinners they had every night. Home became Newel and Doren cajoling him into sneaking them into the castle.

Instead of the cold, impersonal walls of the Terrabellian court room, Home became a place of love and security. He didn't want it any other way.

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Garreth surveyed his new finished painting. It was a sunrise. He hadn't needed any precise strokes to accomplish the blended light, and pride swelled in his chest. It was different, but it wasn't bad.

Garreth's rumination ended when a servant knocked on his chamber doors. The man poked his head in and surveyed the bedroom until his eyes landed on Garreth. "You are needed in the war room, your grace."

"Thank you."

Before the door even shut, Garreth shot to his feet. War room? What could possibly be going on? But, he answered his own questions immediately. Dread settled in Garreth's stomach—Terrabelle. It had to be.

Consequences were coming.

In his pajamas, Garreth rushed through the castle hallways. The sun had long since set, so the windows only offered a glimpse into darkness. He shuffled along by touch, memory, and the few torch braziers that cast sufficient light.

It had taken time for Garreth to become accustomed to the layout, but now he sped through the castle's hallways like a native. Whenever he thought of home, he thought of Fablehaven. It was a bittersweet feeling.

His homeland was no longer his.

When he entered the room, Kendra, Seth, Warren, and Eve were already waiting. Seth and Eve were supposed to be resting for their early morning departure for Wyrmroost tomorrow. Not a good omen to be up at this hour, and Garreth could see it in their dark circles.

Stan and Ruth were absent—regents in nothing but name. Their sickness had only gotten worse. Stan couldn't speak clearly anymore, and he just babbled gibberish all day. Garreth knew Kendra felt guilty about that. That she could've been quicker, faster, and they wouldn't be so decimated. But, her grandparents were very old. Their deterioration had been no surprise to Garreth.

"Is anyone else coming?" Garreth took his seat next to Kendra. She had saved it for him. If dread hadn't sunk its claws in him already, he would have smiled at the kindness.

"No," Kendra said. "Now, we can begin. Our messengers delivered this just minutes ago."

She unrolled a piece of parchment onto the table. The blue and green flag in the corner, the elaborate signature of his father—Garreth had been right. The consequences had arrived.

Kendra looked up at Garreth. "Terrabelle has declared us an enemy nation."

"But, Terrabelle did not declare war," Warren said. His expression held nothing of his usual joviality.

Eve frowned and leaned forward in her chair. "The language seems warlike."

"Our father won't tolerate his humiliation. He will come after us," Garreth said. They would be fools to imagine his father as all bark and no bite.

"But, why did he wait this long to do this? We arrived in Fablehaven two months ago," Seth said.

"I think it's a strategic move mainly for his domestic affairs, and not actually as important to us," Warren said. "King Dalgorel is in a dicey position. With both heirs fled, political prisoners escaped, and the changed political landscape following Sphinx's death, he might not stay in power for long. Other nobles might rise up and make a claim to the throne."

"So, he's using Fablehaven as an enemy to try to consolidate the nation? Rally around the flag?" Kendra pursed her lips. Garreth glanced at her face. He loved Warren, but his anxiety prickled at the chancellor's treatment of the declaration.

Warren shrugged. "It's a bark, not a bite."

"Don't underestimate him. If he feels he's backed into a corner, he may lash out." Garreth ran his hands through his hair. A nervous habit.

Warren leaned back and tapped the table. "Look, once the bulk of the re-building finishes and we formally announce Garreth and Eve as our guests, we can deal with this. That will be in a month or so, no? I would be surprised if anything happens before then."

Garreth stared at Warren. He wanted to believe the man's safer interpretation, but it felt too much like a false carrot. "We must stay vigilant."

"Of course."

Kendra snapped up the parchment. "We can discuss more later, but I had wanted Eve and Seth's voices tonight. It's time for bed, and they need their sleep for their voyage tomorrow."

Once everyone left, Garreth followed Kendra to her chambers. In the waning moonlight, they cuddled next to her fireplace.

"Would you ever want to go back? To Terrabelle?"

Garreth watched the embers die as he mulled over his answer. So many thoughts came to mind.

"I don't know. I want to free my own people from tyranny and violence, but that's not possible right now. I'm not sure what course of action would hurt them the least."

"Whatever you do, Fablehaven will stand behind you."

Garreth smiled. "If all went perfectly, we could unite our kingdoms, you know."

While everyone made light-hearted jokes about marriage at their expense, Garreth could truly not imagine spending his life with anyone else. When he looked to the future, he saw Kendra by his side forever and always. He saw peace and happiness and a thriving kingdom. He saw Seth and Eve becoming famous adventurers and Patton retiring to spend all his time with Lena. He saw Ronodin teaching dark magic alongside Kendra and Newel and Doren stealing apples from roadside carts. He saw Vanessa joining Warren on the court of advisors and becoming his right hand. He saw love and happiness and family in the future.

Kendra laughed. "One day maybe."

He might be thinking too far ahead for now, but it didn't matter to him. Their futures were bright and they would ride out the twilights together. Garreth kissed her cheek.

"One day."

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thank you for reading!

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