No!

  The magic eaters converged on the angel, and for an instant, they were hidden from sight. Julie strained her failing eyes, desperate to see who it was. When the magic eaters lifted, she’d see the frozen person. She’d see their face and know which of her friends was in here with her and which were safe in Avalon.

  The angel was only hidden for an instant. The magic eaters surged past them and slammed into the portal, colliding with its light again and again but unable to penetrate it.

  Unhurt, the angel kept striding fearlessly through the realm. More magic eaters streamed past them toward the glowing portal.

  How? Julie’s mind whispered, sluggish now.

  A face. She couldn’t see much of it. Only a slit remained in her vision. She glimpsed a smooth chin, a mouth that curled up, dark curls tumbling onto skin the warm gold of a harvest moon, and the corner of a soft brown eye.

  Rosa.

  Julie’s mother wrapped her arms around her, and her field of vision shifted as though she were being moved. In the scrap, Julie saw a blur of white coming nearer, lips speaking gentle reassurance. The magic eaters had lost interest and departed, realizing the portal was inedible. They had not been after Rosa. Her scent had not attracted them.

  She was human.

  The light grew brighter and brighter, then vanished as Julie’s vision faded. She didn’t need to see it to know that everything was going to be okay. Mom would make sure of that.

  Light, sound, the taste of blood in her mouth, and arms wrapped around her, rocking her.

  The smell of the earth after rain.

  Everything came back too quickly for Julie to register anything except that smell—the smell of her husband and love. Her fingers found dirty silk, and she clutched his battle-worn tunic and sobbed as she clung to him.

  “Oh, love. Oh, love.” Taylor cradled her in his lap, rocking her as he stroked her hair and showered kisses on her forehead and cheeks. “My wife. My precious wife. My amazing wife.”

  Other people spoke, but Julie wrapped her arms around Taylor and held him with all her strength. He was her entire world, not only at this moment but all of them.

  Their sobs faded. Taylor cupped her face in his hands and gazed at her. Julie had never considered the miracle of sight. Of being able to see the smooth texture of his tawny skin, the way his hair fell over his forehead, and the crinkles at the corners of his eyes.

  “I love you,” she croaked. “I will always love you.”

  “My darling, there was never any doubt of that.” Taylor pulled her close and kissed her, tasting of salty tears.

  When he pulled away, Julie looked for Rosa. “Mom!”

  “I’m here, baby.” Rosa grasped Julie’s shoulder.

  “Of course you are.” Julie laughed through the knot that had formed in her throat. “You always are.”

  She held out her arms like a toddler, and Rosa hoisted her to her feet and gave her a hug that crushed her ribs. Julie buried her face in her mother’s curls, which smelled of lavender, and held on.

  When she finally stepped back, she held Rosa at arm’s length and gaped at her mother as though she were seeing her for the first time. “How did you do that?”

  Rosa laughed. “I’m human, baby girl. It’s my superpower.” She grinned. “I wasn’t alone. Everyone here did what they could to save you.”

  Julie blinked in surprise when she saw that the room was full of her closest friends. She was in her suite at Camelot Hall. Qtana’s eyes were tired behind her thick glasses. Olena slumped on the couch, smiling through a thousand-yard stare. The High Magic Division had removed their helmets, and their grins shone.

  “Meadows!” Kaplan roared, striding up to her. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her until her teeth rattled. “Don’t ever do that to me again, okay? Ever!” He squashed her in a hug and bawled like a baby.

  “Group hug!” Bianca wailed.

  Everyone piled onto Julie, suffocating her in a heap of love. She didn’t know if she was laughing or crying, but whatever it was left her breathless.

  When they all stepped back, there was one unfamiliar face, but Julie knew she’d seen that face before.

  “Look what you made me do,” the fae grumbled in Hat’s voice.

  “Merlin?” Julie cried.

  He smiled. “That name always suited me well.” He held his arms open, and his tone softened. “I’ve been waiting to do this for a long time.”

  Julie laughed and stepped into his embrace. He held her for several seconds, and the warmth she’d often felt on her head hugged her entire body. He stepped back.

  “Julie.” Ilsa’s eyes widened. “Your...your wings.”

  Julie flexed her shoulders. They were too light, but the tiny note of sorrow that floated through her mind couldn’t drown out her joy that she was here with her family and they were safe from the Wild Hunt forever.

  “They fell off when the magic eaters got me.” She touched her shoulder. “I guess I’m back to being human, but that’s okay. Sometimes, humans have more magic than the rest of us put together.”

  Rosa smiled.

  “All the same.” Morgan stepped forward and rested a hand on Julie’s shoulder. “It’s easier to be Eternity Queen when you can shoot fireballs from your fists.”

  “Agreed.” Arthur laid his hand on Julie’s arm.

  “Can you give her magic back?” Taylor asked softly.

  When Merlin smiled, the wisdom of millennia shone in his eyes. “Not if all of her magic was destroyed, Taylor.”

  “Then there’s no hope.” Julie shrugged. “They ate it all.”

  “Oh, not all of it.” Merlin grinned. “There’s a deeper magic than any we wield. It’s stronger than any magic eater can consume. This power lies far beyond the petty tricks of the elements or moonlight.” He touched a fingertip to Julie’s chin, raising her head. “When an innocent life is given for the lives of others, the world changes. Anything becomes possible.”

  Silently, the Lunar Fae gathered around Julie, laying their hands on her one by one. Eglantine squeezed in among them and placed a hand patterned with scales on Julie’s back.

  Merlin rested both hands on Julie’s head, and their warmth was reassuring.

  As one, the fae bowed their heads, and a silver glow rose from them. It became too bright for Julie to see.

  She closed her eyes and felt the moonlight soak into her.

  Iris Wingfinger moved around Julie like she was made of air. The Aether Elf danced this way and that in front of the full-length mirror in the bedroom that had once belonged to Esmerelda. Julie had made a few tweaks of her own—it was time to install a shitload of bookshelves—but the stained-glass windows and the canopy bed were the same as they had been when Mother was alive.

  Through the open window, the noises made by a happy crowd floated into the room, the way they had done the day Esmerelda died. The cheers and laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.

  “Sounds like a lot of people,” Julie observed.

  “Oh, yes.” Iris laughed. “This is the event of the century.”

  Julie scoffed. “Excuse me. It’s the event of the millennium.”

  Iris grinned. “I stand corrected.” She stepped back, wafting a last detail into place with a delicate wave of her hand. “There! Tell me what you think.”

  Julie turned to her reflection and froze. Her hands slowly rose to her mouth.

  “Is it okay?” Iris asked nervously.

  “Oh, Iri.” Julie blinked back tears. “It’s incredible.”

  The gown was woven from chain mail, the first rays of dawn, and the tears of a dragon. The tiny silver links fell over Julie’s hips and shoulders with impossible lightness, but when she brushed the skirt, it was metal. It caught the light from the stained-glass windows and scattered it around the room in rainbow motes. Her cloak was gossamer-thin, made of tulle and starlight, and Iris fanned it out behind her like a bridal veil.

  She touched the pendant hanging from a silver chain around her neck. It was a chunk of selenite that sparkled like the moon’s glow had been captured within it. Esmerelda’s amulet. Her hands were bare except for her wedding and engagement rings, but she wore thick copper bracelets studded with selenite, gifts from the Copper Dwarves long ago.

  Julie’s head was bare…for now.

  Knuckles rapped on the door. “Are you nakey?” Eglantine demanded.

  “Nope,” Julie called.

  The door swung open, and Eglantine and Rosa entered. The young dragon squealed with excitement and bounced a circle around Julie. Rosa clapped her hands to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes.

  “I never thought you’d look more amazing than you did on your wedding day, baby girl,” she croaked.

  “Is T ready?” Julie asked.

  “Ready and waiting, Your Majesty.” Dylan strode into the room, as dapper as ever in a pinstriped suit and a matching bowtie. “It’s time.”

  Julie stared at herself in the mirror for a second, then smiled. “Yeah, it is.”

  Taylor waited in the hallway outside the throne room. This time, there was no angry chatter behind the double doors. Instead, she heard the full-throated symphony of a chorus of firebirds.

  Julie’s husband looked every inch the king. He wore ceremonial armor with the crest of the Mystic Dusk on the breastplate. The hilts of the twin daggers slung by his sides were decorated with an intricate network of white gold and emeralds shaped like leaves, and the cloak that hung from his shoulders was navy blue, which made his eyes look even darker.

  His mouth opened and shut several times before any sound came out. “Babe, you look amazing.”

  Julie’s fingers intertwined with his. “Glad to know I can still take your breath away.”

  He kissed her forehead. “Forever, love.” Since he was an elf, he meant just that.

  The five werewolves swarmed around Julie’s legs, shampooed and smelling like lavender for the occasion instead of their usual combination of frat boy and wet dog. Each wore a collar heavy with jewels, and Blake’s bionic leg had been polished until it gleamed. Eglantine and Rosa had already taken their places in the audience. For now, except for the panting of the werewolves, Julie and Taylor were alone.

  “Ready to do this?” Julie asked.

  Taylor laughed. “Go on another adventure with you? Always.”

  A fanfare blared behind the doors, a rousing explosion.

  Julie squeezed Taylor’s hand. “That’s our cue.”

  The doors swung open. Resplendent in their dress uniforms, Korin, Raven, and Jae held the doors and saluted, grinning like pumpkins.

  Julie led Taylor into the throne room. She barely saw the cameras and reporters that were everywhere or the well-dressed crowd crammed into the throne room wall to wall. Her eyes caught the silk banners that hung between the sandstone pillars around the room, punctuated by flags dangling from pots above every pillar, and her heart swelled.

  The crests of every paranormal royal family of every species hung in this room today, welcoming her to her throne. Flowers dripped from every surface in a profusion of color, from midnight blue through bright vermilion to the purest white, and Julie’s eyes stung when she saw that they were all lilies.

  Her eyes found Julius in the crowd, and he grinned beneath the iron crown of the vampires. The crowd was filled with familiar faces. Rosa and Ernesto were in the front row next to Eglantine, who was proudly wearing the crown of the Deep. Ilsa and Victor held hands beside them. Kaplan and Penelope sat nearby. Elirabor curled through the back of the room, taking up most of the space.

  Taylor’s unicorn stood to one side. He’d allowed somebody to braid daisies into his mane.

  The High Magic Division stood behind the throne, their armor so highly polished that the light from the stained-glass dome on the roof glittered on it. Golden silk capes fell from their shoulders to the floor in rich folds. Arthur and Morgan stood among them. The tears in King Arthur’s eyes made his smile even more genuine.

  Merlin stood by the Eternity Throne. The fae’s ceremonial splendor and spreading wings contrasted with the plain, chipped throne, which matched the smaller one by its side. He raised his arms with a silken rustle, and the crowd fell silent. The firebirds perched around the throne stopped singing.

  Julie’s and Taylor’s boots clicked on the marble floor and their armor jingled as they walked to the thrones. They took their positions in front of them, silently facing the crowd.

  Arthur moved to Merlin’s side. The crowd bowed their heads in unison, showing respect to their former king.

  “Friends,” he intoned. “Fellow paranormals. I have never stood before such a richly diverse crowd before and never on an occasion as joyous as this one.” His red lips curved into a smile. “You call my reign ‘the Golden Age,’ but when I ruled, we were still fighting for what I see before me here and now.

  “We had only the first glimmers of the peace that now pervades the paranormal world.” He extended an arm toward Julie and Taylor. “The queen who begins her reign today is not only my heir. She is also the fulfillment of all that I hoped to become. This queen will reign over a longer and greater Golden Age than I governed.”

  Tears sparkled in Arthur’s eyes as he finished. His words were softly spoken, yet they carried across the throne room. “Friends, she has done what I had only hoped to do. What I see before me is the fulfillment of all my dreams and aspirations. In Luna’s name, may her rule be long and rich, and may you all benefit from her presence on the throne for millennia.”

  Applause filled the room as Arthur returned to his place.

  It faded when Merlin spoke. “Paranormals of all dimensions,” he boomed. “Subjects of the Eternity Throne, I present Julia Artura and Taylor Pendragon as your Eternity Queen and King.”

  The crowd rose as one.

  “Do you recognize these paranormals as your lieges and rulers?” Merlin asked.

  Rosa’s yell rose above the others. “We accept them.”

  Julie fought to hold back tears.

  Merlin turned to Julie and Taylor, his smile crinkling the fine wrinkles in his skin. “Do you, the appointed and elected rulers of all paranormals, vow to serve and cherish your subjects? To treat them with justice and mercy? To know nothing but righteousness, have no partiality, tolerate no prejudice, and promote peace and freedom for as long as your lives extend?”

  Julie held out her hand, and Taylor placed his over it. She remembered the first time she had done this. They had been standing on the banks of a river in Gleann Scáth an Bháis, and her lunar power had still felt distant and alien. Now, summoning the geas was as easy as breathing.

  The throne room shivered as the earth shifted beneath it. A gale howled around the towers of the Eternal Palace, old Camelot, and tendrils of moonfire wrapped around Julie’s fingers. They touched Taylor’s skin without burning it.

  Thunder growled. Clouds blotted out the sunlight as rain drummed on the glass, but the light in the throne room was bright as the geas gathered above their intertwined hands, a bundle of shining light.

  Julie and Taylor spoke with one voice. “I so vow.”

  The geas pierced them. Taylor’s body stiffened as the white heat of the geas shot through their cells, igniting them but destroying nothing. Julie closed her eyes and savored the familiar heat as it returned to its spot behind her breastbone, where it had lodged before the magic eaters destroyed it.

  When she opened her eyes, the storm was gone. The crowd blinked. She looked at Taylor, whose eyes held a strength she’d never seen in them. She knew he felt as powerful as she did, made greater by the vow they’d taken.

  A murmur of awe ran through the crowd. Cameras snapped as reporters leaned closer to capture the first Eternity Monarchs in history to seal their coronations with a geas.

  Merlin leaned closer. “For the record,” he hissed, “I still think that that was a stupid idea.”

  “I mean, when do you not?” Julie shot back.

  Merlin sighed and extravagantly rolled his eyes.

  Sir Bedivere silently approached, carrying a velvet cushion on which the Holy Grail rested. Moonlight swirled within it like liquid nitrogen, and wisps escaped over the lip as he elevated it to be within Merlin’s reach.

  Merlin took it and nodded at Julie and Taylor. They knelt together, still holding hands, and bowed their heads.

  “I anoint you as Eternity King and Queen over all paranormals of every dimension,” he intoned.

  The firebirds sang with the voices of a hundred violins, and the crowd, still on their feet, accompanied them. The Anthem of the Eternal Palace, sung in Ancient Fae, bounced off the stained glass dome. Julie felt moonlight trickle across her scalp. She turned her head to watch Taylor’s anointing. The silver droplets gleamed like stars in the soft, dark curls of his hair.

  Merlin returned the Grail to its cushion. Sir Bedivere retreated while Dylan strode to the thrones, bearing a cushion on each hand. A crown wrought from gold in the shapes of the sun and moon and tumbling leaves rested on one.

  The other held the Eternity Crown, which was carved from a single crystal of selenite set with jewels all around. Moonlight trickled from it in the presence of so many Lunar Fae. The great amethyst front and center was a deep royal purple.

  Merlin picked up the smaller gold crown and gently lowered it onto Taylor’s hair, where it glowed brightly.

  Julie’s pulse quickened as Merlin turned to the second cushion and lifted the Eternity Crown. Arthur had worn this crown, as had every Eternity King and Queen since he reigned. Her mother had worn it as well.

  May I wear it as well as you did, Julie whispered in her heart.

  Merlin hesitated with the crown poised above her head. Oh, you will, Julie. You will.

  Julie bowed her head to receive her title and responsibilities. The music rose to a crescendo, and every muscle in Julie’s body tightened as he lowered the selenite onto her head. She’d expected it to be heavy, and it was, but when she raised her head, the movement was effortless. She was more than strong enough to wear this crown.