Epilogue

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The nightmare…begins again.

A week and a half later

"Why does Kass need both of us for this?" Alexios asks as we head toward the school.

I grunt. "Because after practicing for a week in the dream plane, she's been experimenting with using her powers at the school and wants us to see what she's done before she surprises Meda and the rest of the class with her first lesson on the power of belief in a world that doesn't value childish whimsy. Part of being in a family is supporting one another when they expand their career to encapsulate what they have become as they've grown."

"I still don't know how I ended up as her adopted son."

"That's how marriage works."

"You two haven't actually gotten married yet." Alexios straightens his glove, glares at it, straightens it again, then sighs as he stretches his fingers. "Speaking of things related to marriage, I keep waking up to Chai jumping on my face."

"Chai likes you."

"I am going to burn the bed you provided me with and go back to sleeping in the rafters if something doesn't change." His eyes narrow on Pollux. "And before you suggest the most obvious solution, you know I'm against sleeping with my door closed."

"Kassandra can't have him in her room ever since the great yarn massacre of approximately one week ago."

"Your room."

"No."

"Meda's."

I smirk. "Just accept that you're the chosen one, Xios."

"I will be doing no such thing." Alexios undoes his braid and redoes it tighter as we approach the school building. Unless I'm mistaken, he's fidgeting slightly more than usual. Then again…he is often a bit twitchy.

Rolling his shoulders, Alexios murmurs, "Does something in the air around here smell…off to you?"

Kassandra's quiet school parking lot is as quiet as its ever been, but I search nearby for the sensation of anything amiss. Only the intoxicating taste of Kassandra's magic pricks my senses, so I answer, "No," and let myself in.

Immediately, colors bombard me. Giant flowers dance in a meadow as rivers flow from a waterfall beside the front door. Sky stretches, eliminating all memory that I've just entered a building. For all I know, I've just passed through a trod into Faerie.

Except, I haven't.

In Faerie, the magic runs like water and air. Tasteless and pure. Unclaimed.

Here, everything is my wife.

Beaming, Kassandra leaves her office, which I hardly recognize now that it's nestled into the base of a massive tree. "Hi, dreamboy."

"Hi…" Words fail me. But that's normal whenever I'm around Kassandra. She's just…so…yeah.

Every time I begin to guide her through using her abilities in the dream plane, she overtakes my efforts and steals my breath. She's a natural. And I'm in love.

I'm so deeply and incomprehensibly in love.

"So," she begins, taking my hand, "as you can see, I've started by making the main room into a meadow as vast as childhood imagination to encourage going the distance." She leads me into a mushroom tavern, otherwise known as the school's new kitchen. "Here, my littles can have their meals in the earthy warmth of what I'm calling medievalcore. Next—" She presents a barn filled with hay and lofts and a massive chalkboard. "The classroom. Self-explanatory." At last, she stops Alexios and me in the library, releases my hand, and pinches her chin. "I might have overdone this one. Just a bit."

I crane my neck back to see the dozens of shelves stretching high above us toward a marble ceiling. Pillars hold the hefty roof up, and granite statues in togas line the halls.

It's beautiful.

A flawless depiction of her skills. A perfect way to incorporate her magic into her life and provide a fuller experience for children who can still believe in things as wild as fantasy.

"The bathrooms are still just the bathrooms because they're the bathrooms, you know?" she says.

"May I go to school here?" Alexios asks. "I want to be educated from the barn loft beneath a weighted blanket of hay. I believe it would optimize my learning abilities."

"That's the goal!" Kassandra clasps her hands and sparkles in my general direction. "What do you think? I've thought a lot about how I can use the things I've been given to make something brighter for people without burning myself out. I may not be able to solve world hunger, or fix anyone's souls, but I can add a little magic to someone's childhood. If I can open these doors wide enough to fit anyone who enters, maybe it will be enough to show them they are enough. If that message reaches them during these years while they're becoming whoever they are, maybe they'll carry it for the rest of their lives."

Gathering my senses, I release a breath and cup Kassandra's chin in my hand. "This is all incredible, and I believe your efforts will reach your littles. How are you protecting all of this against those who would be less keen to embrace it?"

Kassandra's smile brims with mischief. "It's age-restricted. To adults, the entire thing is glamoured to look like a normal school house."

I utter a swear. "That's brilliant. And it's stable? Castor can't siphon any magic from here?"

Her little nose sticks in the air. "Anything that leaves the building loses all power, turning into plain old regular non-premium sand."

"Remarkable," I whisper.

Gold-flecked eyes glittering, Kassandra says, "Why, thank you. Life is a lot easier to live when you aren't encumbered by someone else's rules."

A shudder rocks through me as the caress of Kassandra's soul toys with my nerve endings. Taunting.

Without a touch of decorum, Alexios sighs, deeply. "Please stop flirting in my presence. Also, I didn't notice it like this when I was just dropping off Meda's lunch at the school sign, but what in the—" He curses. "—is that incredible scent?"

Reluctantly, I let Kassandra slip away, and she begins counting on her fingers. "I have it smelling like old books in here. I haven't decided what collection of flowers I want the meadow to have yet. Obviously, the classroom has warm hay and pine scents. I opted for a cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger in the mushroom tavern. Just to spice things up." She drops her hand. "What are you smelling?"

Deadpan, Alexios says, "Sin."

Kassandra and I exchange a look, just like our parents tend to. Clearing her throat, Kassandra says, "I…don't think I've intentionally added, um, that aroma. Could you elaborate?"

Alexios folds his arms. "Danger."

"Danger?" I mutter.

"Temptation. Seduction. An incomprehensible amount of vanilla and a reprehensible amount of violence. It is the scent of a very, very interesting soul." His eyes narrow and flick to Kassandra. "Don't worry. It is of age."

"I'm not certain that absolves all of my concerns?"

Alexios's eyes roll. "If you're boring, say that."

"Xios," I growl.

"Kass!" Zahra calls from the main entrance, and Alexios's spine goes rod-straight as the woman sashays into the library and beams at me. "Awesome. You're here." Holding out her hand, she says, "Give me your phone. I've been dying to see what this place looks like after the agony of being the designated human adult making sure Kass's stipulations and what not were working as intended. I'm still offended that someone didn't make an exception for part faes."

"We have no idea who is or isn't part fae, Zahr."

"Uh-huh. Your logic has no power here, for I am incompetent." She sniffs and wiggles her fingers. "Pollux, phone."

I do not actually have my phone on me at the moment.

Before I have to relay that information, however, Alexios begins circling Zahra like a vulture. "Who is this exquisite creature?"

Zahra's brows jump. "Oh. Well, dang. Hi. That's a new voice. Who else is here?"

"Xios, drop your glamour, and behave yourself," I grumble.

"What? Why should I do either of those things?"

"Because it's polite," Zahra provides.

"How come you can hear me while I'm glamoured, angel?" Alexios asks.

Mouthing angel, Zahra locks eyes with Kassandra, then pushes the long half of her hair over her ear. "Um. Because I'm a special snowflake, sweetheart. Is this a happy accident, or are you intentionally flirting with me?"

Alexios chuckles. "And what if I am?"

"Gratitude, but no gratitude. My heart is already taken by deep-fried foods and video games."

"What fun competition."

"Xios…" I look between what is not-exactly my son and Zahra. "What are you plotting?"

"Nothing." Alexios relaxes, adjusts his gloves, and takes in Zahra's every inch—savoring them in a way that raises many, many red flags… Coy, he says, "Or at least nothing yet."