"Oh, the media is all over this. It's been on the news twenty-four seven since we came through. You can't hide an exodus of an entire world." He leaned over, snatched the leather case from the nightstand, and opened the flap. The screen of his iPad sprang to life.
I started, gaping at the innocent little screen. Almost an entire year of nothing but magic, and now I was back to a world of electricity and gadgets. Alex noticed and chuckled. "You get used to it. After a while it just feels like coming home after living in another country for a long time." He shrugged.
"Not that I'll have to get used to it now," I added.
"True."
He entered his password, and I grinned up at him. "My birthday?"
He smiled at his screen. "Of course." He touched his news app, and there it was, a headline that said:
Magical Fugitives Seek Refuge on Earth.
And right below it was a tagline that made me laugh: Harry Potter Fans' Greatest Dreams Come True: Real Wizards Live on Earth.
"Seriously?" I laughed.
"Wait, it gets better." He swiped a new screen.
Middle-earth is Real.
And a new screen.
Alderaan Happened.
Another screen.
This one was a picture of the White House with a bunch of people wearing tin hats and protesting. The sign in front said: Government's biggest hoax yet: Aliens have already landed.
I couldn't stop laughing. "Alex. This is crazy!"
He shut the cover and set his iPad back on his nightstand.
"What are all these people going to do?"
"The United Nations is discussing that, currently."
"Which means it'll be a while."
He laughed. "No, they'll have to make a decision about this soon. The public is scared to death of Gaians."
"Because of the magic? Is magic working on Earth?"
"Eh…sort of. It's still as difficult to use as it was before, so most Gaians have no access to it, and those who do—like Tran and Mercedes and Lord Dommelier—are being very careful not to use it. The people of Earth have enough to adjust to as it is. Tran suspects it will only be a matter of time before magic becomes a more natural part of the world, like it was on Gaia. It existed here before, you know. Back before Gaia split herself off from Earth. But right now, the public is just afraid of strange aliens from another world that no longer exists."
Yes, I could definitely understand that. But speaking of magic— "Where are Tran and Fleck?"
Alex grinned. "They went off to London."
"London?"
"Tran heard about a particular school of Witchcraft and Wizardry there—"
"I sincerely hope you told him it's not real." I gave him a look.
"Of course I did, but then he was fairly adamant about starting one."
Bewildered, I stared into Alex's bright eyes, suddenly unable to stop smiling. "Earth is never going to be the same again, is it?"
His smile spread slowly across his face. "No, Daria. I don't believe it will ever be the same."
52
DARIA
The next few days were still a little hazy. My conversation with Alex had exhausted me, and I'd taken a long nap shortly after. But when I woke, I still felt delirious—even when the nurse unhooked me from the tubes. Alex said it was because of the pain meds, so I stopped taking them, even though the pain in my body brought me to tears at times. He'd said that channeling the power of the shield should have killed me. He'd felt my magic burn out, and he'd said people die when they push themselves to that point, but somehow I hadn't. By some miracle of Gaia, my spirit had returned, and Alex thought, perhaps, it was Gaia's parting gift to me for setting things right—for destroying Mortis's physical form, even though it'd also destroyed her world. Gaia had come through for me—for us—more than I could've hoped. It made me feel a twinge of guilt for yelling at her on the edge of that cliff.
Alex never left my side, always doing everything he could to ensure my comfort and warmth. He gave me a pair of his sweatpants, which were much too big for me, but I liked wearing them because they were his and they smelled like him. And then at night he'd sleep beside me on his California King. He wouldn't kiss me very much, but he'd hold me close, keeping me warm while I fell asleep to the sound of his deep breathing. I felt so safe with him, so comfortable and so…whole, and being with him in this way made my heart feel fuller than it had ever felt.
"Well, don't you look snazzy." I grinned at Stefan one morning, as he strode into the kitchen to get himself a cup of coffee. He still didn't like coffee. Which was also why he was currently dumping half the contents of coffee creamer into his mug.
Stefan looked like a handsome executive in his tailored grey business suit. I still found it incongruous, seeing him dressed in, well, anything other than leathers and fancy robes. He'd trimmed his hair, too, and styled it with gel, and the smell of Acqua Di Gio followed him into the kitchen. Actually, the Acqua Di Gio sort of took over. Thad coughed opposite me at the kitchen table.
"How many times did you spray that stuff?" Thad made a show of lifting the edge of his sweater over his nose.
Stefan lifted the mug to his mouth and took a slow sip. He winced.
Thad laughed. "Maybe someone oughta give Goldilocks a drink instead. Caffeine only makes nerves worse."
"No." Stefan set his mug down. "You make nerves worse."
This time, I laughed.
"What, all that talk of cannibal cars and mini-dragons keep you up all night?" Thad asked, all innocence.
"You'll be fine, Stef." I stood and walked over to him, giving Thad a look on my way. Thad snorted and shook his head. "You won't even know you're in the air," I continued, leaning back against the kitchen counter.
"Except every time you look out your window…" Thad added.
I gave Thad another look, but he only preened as he chomped on his biscotti.
Stefan sighed and leaned against the counter beside me. "What if I'm not cut out for this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Daria, I'd never stepped foot on Earth until a few weeks ago, and now I'm flying to the other side of this continent to live at its capital, where I know no one. Yes, I technically know the President, but I've never actually met him in person. I've only ever spoken with him on the phone. I don't know this country's ways or its customs—I can't even figure out how to use the bloody remote to the television, and the President's asked me to be Gaia's ambassador!"
I beamed at him.
"Why in the world are you smiling?" he asked. "Daria, I'm serious."
I held my smile. "I know. It's just that…you sound like me, when I first landed in Valdon."
He blinked, his lips parted, and his expression twitched between denial and realization.
I grabbed his hand between both of mine. "You'll be fine, Stef. It's just a lot of technology. Other than that, people are still people, no matter where you live. They still eat and breathe and sleep. They still have feelings and insecurities and fears…"
"They still poop…" Thad chimed in.
"You'll adjust to the customs," I continued, giving Thad another quick look. "I did. And you're in an even better spot than I was, because the people here want to help you. They want you to succeed. All your experiences as a prince make you exactly the kind of diplomat the people of Gaia need in this world, and I can't think of a better person to represent them."
He sighed, and it was as if the world slid off his shoulders. "You really think so?"
I squeezed his hand. "You're just like dad. I know so."
He held my gaze a long moment, then squeezed my hand back.
Stefan walked one hundred pounds lighter as we saw him out the front door and to the taxi waiting at the Del Contes' roundabout. Sonya squeezed him and kissed his cheek, then stood back by Thad and Vera on the porch. Alex helped Stefan load his suitcases in the trunk, and then they said their goodbyes. Part of their goodbyes I couldn't hear, because Stefan whispered something to Alex, and
Alex smiled brilliantly, his eyes finding me at once. I met Stefan by the passenger door as Alex paid the taxi driver.
"Text me when you get to the airport," I said as I hugged Stefan. "Text me when you get to the gate, too. Oh, and make sure to text me when you land in D.C. and—"
"All right!" He laughed. "And you thought our father was overprotective. I'll message you as long as I can figure out how to send messages from this thing." He patted the breast of his jacket, where his smartphone lay hidden in the inside pocket.
"Love you." I smiled.
"Love you too," he said, ducking into the taxi.
Alex slid his arm around me, pulling me close, and we stepped away from the car as Stefan shut the door. The taxi rumbled to life, tires rolled and gravel crunched, and we watched the license plate grow smaller and smaller until it turned out of sight.
Alex squeezed my waist lightly. "You'll see him again soon. Don't worry."
I took a deep, steadying breath and squeezed him back. "I know. It's just…it reminds me of my dad driving away all those years." And now Stefan was to be the face of Gaia, just like my father had always been.
The next few weeks were fairly quiet. Sonya was there, too, but she was like a ghost. Weeks passed, and she never said very much. She tried smiling for our sakes, but I wished she wouldn't. Her smiles saddened me more, because they were a hollow and anemic representation of what they used to be. The little orange flower that had always floated like a flame upon water in the bowl in their sitting room was gone. Alex had said it'd died, and I thought it'd probably died the moment Cicero had passed.
Drago Campinelli called to check on Sonya and give his condolences. He offered to fly her out to Rome, asking if she'd be interested in helping him distribute some of the Gaian artifacts that had made it through to various museums. Alex and I both knew Drago was trying to give her something to keep her busy and give her purpose, but Sonya declined his offer. She said she just needed more time. Alex encouraged her to go, but she wouldn't say another word about it.
Sonya did seem genuinely happy Alex and I were together, though, and sometimes I'd catch her staring at Alex in a way that made me think she was remembering her husband, and then she'd notice me watching her, give me that sad smile, and excuse herself from the room. I wanted to give her comfort, but there was no comforting a person when they'd lost half their person. Only time would help her learn how to function again, but I knew she would never be the same Sonya. For that matter, none of us would be the same.
The days grew longer, now that it was closer to spring, but winter still hadn't released Yosemite Valley from its frozen claws. One late evening, a month since I'd woken in Alex's bed, I was curled up in a huge chair by the fire, wearing a zip-up hoodie and leggings, buried in a blanket and holding a mug of hot cocoa while reading. This had been one of my favorite spots as a child, and I thought I could safely say it was my favorite spot as an adult.
Headlights appeared at the end of the drive, and soon Alex's Jeep pulled around the roundabout. Thad sat in the driver's seat. Somehow, he'd finagled a California Drivers' License out of Drago (don't ask), and ever since then, he and Vera left daily to do things like snowshoe or explore or go to the movies. Car doors shut as they exited the Jeep, and it wasn't long before their tread thudded up the stairs of the front porch. The front door creaked open and their soft voices sounded in the hall.
Vera came into view. She hadn't seen me, though, because she was too busy watching Thad, listening to something he said, and she was red-faced and smiling. She'd been doing that a lot lately when she was with him. Her smiles softened that hard veneer and transformed her into something beautifully vulnerable. And then Thad appeared in my view. He stepped close to Vera, slid his hands in her hair, and kissed her.
I immediately looked back down at the book in my hands and pretended to read.
"Don't think I don't see you over there, Rook," Thad said.
I slowly lifted my gaze. Vera's cheeks splotched bright pink and she grinned awkwardly at me before dashing off. Thad, however, stood confident and tall, and he looked more certain than I'd ever seen him.
"I was trying not to interrupt, genius," I said.
He grinned. "Yeah, and you fade into the background about as well as a strobe light."
I laughed. "So…? You two ready for tomorrow?"
Thad and Vera were flying to Washington D.C. in the morning to meet up with Stefan. He'd offered them jobs to help him in his role as Gaia's ambassador, and Thad and Vera were to act more as his field agents. Stefan had decided he didn't like flying all that much.
"I think so," Thad replied, glancing in the direction Vera had gone. I had a feeling his mind was there, too.
"You know," I started, "I distinctly remember a time when you told me I didn't need to worry about Alex liking her because she wasn't human."
He smirked. "Yeah, well, if I'd told you the reason she wasn't human was because I thought she was part goddess, that would've just given you a complex."
I laughed. "Go on. Get out of here."
He didn't have to be asked twice.
"Thad…"
He paused and looked back at me.
I smiled. "I'm happier than you could know." I nodded toward where Vera had disappeared.
He smiled. He didn't smirk. He smiled. And then he bolted after her. I went back to reading, and Alex appeared in the threshold of the room. I set my bookmark in place and shut my book.
"Hey." He walked toward me, his arms hanging casually at his sides. He had on a fitted forest-green thermal and a pair of stonewashed jeans, and he wore a grey wool beanie on his head. A few dark curls poked out from under it, and between the thermal and the beanie, his eyes looked exceptionally green.
"Hey," I said, moving my book and mug to the small table beside me and sitting up in the chair, giving him room to sit on the ottoman.
He lifted my legs before sitting, and then set my legs in his lap and rested his hands on my shins. The heat of his palms seeped through my leggings and into my calves. I loved how easy things had become between us—how easy he was with me. It was as comfortable and natural as it'd always been, but different, too, because there was the added element of love, and that love had so many new layers. I loved exploring those layers, and I knew there were so many more layers to explore, if only he'd let us. But he was still true to his word and kept our physical intimacy behind a certain, distinct, and very frustrating line.
"It's burning up over here." He looked from the fire to my blanket to my cup of hot cocoa.
I smiled. "Not all of us are walking space heaters, you know."
He laughed. I loved the sound of it, and I loved the way he was looking at me right then. And he kept looking at me—my face, my hair, my body—and then his eyes settled on mine again, the warmth of the fire reflecting in his.
"My mother's agreed to go to Rome," he said.
I gasped. "She has? Oh, Alex, that's great! Did she just tell you?"
He nodded. "She called Drago this afternoon. He's making travel arrangements for her tomorrow to fly out there in a few weeks."
"How long will she stay?"
"She doesn't know. But…I'm glad she's going."
I'd expected Alex to act a little more relieved about this, but he almost seemed…nervous. Before I could ask him about it, he presented an envelope.
It was addressed to me, and it was from Yale University. My heart skipped a beat. I glanced up at Alex, who grinned. My hands shook as I ripped open the envelope and pulled out the paper—er, papers, rather—and then I read over the first page. Three times.
"So…?" Alex leaned forward to read the letter's contents.
"I got in!" I all but screamed, waving the paper at him. "I get to enroll for this fall!"
He smiled, and that smile was full of all kinds of pride. "You seem surprised."
"Are you kidding? It's Yale! And I've been offered a full-ride plus living expenses! They liked my"—I glanced back at the letter—"'pass
ion for social justice' and feel I've 'demonstrated the rare attributes of leadership.'"
"Let me see that." He reached for the letter, which I handed to him, and then he scanned over its contents.
"See!" I knew my voice was two levels too high, but I couldn't contain myself. Actually, if Alex weren't holding on to my legs, I'd probably be jumping in the chair right now.
"Hm…" he said. "Seems like they're giving scholarships to anyone, these days. Though you are passionate, I'll give them that."
I jabbed him in the ribs, and he grabbed my hand and chuckled, then handed me back my letter.
"So…International Relations it is, then," he said.
I couldn't stop staring at the letter in my hands. I had been accepted to the Jackson Institute of Global Affairs. At Yale! It was the very first time in my life I'd made a choice for my future. I smiled back at him, and he smiled right back. And then I set down my letter, grabbed his face, and kissed him. It was a very enthusiastic kiss—so enthusiastic he started laughing because I was pushing him back so far I was practically pushing him off the ottoman. He grabbed my shoulders and held me off so he could sit up straight again.
"Do you know what this means?" I said. He was still holding on to my shoulders. "I'm going to college! Alex! I've never gone to a public school in all my life, and I'll have a schedule and professors and…there will be other people in my classes!"
He chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I thought over the reality of having other people in my classes, even as Alex started kissing along my jaw.
"Alex…"
He kissed the space beneath my ear.
"What if…what if they're all worlds smarter than me?"
He kissed my neck.
"Alex, this is a legitimate concern, here. I'm going to attend an Ivy League college and I've never even—"
He kissed my mouth so I couldn't continue, and then he pulled back and said, "I'm so proud of you." He held my face. "You'll be fine, love. More than fine. You were thrown a role as princess over a magical world, and you adjusted—well. It was impressive, really. You can handle Yale. What we don't know is if Yale can handle you." He grinned and I grinned back, and then he let go of my face. "So…it's safe to assume you're accepting it?"
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