Fairyville (38 page)

"I know you don't remember," Mrs. Pruitt's grown son was telling her, "but we all agreed to this."

Mrs. Pruitt had collapsed back against a tall red boulder that was probably going to ruin her sweater set. She was clutching Zoe's hand hard enough that Zoe's fingers were going numb. The other Oscar knelt before her and spoke gently. He was a pleasant, late twenty-ish young man—though his adroitness at avoiding being sucked into Mrs. Pruitt's hysterics suggested more years than that. His smiling calm reminded Zoe of Magnus, and she wondered if Fairy might be nicer place than its queen's habits suggested.

If it was, that had to be good news for Alex and Oscar.

"I wouldn't have done that," Mrs. Pruitt said, swiping at her nose with the tissue Zoe had given her. "I never would have agreed to give up my son."

"You did it to save my life," the other Oscar said, "and in return, you promised to love the boy you have as if he were your own. My fairy foster mother showed me the dream where we all decided. You said you wanted to experience unconditional love from the inside out. You said your mother had never loved you like that, and you wanted to be different."

Mrs. Pruitt's gasp of recognition was a sound Zoe had heard before. Her clients did the same thing each time her ghosts found the right detail to convince their loved ones that they were real.

"Mother always said my sister was the smart one," Mrs. Pruitt exclaimed. "She said it was lucky I married because I'd never make it on my own the way Conine did."

"You see," said the other Oscar, laying his hands gently on her knees.

"But you left me!" Mrs. Pruitt teared up again. "You went to live with some other woman, and she watched you grow up!"

"I went because I knew your Oscar would love you even better than I could. He's a wise old soul, Mother, and this is the first Earth life he chose. He promised to see your true heart, no matter how you acted. From what I was able to see through my foster mother's scrying glass, he kept his word—though all he remembers from his lives in Fairy is a bit of his old magic."

Mrs. Pruitt covered her face in shame. "You saw me? You saw how I treated him?"

"I've learned some magic myself," the other Oscar said, "and I can see your true heart, too. I know you wanted to love him. You simply got caught up in worrying about other people, about what they'd think because he was different."

Mrs. Pruitt quieted at his words, finally letting go of Zoe's hand. Her fingers lifted to almost touch her real son's honey-gold hair. "You're a good boy. Your… other mother raised you right."

"You still have your chance," her son pointed out. "You could still watch your Oscar grow into a man. He trusted you to be his mother for a reason, just as I trusted the fairies."

Mrs. Pruitt pressed her fingers to her trembling mouth. "Do you think he could forgive me?"

"I'm sure he can," the other Oscar said. "And it will be easier for you now, knowing you weren't crazy, knowing why you took him in."

"Will I ever see you again?"

"When your Oscar gets older, he and I will be able to go back and forth as we like. It's our right as changelings."

Mrs. Pruitt rolled her lips together and nodded. "I'd like that. And I
do
want him back. I'll be braver this time, now that I know."

The grown-up Oscar grinned so blindingly with approval that Mrs. Pruitt had to smile. "Good. Because I really want to come back and have a chance to drive a human car!"

"You're just like your father," Mrs. Pruitt laughed. "He spends every spare minute tinkering in the garage." Her laughter faded as she took the other Oscar's face in her hands. "You've given me a gift by coming here today. I don't know how to thank you."

"We have a little longer," said her son. "I can't sense the others coming back just yet."

Judging it was safe to leave Mrs. Pruitt and her son alone, Zoe moved quietly away. To her surprise, the other Alex was talking with Magnus beneath a tree, looking casual and at ease.

Magnus's aunt raised this Alex
, Zoe reminded herself.
They have no reason not to be friendly
.

Both men turned as she approached. She was wearing the jeans and sneakers she'd changed into before they left. Despite the absence of her short red dress, there was a flicker of male admiration in the other Alex's eyes, one that said his taste in women wasn't that different from his counterpart's.

"Milady," he said when she was close enough for him to bow over her hand. "The prince informs me that you are acquainted with my opposite."

"I am," she said, tempted to grin at his courtly manners—and at Magnus being called a prince.

"I wonder if you'd allow me to walk apart with you."

Magnus shrugged his eyebrows when she looked at him. Apparently, he considered the other Alex a harmless companion. Or maybe he was counting on him being too polite to hit on the "prince's" girl.

"I'd be happy to walk with you," she said, "and, please, call me Zoe."

They walked away from the others down a path into the trees. Moonlight filtered through the leaves to guide their way.

"You want to know about your twin," she guessed.

"Yes. It's strange to feel him so much a part of my life and yet to know we'll never meet. I share his dreams sometimes." The other Alex's shoulders lifted and fell. Though she knew it probably wasn't the case, he seemed younger than the Alex she knew, more comfortable with himself but less tried. "Perhaps he's shared my dreams as well without knowing it. I've sensed he's troubled, that this world hasn't treated him as kindly as it might."

"Maybe not, but he's made a place in it I think he likes."

"He's a good man?"

"Very." She said it without hesitation, and meant it more than she expected.

"He treats my birth mother well?"

"He adores her. They adore each other."

His head turned in surprise. "You know her?"

"Yes. She would adore you, too. She's a special woman. She stayed in touch with me even after Alex and I broke up."

"You are in love with Prince Magnus now."

Zoe heard an amusing hint of Alex's knee-jerk rivalry in his voice, or maybe it was protectiveness toward his counterpart.

"I am," she said, "though it's strange to hear you call him by that title."

"The prince is well respected in Fairy. He is older than I, of course, and ran with a different circle, but I met him on occasion, at hunts and other events. My mother and he get on. He is fair, I think, and never cheats at games."

The grudging praise amused her—though she wasn't convinced Magnus had treated Bryan with complete fairness. She shifted her gaze toward the bubbling brook that the falls ran into. This was an argument she'd agreed to drop. She didn't think it would benefit Bryan to know that he'd been spelled to sleep with her, or that Magnus had been a party to the encounter. Her own reaction was a mix of outrage and arousal. To think of Magnus participating in that night, feeling everything Bryan did…

"I'm a bit surprised by his restraint," the other Alex observed, calling her back from her distraction. "He hasn't charmed you. Your aura shows no signs of tampering."

She realized then that it had never occurred to her to wonder if Magnus had tampered magically with her. That omission frightened her for a moment before it fell away. It seemed she could trust her instincts—no bad thing to have confirmed.

"You can see auras?" she said aloud. "Despite being human?"

The other Alex grinned, and the expression was so like the Alex she knew that her heart squeezed tight. "You're human, aren't you? And you see them."

"Yes, but—I suppose your parents raised you to believe in magic."

"And trained me to use it." He hesitated, as if he wasn't sure he should say what he was going to. "Your Alex won't come back the same, milady. Fairy changes everyone."

The hour that had passed since Alex and Oscar disappeared into the falls felt like an eternity to Bryan. Magnus had explained that time would move differently in Fairy. Bryan tried not to turn each imagined minute into a nightmare, but when little Oscar's not-so-little twin lifted his head and said, "They're coming," his already anxious heart just about thumped through his ribs.

Alex's double seemed to be connected to the same psychic news wire. He emerged from the trees where he'd gone with Zoe at a run, not even seeing Bryan as he leaped, gazelle-like, up the boulders to the falls.

"Goodbye," he cried from the ledge, waving to Alex's old girlfriend. "Best fairy wishes to you all!"

The grown-up Oscar took a moment to hug his mother and then followed. Both men seemed eager to go home, clapping each other's shoulders as they ducked under the water. Bryan supposed Fairy was like a lot of places here on Earth. No matter who was in charge, people found a way to enjoy their lives.

Those two don't know us
, he told himself, fighting his hurt at having been ignored.
All their ties lie elsewhere. The real Alex isn't going to forget you
.

This time, the falls only brightened a little for the exchange—more like moonlight than sun. Through the blue-white glow, the two figures he'd been waiting for clambered out.

"We're back!" Oscar shouted, not needing help to climb down. "We're safe and sound!"

Bryan's breath caught in his throat as they came closer. Oscar was noticeably taller, as if he'd been away a year instead of an hour, and Alex—Alex was smiling, so relaxed and easy he might have returned from a good vacation. Bryan's friend paused to watch Oscar and his mother hug, the pair looking a good deal warmer toward each other than they had before. Seeing they were well, Alex turned and headed for Bryan.

"I've learned new tricks!" Bryan heard Oscar announce to his mother. "And how not to do them by accident."

Mrs. Pruitt murmured her approval, for which Bryan was glad, but the lion's share of his attention was on his friend.

Alex's eyes shone like lasers as he approached, his ribs going in and out faster than normal. Bryan ordered himself not to make a scene, but when Alex stopped in front of him, when Alex looked into his eyes and held out his arms, it was hard not to.

"Hey, buddy," Alex said, pulling Bryan close with one hand cupping his head. "You have no idea how much I missed you."

Bryan squeezed him back and tried not to let his tears roll free. Alex felt so good—so warm and hard and
him
. "I love you," he said, unable to keep it in. "I'm glad you're all right."

Alex kissed his ear. "I love you, too," he whispered, then pulled back to look at him. "I have some things to tell you, but maybe they can wait until we're alone."

"I'm not sure they matter compared to you saying the
L
word."

Alex laughed, and that same easiness Bryan had noticed when he emerged from the water was in the sound. "Jeez, it's good to see you and, yes, I mean the
L
word the way you hope. A lot has happened. I had a chance to grow up and, well, sow my oats, I guess you'd say. I realized how important really connecting to someone is. I can't promise—" His eyes glowed blue as his hand stroked roughly down Bryan's face. "I can't promise you'll always be my only, but I'm pretty sure I can promise to put you first. That is, assuming you'd be interested in an arrangement like that."

His unexpected shyness made Bryan bark out a laugh. "You've only been gone an hour. It'd take longer than that for me to lose my interest in being number one on your list."

It was hard to tell in the moonlight, but Bryan thought Alex blushed.

"Come with me," he said, slinging his arm around Bryan's shoulder. "I have things to say to Magnus and Zoe."

Zoe held Magnus's hand feverishly tight as the men approached. To Magnus, the chemistry between Bryan and Alex was obvious, their bodies leaning against each other with every stride. He rubbed Zoe's knuckles in the hope of easing her tension. Alex had been a big part of her life. No matter how long he'd been gone from it, no matter how much she loved Magnus, seeing Alex as half of a couple that didn't include her had to be difficult.

"Hey you," Alex said, bending down to kiss her cheek.

Magnus needed no special powers to see Alex's sojourn in Fairy had altered him. His face and manner said he'd made peace with who he was—and with at least trying to let Zoe go.

That he'd been gone a year and had only gotten up to
trying
was a worry for another day.

"You look good," Zoe said, a little teary as she touched his jaw. The touch, or maybe the tears, inspired a flare in Alex's aura, but he shook it off.

"Do I look magic?" he asked, wagging his brows.

"Should you?" she said, falling in with his playfulness. "Because I might need time to adjust to you being a
psychic
detective."

"Oh, God," Bryan moaned, and everyone laughed.

"I have news for you," Alex said to Magnus. "From your aunt."

Alex's self-esteem wasn't the only thing that had changed during his absence. His rancor toward Magnus was also gone. He seemed both more respectful and more confident—as if they were equals now.

"There's been a coup," Magnus said, knowing it was true the moment the words came out.

"Yes," Alex said. "Very nearly bloodless. Your mother has been deposed and stripped of the power that came with the throne, which doesn't leave her with enough to cause trouble, as I understand. Evidently, relying so heavily on black magic drained the stores she was born with. Your aunt rules unopposed, thanks in part to Zoe's fairies."

"To my fairies!" she exclaimed, her hand to her breast.

"They'd been in exile so long, their return impressed everyone. When the little fey threw in their lot with Queen Elena, people decided she must be destined to wear the crown. Queen Rajel and her troops barely had to swing their swords."

"Oh, my," Zoe breathed.

"Oh, my, indeed," Alex agreed. "You should have seen the party they threw afterward. Lasted for weeks." He turned again to Magnus. "Your aunt charged me to tell you that you're welcome to serve on her cabinet any time—should you wish to return."