Page 81 of The Mirror and the Curse

“Which is why we can’t talk about it to anyone. Especially not any enchanters.”

“I guess I’m not anyone.” Beatrice’s voice held amusement.

“Oh, Bea,” Eddi gasped, “you’re . . . you’reyou! Totally trustworthy.”

Beatrice chuckled. “I’m just teasing. How did he get it from her?”

“During the race, Raquel first tried to throw a bomb at me—she knew magic scans wouldn’t detect that. But it bounced off the magic barrier around me. I guess she threw caution to the winds then, because when she came after me again, Fidelio saw her pull the mirror out of thin air.”

“While she was flying?”

“Yes! So freaky—I feel kind of sick if I think about it too much. After he just saw her try to blow me up, Fidelio knew her plans couldn’t be good, so he crashed his horse into hers and knocked the mirror out of her hand. He saved the day and possibly my life. And Geoff was able to locate and safely neutralize the mirror. He says he’s afraid to even touch it—you can imagine!”

“I don’t want to know any more about it, please. I don’t feel like it’s safe to know too much.” Beatrice sounded uncomfortable. “Let’s talk about fun things, like . . . What are your plans for tonight?”

Eddi chuckled. “Kai and I will sit together and be all lovey-dovey at the banquet. You know, hold hands under the table, maybe sneak outside for a kiss. You know what? He smells better than any other guy in the world! Can’t understand why I never figured it out before.”

Beatrice chuckled.

“What?”

“Listen to yourself!”

Eddi had to laugh. “Fine, I’ll stop gushing.”

“Right. Maybe for five minutes.”

“Or less.”

“I’ll talk fast. What about tomorrow? Will you be heading home?”

“Yes, but in the morning we’re flying to the apple meadow for a sunrise breakfast. Just the four of us. White and Flurry are happy we’ll be visiting each other often.”

“Are they . . . I feel silly to ask, but . . . do flying horses marry?”

“No ceremony or vows, but they do pair up for life. White and Flurry are pretty young right now.”

“Like you and Kai.”

“Yep. But I know White is thinking about forever with her. Kai says Flurry doesn’t share her thoughts or emotions about colts with him, but he’s never seen her light up around any other colt or stallion the way she does with White. Jakinda joked about making it a double wedding.”

“I’m so glad you’ve learned to appreciate Jakinda.”

“Yeah, and I hope she never hears that I suspected her of making those potions . . .”

“She won’t hear it from me! And, you know, I’m thinking Cog will be a great father-in-law. He always liked you. So did Tea, back in the day. Once she gets unenchanted, she’ll adjust to the idea of a human daughter-in-law.”

“I hope you’re right. I’ll always want to visit Faraway Castle, even after we’re married. How fun it’ll be to do everything with Kai! Of course, he’ll always have work responsibilities, and I’ll have royal duties, but we can take breaks now and then.”

“And maybe someday I can be nanny to your children.”

Hearing a hint of melancholy in her friend’s voice, Eddi frowned. “Nonsense. You’ll have your own family. The right man’s out there for you somewhere.”

“Maybe so.” Beatrice’s tone lightened. “The tricky part is finding each other. It’s a big world. Hey Eddi, I hate to cut this short, but the girls’ dance lesson just ended . . .”

“Gotcha. Thanks so much for letting me gush!”

“My pleasure, dear girl. Have fun tonight! Chat soon.”

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