Claire held her breath as Nadia shook her head. “No,” she said, startling a gasp from all, even the shining regiments of chimera riders who stood proudly with their mounts. “I have no need of it. While magic exists in all things—in all worlds—” she said with a significant look at Claire, “it is people who bring it out. Who are responsible for wielding it, who live and die, love and grow and change. Magic may be in the material, but we are the ones who put the magic there.”

She paused, then smiled. “Besides, I’ve been told the magic of this Crown is to let the monarch know how united the guilds feel, but we have no need of it now, when we are blessed by unicorns.” She gestured toward the edges of the Sorrowful Plains.

As one, the crowd and Claire and Nett and Sena turned to look. Surrounding the Sorrowful Plains like pearls bordering a music box stood Arden’s unicorns. They had come to witness this new and exciting change in Arden’s history. They had come to give their blessing, and their gifts sank into the land, making the snow whiter, the cloaks brighter, and the hope inside Claire’s chest almost unbearably sweet.

“Instead,” Nadia continued, her voice magically amplified to roll across the great open space, “I choose to gift the Crown of Arden to the unicorns, as a thank-you and a promise that from now, they shall be cherished and protected by all the guilds.”

At that, the crowd parted slightly and Sophie appeared, dressed in a flowing gown of white silk and lavender gauze, and trailing silver ivy. Her hair fell in shining black waves to the small of her back, the white streak still clearly visible. She moved with a grace unusual to a girl but common among unicorns, and Claire felt her breath catch slightly. But as Sophie drew nearer, Claire was relieved to see her smile was still the same. Still Sophie.

Nadia bowed to Sophie and presented the Crown. Sophie took it with an elegant nod. “We thank you for this gift,” Sophie said. “And we will hold you to your vow. The unicorns, too, have a gift for Arden. Gifts,” she stressed to the crowd, “not artifacts. Nettle Green, will you come forward?”

Nett immediately stopped fidgeting. He looked as surprised as Claire felt. Sophie hadn’t told them there were going to be Unicorn Gifts!

He stepped forward while Sophie reached into her gown’s pocket and produced a fuzzy little plant, perfectly round and glowing with a pearly light.

Nett gasped. “It’s a marimo!”

“It’s your marimo!” Sophie corrected with a smile. “In thanks for your boundless curiosity that helped our return, we unicorns healed the plant that was your mother’s. It’s the same but changed. It will never run out of sunlight. May it always light your way … and the darkest corners of the library.”