His lips twitch. “Silene also ordered me to take the long way to make sure she had enough time to get everything in place. Also, you do live at the top of these stairs. In a giant palace with endless rooms to choose from. This seems like your own fault.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a super powerful witch who can magically appear anywhere I want in an instant. Where I live doesn’t matter,” I quip back.

“Except when faced with the unstoppable power of one Silene Kalmeera. She’s a force of nature. In a tiny little fae body,” he says, and I can’t stop the deep belly laugh that erupts from me.

“That she is,” I say with real fondness when I finally stop laughing, and his eyes are bright with amusement. We walk down the endless stairs, trading flirtatious barbs despite my resolve to be nothing more than allies. Maybe the flirting is harmless, anyway. It’s not like he doesn’t flirt with everyone else around him. I’m no different than everyone else.

When we come to the wing of the palace with the greenhouse, I’m surprised when he leads me there. “We’re meeting in here?” I ask, but he only smirks before throwing the doors wide open.

Silene has transformed the room. Plants line the edges of the space, stacked neatly together but not overcrowded, their vibrant hues popping against the dreary landscape beyond the glass panels. In the newly cleared area is a giant rug with brightly colored poufs that match the brightness of the exotic flowers around them. A pile of gifts sits in the middle of the rug, and there’s a spread of pastries off to the side with several pots of tea.

Silene is bouncing with excitement. “Happy Solstice, Laurel!” she squeals before rushing over and giving me a tight hug. I still for only a moment, surprised by the contact, but then easily wrap my arms around her to return the squeeze. She takes my hand and leads me to a pouf. “When Thorne showed me the greenhouse, I knew we had to have our Solstice morning celebration in here. It feels so much like Velmara. It was such a thoughtful gesture.” The genuine warmth in her expression makes me smile.

“I wish I’d known you guys exchanged gifts. I would have prepared…” I say, but Silene cuts me off.

“Nonsense. You’ve already given us something wonderful. The gift of home on a holiday is more than we could have asked for.”

“Agreed,” Fionn adds. The giant male sits on a pouf next to me, his long limbs awkwardly curled up next to him. I have to stifle giggles at the comical sight.