:


    <b>73 </b>


    By the time the music faded and thest crumbs of cake were gone, Macey was still buzzing like she could power the whole pack house with her excitement alone. Her tiara was crooked, her cheeks sticky with frosting<b>, </b>but her smile hadn’t dimmed once.


    When we finally made it back to the Underworld, her hand was clutched tight in Envy’s, her little feet practically skipping <b>across </b>the ck stone floor. I trudged behind, Elias yawning at my side, but my eyes never left her.


    “This way, Princess<b>,</b>” Levi said, his voice warm, as he opened a door with a little flourish.


    Macey darted inside and then gasped so loudly it echoed down the hall.


    I peeked over her shoulder, and even I had to admit, it was… perfect.


    Her room looked like it had leapt right out of a fairytale. Creamy walls washed in a soft glow, avender bedspread spilling over a bed big enough for her to sprawl across, shelves stacked with books and toys, and a wardrobe bursting with dresses that glittered in the light. A vanity sparkled in the corner, tiaras scattered across it like treasure.


    She spun in a circle, giggling. “It’s <i>mine</i>! All mine!” She ran to the wardrobe, then to the vanity, then leapt onto the bed, bouncing up and down with so much joy I thought the mattress might break.


    Everyoneughed, their faces soft, proud, relieved. Envy caught her mid–bounce and pulled her into her arms, hugging her close. “Do you love it?” she asked.


    “I LOVE IT!” Macey squealed, throwing her arms wide. “It’s the best room in the whole entire world!”


    The others melted into her happiness<b>, </b>soaking it up like sunlight. I smiled too, because how could I not? She deserved this. She deserved <i>everything</i>.


    But underneath the joy, a hollow ache tugged at me. This meant she now had her own room. Her own bed.


    No more sneaking into mine<b>, </b>curling up against me under the nkets. No more small, warm weight tucked against. my side while I drifted off. No more waking in the middle of the night just to squeeze her hand and remind myself she was still here, still safe. I’d grown used to it, more than I should’ve. I liked it. I liked being the one she clung to, the one who made her feel secure when the shadows crept in. Knowing she trusted me like that made me feel like I had a purpose, like I was more than just another boy in a castle full of warriors.


    And now… now she wouldn’t need that anymore,


    I tried to smother the disappointment, tried to bury it under the smile I stered across my face. Because this was right, she deserved her own space, her own ce to belong. But as she flopped back onto her new bed, tiara still crooked, curls bouncing around her face as sheughed, I couldn’t help the selfish thought that whispered through me. I was happy for her. Overjoyed, even. But part of me already missed the sound of her soft breathing beside me in <b>the </b>dark. Just when Macey thought it couldn’t get any better, Noah cleared his throat, drawing her attention from where <b>she’d </b>been trying on a pair of glittery shoes she’d found at the bottom of the wardrobe.


    13:32 <b>Wed</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>24 </b>


    “There’s one more thing,” he said, that calm smile tugging at his lips.


    ?(73)


    Levi strode over to the <b>far </b>wall and pressed his hand against the stone. With a soft ripple of magic, the rock folded in on itself, revealing a door.


    Macey gasped so loudly that she nearly toppled right off her shoes. “A secret door!”


    Envyughed, scooping her up before she hurt herself. “Not just any door. This one connects to Elliot and Elias’s


    room.”


    Her wide eyes swung to me, then to Elias, and back again. “Really?”


    “Really,” Levi confirmed.


    Macey wiggled in Envy’s arms until she was set back down, then bolted across the room<b>, </b>tiny fingers wrapping around the handle. She flung the door open and squealed when it led straight into our room.


    Elias stepped in behind her, eyes going wide. “Wait. That’s-” His voice cracked with excitement. “That’s another bed!”


    Sure enough, tucked against the wall opposite mine was a new bed–smaller than mine, but perfectly Elias–sized, with dark blue nkets and a stack of pillows.


    Eliasunched himself onto it, bouncing once before sprawling out with a grin. “Finally! I don’t have to share with


    you anymore.”


    I rolled my eyes, but there was no heat behind it. His happiness was infectious, and Macey’s squeals only made it


    louder.


    “It’s like we’re neighbours<b>,</b><b>” </b>she giggled, dashing back and forth between her room and ours through the new doorway. “Neighbours forever!”


    Eventually, Envy pped her hands together. “Alright, time to settle down. Pyjamas and teeth.”


    A chorus of groans followed, but none of us dared argue. We shuffled down the hall<b>, </b>grabbing our pyjamas from the drawers that had already been filled, brushing our teeth side by side at the long bathroom sink. Macey hummed around her toothbrush, sttering minty foam across her chin, while Elias made faces at me in the mirror until I


    nearly choked on myughter.


    Soon enough, we were back in our rooms, soft pyjamas on, the buzz <b>of </b>the day still lingering but slowly giving way to the heaviness of sleep.


    Macey climbed into her giantvender bed, curling under the nkets with her tiara still perched lopsided on her head. Elías tucked himself into his new bed in our room, looking smug as ever.


    And me<b>? </b>I sat on the edge of my mattress, staring at the door left open between us, listening to Macey’s muffled giggles drift across. But as I slid under my own nkets, I couldn’t shake the hollow ache in my chest.


    The house had gone quiet. That’s when I heard soft footsteps padding across the floor. I blinked my eyes open, squinting into the dark. A small shape stood at the edge of my mattress, Fergus the bear dangling from one arm.


    “Mace?” My voice came out groggy and rough from sleep. “What’s wrong?”


    She fiddled with Fergus’s ear, not meeting my gaze at first. “I know I have my own room now,” she whispered, her voice as soft as her footsteps had been. “But… would it be okay if I still sleep with you?”


    My chest tightened, but in the best way. The biggest smile spread across my face before I could stop it.


    73


    “Of course,” I said, already pulling back the covers. I scooted over, patting the space beside me, and opened my arms wide. “Come here, Princess.”


    Her whole face lit up in the dim glow spilling from the crack in the door. She scrambled up onto the bed, crawling right into the circle of my arms like it was the most natural thing in the world. Fergus got tucked under her chin, and her small body curled against mine.


    “Thanks, Elliot,” she murmured, already half asleep. “You’re the best.”


    I pressed my cheek gently against her hair, smiling into the dark. “Always, Mace. Always.”