Lou’s frown deepened, but she didn’t pull her hands away. “How do you know about that?”

Madame Sauvage ignored the question, instead turning to Reid. She pinched his cheek. “And you, young man? Did you plant those seeds as you promised?”

“I”—he looked again to Lou, more panicked now than before—“I’m sorry, Madame Sauvage, but I—I misplaced them.”

“You lost them, you mean?” When Reid nodded, she clicked her tongue in disappointment. I inched closer, studying her face. She seemed . . . familiar, somehow. Like I’d met her before. And her disappointment—I glanced around, uncertain—it felt staged. Zenna still smiled behind us, and that smile had spread to Seraphine, Toulouse, and Thierry. Madame Sauvage winked at them. “Well, Monsieur le Blanc, just how should we proceed? We made a bargain, you remember.”

Reid nodded grimly. “I’ll procure another pearl for you, madame. I promise.”

“You promised”—Madame Sauvage unfurled her fingers slowly, revealing a handful of seeds in her palm—“to plant the seeds.”

We all stared at them.

“How did you—?” Reid started.

Her dark eyes gleamed. Pressing the seeds into his hand, she said, “A fortuitous location, indeed. If you plant them—if you care for them—they will grow.” When Reid didn’t move, when he only studied the seeds with open suspicion, Madame Sauvage poked his chest. “Well, what are you waiting for? Do it now! I’m not getting any younger.”

“I don’t have a shovel—”

With an impatient sigh, Lou waved her hand, and the seeds flew outward in a sharp burst of magic, scattering across the grove. In the next second, they burrowed into the ground of their own accord. “There.” She thrust her arm through Reid’s. “Are we settled? Have we honored this ridiculous bargain?”

Trees burst from the ground as Madame Sauvage’s answer.

Pear trees.

They climbed skyward at a rapid pace, white blossoms blooming and falling to reveal hard green fruit. A dozen in all—one tree for each seed planted. Lou gasped as Reid stared, as Beau leapt backward, and Madame Labelle stretched incredulously to touch one of the low-hanging fruit. Shaking her head, she whirled to face the old woman. “Who are you?”

Madame Sauvage bowed, looking meaningfully at Lou. “A friend.”

She turned without another word, and as suddenly as she’d hobbled into our presence, she hobbled out, leaving only the peculiar scent of . . . of earth in her wake. Of fresh grass and pine sap and pears. Still smiling, Zenna, Seraphine, Toulouse, and Thierry followed after her.

Lou watched them go, slack-jawed, until unexpected laughter burst from her. Until she was breathless with it. She turned to Reid, tears of mirth lining her turquoise eyes. “That nosy son of a bitch—”

I didn’t hear the rest, however. Because at the edge of the grove, Madame Sauvage looked back to meet my gaze. My gaze. With a small smile, she inclined her head toward something behind me.

“Ansel.”

I turned at that voice, at that presence. I recognized it now as innately as my own.

Two figures stood on the path down the mountain. His hair and his jaw were my own. Her eyes and her skin, as well. “Are you ready, darling?” The woman extended an olive hand to me, and her smile—it was as warm as I’d always dreamed it. As warm as this summer night.

“That boy is asking after you again,” the man said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Etienne.”

Butterflies erupted at the name.

Unbidden, my feet drifted toward them, my lips lifting in a smile. I couldn’t help one last look, however—at Lou, at Reid, at Coco, at Beau. They milled around the pear trees, feeling each trunk, testing the leaves. Laughing at themselves with Terrance and Liana and Manon.

If you plant them—if you care for them—they will grow.

My smile widened. Madame Sauvage had vanished, leaving them to life anew.

Taking my mother’s hand, I did too.

Acknowledgments

I owe a great debt to many people for not only the creation of this book, but also for the creation of this entire series. To cut straight to the heart of it, the most important of them is you. The reader. Thank you seems too commonplace an expression to convey my gratitude, but truly, no words can describe the emotion in my chest when I think of how kind you’ve all been, how enthusiastic. Though the pandemic struck just months after Serpent & Dove was published, each one of you went above and beyond to support these books. The beautiful photos, illustrations, cosplays, lyrics, reels—I have a lump in my throat thinking of them now. The past three years have changed my life, and readers continue to be the heart of that. From Lou and Reid, from Coco, Ansel, Beau, and me, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Jordan, I’ve told you a million times, but I’ll tell you again—I couldn’t have written this book without you. When writers ask me for guidance, I often tell them to find what they love and lean into it unapologetically. You give me permission to follow my own advice. This book—all my books—wouldn’t contain half the wit, half the kissing, half the fun without your input. Are you my muse? Probably. I love you to the moon and to Saturn.

RJ, Beau, James, and Rose, words will never be able to convey the depths of my love for you. This deadline could’ve been a burden, but it wasn’t. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your understanding. Thank you for your love and respect and support as together, we chase our crazy dreams. Zane and Kelly—and Jake, Brooke, Justin, Chelsy, and Lewie—we don’t get to choose our family, but even if we could, I would choose you anyway. Thank you for being my collective rock. I love you all more than you know.

Jordan, Spencer, Meghan, Aaron, Adrianne, Chelsea, Courtney, Austin, Jamie, Josh, Jake, Jillian, Aaron, Jon, and Kendall, you are my favorite people on this earth, and your wholehearted support of both me and my books has been so precious to me. I don’t deserve any of you. Katie, Carolyn, Isabel, Kristin, Adrienne, Adalyn, and Rachel, there is something so special about writing friends who become real-life friends, and I couldn’t be more honored to call you mine.

Sarah, I feel so incredibly grateful to have such a warm and approachable agent in my corner. Erica, editor extraordinaire, I can’t thank you enough for your unending patience and your infallible vision for this series. (And I promise I’ll make my next deadline! I promise!) Stephanie Guerdan, it was so wonderful to work with you. Alexandra Rakaczki and Jessica White, I’m so grateful for your sharp eyes, and I similarly promise there will be no Célie or Philippe in my next book! Allison Brown, thank you for all the time and energy you poured into this series. Jessie Gang and Alison Donalty, these covers have continued to blow my mind; I attribute so much of this series’ success to your and Katt Phatt’s skills. Rachel Horowitz, Sheala Howley, and Cassidy Miller, as well as Sophie Kossakowski, Gillian Wise, Sam Howard, Karen Radner, and the entire sales team, thank you for working behind the scenes to make these books successful.

Mitch Thorpe, Michael D’Angelo, Ebony LaDelle, Audrey Diestelkamp, and the entire team at Epic Reads—you are all rock stars. Truly, I can’t thank you enough for your enthusiasm and support of this series, as well as the resources and opportunities you provided.