20

“Looks like we’re home,” Lex teased.

“You look like home,” I said, turning to him and wrapping my arms around his middle.

“That’s because I am,” he said, clearly not giving the implications of his words much thought.

I knocked my head against his chest. “I can’t use magic for everything. I’m going to have to get Midnight Moon Pack descendants here. I hope they don’t mind helping us.”

I bit my lip, thinking of the lives I would be asking them to lead. I was once a servant. I already knew what it was like to feel less than others.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Lex said, stroking my hair. “But remember, these people will not be indentured to work for you. They’ll be ancestors coming home, becoming part of the tapestry of their restored kingdom. And they will not be servants. They’ll be paid, have private living quarters, and will come and go from work as any other citizen might, just like you suggested in Navarrah City. Now is the time to make that dream a reality.”

“You’re right,” I co