Colorful banners had begun appearing over the streets of Solmere.
Jax noticed the first one stretched between two buildings near the market district. By the time he'd crossed three more streets, he'd counted twelve.
Merchants were already marking off spaces for temporary stalls. Workers carried lumber toward half-built stages. Someone had erected a massive wooden sign advertising food, games, music, and performances that wouldn't begin for another week.
Children had apparently decided that festival preparations meant every street in Solmere was now their personal playground.
Jax stepped aside as three of them raced past him.
One was carrying a wooden sword.
Another had a bow with no string.
The third had somehow acquired a wooden hammer nearly as large as he was.
"BUNNY SMASH!"
The boy swung the hammer at an imaginary enemy.
His momentum carried him halfway around.
"That's not how she does it!" another boy yelled.
"Yes, it is!"
"No! You have to jump!"
The boy with the hammer looked around.
There was a barrel nearby.
Jax immediately saw where this was going.
"Probably shouldn't—"
Too late.
The child scrambled onto the barrel.
"Take this, Empire scum!"
He jumped.
The hammer came down.
The boy landed.
The barrel tipped over.
All three children ran away laughing.
Jax watched them disappear around the corner.
"...We've become a story."
He shook his head and continued walking.
A week.
The festival was only a week away.
One year ago, those same preparations had been underway when Jax first entered Solmere.
The annual summer festival had once been one of the most important weeks of the year for the Slave Guild.
Thousands of visitors.
Packed inns.
Crowded taverns.
Merchants.
Travelers.
Entertainment.
Money flowed through Solmere during that single week in quantities large enough that the Slave Guild could make enough to cover its Imperial taxes for the entire year.
Jax looked around.
Now Solmere generated that kind of money in roughly a month.
Without the festival.
And without selling anyone.
He liked the new version better.
The city itself barely resembled the place he'd walked into a year ago.
Stone roads had replaced mud.
New businesses lined streets where broken buildings had once leaned against one another as though mutually agreeing not to collapse.
Parks occupied spaces that had once been filled with trash.
Fountains.
Trees.
Benches.
Restaurants with outdoor tables.
Shops with actual glass windows.
Lanterns lined the streets, waiting for sunset.
Humans walked beside Beastkin.
Fairies darted overhead.
A Minotaur stood outside a bakery arguing with a human woman about whether he'd ordered six pastries or eight.
The woman eventually produced a piece of paper.
The Minotaur stared at it.
Then reached into his coin pouch.
Apparently he'd ordered six.
Jax smiled.
None of it seemed remarkable anymore.
Maybe that was the remarkable part.
A year ago, Humans and Beastkin living beside one another without fear had been revolutionary.
Now people complained about neighbors, prices, traffic, noise and whose dog had gotten into whose garden.
Normal problems.
Jax loved normal problems.
A group of fairies zipped past overhead.
One was full-sized and carrying several rolled banners.
Three others remained tiny, each holding one end of a long ribbon that fluttered behind them.
One yelled something about going left.
The others went right.
The ribbon wrapped around a lamppost.
Jax kept walking.
They'd figure it out.
The smells changed as he entered another street.
Fresh bread.
Roasted meat.
Something sweet.
Something fried.
Jax slowed near a pastry stand.
He considered stopping.
Then remembered he'd already eaten.
He continued walking.
He made it almost twenty feet.
Then stopped.
He turned around.
A pastry wouldn't hurt.
"You know we're going to dinner."
Jax froze.
He turned.
Llandra stood several feet behind him.
He hadn't heard her approach.
That continued to annoy him.
Not enough to actually do anything about it.
But enough.
Three hours earlier, Llandra had been wearing training clothes while attempting to beat him senseless at Brannic's training compound.
Now she wore a fitted dress with subtle silver accents. Her long blonde hair fell naturally over her shoulders.
Jax stared.
Llandra raised an eyebrow.
"Something wrong?"
"No."
His eyes traveled down the dress and back up.
"Nothing wrong at all."
Her mouth curled into a smile.
Jax looked toward the pastry stand.
Then back at her.
"You said dinner."
"Yes."
"How soon?"
"Soon."
Jax sighed.
The pastry would have to wait.
He looked at Llandra again.
"Why are you dressed like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you are trying to seduce me."
Llandra laughed.
"I'm not."
"Exactly what a seducer would say."
She stepped beside him and slipped her hand into his. She loved the way that he looked at her. She could be in a crowded street, and yet when he looked at her like he was now, she felt that she was only woman in the entire world.
Jax looked down at their joined hands.
"You were looking for me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"The girls and I want to take you to dinner."
"All of you?"
"Yes."
Jax narrowed his eyes.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"Did I do something?"
"No."
"Are we celebrating something?"
"Yes."
Jax stopped.
Llandra took another step before his hand stopped her.
She looked back.
"What?"
Jax's expression changed.
"Did I forget something?"
Llandra smiled.
"Jax—"
"Anniversary?"
"No."
"Birthday?"
"No."
"Some Elven holiday you told me about and I forgot?"
"No."
"Fairy holiday?"
"No."
"Rabbitkin holiday?"
"No."
"Is there even a Succubus holiday?"
Llandra considered that.
"Probably."
"That doesn't help."
She laughed.
"You didn't forget anything."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Because I currently have four wives, two women I'm planning to marry, and enough cultures represented in my family that eventually I'm going to forget something important."
"Then we'll remind you."
"Before or after I'm in trouble?"
"Depends what you forgot."
"That's fair."
Llandra tugged his hand.
"Come on."
Jax followed.
"Where are we going?"
"The Neon Moon."
They continued down the street.
The sun had begun sinking lower, and Solmere's lanterns flickered to life one by one.
Music drifted from somewhere ahead.
Jax looked around again.
One year.
That was difficult to believe.
He remembered entering Solmere while the city was preparing for this exact festival.
The streets had been packed.
The inns had been full.
Or almost full.
Jax smiled.
Somehow, he'd gotten the suite.
The Vixens had gotten...
Not the suite.
He still heard about that occasionally.
Mostly from Nyxian.
Sometimes Bunny.
Llandra had mostly forgiven him.
Mostly.
"You know," Jax said, "I just realized something."
"That usually worries me."
"The festival."
"What about it?"
"It was about a week away when I got here."
"Yes."
Jax looked at her.
"That was almost exactly a year ago."
Llandra smiled.
"Yes."
Jax stared at her.
Then narrowed his eyes.
"Llandra."
She kept walking.
"Llandra."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're a terrible liar."
"I am an excellent liar."
"You're smiling."
"That doesn't prove anything."
"It proves something."
She squeezed his hand.
"Keep walking."
The Neon Moon was packed.
That wasn't unusual.
The Neon Moon was almost always packed.
The line stretching halfway down the street was a little more unusual.
The sign near the entrance was considerably more unusual.
CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE BANQUET
Jax stopped.
"Llandra."
"Keep walking."
"That's my restaurant."
"Yes."
"Why is my restaurant closed?"
"It's not closed."
"The sign says closed."
"For a private banquet."
"Whose private banquet?"
Llandra smiled.
Jax stared at her.
"Oh, come on."
She pulled him forward.
People waiting outside smiled as he passed.
One man raised his glass.
"Happy birthday, Jax!"
Jax stopped.
Llandra closed her eyes.
The man froze.
His smile disappeared.
"Oh."
Jax slowly turned toward Llandra.
"Birthday?"
The man took one cautious step backward.
Llandra sighed.
"Surprise."
Jax looked at the man.
"Sorry."
"That's all right."
"I ruined it."
"A little."
The man grimaced.
"I'll... go now."
"Probably best."
He disappeared into the crowd.
Jax laughed.
Llandra shook her head.
"We almost made it."
"Your security is terrible."
"Our security was fine."
"Your guest discipline needs work."
"Apparently."
They entered.
The moment Jax crossed the doorway, the entire restaurant erupted.
"Surprise!"
Jax stopped.
Hundreds of faces filled the Neon Moon.
Tables had been rearranged.
Decorations covered the walls.
Music played from one corner.
People stood throughout the restaurant, raising glasses, laughing, cheering.
Jax recognized dozens immediately.
Then dozens more.
Bunny pushed through the crowd first.
Her blue hair bounced behind her, and her ears stood nearly straight up.
"Happy birthday!"
Jax barely had time to open his arms before she slammed into him.
He caught her.
"Apparently."
Bunny pulled back.
"You weren't supposed to know!"
"Someone outside cracked under interrogation."
Llandra sighed.
"He said three words."
"I'm very intimidating."
Nyxian approached behind Bunny.
"Terrifying."
She wore a dark dress that left Jax briefly distracted from the conversation.
Nyxian noticed.
Of course she noticed.
Her smile widened.
"Happy birthday."
"Thank you."
Zee joined them, dressed elegantly in green, her expression softer than the others.
"Happy birthday, Jax."
Jax smiled.
"Thanks."
Pixelle and Lexi hovered nearby in their natural forms, both wearing impossibly detailed dresses that would have been difficult enough to make at normal size.
Pixelle landed on his shoulder.
"We threw you a party."
"I noticed."
"A very expensive party."
"Of course you did."
"I didn't pay for it."
"Even better."
Lexi laughed.
Jax looked around.
"Okay. Someone explain."
Bunny immediately raised her hand.
Jax pointed at her.
"Go."
"We've celebrated everybody's birthday since we met."
Jax nodded.
That was true.
There had been dinners.
Gifts.
Cakes.
A few celebrations that had gotten considerably larger than originally intended.
One that Nyxian was still discouraged from discussing in polite company.
Bunny continued.
"But we've never celebrated yours."
Jax smiled slightly.
"That's because nobody knows when mine is."
"Exactly."
Zee stepped closer.
"Not even you."
"No."
That part still felt strange sometimes.
There were things about his life before this world that he knew.
Facts.
Concepts.
Skills.
But the personal pieces were gone.
He didn't know the day he'd been born.
Didn't know what birthdays had looked like.
Didn't know who had celebrated them with him.
Nyxian leaned against the table.
"So we decided you needed a new one."
Jax looked between them.
"You can do that?"
"We just did."
"Fair."
Bunny was practically bouncing.
"We picked the day we met you."
Jax stopped.
Llandra watched him.
Bunny's smile softened.
"Exactly one year ago."
Jax looked around the group.
Llandra.
Bunny.
Zee.
Nyxian.
One year.
"That was my first day here."
Bunny's ears lifted.
"Really?"
Jax nodded.
"The first day."
Nyxian tilted her head.
"You met us the day you arrived in this world?"
"Yep."
Zee smiled.
"Then we chose well."
Jax looked around again.
At all six women.
At the restaurant.
At the crowd.
"Yeah."
He swallowed.
"You did."
Bunny grabbed his arm.
"Come on! Food."
"Now you're speaking my language."
They led him toward their usual section.
A large glass of Fairy Cider waited for him.
So did dinner.
Boar filet.
Sous vide.
Garlic butter.
Perfect vegetables.
Jax stared at it.
Then at the women.
"Okay. Which one of you planned the food?"
Bunny raised her hand again.
"Good job."
She beamed.
"I helped too," Pixelle said.
"With what?"
"The cider."
"Of course."
Jax sat.
For several minutes, they simply ate.
Or tried to.
People kept coming over.
Some offered congratulations.
Some brought gifts.
Others simply wanted to shake his hand.
Jax eventually realized something.
This wasn't a party for the Vixens.
It wasn't even a party for his closest friends.
The entire restaurant was full of people from across Solmere and beyond.
He spotted Brannic near the bar.
The dwarf raised his drink.
Jax raised his glass back.
Grathok was nearby, laughing loudly enough that half the room could hear him.
Pophov and Ellie occupied another table.
Kaelor Fangmere stood speaking with several adventurers.
Mayor Halvren Thistlefox was there.
Roger was there.
Roger appeared to be trying to convince someone that because it was Jax's birthday, children should receive free desserts.
Jax suspected Roger was going to be very successful in life.
Then he spotted Merriweather.
She wasn't surrounded by merchants.
She was surrounded by actors.
Jax recognized several performers from productions he'd attended.
A playwright he'd met once.
Two musicians.
Someone who managed stage productions.
Another woman whose face Jax remembered from one of the comedies Nyxian had insisted they see twice.
Merriweather stood in the middle of them, animatedly telling a story with her hands.
She had clout now.
Actual clout.
Jax smiled.
Buying the theater had originally seemed like another investment.
Naming it after Merriweather had seemed obvious.
Apparently the theater community had taken that considerably more seriously than he had.
Merriweather noticed him looking.
She waved excitedly.
Half the theater group turned.
Then they all raised their glasses toward him.
Jax laughed and returned the gesture.
"You did this?" he asked Llandra.
"We all did."
"There are hundreds of people here."
"There were thousands who wanted to come."
Jax looked at her.
"Seriously?"
"We had to limit it."
"How did you decide?"
"We didn't."
Lexi landed on the table.
"Lottery."
Jax blinked.
"You held a lottery for my birthday?"
"After friends, family and people who work closely with you were accounted for."
"How many wanted to come?"
Lexi smiled.
"You don't want to know."
"I kind of do."
"You'll get weird about it."
"I don't get weird."
Every woman at the table looked at him.
Jax frowned.
"Fine."
Then he saw Barb.
He almost didn't recognize her.
Not because she looked different.
Because she was wearing a dress.
An actual dress.
Elegant.
Expensive.
Tailored perfectly to her.
Jax had seen Barb covered in sawdust.
Grease.
Mud.
Metal shavings.
Once something purple that she'd refused to identify.
He had never seen her dressed like this.
Two of her sons stood beside her, both wearing formal clothes and both looking extremely pleased with themselves.
Jax stood.
"Wow."
Barb immediately pointed at him.
"Don't."
"I was going to say you look nice."
"That's what I meant."
Her sons laughed.
Jax walked over.
"No, seriously. You look amazing."
Barb shifted uncomfortably.
"Thank you."
One son leaned toward Jax.
"We made her buy it."
Barb glared at him.
"He didn't need to know that."
"She said it cost too much."
"It did."
The other son shook his head.
"No, Mom. It didn't."
"It absolutely did."
"She can afford fifty of them."
Barb looked horrified.
"I would never buy fifty dresses."
"We know."
Her first son looked at Jax.
"That's the problem."
Jax laughed.
Barb tried to glare at all three men simultaneously.
She failed.
Then her expression changed.
She looked at Jax.
Really looked at him.
"You know..."
Her sons quieted.
"You were the first person who looked at what I could do and didn't ask why I was doing it."
Jax's smile faded slightly.
Barb continued.
"You didn't care that I was a woman building carriages. You didn't care that most people thought what I wanted to build was ridiculous."
"Barb—"
"Let me finish."
Jax shut his mouth.
One of her sons grinned.
Barb glanced at him.
"Don't."
He immediately looked away.
She turned back to Jax.
"You asked me what I could build if I had everything I needed."
Jax remembered.
Barb swallowed.
"Nobody had ever asked me that."
Jax didn't know what to say.
So he didn't.
"You gave me the chance to do what I was meant to do. You gave my boys a future."
She smiled.
"And you gave me one too."
Her eyes glistened slightly.
"Thank you, Jax. For believing in me. For supporting what I wanted to do all the way."
Jax stepped forward and hugged her.
Barb stiffened.
Then hugged him back.
"You're welcome."
When they separated, Jax looked at her sons.
"Make her buy another dress."
"Already working on it."
Barb pointed at Jax.
"Don't encourage them."
"Fifty."
"I will build a carriage specifically designed to run you over."
"See? That's the innovative spirit I invested in."
Her sons burst out laughing.
Barb tried not to.
She lost.
Jax returned to the table.
Llandra was smiling at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That was definitely something."
"I like watching you realize what you've done."
Jax glanced back toward Barb.
"I didn't do that."
"You helped."
"She did it."
"I know."
Llandra squeezed his hand.
"That's why I said helped."
Jax smiled.
Then another familiar face approached.
Vaelrith Moonshadow.
The Elven spymaster looked considerably more relaxed than he normally did when Jax saw him.
Which probably meant nobody was currently trying to assassinate a King.
That was nice.
"Vaelrith."
"Jax."
"You came all this way for my birthday?"
Vaelrith smiled.
"Your father-in-law wished to attend."
"But?"
"Kings have obligations."
Jax glanced at Llandra.
"Convenient excuse."
"I imagine you too will understand that, with your recent title."
Jax smirked, understanding that it was actually a bit of warm jab at his new "King of the Fairies" title.
Vaelrith produced a small wrapped package.
"From King Thalorien."
Jax accepted it.
"Should I be worried?"
"Probably."
Llandra sighed.
"Don't encourage him."
Vaelrith smiled.
"I was instructed to tell you that His Majesty sends his congratulations and wishes you many more years."
"That's surprisingly nice."
"I haven't finished."
"Of course not."
"And that surviving one year married to his daughter is a promising beginning."
Jax looked at Llandra.
She stared at Vaelrith.
Vaelrith raised his glass.
"His words."
Jax laughed.
"Tell him I'm aiming for two."
"I'll convey your ambition."
Vaelrith moved on.
Llandra watched him go.
"My father thinks he's funny."
"Your father is funny."
"Do not encourage him either."
Jax sat back down.
He barely managed three bites before someone tapped a glass.
The room slowly quieted.
Jax looked around.
"What's happening now?"
Bunny smiled.
"Speeches."
"Oh, no."
"Oh, yes."
The first person to stand worked at the Neon Moon.
Jax recognized him immediately.
He'd been there almost from the beginning.
Back when Jax's first restaurant was still finding its footing, he'd been a shift leader.
Reliable.
Good with people.
Better with employees.
The kind of person who solved problems before anyone above him knew there had been one.
Jax had noticed.
Eventually he'd handed him more responsibility.
Then more.
Now the man ran the Neon Moon.
"I wasn't going to say anything."
Several employees laughed.
He smiled.
"Apparently that wasn't an option."
He looked at Jax.
"When I met you, I was running shifts in this place."
Jax nodded.
"You were good at it."
"I thought that was probably as far as I was going."
He glanced around the Neon Moon.
"You didn't."
Jax leaned back.
The man continued.
"You kept asking me questions."
A few people who knew Jax laughed.
"How would you do this? Why are we doing that? What would you change? What do you need?"
He shook his head.
"I thought you were testing me."
Jax smiled.
"I wasn't."
"I know that now."
More laughter.
"You just wanted to know."
"Usually."
"And then one day you told me I was running the place."
"Pretty much."
"I thought you were insane."
"Also pretty common."
The man smiled.
"But you trusted me before I trusted myself."
He looked around.
"I have a career now. Not a job. A career."
His voice softened.
"My family has security. My employees have opportunities. And every time this place succeeds, I know I helped build it."
He lifted his glass.
"Thank you."
Jax raised his.
"Thank you for proving me right."
The room applauded.
Another person stood later.
A man Jax remembered from Crystalshire.
He had managed a warehouse when they first met.
Nothing glamorous.
Inventory.
Shipments.
Workers.
Schedules.
Problems.
Lots of problems.
Jax had noticed that somehow the man's warehouse always worked.
Now he oversaw operations tied to Jax's growing portal network.
The man looked nervous standing before hundreds of people.
"I was a warehouse manager."
Jax smiled.
"A damn good one."
The man laughed.
"I thought so."
"So did I."
"When Jax asked me to help with the portal operations, I thought he'd lost his mind."
"Again, common."
That got another laugh.
"I told my wife we'd try it."
He paused.
"Our house is paid off now."
Applause broke out.
The man waited.
"My children are both enrolled at Llandra Darquebane University."
Llandra's expression changed.
The man looked toward her.
"They've never met you, Princess."
Llandra sat very still.
"But they know your name."
His voice tightened slightly.
"My parents couldn't afford to educate me beyond what I needed to work."
He looked at Jax.
"My children are going to college."
The room became very quiet.
"I manage operations connecting places I never imagined I'd visit. My children are being educated at a University named for an Elven Princess who married a man who apparently doesn't understand when something is impossible."
Jax smiled.
Llandra leaned over to Jax.
"You built and named a college after me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"You seemed more qualified than me."
"That is not how universities are named."
"It is when you are the one building them."
"That's fair."
The man raised his glass.
"You changed the direction of my entire family."
Jax shook his head.
"No."
The man paused.
Jax pointed toward him.
"I gave you an opportunity."
Then toward Llandra.
"She helped build the school."
Then back toward him.
"You did the rest."
The man smiled.
"Then thank you for the opportunity."
"That I'll take."
The room applauded again.
Llandra quietly reached for Jax's hand beneath the table.
He squeezed it.
More people spoke.
Pophov told a story that became increasingly less reliable as it continued.
Ellie corrected him repeatedly.
Brannic gave a speech that lasted approximately forty seconds and contained more insults than compliments.
Jax considered it deeply moving.
Grathok spoke about business.
Merriweather spoke about friendship.
Then one of the actresses from her theater stood and thanked Jax for investing in something that wasn't a weapon, road, warehouse or restaurant.
Nyxian immediately yelled that theater could absolutely be a weapon.
Nobody asked her to elaborate.
Then a woman Jax didn't recognize stood.
That surprised him.
She looked nervous.
Very nervous.
"I'm sorry."
Jax smiled.
"For what?"
"You don't know me."
"Apparently we're about to fix that."
A few people laughed.
Her shoulders relaxed.
"My husband and I moved here eight months ago."
Jax listened.
"We're Beastkin."
He'd noticed.
"We didn't know whether we'd stay."
She looked around.
"We'd heard things about Solmere."
"Hopefully some good things."
"Some."
She smiled.
"Some sounded impossible."
That got a few laughs.
"We came anyway."
Her voice softened.
"My daughter goes to school with Human children."
Jax didn't move.
"Her best friend is Human."
The woman's eyes began to water.
"Last month, she asked me why that was supposed to be strange."
Jax felt something tighten in his chest.
The woman wiped at her eye.
"I didn't know what to tell her."
She smiled.
"So I told her it wasn't."
Silence filled the room.
"Thank you for giving my daughter a place where she doesn't understand why she's supposed to hate someone."
Jax couldn't answer immediately.
Finally, he nodded.
"Thank you for bringing her here."
The woman sat.
Jax looked down at his food.
He wasn't hungry anymore.
Not because anything was wrong.
Quite the opposite.
He looked around the room.
People were watching him.
Friends.
Employees.
Business partners.
Citizens.
Family.
His family.
Eventually Bunny stood.
"Your turn."
Jax immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Yes."
"I didn't prepare anything."
Nyxian smiled.
"That's why this should be entertaining."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
People began applauding.
Jax looked at Llandra.
"Help?"
"No."
"Traitor."
"Stand up."
Jax sighed.
Then stood.
The room quieted.
He looked at hundreds of people.
For once, Jax had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to say.
So he decided to start there.
"I didn't prepare a speech."
Brannic yelled from the bar.
"WE CAN TELL!"
The room erupted.
Jax pointed at him.
"You're cut off."
"YOU DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY!"
"I OWN THE RESTAURANT!"
Brannic considered that.
"FAIR!"
Jax laughed.
The room settled again.
He looked around.
"I really don't know what to say."
That was true.
"I didn't even know it was my birthday until about an hour ago."
"Forty minutes!" Bunny corrected.
"Apparently forty minutes."
He smiled.
"You know what's weird?"
The room waited.
"I don't remember ever having a birthday before."
The words landed differently once they were outside his head.
Jax stopped.
He knew he had been born.
Obviously.
He knew he'd had another life.
He knew there must have been birthdays.
Cakes.
Presents.
People.
Maybe family.
Maybe friends.
But he couldn't remember any of them.
Jax looked around the Neon Moon.
"So..."
He swallowed.
"I guess this is my first one."
Silence.
Bunny's eyes immediately filled with tears.
"Oh, no."
Jax pointed at her.
"No crying."
"I'm not."
"You absolutely are."
"I'm happy!"
"That's still crying."
Zee put an arm around Bunny.
Nyxian quietly wiped beneath one eye and immediately pretended she hadn't.
Jax saw it.
He was smart enough not to mention it.
He took a breath.
"I've heard a lot tonight about things I've done."
He looked around.
"And I'm grateful."
He paused.
"But I need to correct something."
His eyes moved across the room.
"I didn't build this alone."
He gestured toward the windows.
Toward Solmere beyond them.
"I couldn't."
He looked toward Barb.
"I didn't build those carriages."
Barb smiled.
"She did."
He looked toward the Neon Moon's general manager.
"I don't run this restaurant."
Then toward the man from Crystalshire.
"I don't run the portals."
He looked toward Merriweather.
"I don't put on plays."
Merriweather smiled.
"Thank the gods."
Jax laughed.
"Exactly."
He looked toward Brannic.
"I don't forge the weapons."
Brannic raised his drink.
"I definitely don't run the Guild."
Kaelor nodded.
"Please don't."
More laughter.
"I don't teach the classes. I don't grow the food. I don't build most of the buildings. I don't manage the warehouses."
Jax shrugged.
"Mostly I ask annoying questions."
Several people nodded.
"Hey."
That got another laugh.
"But every person in this room chose to believe something could be better."
His expression softened.
"Sometimes before there was any reason to believe it."
He looked toward the woman who had spoken about her daughter.
"And sometimes all I did was refuse to accept that something stupid had to stay stupid because it had always been stupid."
The woman smiled.
"One year ago, I walked into Solmere."
He glanced toward Llandra.
"The festival was coming."
Llandra smiled.
"Every inn was full."
Bunny immediately laughed.
Nyxian leaned back.
"Oh, no."
Jax grinned.
"Well..."
He paused.
"Almost every room was full."
Bunny pointed at him.
"You had the suite!"
"There it is."
"We had that horrible room!"
"I didn't know you yet!"
"Still!"
Jax laughed.
"One year and apparently we're still not over that."
"We're not."
"Good to know."
The laughter faded naturally.
Jax looked at the women sitting closest to him.
His smile softened.
"And then I met them."
He was quiet for a moment.
"I don't know what my life would've been without these women."
Nyxian opened her mouth.
Jax pointed at her.
"Don't."
She closed it.
Everyone laughed.
"I mean it."
He looked first at Bunny.
Not Bunny.
Not right now.
"Aurabelle."
Her expression changed immediately.
Jax smiled at her.
"Aurabelle is the kindest, most loving person I know."
Bunny's ears slowly lowered.
"She loves people before they've earned it."
Bunny looked down.
"She believes people can be better before they've proven they can."
Jax paused.
"And there have been more decisions than I can count where I've stopped and wondered what she would think of me afterward."
Bunny looked back up.
"Her heart guides more of what I do than she probably realizes."
A tear rolled down Bunny's cheek.
Jax sighed.
"I specifically said no crying."
Bunny laughed through it.
"You made me!"
He smiled.
He looked at Zee.
"Zyphrial."
Zee smiled softly.
"She spends her life trying to make people whole."
Her smile faded.
Jax continued.
"She sees someone hurting and wants to help."
He looked around the room.
"She doesn't care whether they're rich. Poor. Human. Beastkin. Important. Nobody."
His eyes returned to Zee.
"If you're hurting, Zee wants to make you better."
Zee swallowed.
"And watching her has changed what I think is possible."
Jax paused.
"Someday, I want us to build a world where being sick doesn't mean wondering whether you can afford to live."
A murmur moved through the room.
"We're not there."
He shook his head.
"Not even close."
Then looked at Zee again.
"But her devotion to healing makes me want to figure out how we get there."
Zee's eyes glistened.
Jax smiled.
"Universal healthcare."
Zee nodded.
"Someday."
"Someday."
Then Jax looked at Nyxian.
She immediately smiled.
"Be careful."
"See?"
The room laughed.
"Nyxian reminds me that I'm allowed to enjoy my life."
Her smile faltered.
Just slightly.
"She makes me laugh when I'm taking myself too seriously."
Jax considered that.
"Which is apparently often."
"Very," Llandra said.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Jax looked back at Nyxian.
"She makes me uncomfortable when I probably need to be uncomfortable."
Nyxian's smile returned.
"You're welcome."
"Frequently."
The room laughed.
"But underneath the teasing..."
Nyxian's expression changed.
"And the flirting."
Her eyebrow rose.
"And the inappropriate comments."
"Allegedly."
"There it is."
More laughter.
Jax waited.
"Underneath all of it is one of the warmest people I've ever known."
Nyxian went very still.
"She reminds me why building something better matters."
He smiled at her.
"Because what's the point of creating a better world if we forget to enjoy living in it?"
Nyxian didn't make a joke.
She simply smiled at him.
Jax looked at Llandra.
She was already watching him.
"Llandra."
He paused.
"She's really pretty."
Llandra closed her eyes.
The room laughed.
"I mean really pretty."
"Jax."
"Okay."
He smiled.
"Llandra never lets me settle."
Her expression softened.
"If I'm wrong, she tells me."
Vaelrith laughed somewhere behind them.
"If something can be better, she expects us to make it better."
Jax held her gaze.
"Every day she's in my life reminds me that there's still work to do."
He smiled.
"And if I ever decide we've accomplished enough..."
He looked around.
"I have absolutely no doubt she'll explain why I'm an idiot."
Llandra raised her glass.
"At length."
"At length."
The room laughed.
Jax's smile softened.
"And I'll listen."
Llandra's smile disappeared.
Not from hurt.
Something deeper.
"Because she's usually right."
Jax paused.
"Usually."
Llandra narrowed her eyes.
"I had to save myself."
That brought the laughter back.
Jax looked toward Pixelle and Lexi.
Both hovered near the table.
"And Pixelle and Lexi."
Pixelle straightened.
"My newest wives."
He smiled.
"I haven't known them nearly as long."
Pixelle folded her arms.
"Whose fault is that?"
Jax stared at her.
"Time?"
"Excuses."
Lexi laughed.
Jax shook his head.
"They've only been part of my life for a short time, and somehow I already can't imagine what it would've looked like if they hadn't entered it."
Pixelle's expression softened.
"Pixelle has taught me..."
Jax paused.
Pixelle waited.
Jax smiled.
"That being King of the Fairies is significantly more complicated than advertised."
The room laughed.
Pixelle pointed at him.
"You love it."
"I do."
That stopped her.
Jax smiled at her.
"I really do."
Then he looked at Lexi.
"And Lexi has already managed to organize parts of my life I didn't realize were disorganized."
"Most of it."
"That feels judgmental."
"It's administrative."
"Apparently there's a difference."
"There is."
Jax smiled at both of them.
"My life is better because you're in it."
Then he looked at all six women.
"I don't know how I got this lucky."
Nyxian opened her mouth.
Jax pointed again.
"Still don't."
She laughed.
Jax looked around the room.
At Barb.
Her sons.
Brannic.
Merriweather.
Grathok.
Kaelor.
Pophov.
Ellie.
Vaelrith.
Roger.
The people who worked beside him.
The people who'd trusted him.
The people he'd trusted.
The people he didn't even know.
"There is a piece of my heart that has been filled by every person in this room."
He stopped.
Then looked toward the windows.
"And apparently several thousand people who couldn't fit in it."
Laughter.
Jax smiled.
"I don't know where we'd all be without each other."
He thought about it.
Then shuddered dramatically.
"Actually, I've considered it."
A few people laughed.
"It sounds terrible."
More laughter.
"But I know we wouldn't be here."
Jax looked down.
At the Fairy Cider.
At the boar filet that had gone slightly cold because apparently speeches were terrible for food temperature.
At the people surrounding him.
His friends.
His family.
His wives.
The women he would marry.
His city.
His home.
One year.
One impossible year.
Jax picked up his glass.
"And here is pretty damn good."
People began lifting theirs.
Jax looked around one last time.
"I love you all."
For a moment, nobody said anything.
Then the room erupted.
Applause.
Cheers.
Glasses raised.
Bunny abandoned all pretense and threw herself around him again.
Zee followed.
Nyxian did too.
Llandra wrapped her arms around him.
Pixelle and Lexi flew directly into the middle of it.
Jax disappeared beneath Vixens.
"Okay."
Nobody released him.
"I need oxygen."
Still nothing.
"Seriously."
Bunny squeezed harder.
Jax laughed.
He stopped trying to escape.
Around them, the Neon Moon returned to life.
Music started again.
Drinks were poured.
Food arrived.
Merriweather's theater friends eventually commandeered a corner and performed something completely unplanned.
Brannic loudly insisted he could sing.
He could not.
Roger somehow obtained three desserts.
Jax never learned how.
Barb eventually stopped worrying about her dress and danced with both of her sons.
Jax watched that one for a while.
Later, he sat with Llandra beside him and Bunny practically asleep against his other shoulder.
Zee and Lexi were talking across the table.
Pixelle was sitting inside a wineglass she had emptied first.
Nyxian had disappeared.
That was concerning.
Jax decided it was tomorrow's problem.
He leaned back.
Through the windows, he could see Solmere.
Lanterns glowing.
People moving through the streets.
Festival banners swaying gently overhead.
One year ago, he'd walked into this city without knowing anyone.
He'd gotten the best room in town while four women he'd only just met were stuck somewhere considerably worse.
He'd had no business.
No home.
No wife.
No friends.
No idea what he was going to do next.
Now he had all of it.
More than he'd known to ask for.
Llandra rested her head against his shoulder.
"Happy birthday."
Jax looked at her.
Then at the room.
Then through the window at Solmere.
His home.
He smiled.
"Best one I can remember."