Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 661(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 661(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Cousin Julian gives me a broad smile. “You know I never miss the chance to shed some blood.”
They’re here. My whole family. My whole kingdom. The ones who thought I was defective now stand behind me. Something opens wide in my soul and is full for the first time in my life—pride.
That feeling is quickly replaced with panic. “It’s good to have an army, but we need to get them moving. Bron is ready.”
Beckett and Cian stand in the middle of the square, speaking to the villagers. Meg is hugging Kaja and Dante.
Beckett looks to Shim. “I told you, we’ll ride the winds. This war will be won today, thanks to my sister. I hear she is well.”
I move closer. “She was. She’s been shielding. I worry she’s hiding from us.”
“I know she’s hiding. I saw what the hag wanted from her.” Lach shudders. “She won’t kill Bron for a day or two, but she’ll torture her. I can’t imagine what Bron’s been through. We’ve waited. She’s ready. I’m not willing to leave her there one moment more. I’ll sprint all the way if I have to.”
Cian puts a hand on Lach’s shoulder. “You won’t have to sprint. We have a plan. Beck’s been practicing. But you have to listen. He’s been working on his speech.”
Beck slaps at his brother’s shoulder. “It’s not a speech.”
Cian smirks back at him. “It’s a speech.”
Beck hops onto the fountain and looks over the crowd. A great cheer goes up as Cian joins him and reaches out to help their wife up. Queen Meg stands in between her husbands, her face beaming out at the crowd. She’s ready just like Bron is ready.
I’m ready. I only just realized it. I’m ready to fight and to win because I’m not about to lose at this point.
Beck holds a hand up and all talking ceases. His voice rings out over the courtyard and beyond. “I want to thank you all for being with us on this day. ’Tis a long time coming. You, my people, have suffered much since my uncle stole my father’s crown, but I am here to tell you, you are not alone. There are others waiting to join us. Today we march on the palace and we take back what belongs to me, to my brother, and my wife, and most importantly we take back what belongs to you. Your kingdom, your rights, your lives, and if blood spills, then it will be righteous. We will be outnumbered and we will win.”
A long shout goes up, threatening to shake the ground.
“That was a speech,” Lach says with a shake of his head as though he can’t think of anything worse for a king to do.
It appears I will have the speechmaking duties in our future kingdom. But for that kingdom to work, we need our queen. “We’re a day’s march from her. What if the hags kill her?”
Beck leaps down and walks to me. “We aren’t more than an hour from our sweet sister. I told you. We will ride the winds.”
An eddy wind will be the fastest way to travel, but first Beck has to find one and catch it, and finding one big enough will be a huge challenge. This army is at least a thousand men and women. We will need more than one eddy cloud. “King Beckett, shouldn’t we begin the march and try to find eddy clouds along the way?”
Beck grins broadly. “I don’t have to find an eddy cloud, my brother. I will simply make one. I am the master of storms and I can bring a cloud to carry us all.”
Beck opens his arms and the sky clouds over, the largest eddy cloud I have ever seen coalescing right above us.
“Show-off,” Queen Meg says. She grimaces. “I’ve only tried this once before and it was worse than anything Six Flags had to offer.”
Kaja is brimming with excitement. “I enjoy it. Except that my mate tends to get a bit ill.”
Dellacourt holds up a small bag. “I have barf bags for everyone!”
Beck looks at his brother, a long moment passing between them. “Let us go and see our sister once more.”
Cian nods, his hand on his heart.
Cian and Meg disappear, pulled up by the eddy cloud, and all around me the warriors of our ragtag army are pulled up by the cloud and the will of the Storm Lord.
“Let’s go and claim our wife.” I reach a hand to my brother.
Lach takes it, our wills are one now.
The cloud scoops us up and we are ready for battle.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Torin, The Soon to Be Dead Pretender
I watch out over the balcony, a sinking feeling in my gut. My kingdom. When Seamus was king and our father before him, Tír na nÓg was a place of stunning beauty, a calm, pastoral paradise.