Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 132625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“Not cold,” I promise, looking into his eyes. “But the clothes might be a good idea.”
“Debatable.” He winks but sits back on his heels and peels off his tunic, helping me sit up so I can cover myself with it. The buttery-soft material slides over my sensitive skin. It smells like him. Like home.
“What about everyone else?” I ask.
The delight instantly flees his expression. “We lost a lot of people, but our closest friends, our family, they made it through.”
“Erith?” I ask.
“Gone. Felicity made sure of that.” He frowns. “Unfortunately, Konner, Felicity’s twin, didn’t make it.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I whisper, my heart aching for her.
“You are the talk of your sister’s court. The reason that Mordeus is gone for good, they’re saying.”
“There were so many ways we could’ve lost. Infinite potential heartbreaks. We are so lucky.”
He nips at my lips. “Luckier than I could’ve ever hoped.”
“We should probably go inside.”
His dimples flash. “Probably,” he says, but he doesn’t resist in the slightest when I lie back on the grass and pull him with me.
The door to my bedchambers rattles when it slams against the wall.
I push up in bed, eyes bleary. Abriella marches into my room and stands beside my bed with her arms crossed.
“Seriously?” she says, looking back and forth between me and Kendrick.
Kendrick rubs his eyes and blinks at her. “Morning,” he mutters. She swats him on the side of his head, and he flinches, then tugs me onto his lap. “Protect me, Slayer.”
“My sister has been back long enough for you to come back inside, sleep, and”—she waves a hand—“gods know what else, and you didn’t. come. get. me?”
“We were a little busy with the gods-know-what-else part,” he says, then ducks behind me when she makes to swing at him again.
I nudge his hands off me and climb out of bed. “You were sleeping,” I explain, “and I needed a bath.”
She looks me over, taking me in like she wasn’t sure she’d ever get to again, then her eyes fill with tears and she drags me into her arms and hugs me tight. “I was so afraid we’d lost you.”
I wrap my arms around her and hug her back. “I’m sorry. Apparently resurrection isn’t as speedy as we expected.”
Her chest shakes against me with silent laughter. When she pulls back, her cheeks are streaked with tears but her eyes are clear. When she touches my face, she traces the scar around my eye. “I don’t know why I expected these to go away when you rose from the ash.”
I study her for a long time, thinking of the shadows we share and the trials we’ve both had to endure to get where we are. “They could have, but I wanted to keep them.”
She cocks her head to the side. “They’re a reminder of how strong you are,” she says, answering the question for herself. “Yes, that’s what makes them so beautiful on you. The fae ears are a nice touch too.”
I jolt upright. I hadn’t even thought about that. “That’s right. I’m fae now.” That explains everything I was feeling last night. Fae senses are supposed to be extra sensitive. “Interesting.”
“Interesting?” she says. “That’s it?”
Kendrick doesn’t even try to disguise his smug smile.
Brie blows out a breath. “Get dressed and come have breakfast with me? I’ll cancel my meetings.”
“What meetings are those?”
She shrugs. “Nothing important.”
I look to Kendrick.
“The remaining four of the Elora Seven are here,” he says. “They’re eager to discuss the future of the realm.”
“But it can wait,” Brie says.
She opens the drapes, then stares at me as she backs toward the door.
“What?” I ask.
“I’m just happy,” she says, then she disappears.
I crawl back into bed with Kendrick. “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything.”
“About what?” he asks innocently.
“The ears? My fresh immortality?”
“Didn’t think I needed to.” His eyes soften. “And didn’t want to put a damper on our reunion if you weren’t happy about it.”
“I . . .” How do I feel about being fae? I knew this was what was coming but I never let myself think this far ahead. “I’m glad we’re both fae. One human lifetime couldn’t possibly be enough.”
His eyes heat and he tugs me down toward him. I go happily.
“Also”—I block out the morning sun with my shadows—“this comes with cool tricks.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Felicity
“We didn’t fight this long and sacrifice so much to keep the corrupt Seven in power,” Remme says, slapping a hand on the table. “I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation.”
Sol presses her palms together, the picture of patience. “But have you stopped to consider what that’s going to be like? The vast majority of Elorans think the Seven are their saviors. Maybe that would change once you prove all the centuries of lies, but people want something to believe in. And the Eloran people? They need something to believe in. They will fight you if you try to take that away—even if your reasons are all the right ones.”