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)
“I’ll tell you everything I remember about the manor and the main house,” Skylar says.
“And who will be Jasalyn? To go to this secret rendezvous?”
“Jasalyn will be unexpectedly detained by her sister,” Remme says. “And will send a trusted servant to let him know—after making him wait a bit first.”
This time I meet the queen’s gaze. “And you’re sure you can find her once you get the stone?”
“I suspect that if we don’t find her first, she’ll come to us, as she did before.” Again, she exchanges a look with her king. “After all, she shares a consciousness with Mordeus, who wants me dead.”
The queen must sense my hesitation, even if she doesn’t understand it, because she adds, “In exchange, of course, we’ll give you whatever it is you need to start a new life when this is all over.”
“We want access to your Hall of Doors,” Remme says, sneaking a glance at me before looking back to Abriella again.
“My debt is to Felicity,” she says, holding my gaze. “What is it that you want?”
I want to give my brother what he needs without risking his life. I want a family again. I want a life where I don’t always have to be on the run.
And then a small traitorous part of my brain whispers, I want to go back to my life at the Eloran Palace, and I shove it away.
“You don’t have to answer now,” Abriella says. “Think about it and let me know.”
“Tell her you want the Hall,” Skylar says, nudging me. “We can’t find the sword and that’s the only way to get to—”
“With respect, Skylar,” Hale says, cutting her off with the authority in his voice, “Mordeus has us against a ticking clock. He has to be our priority. We’ve waited this long to deal with Erith. He can wait a few more days.”
Skylar bows her head, showing deference to Hale in a way that reveals what he is to her, and to Elora: the rightful king. The one chosen by the oracle to protect the Eloran queen. “Understood,” she murmurs.
“My sister is tired,” Hale says to the group now. “Let’s get her some well-deserved rest so she can help us find Jas.”
Later that night, long after settling into Jas’s room, getting a proper bath, and changing into princess-appropriate attire, I’m roaming the halls to track down my brother when I find Misha instead.
Standing in front of the windows in a cozy sitting area, he stares out at the night sky, hands clasped behind his back.
Because I know I shouldn’t do it when he’s aware or when anyone else is watching, I let myself take a moment to admire the breadth of his shoulders and the way his hair falls in subtle waves that refuse to be tamed.
Really, as beautiful as he is, it’s the smiles that I miss the most. The ones that were just for me.
Just for Jasalyn.
I clear my throat to get his attention and he turns to me, giving me a quick and appraising once-over.
“Abriella was telling the truth, you know. She will grant you a favor after you retrieve the stone.”
I bow my head. “Perhaps we should wait until we know if I’ll be successful before we worry about that.”
“Your friends seem so sure that you should use the queen’s Hall of Doors to kill Erith, but that’s not what you want.”
“Like Hale said, we need to worry about Jasalyn and Mordeus before we worry about Erith. Jas is running out of time.”
He’s quiet so long, I lift my head to see if he’s walked away. He’s still there. Still watching me. “That’s not why, though. You risked so much to try to find my Hall for the same reason Remme suggested Brie give you access to hers. Why do you dread the idea of using her Hall?”
The blood drains from my face. “Since when do you read minds?”
“I don’t need to read minds when it’s right there to read on your face.” He cocks his head to the side and studies me. “Why are you so afraid of gaining access to that portal, Felicity?”
“It’s complicated.”
“It doesn’t need to be.”
I’ve spent years keeping this secret to myself. Telling Shae was a mistake that kept me from sharing it with anyone else. After that, the only person I had to talk about it with was Nigel. “When I found out my true identity, my mother sent me to the Eloran oracle.” I’ll never forget my other visit there. How desperate I was for answers—hopeful that I might leave with a solution. Instead, I left terrified, with an image in my mind that I haven’t been able to scrub away even all these years later. Hale on the ground, blood oozing from his chest and puddling around him.
“She showed me that I would kill Erith, but my vision didn’t stop there. She showed me Hale dying. The two events were intertwined. And I knew better than I knew my own face that killing Erith, following through with that fate my brother so desperately needed me to embrace, would lead to Hale’s death.”