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)
There’s a pressure in my ears and a whooshing all around me that might be a noise or moving air, but it all just feels too wrong to be sure of anything.
“How do we know which one goes to Elora?” I ask the others.
“Your sister said we’d know it when we see it,” Remme says, stepping around us.
He leads the way forward. When we stop briefly before each mirror, it shows us a reflection of ourselves in a new setting. There are floral meadows and cold stone dungeons. There are grimy village streets and the starlit sky of distant lands.
But he’s right. The moment we stop in front of the portal to Elora, I know we’ve found it. Nothing about the wood-paneled room beyond looks familiar, but I feel it somewhere in my chest.
I glance to Kendrick. “This one.”
He nods. “I feel it too.”
“How does that work?” I ask.
“The Hall knows why we’re here,” Natan says. “It’s answering the question we’re asking.”
“Totally rad,” Skylar says.
The moment we step into the mirror, the whooshing stops, the pressure in my ears disappears, and a tavern materializes around us, complete with the stench of stale beer and the cacophony of drunken patrons. The portal brought us into a dark corner by the back door, and no one seems to notice, but Kendrick reaches for my hand and quickly leads me and the others outside nevertheless.
In the dark dirt-path alley behind the bar, a man waits by the stables. His face lights up when he spots us. “You made it!”
“Thank you for meeting us,” Kendrick says, throwing an arm around him in a quick but firm embrace.
“Anything for you all. You know that.”
Kendrick tugs me forward gently. “Jasalyn, this is Hector. Hector, this is Princess Jasalyn.”
I offer my hand, but Hector pulls me into a hug. “We are so grateful to have your help. You could make all the difference in this revolution.”
I pat him on the back, awkwardly returning his hug before pulling away. “I haven’t . . .” I look to Kendrick, wide-eyed. Does this man know I can’t kill Erith? Does he know I lost the Sword of Fire? “I haven’t done anything useful. I’m not sure I can.”
Hector’s eyes sparkle with delight. “I trust in the oracle and you should too.”
I bow my head to hide my shame. Kendrick’s people will hate me when they find out the truth. That I lost the Sword of Fire. That I plunged the blade into Erith’s chest, like the oracle said I would, but that he still lives.
“Have you returned to the oracle?” Hector asks Kendrick. “Maybe this one can be our new queen.”
“She’s fae,” a woman croaks behind Hector, stepping out of the shadows where she was hidden before. She’s thick in the hips and waist and has the keen eyes of someone who’s spent most of their life on guard. “The Eloran queen was always a human.”
“That’s Loryn,” Kendrick says, “Hector’s wife. Loryn, this is Princess Jasalyn.”
Hector flashes Loryn a look that speaks of years of frequent exasperation. “Do you ignore all the gossip about Faerie? This girl is the first human Faerie princess.”
“But she’s not human for long. She’s a descendant of Mab.” She turns an apologetic expression toward me. “Sorry, child. It’s not personal. It’s tradition.”
“It’s fine,” I whisper, dropping my gaze back to the ground when I spot Kendrick watching me.
“It’s a dumb tradition,” Hector says. “Don’t you think the monarchy would’ve been stronger if the king and queen had been able to age together? If they’d been able to choose each other because of love and not because of some prediction by the oracle?”
“You don’t get to pick and choose which traditions we keep just because your friend is lusting after some hot young princess.” She wrinkles her nose at me. “Again, no offense, darling.”
I open my mouth, but I don’t know how to reply. I don’t know what’s worse—this man wishing things for me that can never be, this woman pitying me for what she believes to be the reason Kendrick and I can’t be together, or the look in Kendrick’s eyes because he knows the truth.
Before I can figure out a response, Skylar speaks up. “She is hot, isn’t she? It’s the haircut. Pretty damn good, if I say so myself. And the clothes, for which I can also be given all the credit.”
“We’ve had a long day,” Kendrick tells Hector. “Could you show us to Amelia’s?”
“What am I thinking?” He shakes his head and waves us toward the road. “The ley line is just a few blocks this way.”
“Ley line?” I ask Kendrick as the group begins to follow.
“Ley lines are paths of magical power that run through the realm and can quickly take you from one point to another without you having to physically travel that distance.”