Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 120974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Gone.
I stare after him, heart pounding, tears blurring my vision.
For one aching second, I wish—more than I’ve ever wished for anything—that I had said yes.
But duty calls. I love my mother—I must save her.
Straightening my spine, I wipe the tears from my cheeks and summon the mask I’ve worn all my life—the mask of a Royal Princess—a proper lady of the Court.
“Coming—I’m coming. It’s me—Princess Irena,” I call.
But as I turn toward the castle, I know the truth.
I’ve left my heart behind in that glade.
And I am certain—absolutely certain—that I will never see Valen or his Drake again.
73
VALEN
I fly away with an aching heart and my Drake howling in my head. He didn’t want to go—he wanted to stay with Irena and I don’t blame him. I wanted that too.
I can’t stop thinking about the visions that fucking Door of Uncertainty showed me—the one where we part ways is bad enough. We basically just did that. But it’s the other two that haunt me—the vision where she was chained in the dungeon and the vision where she was dead.
That last one is the worst. I can’t bear the thought of her dying—I’m so fucking afraid of losing her forever it ties my insides in knots.
You already lost her when you flew away, whispers a little voice in my head, but I push it aside.
At least I still have the collar on. Once I would’ve done anything to get the fucking thing off—now I wouldn’t remove it for a kingdom full of gold. It’s my only link to her—my only hope to reconnect if something goes wrong.
I’m not particularly worried about someone else taking the ring from her. For one thing, I’m sure Irena is smart enough to hide it. For another, her brother’s magic is nothing to hers—it’s like comparing a trickle of water to a waterfall.
And since only Royals of her line can wield the ring and her mother is deathly ill and in no shape to do magic, I feel safe enough keeping the collar on. But I wouldn’t care even if her brother was the most powerful sorcerer in the land—I’d still wear it, just to be able to know that she’s safe.
The only thing is, I don’t know how far apart the ring and collar can be and still call to each other. I know I felt something in the forest when she got lost from the path—but I mostly found her by scent. But all of Thornmere is stiff with magic—I’m sure that interfered some. I’m hoping that out in the open the ring and collar’s connection will be much stronger.
Because if something happens to my curvy little Princess and I don’t know about it and can’t come to save her…
I push the thought away—it’s too fucking awful. I don’t want to think it.
But though I try to escape it, my mind keeps showing me the terrible vision the Door of Uncertainty showed me…
The one where I’m holding Irena in my arms and she’s dead.
74
IRENA
“It’s me—the Princess,” I assure the guards again, as I come upon them at last. They’re searching the lands at the back of the castle and they seem quite confused to see me coming through the brush and trees.
“Princess?” one asks. He has a familiar square jaw and pale, gray-blue eyes. It’s Sir Horace—the Captain of the King’s own guard. He serves my mother for as long as she lives and then he and his battalion of specially trained soldiers will serve my brother when he ascends the throne.
But that’s going to be years and years from now, I tell myself firmly. For I’m going to cure my mother.
As long as she’s still alive.
The thought sends a knife of jagged fear straight through me. What if she died while I was away? Goddess, let her be all right!
“Princess, what are you doing here? We thought you were kidnapped by the beast!” he says, looking at me suspiciously. “How did you get back? What were you doing while you were gone?”
“I undertook a quest,” I say lightly, not answering his other questions. “And now, I must see my mother. Take me to her at once!”
I put every bit of authority that my Royal rank gives me in my voice. I can tell the Captain of the Guard wants to interrogate me, but I don’t intend to let him detain me. The small bottle filled with the Healing Draught is hidden in the pocket of my skirts, still warm with healing magic against my leg. The Sorceress directed me to give it to my mother as soon as I got back and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Sir Horace is frowning at me from under his metal helm. Clearly he doesn’t like this. A man like Horace doesn’t like anything he can’t explain.