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)
A ghost of a smile curves up her lips. “I thought this wasn’t your fight, Your Highness.”
“It’s everyone’s fight. That’s why they call it the good fight, isn’t it?”
She curtseys, the first formal gesture I’ve seen from anyone on the plane. “You will do your kingdom proud, Your Highness.”
I stand in the middle of the square and breathe in as Bron brushes against me with her mind.
Come for me. My time is now.
She’s so serene, so perfectly powerful. She’s ready.
And Lach isn’t here.
“Mrs. Harper, thank you, but I need to find Harry.” Roan went with Lach.
Dellacourt is suddenly at my side. “What’s wrong?”
“Bron’s ready. We have to go.” I take a long breath. She’s ready and I’m miles and miles away.
“Uhm, we’re two days march from the palace. She better stay ready for a while.” Dellacourt glances around. “Or we can hope Roan brings back an army of bikes. Do you understand how much easier warfare is on my plane? We all sit in our rooms and fire at each other remotely. Seriously, I have snacks and drinks during wars. I always get my face fucked up on Faery planes. It’s barbaric.”
The vampire talks really fast when he’s getting emotional. It annoyed me greatly at first until I realized that for all Dellacourt’s complaints, he walked away from his whole world.
Dante Dellacourt fights the good fight.
“I shall try to preserve your beauty,” I reply.
Dellacourt flushes a bit. “Sorry. It’s just I’ve been waiting for this fight for what seems like most of my life and now that it’s here, I worry about the cost. I won’t back down, you understand. I will pay it, but I worry.”
He looks back at his wife. Kaja won’t stand in the background. She won’t allow herself to be locked away. She will fight beside her husband because that’s what husbands and wives do.
But I need to consider other things now. I have a war to stage and the most important piece is in place. “How do we get everyone to the palace and quickly?”
“We ride the winds.” Beckett Finn strides up the road, his voice ringing out.
I sigh because I can feel my brother again. Lach walks slightly behind the kings of the Seelie Fae.
Beckett and Cian Finn stride into the square with their wife between them. Not a one wears a crown on their head, but everyone in the village drops to one knee.
I’m happy to see the kings, but happier to see my brother. I rush to Lach. “Did you hear her?”
Lach nods, his whole face beaming, looking more vibrant than I can ever remember my brother looking. “I did. And we were hurrying.” His smile grows vibrant. “Father worked hard while we were gone. He found a witch. She tore open a huge fucking hole in the door. Torin is going to know we’re here now. Take a look at what I brought, brother.”
I look behind Lach and feel my mouth drop open. An army marches behind Lach. I can’t count them. They seem endless. I see Maon, my father’s chief advisor, and the whole council dressed for war. And then I see Gillian, flying past us, her feet working so hard they barely touch the ground. My sister runs and flings herself at our father.
Our father catches her, holding his daughter to him with everything he has.
“When I got home, they were all waiting,” Lach says, emotion in his voice. “Vampires. Our people. Beck and Cian’s people. They wouldn’t be left behind. Our father most of all.”
“Dad?” Dellacourt shouts out and runs toward a big man in boots and a hat.
But I’m concentrating on my father.
King Fergus of the Unseelie Fae keeps his arm around Gilly as he strides over. “Shim, I’m so proud of you, son.”
I feel my heart clench. How long did I wait to hear those words? Lach stands beside me, my big brother, lending me strength. “Thank you, Father.”
Father looks me in the eye, as though trying to send his will into me. “I mean it, Shim. You were steadfast. You knew the truth, and you and Lach held fast and despite everything I threw at you, you brought back your sister and you…you honored your brother.” Fergus stops, emotion choking him. “When this is all done, we’re finding Duffy and bringing him home. He belongs in the family crypt with his mother and his ancestors. He did us all proud.”
Roan walks up behind my father. “Your Highnesses, we stand ready to fight. We are a small army compared to what we’re up against, but we’re strong. Mr. Taggart has brought a force of fifty well-trained ex-soldiers. Julian Lodge and his business partner, Stefan Talbot, paid to have everyone outfitted with the finest in weaponry, and they’ve come along.”
The group of vampires are dressed in black and armed to the teeth. They look deadly.