Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
“She did seem to die too quickly from that wound.”
“I confess…I hadn’t been paying attention to her.” He stopped in front of a nondescript door, but instead of opening it, he yanked her to him. His eyes were urgent. “We don’t have to do this, Daisy. We can find another way. I’m free now. The king is dead. We can appeal to the Celestials for help. I’m a prince again. I have status and clout. I have a way to help these people—help Faerie—without sacrificing you.”
“Your brother nearly killed you, Tarian. Everyone who matters in the court distrusted you. You were a threat, and surviving an assassination attempt makes you more of one. Then you walk into that same court, a court in distress, with all your magic and the crystal chalice on your arm? Are you kidding?”
“They don’t have to know what you are. We could resume calling you a toy. I know it’s not ideal, but—”
“I have a diamond-dust tattoo and rings around my pupils, Tarian. I’m not a complete fucking idiot. I know that has to do with the crystal chalice in some way. With the magic. I don’t know why you have it, but whatever the reason, you’ll stand out more than you did in the past. You’ll be a bigger target than ever. It’ll require alliances and political maneuvering to get help. I know how these things work, as do you. The Guardians are split, and the royalty is at each other’s throats for the throne. You could try to get your dad on track, but recovering from a death that he helped cause would take a second. All of that—all of it—would take time. Time Faerie doesn’t have. And sure, why would I care? Except the Diamond Throne is directly responsible for the protection of the fringe, and that puts my family on the line. No matter how you look at this, there is no other way. We don’t have the resources to hunt down the twisted magic without the Diamond Court, and they’ve got problems. Problems you’ve indirectly created. Those are facts. This is the solution. You know that.”
She laid her palm on his cheek. His eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“So hard, so ruthless…and he comes apart so easily,” she whispered.
“What can I say, you’ve broken me.” He hugged her tightly. “I can’t do this. I won’t.”
“You will,” she said. She backed off enough to kiss him. “You’re going to have to kill me, babe. Sorry, I don’t have a cute term of endearment like ‘dewdrop.’ You’ll have to take what you get until I get more creative.” He smiled sadly. “You need to go through with this. I need you to. Okay? I need you to give it all you have. My family needs you. I need to play hero and you need to help with that.”
His sigh spoke of a breaking heart. “Okay.”
“Okay. Let’s get this done.”
The room beyond was empty in that all the furniture and wall decorations had been removed. There was just a large, rectangular area with a dull wooden floor. Upon that floor, though, was an elaborate setup of objects, each working with the others to create a twisting, circular design around the center. Within that center, which had enough space for two large people, waited one object. The diamond chalice.
It wouldn’t be the diamond chalice alone that created the godly power and killed her. Nor just it and Tarian. They’d need all these chalices working together to create the heights Tarian needed. Pretty hardcore.
Upon her entering the room, the items lit up, one by one at first and then all together, like a greeting. The diamond chalice sent out a peal of thunder. It rolled across the floor and soaked into the walls.
Eldric, at the far side with a pile of scrolls, startled and looked around. He saw Daisy and Tarian before turning and walking their way.
“Please, Daisy,” Tarian whispered, not allowing her to step any farther into the room. “Give me a day to think this through. With Eldric’s help—”
She let go of his hand and stepped without him. She didn’t fault him for his waffling decision-making. It was easy to have courage when she was the one calling the shots. When she was the one playing hero and wouldn’t have to suffer the agony of losing the one she loved. Of being responsible for the death of her beloved.
“You are, you know,” he said, hearing her. She wasn’t hiding anything from him. “You are my beloved.” He turned to her again. Eldric paused near the edge of the configuration. “You won’t be long ahead of me, okay? It’ll seem like no time at all. Wait for me. I will find you in the afterlife. Wait for me and we can be together.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll be just beyond the veil, okay? I’m not waiting around in real life because the veil might close or something, and then I’d just be hanging around, seeing people who can’t see me back. Apparently, it’s a real shit existence. My uncle knows from experience.”