Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Chickens pecked at seeds scattered about.
I gave a little squeak. “Cluck Cluck!” My scraggly beauty looked up at me, gave me the middle finger with her eyes, and continued eating. How very Cluck Cluck. “I’m glad you made it to safety, sweetie,” I told her, grinning.
Ten soldiers rushed to cage Jasher inside a protective circle.
“He may not near the queen,” Rourke barked at me.
The royals were here? I cast my gaze, finding the couple across the aisle. Aw. They stood in a world all their own, her face tilted up to his, her eyes bright with a love so fierce it made my chest constrict. And when she removed the necklace from her throat and looped it around his neck…
Longtime ideals crashed and burned. I knew she had loved—or would love—Daniel Shaker. But she had never looked at him like this, as if he were the axis her world spun upon. And while Daniel had loved her, deeply, truly, it had never been like this. Ahav laid his devotion bare every second he looked at her.
Light glinted from the charm she fastened around his neck, and my lungs flared wide. The compass. The one Iris had given me. Then I’d given to Jasher and my mother. I might have changed some things in this loop, but I had not changed this. Her farewell gift to the man she adored.
“Find your way back to me,” she whispered, cupping the king’s cheek.
“Always,” he answered, kissing her with a certainty that left no room for doubt.
She turned away, arms tightening around her middle. With her face toward me now, I saw what he didn’t. The tears streaking down her cheeks.
Love leaked from all my inner cracks, spurring me onward. I rushed to her, drawn like a magnet, and hugged her close. She clung to me, really clung, as if she needed an anchor as her world collapsed. When she drew back, her watery smile threatened to ruin me. So soft and brave. Absolutely shattering.
A thousand emotions slammed into me at once, creating a mess too confusing to wade through. Maybe I would get to see her again in this timeline. Maybe I wouldn’t. Right now, in this fragile, fleeting moment, I already missed her with an ache that radiated from deep in my bones.
“You are a wonderful wife and mother,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
“Not quite a mother yet, but I hope you’re right.”
I clasped her hands, letting her feel my certainty. “I am right. I’ve seen it. You are forever loved. Forever adored. By your husband and by your daughter.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Remember your promise to bring Ahav back to me.”
“I’ll never forget,” I vowed, slowly releasing her. Then ten armored figures materialized from the shadows, surrounding her in a protective ring and leading her out.
I stood rooted, watching her until the last possible second. And though I could have—wanted to—wallow in loss, I forced myself to rally. This wasn’t the end. I wasn’t out of the game. I had a mission, and I would not fail.
A stablemaster approached with two pegacorns.
The winged ponies fueled the fire of my determination. I recognized them instantly. “Skyprancer and Starflight!”
“Yes,” the stablemaster said, surprised by my knowledge. “They are my most tolerant lasses.”
They had helped me during my other visit. Majestic black and white beauties, each with a single horn rising from between their eyes. The black one had white wings, and the white one had black wings.
A smile broke free. “Hello, my darlings,” I cooed, petting the snout of one, then the other. They weren’t as welcoming as before and actually stepped back to sever contact. I took no offense. To them, this was our first meeting. “One day, you’re going to help me. But today, I just want to bask in your majesty.”
They seemed to bloom under my praise. Then Jasher joined us and reached out to gently trace his clawtips over the flank of Starflight, the white one. A caress she allowed with a mild show of unease.
“Such a pretty girl,” he muttered, still so gentle.
“You once pretended to fear falling from a pegacorn while mid-flight.” An absurd possibility I realized now. He could have easily morphed into a monstra and flown himself to safety.
“I didn’t fear falling itself but revealing my true form to you,” he said, taking my backpack and securing it to Skyprancer’s saddle. A surprisingly gentlemanly gesture. “I would have let myself hit the ground before I shifted and watched horror fill your eyes.”
I swallowed a lump in my throat. He wasn’t wrong. I would’ve been horrified.
“Let’s ride,” the king called.
Silent now, Jasher helped me mount Skyprancer, then mounted Starflight. We followed the king and his men out of the stable, trading crystal walls and liquid rainbows for bright sunshine and cobblestone paths.
I noticed my mother right away. She had raced inside and now stood upon a palace balcony, gripping the iron railing as she watched us, her dark hair whipping about in a clipped breeze.