Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
The side of her head finds my arm briefly before I take in a deep breathe, exhale, and lift my head to look up at the sight of the moon framed above the stairs where I will soon stand. Finally ready.
I count those last eleven steps.
This time, Luna does count out loud with me.
A sea of grieving Hallans greet me, filling the square, spilling into the streets, and shouting from the roofs of nearby buildings. I stand at the very edge of the gallery with my hands on the railing while the moon haloes the horizon in the distance.
Luna is one step off to the side behind me as the quiet murmurs, cries, and the noise of the crowd slowly dies down as one by one, they start to see me. And then they, too, finally know.
The first Hallan who meets my gaze bows down below instantly, the ground meeting his knees. Another follows, and it becomes a wave of sorts in the crowd until as far as my eye can see, they’ve all bowed to me.
I feel my mate’s hand slip from mine for the first time, and I look to find she’s also kneeled down beside me, but nothing stops her gaze from rising to meet mine.
“Long live the king,” she tells me.
FOURTEEN
“Oh, don’t put that in your mouth, Fate,” I say to the baby two seconds away from drooling all over my crown.
She smiles and when I try to reach for her, she runs away. Or tries, rather. Her steps are still unsteady, but she makes it to the end of the bed without tripping.
“If your parents come back here and you’ve bitten a jewel off my crown, they will not be too happy with me.”
She narrows her beautiful mismatched eyes at me as I approach her, but she does extend the crown. It’s amazing the things she seems to understand and be able to do at such a young age. One day Halun must have noticed me watching her with furrowed brows and took pity on me by explaining that, from what he knew of humans, Hallan children developed quicker, in both physical growth and abilities.
“Are you ready to come with Auntie Luna to see the new houses?” I ask.
I half expect her to answer, but instead of speaking, she just begins trying to walk the few inches over to me. Holding my hands out, she falls right into them. I scoop her up and when I open my door, I find my escort for the day already waiting there.
“Hello, Katur,” I greet him as I close me and Halun’s bedroom door.
“Paya,” he bows at the waist to me, then to Fate. “Loyi.”
Queen, Princess. Maybe Fate is much more used to her title because she giggles and reaches out for Katur’s face when he says it. He smiles and leans forward so she can place her hand on his cheek.
“How is your mate?” I ask as we begin walking.
“She’s very good. At the market right now, buying a bunch of things for our home.”
“Everyone is glad to have so many new people here, but I think the vendors in the market are the happiest. They have so much new business from people buying things for their houses, new clothes, and with so many human mates pregnant, I’m sure there will be lots of requests for things needed for babies soon.”
“I think you might be right about that one,” he agrees. “The Big Green halfling made sure to show Jessica the very biggest of necklaces he had had in his shops when I took her.”
“And if you’re anything like Halun, I’m sure you bought it for her the moment you saw she liked it.”
He chuckles. “Well, yeah. Of course.”
We pass where the new bathing hall is almost done being built when we begin down the new path that’s been created to extend beyond where the houses rest at the foot of the mountain. So much has changed since Halun became king. Since … Nowas and Jozay passed. The same day that the drums stopped beating, the ship arrived from Earth, as if fate knew how much Hallalah needed a new beginning that day. I still don’t understand a lot about fate, but I do know it seemed to get things right, especially timing. Which is terribly ironic, considering Hallans don’t record time.
Many women exited the ships, some having already found mates when they were still on Earth, but most had not. Some of the Hallan army had returned as well. It was just the festive occasion the Hallans needed. I could tell that Halun recognized that, too. A sigh left him that held so much sadness in it. But with so many new and returning people, that meant we needed to find space for them all. A new bathing hall, housing for both mates and single women, even the market has expanded to try and suit the needs and wants of our newest occupants.