Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 139662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
I feel it through our bond the moment before he throws up a shield. My words, my belief in him—it hurts him worse than my anger ever did.
“We’ll go to the River of Ice and try again,” I whisper. “And then we’ll figure out the rest from there.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?”
I tear my gaze away. “I told you once that personal sacrifice is what makes great kings. They’re willing to give up what they want for themselves in exchange for what’s best for their people. The same is true for queens.”
“So if you could undo all this—if you could trade your power for a mortal life back in Elora with your sister, if you could undo what I did when I got you to bond with me and cornered you into taking the potion?”
“I don’t see the point in dwelling on the past. What’s done is done.”
His gaze shifts to the sky, as if he’s searching the stars for the right path. “I need to know the answer.”
I shake my head, marveling at how different my answer would’ve been only weeks ago. “I want my life to matter, and I can make a difference here. Serving these people isn’t just a duty for me. It’s the greatest honor of my life.”
Sebastian meets my eyes again and nods. “I understand.”
Jas sleeps in lush guest room at the Midnight Palace, her breathing even but shallow, her face pale. She looks less like she’s recovering and more like she’s inching toward death.
Finn’s on one side of me and Sebastian’s on the other as I look down at her and swallow my tears.
“We have to save her,” I whisper. I meet Finn’s eyes, and he nods.
On the other side of me, Sebastian clears his throat. There are tears in his eyes as he takes my sister’s hand and strokes it with his thumb. “We will,” Sebastian murmurs, and somehow I believe him.
Finn wasn’t exaggerating when he said he’d send an entire battalion through the mountains with us. Gone are the attempts to be stealthy about our presence. Instead, we’re announcing to the world that we’re here. Come after us if you dare.
No one does, and we make it to the river with relative ease. Kane suggested a place where the river runs beneath the earth through a massive cave, and the others agreed that this would be the least vulnerable spot for us.
As we head to the cave mouth, Sebastian stops and looks at the others. “Could we do this alone, please?”
Finn’s face falls, and he looks back and forth between us before nodding. “Kane and Jalek will go in first to make sure it’s safe. Once it’s secure, we’ll send you in. Just shout if you need us.”
“Thank you,” Sebastian says softly.
My heart aches. I can’t look at Finn for more than a few seconds. This is the right thing to do. An entire court rests on our shoulders, and considering all that’s been lost thus far, what is this sacrifice of ours? It’s not much. And . . . I have hope. We might not have a way around this today, but there’s a chance the magic will make room for it—room for us—in the future. Magic is about change, Finn said. About possibility.
When Kane and Jalek return and give the all clear, Sebastian takes my hand and leads me into the cave.
“Are you having second thoughts?” I ask.
“No,” he says. “I know my duty.” Finally, he smiles at me. “I just wanted to be alone with you for a minute.”
“Okay.”
He turns to me and holds my hand in both of his. The position reminds me of the night we said the vows to create this bond. How appropriate, since today we make it permanent. “You are better,” he says, “and more deserving of this crown than I will ever be.”
“Don’t.” I flinch. “Don’t say that.”
“This is all my fault. I’m the one who got us into this position. I should’ve found a way. I should’ve—” He swallows. “I owe you so much. You . . . you taught me about love and friendship. The real kind. I never had that before you. Thank you for—” He looks up at the ceiling of the cave, studying the many stalactites that hang there. Or maybe he doesn’t see them. Maybe instead he’s seeing our history play out in his mind. The good moments and the bad, the joyful and the painful. “You’re going to make an amazing queen. I am honored to play a part in that. And I’m sorry.” He swallows hard and squeezes his eyes shut. “I’m sorry for the all the secrets I kept and all the pain I caused you. You deserved better.”
My heart clenches. Because I feel him. I feel sincerity and how much he wants me to understand what he’s saying, how desperately he wants me to believe his love. “Sebastian, it’s okay. I want to do this.” I take a step toward the river, and he comes with me.