Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Once Dinesh gave me the watch to make my way back, I thought it best to seal the portal. No one else needs to find their way from the land of Kunglig to Blaise’s world. I will be the only one with access.
“You what?” Helenier shrills.
“I sealed the portal. We have no use for that world.”
“You would allow that beast to harm your father with no consequences? You must unseal it.”
“Are you telling me what I must do, Helenier?” My words come out just as dark as I mean them to.
“No, no, my prince. Not at all.” She pauses as her gaze falls to my chest. “Coralo and I will go. I’m sure you both want to catch up. I’m so happy for your return, my prince, and your healing, my king. Coralo, come.”
Coralo looks at me longingly before she reluctantly retreats with her mother. Helenier grabs her wrist and drags her from the room. I don’t like the feeling I get as they go.
“You feel that too?”
“Yes. What do you think this means?”
“She’s tapping into dark magic and has become unstable. Argon, I truly don’t remember what led me to that plane. I have no recollection of anything before I left,” my father says.
I turn to him and search his eyes that are so much like mine. “You said you wanted to retrieve a fire rose for my betrothed.”
“A fire rose? The roses in the garden. Yes, I remember those.” He rubs his forehead. “Vaguely, but I remember them.”
I move closer and place a hand on his shoulder. “Rest. We will get to the bottom of this.”
* * *
Blaise
I toss the sphere across the room and smash it. I had only wanted to make sure Argon made it to his father and healed him. I did not expect to find him with the arms of another around him.
Sinking to my knees, I cover my face and start to sob. I’ve fallen in love like a fool. I never thought about his betrothed back home. I’d forgotten about her.
Why wouldn’t he go back to her? I allowed those dreams to fool me into thinking I had something with him. Our time together was only a ruse for him to escape. It doesn’t matter now.
“Oh, honey. Please stop crying,” Ms. Posh says, causing me to lift my head to look at her.
“What are we going to do?”
She flies closer and palms my face with her tiny hand. With the flick of her wrist, a steaming cup of tea appears. I hold the warm cup in my hands.
“We’re going to do what we always do. We’re going to survive. It’s all going to work out, it always does.”
“Have you seen the rose? The petals are almost gone. We’ll remain like this forever,” I cry.
“You, my dear, haven’t seen the way that man looked at you. He will return. I don’t believe you’re the only one who fell in love.”
I turn away from her so she can’t look into my eyes. I’m ashamed of myself for falling for him. I’m even more embarrassed by the dreams.
“He has someone. He didn’t fall in love with me, and I can’t be sure if I fell in love with him or a dream,” I murmur.
“Dream?”
I blush. “I’ve been dreaming of him. He comes to me and… things happen.”
Ms. Posh chortles. “Blaise, let me show you something.”
I lift to my feet and follow her into my closet. She leads me to the full-length mirror. I look at her in confusion.
“Remove your cloak, princess.” I do as she says. “I didn’t want to point it out when I helped you bathe. You’re a grown woman.”
She flies closer and points to my neck, then flies down to my breast. I gasp when I see the marks she points out for me. Moving closer to the mirror, I finger the blemish on my neck.
I release a gasp. “No.”
“Yes, my dear. Those are marks of passion. You haven’t been dreaming of Argon. You’ve been with him.”
I stumble toward the chaise in my closet. Palming my forehead, I think of all the times I’ve been with him. They were all real?
“But in the dreams, everything was so different. My body”—I shake my head—“I had normal legs and feet.”
“Princess. I don’t know if you have been in denial or if the castle hid his power from you, but he was special. I think something in your venom or something about his magic, or a mix of it all, caused you two to come together.
“Call it an answering of your hearts’ desire. You both got what you wanted,” she says with a smile.
“Did we really?”
“Yes, dear, you did. He will return. Give it a little time.”
“But he can never come through again on his own. You know this.”
“I also know a fairy with a gift of time. You didn’t think we were going to let him leave here without a way back, did you?”